12．
Banjo
I am a music store owner．One day，when I was cleaning the instruments in my store，I saw an old man come in．His short steps dragged on the carpet．"Is 77too old to learn the banjo（班卓琴）？"he asked．"It's never too late to learn to play，"I replied，holding back my doubts．My mind told me I was giving false encouragement．I reached the instructor's schedule and gave the rates，the available（有效的） time and additional information that he would need．To my surprise and delight，the old man，Carl，began banjo lessons three days later with my most patient teacher．
With nothing to do at home but practice，Carl made surprising progress．After breakfast he practiced for his required half hour．While waiting for lunch he picked up his banjo again for just a couple of minutes．Since TV was difficult for him to see and hear，he often played the banjo in the evenings．Carl was always early for lessons so it was a surprise that he didn't arrive one Tuesday．
The next morning I listened to the answering machine with sadness．"Carl's in hospital，"the voice recorded．
Two months later，I shared the newspaper obituary with the banjo teacher．We both shed tears for a surprisingly clever banjo student．
Several months later，an old woman came into the store carrying a plant．"This is for Carl's banjo teacher，"she said．"I'm his wife，Mary．"
"Why did Carl want to play banjo？"I asked．Mary took a deep breath and let it out slowly．"Carl was at some show when he was 10years old．He came close to the stage to watch the performers．When they were picking up their instruments，the banjo player said to Carl，‘You want to see this up close？'Carl climbed up on the stage and from then on he wanted to play the banjo．"Carl had waited 67years to realize this dream!Mary gave the plant to me．"Thank you for the best six months of his life，"she said．
61．In Paragraph 2，the author's reaction to Carl's question showed that heD．
A．was willing to help
B．didn't want to encourage Carl
C．didn't want to give him false encouragement
D．encouraged Carl though he had doubts
62．The underlined word"obituary"in Paragraph 5means a notice thatA．
A．a(chǎn)nnounces somebody has died
B．a(chǎn)nnounces somebody is needed
C．a(chǎn)nnounces a good piece of news
D．a(chǎn)nnounces a gift for somebody
63．Why did Carl want to learn banjo？C
A．Because his wife encouraged him to learn it．
B．Because he wanted to become a banjo performer．
C．Because he wanted to realize a dream from his early age．
D．Because he wanted to enjoy the last six months of his life．
64．It can be inferred from the passage thatB．
A．a(chǎn)ll roads lead to Rome
B．it's never too old to learn
C．well beginning is half done
D．a(chǎn) friend in need is a friend indeed．
