The end of the school year was in sight and spirits were high. I was back teaching after an absence of 15 years, dealing with the various kinds of “forbidden fruit” that come out of book bags. Now was the spring of the water pistol（手枪）.
学年即将结束，大家的心情都很高涨。我在经历了15年的缺席后重返教学岗位，处理着从书包里拿出来的各种“禁果”。现在是水枪的春天。

I decided to think up a method of dealing with forbidden fruit.
我决定想出一个处理禁果的方法。

“Please bring that pistol to me,” I said. “I’m going to put it in my Grandma’s Box.”
“请把那把手枪拿给我，”我说。“我要把它放进我奶奶的盒子里。”

“What’s that?” they asked.
“那是什么？”他们问。

“It’s a large wooden chest full of toys for my grandchildren,” I replied,
“那是一个装满玩具的大木箱，给我的孙子孙女们准备的，”我回答，

“You don’t have grandchildren,” someone said.
“你还没有孙子孙女，”有人说。

“I don’t now.” I replied. “But someday I will. When I do, my box will be full of wonderful things for them.”
“我现在还没有，”我回答。“但总有一天会有的。到那时，我的盒子里会装满给他们的美妙东西。”

My imaginary Grandma’s Box worked like magic that spring, and later. Sometimes. students would ask me to describe all the things I had in it. Then I would try to remember the different possessions I supposedly had taken away—since I seldom actually kept them Usually the offender would appear at the end of the day, and I would return the belonging.
我的想象中的奶奶的盒子那个春天起了很大的作用，之后也是如此。有时，学生们会让我描述一下我收集的所有东西。然后我会尽力记住我声称收走的不同的物品——因为我很少真的保留它们。通常，违规者会在一天结束时出现，我会归还他们的物品。

The-years went by, and my first grandchild Gordon was born. I shared my joy with that year’s class. Then someone said, “Now you can use your Grandma’s Box.” From then on instead of coming to ask their possessions back, the students would say, “That’s okay. Put it in your Grandma’s Box for Gordon.”
随着岁月的流逝，我的第一个孙子戈登出生了。我与那年的班级分享了我的喜悦。然后有人说：“现在你可以使用你的奶奶的盒子了。”从那以后，学生们不再来要求取回他们的物品，而是说：“没关系，把它放进你的奶奶的盒子里，给戈登。”

I loved talking about the imaginary box, not only with my students but also with my own children. They enjoyed hearing about all the forbidden fruit I had collected. Then one Christmas I received a surprise gift—a large, beautifully made wooden chest. My son Bruce had made my Grandma’s Box a reality.
我喜欢谈论这个想象中的盒子，不仅和我的学生们，也和我自己的孩子。他们喜欢听我讲述我收集的所有禁果。然后有一年圣诞节，我收到了一个惊喜的礼物——一个制作精美的大木箱。我的儿子布鲁斯让我的奶奶的盒子变成了现实。

1. What was the author’s purpose in having the conversation with the students? （ ）
   A. To collect the water pistol.
   B. To talk about her grandchildren.
   C. To recommend some toys.
   D. To explain her teaching method.
   答案：A

2. What do the underlined words “the offender” in paragraph 8 refer to? （ ）
   A. The student’s parent.
   B. The maker of the Grandma’s Box.
   C. The author’s grandchild.
   D. The owner of the forbidden fruit.
   答案：D

3. What did the students do after they learned about the birth of Gordon? （ ）
   A. They went to play with the baby.
   B. They asked to see the Grandma’s Box.
   C. They made a present for Gordon.
   D. They stopped asking their toys back.
   答案：D

4. What can we infer about the author? （ ）
   A. She enjoys telling jokes.
   B. She is a strict and smart teacher.
   C. She loves doing woodwork.
   D. She is a responsible grandmother
   答案：B