Ann worked for a big company. One of the duties of her ________ was to go to the post office every day and ______ the company mail. One day in December, she ______ a beggar making himself up as a Santa Claus _____ on the corner of the street. Each day she ______her coins and dropped them in his bowl. He would smile and _______ her a Merry Christmas.

At night the temperature dropped below 0℃, but the Santa Claus ______stood in the cold wind. ______ she dropped her coins into his bowl, she handed him a pair of gloves.

A week later, a(n) ______ Santa Claus was standing there. “What happened to the other Santa Claus?” she asked. He told her, “He’s very ______ today.” She prayed for his health.

Later that day, a colleague came into her office _______. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” “What’s wrong?” she asked. “It’s my ex—husband,” her colleague _______, “I don’t have any money to buy my boys anything for Christmas, _____ my ex—husband refuses to send money to them. It breaks my heart that they won’t have anything this year. ” The lady _______ her colleague, “I’m sure everything will ______ It’s Christmas. Believe in miracles (奇迹).”

That evening, she told her husband about her colleague’s _______, “I know we don’t have much money to _____ , but I'd like to give her fifty or a hundred dollars. We’ll just get ourselves less this year. Last year we couldn’t afford to buy anything for _______ but we still had a wonderful Christmas.” Her husband smiled, “Give her one hundred dollars. She needs it more than we do.”

She reached up and held him. Warmth spread ______ her body. He held her and realized that there really was a Santa Claus—and he had ______ her !

1.A. family B. job C. life D. religion

2.A. take out B. go through C. bring in D. pick up

3.A. spotted B. watched C. sensed D. followed

4.A. standing B. waiting C. playing D. performing

5.A. earned B. counted C. saved D. threw

6.A. send B. wish C. offer D. tell

7.A. even B. just C. still D. yet

8.A. Although B. If C. Since D. After

9.A. honest B. new C. considerate D. strong

10.A. sad B. poor C. cold D. sick

11.A. in tears B. in shock C. in horror D. in trouble

12.A. concluded B. decided C. continued D. commented

13.A. or B. but C. so D. otherwise

14.A. reminded B. amused C. teased D. comforted

15.A. work out B. come back C. run out D. open up

16.A. message B. suggestion C. situation D. example

17.A. lend B. help C. lose D. pay

18.A. ourselves B. themselves C. us D. others

19.A. off B. to C. among D. through

20.A. relaxed B. doubted C. married D. shaped

As anyone who freelances(做自由职业) knows, there are lots of advantages of working at home alone. But there are drawbacks too, like the potential loneliness. No wonder co-working spaces are becoming so popular: they permit self-employed individuals to feel like they are part of all office environment, while making them get some work done too. But renting a co-working space does cost money.

Now a Swedish project is aiming to change that by turning people’s under-used homes into temporary co-working spaces, available to freelancers for free. Hoffice was started by freelancers Christofer Gradin Franzen and Johline Zandra about a year ago in Stockholm when they invited a few people into their home office to work together. It was a great success, and the project has since spread to a number of cities in Europe, North and South America, Australia, India and Japan. Anyone can sign up and offer their home space as a free co-working space, or go find a Hoffice near them.

On a Hoffice day, everyone arrives and starts work at a certain hour. After 45 minutes, everyone gets up to take a break, stretch, do qigong or yoga for 10 to 15 minutes. Afterwards, people can gather around again, and re-state their intentions and goals for the rest of the work day, as a way to motivate each other. Meals can be eaten together at a certain hour, potluck-style(家常饭)or by bringing your own lunch.

This process creates an encouraging and supportive work environment. As some freelancers describe, “By working at Hoffice, we give ourselves and each other the gift to spend our days in a social working environment, where we are extremely productive without ignoring our other human needs. We also make sure to give us and each other what we need to feel calm, happy, inspired and creative during the working day.”

So Hoffice is not just about sharing space; it's also about a free exchange of ideas. And perhaps the best thing is that Hoffices are free to use.

1.Hoffice was started to ________.

A. change people’s attitude to work

B. provide a co-working space for free

C. improve people’s working conditions

D. encourage people to be more social

2.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A. How people respond to Hoffice.

B. What Hoffice means to people.

C. What people share at Hoffice.

D. How a Hoffice day works.

3.Some freelancers’ descriptions of Hoffice suggest that they ________.

A. work longer than before

B. can’t be separated from each other

C. benefit a lot from the working style

D. expect more people to join them

4.What do we know about Hoffice according to the text?

A. It has been popular in many countries for many years.

B. It has created many new job opportunities.

C. It focus on not only environment but also human needs.

D. It is suitable for people from all walks of life.

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