After the first World War, a small group of veterans (老兵) returned to their village in Britain. Most of them managed to get along fairly well, but one—Francis Blustering, who had been wounded and who never recovered his strength— was unable to work like others. In time he became very poor. Yet he was too proud to accept anything from the people in the village.
Once, these veterans held a reunion dinner in the home of Jules Grandin, who had made a good deal of money. Grandin produced a curiosity（珍玩）—a large old gold coin. Each man examined it with interest as it passed around the long table. All, however, had drunk wine freely and the room was full of noisy talk, so that the gold piece was soon forgotten. Later, when Grandin remembered it and asked for it, the coin was missing.
One of them suggested everyone be searched, to which all agreed, except Blustering. “You refuse, then?” asked Grandin. Blustering said with a red face, “Yes, I cannot allow it.”
One by one, the others turned out their pockets. When the coin failed to appear, attention was focused on poor Blustering. Under the pitying stares of his friends, he walked out and returned to his home.
A few years later, Grandin made his house repaired. A workman found the gold coin, buried in dirt between planks (木板) of the floor. Hurrying to Blustering’s home, Grandin apologized to him.
“But why didn’t you allow yourself be searched?”
“Because I was a thief,” Blustering said brokenly. “For weeks we had not had enough to eat and my pockets were full of food that I had taken from the table to carry home to my wife and hungry children.”
46Francis Blustering lived a poor life because _____________.
A.he was badly wounded in the battle
B.he was unable to work like ordinary people
C.he was too proud to get on well with other people
D.he was waiting for his chance
47The coin was missing because _____________.
A. all the friends were drunk B. the room was too noisy
C. they were too excited to pay attention to it D. Blustering hid it in a secret place
48. When Blustering turned red and refused to be searched, all people thought _____________.
A. he was really a poor fellow
B. he must have stolen the gold coin
C. the coin must be hidden somewhere in the room
D. poor Blustering had hidden some food in his pockets
49. What can we learn from the story?
A. Think twice before you make a judgment.
B. Blustering is a poor father and husband.
C. Blustering would rather live alone than be considered a thief.
D. Blustering is an example we should learn from.