A year ago, August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but it was for Dave to find work, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at the risk of joining the millions of Americans who have their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely —$7,000, a legacy(遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were meeting difficulty.” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were by what the Hatches had done. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in , it was more than $100,000.
It nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than $3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of . They preferred comparison shopping and would go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camps when their parents couldn’t it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you anything,” says their friend Sandy Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches their farmland. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy—a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents—should the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors—that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story.
A．happy B．hard C．easy D．nice
A．lost B．bought C．left D．wanted
A．gift B．money C．encouragement D．package
A．accept B．defeat C．win D．receive
A．amazed B．excited C．upset D．touched
A．the other B．another C．other D．others
A．surprised B．frightened C．pleased D．encouraged
A．kind B．generous C．living D．saving
A．afford B．buy C．offer D．keep
A．suffered B．enjoyed C．needed D．did
A．put away B．put up C．gave up D．gave away
A．enrich B．bless C．brighten D．expand
Peter’s job was to examine cars when they crossed the frontier to make sure that they were not smuggling anything into the country. Every evening he would see a factory worker coming ____ the hill towards the frontier, ____ a bike with a pile of goods of old straw on it. When the bike ____ the frontier, Peter would stop the man and ____ him take the straw off and untie it. Then he would examine the straw very ____ to see ____ he could find anything, after which he would look in all the man’s pockets ____ he let him tie the straw again. The man would then put it on his bike and go off down the hill with it. Although Peter was always ____ to find gold or other valuable things ____ in the straw, he never found ____. He was sure the man was ____ something, but he was not ____ to think out what it could be.
Then one evening, after he had looked ____ the straw and emptied the worker’s pockets ____ usual, he ____ to him, “Listen, I know you are smuggling things ____ this frontier. Won’t you tell me what it is? I’m an old man, and today’s my last day on the ____. Tomorrow I’m going to ____. I promise I shall not tell ____ if you tell me what you’ve been smuggling.” The worker did not say anything for ____. Then he smiled, turned to Peter and said quietly, “Bikes.”
A．towards B．down C．to D．up
A．filling B．pulling C．pushing D．carrying
A．arrived B．appeared C．came D．reached
A．ask B．order C．make D．call
A．carefully B．quickly C．silently D．horribly
A．that B．where C．how D．whether
A．before B．after C．first D．so
A．lucky B．hoping C．thinking D．wondering
A．had been B．hidden C．hiding D．have been
A．nothing B．something C．everything D．anything
A．taking B．smuggling C．stealing D．pushing
A．possible B．strong C．able D．clever
A．through B．thoroughly C．upon D．up
A．like B．more C．then D．as
A．told B．cried C．ordered D．said
A．cross B．past C．across D．into
A．thing B．work C．job D．duty
A．rest B．back C．retire D．retreat
A．everyone B．anyone C．no one D．someone
A．moment B．long time C．sometime D．some time
【原创】Times were tough in our household.My husband was out of work and there was no sign of anything for him.In addition to going to nursing school full-time,1 was working three part-time jobs to put food on the table for our family of five.
After a rather__ meal one night,I answered the ringing phone. With no ,a voice asked,’’Do you need food? Come to my place and I can help you.”Directions followed and he hung up the phone. No in-depth conversation or queries as to our situation. It was up to us to decide whether we a voice on the telephone.
1 was desperate. With food in the cabinet and no prospect of a job for my husband, I had to take a , swallow my pride, and accept the strange offer. Was there a ?When I uneasily got to a ranch home as ,I found there was no car in the garage. ,lined up in orderly rows were tables filled with varieties of food. A craggy （轮廓分明有皱纹的）gentleman me, not much different than our phone conversation!’’Look around. If you see what you want,__ yourself.”'He handed me paper bags and turned to another new arrival, passing along the same .This couldn't be real!
I guiltily filled the paper sacks with what we needed and gratefully thanked the elderly man.。’Be here next week. You’ll of the food by then “was his reply,
Then I learned the thing. Widowed and retired, he wanted to do something in his golden years to fill his time. Daily, he drove his pickup truck and begged for items and canned goods from local grocery stores and folks like us who had fallen on hard times.
I never knew what our weekly menus would be I had “shopped" in the garage, but I knew, with our bellies full, we could focus on paying necessary bills.
