Dad had a green comb, which he bought when he married Mum. Every night, he would hand it to me and say, “Good girl, help Daddy  1  it, OK?”

  I was  2  to do it. At age five, this dull task brought me such  3 . I would excitedly turn the tap  4 , brush the comb carefully and happily return the comb to Dad. He would  5  affectionately at me and place the comb on his wallet.

   Two years later, Dad started his own  6 , which wasn’t doing so well. Dad didn’t come home as early and as much as he used to. Mum and I became  7  with him for placing our family in trouble. With time, an uncomfortable silence grew between us.

   After my graduation, Dad’s business was getting back on track. On my 28th birthday, Dad came home  8 . As usually I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave, he said, “Hey, would you help me clean my comb?” I looked at him a while, then  9  the comb and headed to the sink.

   It  10  me then: why, as a child, helping Dad clean his comb was such a pleasure. That routine(Ï°¹ß) meant Dad was home early to  11  the evening with Mum and me. It  12  a happy and loving family.

   I passed the clean comb back to Dad. He smiled at me and  13  placed his comb on his wallet. But this time, I noticed something  14 . Dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, but his smile was still as  15  as before, the smile of a father who just wanted a good life for his family.

1.       A. throw            B. fix              C. clean            D. sharpen

2.       A. annoyed          B. relieved         C. ashamed          D. pleased

3.       A. joy             B. sadness          C. courage          D. pain

4.       A. out              B. over             C. in               D. on

5.       A. stare            B. smile            C. shout            D. laugh

6.       A. family          B. business         C. task             D. journey

7.       A. satisfied            B. delighted        C. mad              D. strict

8.       A. early            B. occasionally     C. frequently           D. rarely

9.       A. dropped          B. took             C. handed          D. threw

10.    A. defeated         B. occurred             C. hit              D. beat

11.    A. find            B. lose             C. waste            D. spend

12.    A. affected         B. broke            C. meant           D. supported

13.    A. firmly          B. hurriedly        C. casually         D. cautiously

14.    A. different        B. exciting         C. interesting          D. urgent

15.    A. convincing       B. heartwarming     C. cautious         D. innocent