One Christmas Eve, my husband made his way home from work. 36 , he worked the entire day but let his stuff go 37 so that they could be with their families.
He drove down the street and made the 38 towards our home. On one side of the road, an old man stood, drenched to the bone (被雨淋得湿透了), with his hand 39 . The rain had been 40 heavily that day. My husband stopped, and asked him where he was 41 . He wanted to go about five miles past our home, but my husband still told him to 42 . My husband chatted with him, drove 43 our house and took him home for his Christmas Eve. 44 turned out that this poor man was what we now 45 as a “slow learner” and the only job he could get to 46 him and his elderly mother was at the bakery near where my husband worked. He worked from 5 a.m. until 1 o’clock in the 47 . Not only that, but that poor man had been standing there trying to get a ride on Christmas Eve for about 5 hours 48 my husband picked him up. 49 else would give him a ride because they didn’t want to get their seats 50 .
Over the years my husband 51 to give him a ride home whenever he saw him trying to get a ride. When he passed 52 , my husband went to his funeral. 53 my husband didn’t know his family, they knew of him. Even his twin sister who 54 in the state of Washington knew who my husband was and everyone thanked him for his 55 toward one who had so little.
An act of kindness can make another person’s day, or even their life.
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It was one of the happiest times of my life. I was 29 and had just received my bachelor’s degree, graduating with honors ______ working two jobs and being a wife and mother. My ______ and five-year-old son were in the audience when I walked onto the stage at Ashland University to get my diploma. I was so excited and ______ to be starting a teaching career and contributing more to my family’s well-being.
But when I got back home that evening, there was a ______ from my husband. It basically said he’d come to get his clothes and wouldn’t be ______. We’d been having trouble, but the finality of that note still came as a shock. He had ______ our bank account. We were horribly in debt. I had ______ my previous jobs in expectation of interviewing for a teaching position. ______, I was eight months pregnant.
Most young women have an______ picture of the happy-go-lucky life they’re going to live. But no one ever sits you down and says that’s not ______ and sometimes life is just extremely ugly. It all caved in for me that night. I was embarrassed, scared, and angry and felt I had ______ .
But I had my son, and I was about to bring a new life into the world, so despite my deep______ , I had to go on. The next morning, I woke up, put my feet on the floor, took a deep breath, prepared breakfast, and basically did ______ I always did. I used my ______ to keep me moving. After being in the military for six years, I guess you can say I fell back on my training, like all good ______ do in tough situations.
And in the past seven years, I’ve continued moving ______. I got a job as a kindergarten teacher, earned a master’s degree in education, and ______ my babies grow to twelve and seven. I certainly would never have chosen to ______ them through this, but in review, I’m glad it happened to me when it did. It helped me to ______ my voice and myself a lot sooner. It helped me ______ independent, and confident — things I’m hopefully implanting(灌输) now in my children.
A．through B．for C．by D．despite
A．parents B．daughter C．husband D．family
A．pleasant B．proud C．surprised D．worried
A．letter B．message C．note D．mail
A．out B．off C．back D．away
A．emptied B．stolen C．opened D．erased
A．obtained B．quitted C．offered D．found
A．Thus B．Therefore C．Nevertheless D．Moreover
A．impressive B．ideal C．exciting D．intelligent
A．reality B．practice C．possibility D．fact
A．died B．declined C．failed D．finished
A．sympathy B．feeling C．love D．sadness
A．something B．anything C．nothing D．everything
A．routine B．rule C．mind D．story
A．workers B．soldiers C．teachers D．mothers
A．backward B．downward C．forward D．outward
A．saw B．watched C．noticed D．found
A．look B．let C．break D．put
A．find B．lose C．lower D．raise
A．stay B．grow C．remain D．keep
Sometimes a step-parent has to take a step back. When I was thirty-five, I met my husband and came to ______ his kids, aged 10 and 7. We ______ playing basketball and shopping for cartoon books and became great friends. Then I got ______.
In most ______ ,stepkids live with their mom and stepdad. This makes our case quite ______ . Four years into our marriage, after going between their mom’s place and ours, the boys______ in with us full-time.
I was ______ a part-time friend, so everything changed. For example, ______ the kids to help didn’t appear an important thing before, but now they became unwilling. Once, after I’d asked my elder stepson to set the table, he ______ said, “You’re not my mother; I don’t have to ______ you.”
It was ______ but I realized it was about keeping ______ clear in our new family life. I told him he was right—I wasn’t his mom; I was another person in his life who ______ him, and we needed to get things done ______ .
