When my sister Martie told me she had put out tomato plants last summer, I was quite impressed.
She was a garden-beginner. Once they were planted, she tended to them daily, anxiously awaiting the juicy tomatoes to appear. But, day after day, her plants were tomato-less while all of her neighbors who had also put out tomato plants were already enjoying the fruit of their labor.
Frustrated, Martie gave in and went to the market to search fresh tomatoes. While paying, Martie told the farmer her troubles. The farmer paused to think for a moment and then asked, “Well, what kind of tomatoes did you plant?”
“I think they were called Big Boy,” Martie remembered.
“Well there’s your problem,” the farmer explained. “Big Boy and Better Boy tomatoes have a 95 day growing period whereas regular tomato plants produce fruit in as few as 70 days…you just have to wait a little longer for the Big Boys. ”
With that new knowledge, Martie went home with excitement, knowing they would be worth the wait.
Thinking about my sister’s gardening experience, I had to smile. She just didn’t know that Big Boy tomatoes took longer ---neither did I --- but once she discovered that information, she was no longer discouraged and upset about the lack of tomatoes on her plants. Instead, she was encouraged and excited to see them a few weeks later.
It makes me wonder how many of us have “Big Boy” dreams in our hearts, yet we just don’t realize that they are of the “Big Boy” variety so we are discouraged and worn out with the waiting process. Instead of waiting with excitement, we give up on our dreams and figure we must have done something wrong to stop them from coming to pass. Frustrated, we see other people’s dreams coming true, and we wonder why ours haven’t yet been achieved.
21. Why did Martie’s tomato plants fail to produce at the expected time?
A. Because they were destroyed by her neighbors.
B. Because she grew the wrong kind tomatoes.
C. Because she didn’t manage the garden well.
D. Because they required more time to produce.
22. What does the author compare tomatoes to in the text?
A. Goals. B. Experiences. C. Time. D. Imagination.
23. What does the text intend to show us?
A. It’s better late than never. B. A bad beginning makes a bad ending.
C. Nothing is impossible for a willing heart. D. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.