Grandfather’s Clock
In the dining room of my grandfather’s house stood a(n) 36 grandfather clock. Meals in that dining room were 37 for four generations to become one. And always that grandfather clock stood like a trusted family friend, watching over the laughter and story 38
and gentle kidding that were a part of our lives. Year after year, the clock 39 , a part of my memories, a part of my heart. Even more wonderful to me was my grandfather’s 40 . He wound that clock with a special key each day. That key was magic to me. It kept our family’s magnificent clock ticking and chiming. I remember watching as my grand-father took the key from his pocket and opened the hidden door in the massive clock. He inserted the key and
41 not too much, never overwind, he’d tell me seriously, nor too 42 . He never let that clock wind down and stop. When we grandkids got a little older, he showed us how to open the door and let us each take a turn 43 the key. I remember the first time I did, I
44 , to be part of this family routine was sacred. After my 45 grandfather died, it was several days after the funeral 46 I remembered the clock! The tears flowed freely when I entered the dining room. The clock stood lonely as quiet as the 47 had been, hushed. The clock even seemed smaller. Not quite as magnificent without my grandfather’s special 48 . I couldn’t 49 to look at it. Sometime later, years later, my grandmother gave me the clock and the key. The old house was quiet. The hands on the clock were 50 , a reminder of time
slipping away, stopped at the 51 moment when my grandfather had stopped winding it. I took the key in my shaking hand and opened the clock door. All of a sudden, I was a child again, watching my grandfather with his silver-white hair and 52 blue eyes. He was there, winking at me, at the secret of the clock’s magic, at the key that held so much power. I stood,
53 in the moment for a long time. Then slowly, I inserted the key. It 54 to life. Tick-tock, tick-tock, life and chimes were 55 into the dining room, into the house and into my heart. In the movement of the hands of the clock, my grandfather lived again.
36. A. used B. traditional C. massive D. ancient
37. A. a time B. one time C. instant D. time
38. A. swapping B. telling C. developing D. spreading
39. A. stroke B. sounded C. chimed D. echoed
40. A. ceremony B. routine C. movement D. instruction
41. A. moved B. wound C. motivated D. powered
42. A. little B. loose C. tight D. much
43. A. using B. inserting C. spinning D. winding
44. A. nerved B. excited C. trembled D. shook
45. A. beloved B. lovely C. respectful D. respective
46. A. when B. before C. until D. till
47. A. function B. ceremony C. funeral D. meeting
48. A. reach B. attention C. fixing D. touch
49. A. bear B. continue C. allow D. forbid
50. A. dotted B. stopped C. frozen D. paused
51. A. precise B. perspective C. previous D. primary
52. A. staring B. twinkling C. shining D. glaring
53. A. thought B. imagined C. recalled D. lost
54. A. renewed B. sprang C. survived D. awoke
55. A. poured B. crowded C. filled D. breathed