One early morning, I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again. My interest was aroused only by the fact that the word "Poems" appeared in big, hot pink letters. "Is it good?" I asked her. "Yeah," she answered. "There's one I really like and you'll like it, too." I leaned forward. "'Patty Poem,'" she read the title. Who is Patty? I wondered. The poem began: She never puts her toys away, Just leaves them scattered1where they lay,...1 The poem was just three short sections. The final one came quickly: When she grows and gathers poise2,2 I'll miss her harum-scarum3noise,3 And look in vain4for scattered toys.4 And I'll be sad. A terrible sorrow washed over me. Whoever Patty was, she was a mean girl. Then, the shock. "It's you, honey," My mother said sadly. To my mother, the poem revealed a parent's affection when her child grows up and leaves. To me, the "she" in the poem was horror. It was my mama who would be sad. It was so terrible I burst out crying. "What's wrong?" my mother asked. "Oh Mama," I cried. "I don't want to grow up ever!" She smiled. "Honey, it's okay. You're not growing up anytime soon. And when you do, I'll still love you, okay?" "Okay," I was still weeping. My panic has gone. But I could not help thinking about that silly poem. After what seemed like a safe amount of time, I read the poem again and was confused. It all fit so well together, like a puzzle. The language was simple, so simple I could plainly understand its meaning, yet it was still beautiful. I was now fascinated by the idea of poetry, words that had the power to make or break a person's world. I have since fallen in love with other poems, but "Patty Poem" remains my poem. After all, "Patty Poem" gave me my love for poetry not because it was the poem that lifted my spirits, but because it was the one that hurt me the most. The writer's mother liked to read "Patty Poem" probably because  _  . A) it reflected her own childhood B) it was written in simple language C) it was composed by a famous poet D) it gave her a hint of what would happen
D
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It's the worst event in human being's nautical history , six times more deadly than the Titanic . When the German cruise ship Wilhelm Gustloff was hit by torpedoes fired from a Russian submarine in the final winter of World War II , more than 10,000 people - mostly women , children and old people fleeing the final Red Army push into Nazi Germany - were packed aboard . An ice storm had turned the decks into frozen sheets that sent hundreds of families sliding into the sea as the ship tilted and began to go down . Others desperately tried to put lifeboats down . Some who succeeded fought off those in the water who had the strength to try to claw their way aboard . Most people froze immediately . " I'll never forget the screams , " says Christa Ntitzmann , 87 , one of the 1,200 survivors . She recalls watching the ship , brightly lit , slipping into its dark grave-and into seeming nothingness , rarely mentioned for more than half a century . Now Germany's Nobel Prize-winning author Gtinter Grass has revived the memory of the 9,000 dead , including more than 4,000 children-with his latest novel Crab Walk , published last month . The book ,which will be out in English next year , doesn't dwell on the sinking : its heroine is a pregnant young woman who survives the catastrophe only to say later : " Nobody wanted to hear about it , not here in the West ( of Germany ) and not at all in the East . " The reason was obvious . As Grass put in a recent interview with the weekly Die Woche : " Because the crimes we Germans are responsible for were and are so dominant , we didn't have the energy left to tell of our own sufferings . " The long silence about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff was probably unavoidable - and necessary . By unreservedly owning up to their country's monstrous crimes in the Second World War , Germans have managed to win acceptance abroad , _ the neo-Nazis at home and make peace with their neighbors . Today's unified Germany is more prosperous and stable than at any time in its long , troubled... How does Gunter Grass revive the memory of the Wilhelm Gustloff tragedy ? A) By presenting the horrible scene of the torpedo attack . B) By describing the ship's sinking in great detail . C) By giving an interview to the weekly Die Woche . D) By illustrating the survival of a young pregnant woman .
D
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B
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