______ in a life-in situation, a step-parent isn’t the parent. You help with everything and ______ lots of hugs and laughs. But you also have to learn to stand in the ______ . For example, when there were only enough ______ for Mom and Dad to sit up front, I sat in back. It was hurtful, but I realized it wasn’t personal.
Today, my stepsons know where to find me, whether it’s for long chats or a(n) ______ e-mail to say hi. And I know where to find them. The caring is surely there, even if the ______ isn’t.
A．know B．teach C．understand D．instruct
A．passed time B．agreed on C．had fun D．set about
A．convinced B．separated C．changed D．married
A．places B．ways C．cases D．families
A．unusual B．similar C．positive D．difficult
A．came B．moved C．got D．ran
A．as well B．just now C．once again D．no longer
A．allowing B．getting C．advising D．inviting
A．quietly B．suddenly C．simply D．immediately
A．work for B．listen to C．stay with D．focus on
A．selfish B．impolite C．reasonable D．painful
A．roles B．duties C．quarrels D．records
A．supported B．envied C．loved D．bothered
A．properly B．together C．already D．easily
A．Still B．Even C．Also D．Then
A．have B．expect C．avoid D．share
A．shadows B．positions C．shelters D．sufferings
A．spots B．beds C．chairs D．tickets
A．special B．extra C．quick D．private
A．bloodline B．influence C．comfort D．respect
It was a cold and windy fall day. I, a fourth-grade pupil, jumped out of the car. “Bye Mom! ” I yelled as she ______ away. I ran in the front doors and saw my friends waiting for me. We started to walk down the ______ to our classroom. The hallway was so loud as usual and you could ______ hear yourself think. My friend Casey said to me “Erin, your shoelace is ______. ” “I will tie it when we get in the classroom, thanks though. ” I replied. Well, I was ______.
We were still walking to our class and my friend Jenny was telling us ______. As we were walking and laughing I stepped on my shoelace and ______ on my face. ”Are you okay Erin? ” my friends asked me. Well, I wasn’t because I had a bloody nose and blood ______ on my uniform. I looked up from the floor and I saw everyone was staring at me. I ______ and tied my shoelace, put my backpack back on my back, and ran to my classroom. I didn’t ______ anything to my friends. I put my stuff at my desk when I got in the classroom, got a ______ for my nose, and went up to the teacher and asked for a nurse’s pass to get my nose ______ up. When I left the teacher, I saw my friends. I walked ______ by because I didn’t say anything to them. They were laughing and I thought they were laughing at me so I didn’t talk to them for the rest of the ______.
During lunch they came up to me and asked “So how is your ______? ” “Fine! ” I yelled, “I saw you laughing at me when I was on my way to the ______. ” “We weren’t laughing at you. Jenny told another joke. ” My friends said. “Well, I was ______ at you because I thought you were laughing at me. I’m sorry, do you guys ______ me? ” “Yes, we forgive you. But next time you should ask us ______ you assume something. ” My friends said. “OK guys, want to play soccer? ” I asked, “Sure! ” they said and then we went outside to ______ the soccer ball happily.
A．drove B．walked C．flew D．went
A．road B．hallway C．front door D．path
A．properly B．relatively C．ridiculously D．barely
A．unfitted B．unbearable C．untied D．uncomfortable
A．wrong B．upset C．vain D．sure
A．stories B．jokes C．lies D．facts
A．lay B．slided C．fell D．stood
A．attached B．stuck C．flashed D．got
A．got up B．turned up C．showed up D．took up
A．demand B．tell C．say D．do
A．backpack B．shoelace C．uniform D．tissue
A．bandaged B．cleaned C．washed D．wounded
A．directly B．brilliantly C．elegantly D．cautiously
A．day B．morning C．afternoon D．fall
A．face B．pass C．nose D．foot
A．teacher B．nurse C．classroom D．office
A．mad B．exhausted C．dissatisfied D．rude
A．swear B．punish C．evaluate D．forgive
A．until B．before C．if D．unless
A．squeeze B．seize C．kick D．play
When Glen Kruger picked a small cat from an animal shelter, he did not expect much. Yet right from the start, eight years ago, there was an uncommon connection between him and the small black cat. He ______ her Inky.
“I grew up on a hundred-acre farm and had only cats ______ playmatcs,”Kruger, The sevevty-year-old man,says.“My hearing was damaged by the ______ of farm epuipment, so I learned to connect with ______. They react to what they see and what you do.”