A．worrying B．boring C．confusing D．promising
A．just B．even C．ever D．also
A．delicious B．necessary C．simple D．ordinary
A．information B．communication C．introduction D．instruction
A．physical B．financial C．educational D．social
A．trusted B．accepted C．recognized D．satisfied
A．certainly B．originally C．actually D．barely
A．chance B．step C．decision D．measure
A．future B．possibility C．trap D．kindness
A．appointed B．directed C．guided D．requested
A．Therefore B．Besides C．Instead D．However
A．discovered B．greeted C．reminded D．examined
A．help B．enjoy C．behave D．seat
A．welcome B．supply C．assistance D．message
A．mostly B．eventually C．absolutely D．accidentally
A．leave out B．drop out C．run out D．get out
A．interesting B．worthwhile C．mysterious D．astonishing
A．usable B．additional C．acceptable D．valuable
A．recalled B．sought C．identified D．inspected
A．although B．since C．before D．until
Just off La Rambla Street in Barcelona, I skimmed through The Saints (圣人) of Spain in a bookstore. It would be a good read for the home. At that moment, I couldn’t help thinking of my own personal saint, the angel who’d my trip.
It was the first time for me to travel abroad and I called it a “spiritual journey”. I hadn’t a hotel before setting out I thought I could find a cheap one when I arrived. , it turned out to be a(n) .
I knew Spanish, but the quick, sad of each hotel owner’s head was easily understood — no room at the hotel. The sun had just gone down below the horizon (地平线)，I didn’t know what to do and began to . Just then, an old man came with a hat covering his white hair. He asked me if I needed any help. I supposed maybe he the worried look on my face.
After explaining why I was there, he asked me to him. At first, I whether the stranger did that out of kindness. However, considering my situation, I had no other choice but to him. I walked behind him and passed through a narrow, dark side street. Finally he rang the bell on a door. “You will stay here,” he said. “It is a place.”
He was . My room was huge —with a bed, a desk and even a bath. I wanted to him, but he’d gone away. “This man can be trusted,” I thought.
Now , at the , I felt a tap (轻拍) on my shoulder. It was him ! So he was . “I want to thank you. What’s your name ? ” I said.
“Raphael,” he said. “You’re very welcome.” With that, he went away into the crowd on La Rambla. “He was not an angel but just a kind ,” I thought.
On the planet, I turned to a page in The Saints of Spain by chance. “Raphael,” it read, “is known as the supporter of travellers. He helps guide spiritual journeys.’’ Yes, he does.
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In 2012, I had just recovered from a serious illness when I received an invitation to a writer’s conference in Orlando, Florida. My family persuaded me that a(n) ____might be just what the doctor ordered, so off I____.
Arriving in the Sunshine State was rather tiring, but I____to catch a taxi to my____and settle in. Next morning, I took another____to the shopping centre to buy a few souvenirs.____I went to a caf to have lunch, but all the tables were____. Then I heard a friendly voice saying，“You can___my table.”
I gratefully sat down with the ____lady and we had a happy lunch together. As the____drew to a close she asked how long I would be in Orlando. I had already told her that I hadn’t____ a car, and hadn’t realized how____taking taxis would be. After a while she said，“My dear, don’t use any more taxis. I’m retired and it would be my pleasure to____ you wherever you wish.” I told her that I couldn’t put her to that____， but she brushed aside my protests (反对). She asked me where I was____and next morning she was waiting at my apartment at the____time to take me to Disney World. She spent some time with me before leaving me to____alone. At the end of the day, she____to take me back to my accommodation. I____her money but she refused to take any.
I’ll never forget that wonderful lady who, through her____， filled my brief holiday in Florida with wonderful memories.
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When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.
A true carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a we should value.. ，the better friends you are, the more probably you’ll have disagreements. And the can be what you don’t want : an end to finish the relationship.
The good news is that most troubled friendships can be . First, don’t let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when are brought out in the open. Second，____when you’re wrong －even if you’ve been . Over the course of friendship, the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a to admit that he has been wrong. Third, see things from your point of view. And accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyles change. Making friends can sometimes seem . The hard part is __15__the connections strong during the nature ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: Consider friendship an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture (培 养)．
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