Bernie was smart and wanted to be his own boss. When Bernie was 25, he took a wife. Bernie had saved some money and decided on a dry goods and grocery store combined.
Marie was skilled at arranging the purchase to appeal to customers and Bernie didn’t mind the long hours. He was happy, and life was good. The business thrived until the great depression hit the entire country. No one had money to purchase pretty things or even food. In 1930, Marie had a heart attack and left Bernie alone.
Following Marie’s death, which Bernie felt was brought about from worrying about the store, He lost interest in everything. He had few customers and did not make them feel welcome, Bernie wandered about the store , dusting a bit and sweeping the floor. His inventory remained almost the same, as nothing much was sold .A deep depressing set in. He had lost Marie , his true love , and now his business seemed lost as well, Why did he want to live ?
A few houses down the street lived a family who had also fallen on hard times. They seldom had three meals a day. Julie , the youngest girl, was fourteen . Julie worried about Mr. Mears’ getting so thin. At meal time, she would take a portion of their meal to Bernie. She would stay and talk to him, dusting and cleaning .
After several months Bernie began to improve. He still had no customers to speak of, but from what he had left in the store , he would pack a few cans to take to Julie’s family.
In early spring, Julie saw her father planting a garden. This gave her an idea. She suggested Bernie making a garden in the big space beside the store, which they had once thought would become a parking lot , and sell the produce really cheap in the store. It would help the neighbors and also Bernie to have money for new merchandise(货品). They would plant half the garden space now and half in three weeks giving them fresh produce for a long time .
Julie prayed hard as they placed the seeds in the ground. When the seeds sprouted（发芽）, Julie looked anxiously at the rows and there were no empty spots. They all came up and produced the best crop of vegetables Bernie had ever seen. They soon became well-known in the community for having the best prices and finest produce in town . They also extended credit to their neighbors and accepted various items as trade for merchandise.
The two of them worked hard throughout the 1930s and made a very successful business. Julie earned a salary . As the economy picked up, so did sales at the store.
70. What’s the best title of this passage ?
A. Mears’ Family Store B. A Neighbor of Mears’
C. The Deep Depression D. Vegetables in Garden
71. According to Bernie , Marie’s death is mainly because of ________。
A. the heart attack B. the position of the shop
C. the hard work D. the worry about the store
72. What does the underlined word “thrive” in Paragraph 2 mean ?
A. boom B. decline C. develop D. downfall
73. How did Bernie’s business begin to improve ?
A. With the help of Julie’s family B. By selling the cheap fresh produce and food
C. By means of planting vegetables and fruits
D. By providing customers with different services.
74. From Paragraph 7 we can learn Julie and Bernie __________.
A. lent money to their neighbors. B. exchanged goods with their neighbors
C. sold the best vegetables in the city D. refused to give credit to their neighbors
75. We can infer from the passage that sales at the store has been _______ throughout the 1930s.
A. decreasing B. increasing C. changing D. reducing