Inky was a gentle cat, ______the house with five other cats. But on a January night in 2009, Inky did ______ that would set her apart from ______ cats forever. Kruger had gone down to the basemeng to ______ the wood stove for the night. When he was finished, he ______ to the top of the stairs and reached to turn off the lights. In doing so , he slipped and ______ his back against an old shelf. The heavy shelf came crashing down and sent Kruger down the stairs.
______ in a pool of blood on the basement floor, Kruger felt ______ going into shock（休克）. He shouted for help ,______ his wife, Brenda , was asleep in their bedroom at the opposite end of the house.______ Kruger noticed Inky watching from the top of the stairs.
“Go get Brenda, ” Krugger said to Inky.
Inky ______ to the bedroom door and scratched ______ until Brenda opened it. Then Inky led her to the ______ Brenda found her husband ______the stairs and called 911. Kruger was rushed to the hospital. “I spent six months ______ therd,” Says kruger. “Although I became lame , I was blessed. ” Sinec the acciedent, Inky has ______ Left Krhger’s side.
A．gave B． chose C． named D．remembered
A．like B． as C． except D．among
A．sound B． alarm C．noise D．voice
A．animals B． friends C．farmers D．neghbors
A．sharing B． visiting C．dividing D．discovering
A．anything B． nothing C．something D．everything
A．familiar B． lovely C．ordinary D．outstanding
A．shut out B． shut off C．shut down D．shut up
A．marched B． flew C．struggled D．climbed
A．bent B． hit C．shook D．pulled
A．Falling B． Lying C．Appearing D．Thinking
A．it B． itself C．him D．himself
A．and B． but C．or D．so
A．Thus B． Otherwise C．Then D．Rather
A．walked B． ran C．returned D．withdrew
A．rapidly B． suddenly C．madly D．urgently
A．at the bottom of B．in the middle of C．at the top of D．in the front of
A．regretting B． resting C．relaxing D．recovering
A．never B． ever C．still D．already
In the doorway of my home, I looked closely at my 23yearold son, Daniel. In a few hours he would be flying to France to ____ a different life. It was a transitional (过渡的) period in Daniel's life. I wanted to ____ him some words of significance. But nothing came from my lips, and this was not the ____ time I had let such moments pass.
When Daniel was five, I took him to the bus stop on his first day of kindergarten. He asked,"What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it?" Then he walked ____ the steps of the bus and disappeared inside. The bus drove away and I said nothing. A decade later, a similar ____ was played out. I drove him to college. As I started to leave, I tried to think of something to say to give him ____ and confidence as he started this new stage of life. Again, words ____ me.
Now, as I stood before him, I thought of those ____ opportunities. How many times have I let such moments ____? I don't find a quiet moment to tell him what he has ____ to me or what he might ____ to face in the years that followed. Maybe I thought it was not necessary to say anything.
What does it matter in the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks of him? ____ as I stood before Daniel, I knew that it did matter. My father and I loved each other. Yet I always ____ never hearing him put his ____ into words. Now I could feel my palms sweat and my throat tighten. Why is it so ____ to tell a son something from the heart?
My mouth turned ____, and I knew I would be able to get out only a few words clearly. "Daniel," I said, "if I could have picked one, I would have picked you."That's all I could say. He hugged me. For a moment, the world ____, and there were just Daniel and me. He was saying something, but tears misted my eyes, and I couldn't understand what he was saying. All I was ____ of was the stubble (胡子茬) on his chin as his face pressed against mine. What I had said to Daniel was ____. It was nothing. And yet, it was ____.
A．experience B．undertake C．enjoy D．shape
A．show B．convey C．leave D．instruct
A．last B．first C．very D．next
A．How long B．How far C．How D．What
A．sign B．scene C．scenery D．sight
A．interest B．hope C．courage D．wisdom
A．failed B．discouraged C．struck D．disappointed
A．future B．embarrassing C．obvious D．lost
A．counted B．meant C．valued D．cared
A．think B．want C．expect D．wish
A．nothing but B．anything but C．only too D．more than
A．But B．And C．Instead D．Then
A．wondered B．regretted C．minded D．tried
A．views B．actions C．feelings D．attitudes
A．important B．essential C．hard D．complex
A．disappeared B．changed C．progressed D．advanced
A．sensitive B．convinced C．aware D．tired
A．into B．against C．on D．with
A．clumsy B．gentle C．absurd D．moving
A．none B．all C．anything D．everything