完形填空

　　A young man who was very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself．Along the way he had completely run out of 　　1　　 and was forced to spend the night in his car．

　　This continued until one 　　2　　, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a 　　3　　 and ordered a big meal．　　4　　 eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself 　　5　　 to the waiter, telling him he had lost his 　　6　　．The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been 　　7　　．

　　He bent down and came up with a ＄20 bill which looked 　　8　　 it had fallen on the floor．“Son, you must have 　　9　　 this,”the owner said．The young man couldn't 　　10　　 his luck!He 　　11　　 paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and 　　12　　 away．

　　On the way out of town, he thought to himself,“Maybe 　　13　　 dropped the money at all．Maybe the 　　14　　 just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn't 　　15　　 me．I really need to thank him．And also I should 　　16　　 from him．Oh, Lord, if you put me in a position to help other people, I will 　　17　　 it．”

　　Now the man lives near Kansas City．Each year he 　　18　　 thousands of dollars．He is known as the“Secret Santa”, 　　19　　 at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those in 　　20　　 on the street and at restaurants．In 2007, he gave more than ＄50, 000 away in Kansas City and New York City．

完形填空

　　Steve Morris was not a typical child．But when he was nine, his 　　1　　 to be typical was very strong．Of all the people Steve remembered, one woman, his primary-school teacher, Mrs Beneduci, 　　2　　 in his mind．Mrs Beneduci was a wise person．She realized that mere words to a kid 　　3　　 not carry much weight．So instead, with the secret aid of a little mouse, she found a 　　4　　 to show Steve his real talent．

　　One day Mrs Beneduci began her 　　5　　 with the question：who was Abraham Lincoln?Amy was required to answer it．She said in a 　　6　　 voice,“Uh…he, uh, had a beard．”The students burst into 　　7　　．“Steve?”said the teacher．Steve stood up and 　　8　　 confidently,“He was the 16^th President of the United States．”

　　　　9　　 with Steve's performance, the teacher then added that Abraham Lincoln had been President during the Civil War…Then she stopped, 　　10　　 she was listening to something．It sounded like a mouse．The little girls screamed．Some stood on their chairs．Mrs Beneduci tried to 　　11　　 the students down, and asked Steve to find the poor little creature．

　　Steve sat straight up in his chair and asked everybody to be 　　12　　．In the sudden stillness he raised his head, hesitated for a moment, and 　　13　　 to the wastebasket．“He's right over there!”said Steve 　　14　　“I can hear him!”

　　And so he was：a frightened little mouse that was 　　15　　 beneath the wastepaper, hoping to go 　　16　　．Nature gave him a remarkable pair of 　　17　　 to make up for his blindness．In the heart of small, sightless Steve a pride was born, and that pride is with him still．　　18　　 the incident, Mrs Beneduci would continue to 　　19　　 his talent, and she always reminded Steve of the little mouse．

　　A little mouse gave a small boy 　　20　　．Steve Morris is now a singer who is popular all over the world．

阅读理解

　　Mom was a teacher most of her life．When she wasn't in the classroom, she was educating her children or grandchildren：correcting our grammar; starting us on collections of butterflies, flowers or rocks; or inspiring a discussion on her most recent “Book of the Month Club” topic．Mom made learning fun．

　　It was sad for my three brothers and me to see her suffering in later years．At eighty-five, she suffered a stroke and she went steadily downhill after that．

　　Two days before she died, my brothers and I met at her nursing home and took her for a short ride in a wheelchair．While we waited for the staff to lift her back into bed, Mom fell asleep．Not wanting to wake her, we moved to the far end of the room and spoke softly．

　　After several minutes our conversation was interrupted by a sound coming from across the room．We stopped talking and looked at Mom．Her eyes were closed, but she was clearly trying to communicate with us．We went to her side．

　　“Whirr,” she said weakly．

　　“Where?” I asked．“Mom, is there something you want?” “Whirr,” she repeated a bit stronger．My brothers and I looked at each other and shook our heads sadly．

　　Mom opened her eyes, sighed, and with all the energy she could master said, “Not was, say were!”

　　It suddenly occurred to us that Mom was correcting brother Jim's last sentence．“If it was up to me…”

　　Jim leaned down and kissed her cheek．“Thanks, Mom,” he whispered．We smiled at each other-remarkable teacher．