A few months ago, I had the responsibility of delivering some donations (捐赠物) to the local City Mission, a place where the homeless, and often the injured can find shelter from a life that has been turned upside down for them.
It was late autumn, and already the promise of winter was whispering through the open windows of the Mission's storage area.
After setting the donations near the sorting table, I said goodbye to the worker, and headed back through the dining area towards the door.
I was careful not to notice the people sitting at the tables, choosing to leave before feeling the guilt (罪过) of my " having", in the midst of so many who have nothing.
But it was not to be.
"Not yet," I heard a woman's voice say. "Not till we pray (祈祷)."
I was behind them when the mother bowed her head and began one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard, and I stopped where I was to look over at the table. A young mother was there with her two young boys, one about three years old on her left, the other, about five, on her right. Both were waiting, heads bowed, eyes closed.
My heart broke as I watched and listened. She was in a leg cast (腿上打着石膏), and scars (伤疤) covered her arms, her face and head.
One of the younger ladies working at the Mission had come to stand beside me, and she whispered, "She's a single mom; her husband just took off one day and didn't come back. She came here when their apartment caught fire. She was burned getting her kids out."
She started to say something else but stopped.
We were silent ... and the words this young mother said in our silence will always follow me, "... and thanks for the fruit on the ground, when I just can't reach the tree."
54. By saying "Not yet", the woman probably wanted to______.
A. thank the author for sending the food B. ask her children to pray before eating
C. blame those who have too much D. pray for the happiness of her children
55. Why did the woman come to the City Mission?
A. Because her husband left her and her children.
B. Because she suffered from a serious disease.
C. Because her house caught fire suddenly.
D. Because she was out of work.
56. From the last paragraph, we can infer that the woman was ______.
A. happy to find the fallen fruit on the ground
B. regretful for not climbing the tree for the fruit
C. satisfied to pick up the fruit for her children
D. grateful very much for the help she received