Dear Kind-Trustee-Who-Sends-Orphans-to-College,
Here I am! I traveled yesterday for four hours in a
train.It’s a funny feeling, isn’t it? I never
rode in one before.
College is the biggest, most puzzling place—I get lost
whenever I leave my room. I will write you a description later when I'm feeling
less confused; also I will tell you about my lessons. Classes don't begin until
Monday morning, and this is Saturday night. But I wanted to write a letter
first just to get acquainted.
It seems strange to be writing letters to somebody you
don't know. It seems strange for me to be writing letters at all—I've never
written more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if these are
not a model kind.
Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I
had a very serious talk. She told me how to behave all the rest of my life, and
especially how to behave towards the kind gentleman who is doing so much for
me. I must take care to be very respectful.
But how can one be very respectful to a person who
wishes to be called John Smith? Why couldn't you have picked out a name with a
little personality? I might as well write letters to Dear Flagpole or Dear
Clothes-line.
I have been thinking about you a great deal this
summer; having somebody take an interest in me after all these years makes me
feel as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I belonged to
somebody now, and it's a very comfortable feeling. I must say, however, that
when I think about you, my imagination has very little to work upon. There are
just three things that I know: I, You are tall. Ⅱ. You are rich. Ⅲ. You hate
girls.
I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater. Only
that's rather rude to me. Or Dear Mr. Rich-Man, but that's rude to you, as
though money were the only important thing about you. Besides, being rich is
such a very external quality. Maybe you won't stay rich all your life; lots of
very clever men get broke in Wall Street. But at least you will stay tall all
your life! So I've decided to call you Dear Daddy-Long-Legs. I hope you won't
mind. It's just a private pet name we won't tell Mrs. Lippett.
The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes.
Our day is divided into sections by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells.
It's very lifeful. There it goes! Lights out. Good night.
Observe how precisely I obey rules--due to my training
in the John Grier Home.
Yours most respectfully,
Jerusha Abbott
to Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith
1.Jerusha felt “confused” because ______.
A.she had never
written to the trustee before
B.she was not
familiar with the college yet
C.she could
never find the way to her home
D.she had never
traveled on a train berore
2.Jerusha thought that she couldn’t be very respectful
to “John Smith” because _______.
A.he was a
total stranger to her
B.she was sure
it was a false identity
C.the name was
too common
D.nobody would
like to be called that name
3.The fact that her day is “divided into sections by
bells” makes Jerusha feel______.
A.busy B.restricted by
rules C.pressed for
time D.full of
energy
4.Jerusha decided to call the trustee Dear
Daddy-Long-legs______.
A.in order to
show her respect for him
B.because it
was one of his inner quality
C.in older to
make them feel closer to each other
D.because she
had always wanted a father