There was something wrong with grandma Mommika’s fingers. The doctor said that she had arthritis (关节炎): He said Mommika should keep her hands warm. I made her cups of tea to hold and moved her chair closer to the fire. But her fingers were stiff (僵硬的).
I wasn’t used to seeing Mommika’s hands like this. Her quiet hands made herself quieter too.
This year there were no knitted (编织的) hats for Christmas, no colorful socks or soft sweaters.
One day, Mom asked me to throw away some sweaters which had big holes. Mommika was looking down at her hands, and was shocked as I walked by.
“Wait, Annuska,” she said. “Let me see those.”
She picked up a blue sweater on top. She began pulling gently at a piece of yarn (纱线) near the neck.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Unknitting, make it into a ball like this. Then you can use the yarn to knit something new.” Mommika said.
Mommika wrapped yarn around and around her stiff fingers, first in one direction and then the other to keep the ball round.
Mommika happily told me how Peti, her youngest brother, used to play with their mother’s yarn balls. I picked up three yarn balls and tried to do like Peti. Mommika watched me and then smiled.
After dinner, I got an idea. I decided to do something for Mommika. I picked up a pair of old gloves and sewed up the holes as she had taught me before. Then I sewed the faces of Mommika and her brothers and sisters on the tips of the fingers.
“Your family,” I said, handing the gloves to her.
“Oh, Annuska! This one must be me,” she said, laughing. “And this must be Peti.” Mommika put the gloves on and told me about her life with her brothers and sisters happily until my bedtime.
“I think I’ll sleep with my family gloves on tonight,” Mommika said, taking my hand in her gloved one.
【小题1】Why were there no new knitted hats for Christmas this year?| A．Because the family didn’t like knitted hats. |
| B．Because they have bought some from the shop. |
| C．Because it was difficult for Mommika to make them. |
| D．Because Mommika didn’t want to make them any more. |
| A．Annuska thought Grandmother was angry with her. |
| B．Grandmother didn’t like to communicate with anyone. |
| C．Annuska didn’t get used to seeing Grandmother’s nice hands. |
| D．Grandmother became quieter and quieter because of her illness. |
| A．Family Gloves | B．Soft Sweaters | C．Stiff Fingers | D．Old Grandma |
| A．Because Annuska thought it was interesting to sew the hole gloves for her grandma. |
| B．Because Annuska wanted to keep grandma’s fingers warm and make her happy. |
| C．Because Annuska thought it was a challenge for her to make gloves. |
| D．Because Annuska wanted to help grandma miss her brothers and sisters. |
