At seventy-three, Marcia Pollock’s father was a man
进入查看：2022-2023学年英语周报高二第24期答案及试题
At seventy-three, Marcia Pollock’s father was a man of great independence and pride. The kids called him “Poppy”, a name that everybody used.
Poppy lived in his old neighborhood and he had a part-time job at a local pharmacy（药房）. After Marcia’s mother died, Poppy firmly refused Marcia and Jack’s invitation to come and live with them. He was stubborn about not crowding their little house, about not becoming a burden.
In fact, he was always helpful. The kids loved him because he listened to them and because he always brought them something. He also brought special gifts to Marcia and Jack, never arriving empty-handed.
And so it was with shock and bewilderment（迷惑）that Marcia went to see Poppy in the hospital that summer after he had fallen down in the street. The doctor said that Poppy had been living on coffee and doughnuts. Later that day, the pharmacist told Marcia, “He has practically no money at all—just the government cheque and what little he makes here. Yet I myself saw him spend most of his last cheque on your little boy’s bicycle.”
