It may not rain; but you’d better take an umbrella ______.

A．in return          B．in need           C．in case            D．in fact

As Christmas drew near, Ursula was faced with just that problem. She had come to live in an American home and learn English.  31 , she would mind the children and do anything she was asked.

One of her tasks was to keep track of arriving Christmas presents. Ursula did this faithfully, but she became increasingly worried. What could she buy for her   32  with the little money she had that would compare with the gifts she was recording daily?   33  , even without any of the gifts , her employer seems to have everything.

Ursula  34  long and hard. On Christmas Eve, she went to a store. She moved slowly through crowds of shoppers,  35  things in her mind. Finally she bought a baby dress. She immediately called a taxi.  “Excuse me, please, can you help me find a poor family with a baby?”  “A poor family?” said the  36  driver. “Yes, a very poor family.” Ursula told the man what she was trying to do. He listened in silence, and then said, “I know a family who needs just about everything.”

When they reached a building, the driver said, “They live on the third floor.” Ursula shook her head, “Would you take this dress to them and tell them it’s from someone …someone who has everything.”

Early the next day, Ursula   37  everyone for the presents she received. Then, she began to   38  why there seemed to be none from her. She told about what she did the night before. When she finished, there was a long   39  . “You see,” she added, “I try to do a kindness in your   40  .  And this is my Christmas present to you.”

An excellent teacher is believed to be one who devotes himself to the children but asks for nothing _______.

A．in return          B．in advance         C．in short           D．in turn

Have you ever received a gift that was so clearly not your taste that you wondered if perhaps it had been handed to you by mistake? Worse, have you ever given a present and watched your friend look as though she had opened the wrong box? Maybe she responded with a polite “Why, thank you,” but you knew you had missed the mark. Why do presents sometimes go wrong? And what do your choices (good and had) reflect about your personal qualities?

Choosing the right gift is an art, I believe. It calls for empathy－the ability to put yourself into someone else’s head and heart. We’re all able to do this; in fact, we’re born with a kind of natural empathy. After the earliest period of childhood, however, it needs to be reinforced（加强）－by our parents, teachers, friends .When it isn’t, we’re not able to understand other people’s feelings as sharply. This can show in the gifts we select, and so can many other emotional（情感的）qualities.

Think back to the presents you’ve given over the past year, the time and effort you put into your selection, how much you spent, your thoughts while you were shopping ,and your feelings when the receiver opened the package. Keep in mind that what you choose displays your inner world. Of course, you may express yourself differently with different friends, relatives, and other people you know.

We live in a society where exchanging presents is an important part of communication. Ignoring the tradition won’t make it go away. If you really dislike such a tradition, tell your friends ahead of time.

1.The underlined expression “you had missed the mark” means “you had failed to     ”.

A. make her feel better

B. keep your friendship

C. receive a present in return

D. get the expected effect

2.Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?

A. Natural empathy needs to be reinforced.

B. Emotional changes influence one’s choice of gifts.

C. Selecting the right gift is an ability people are born with.

D. Choosing gifts requires one to understand the receivers.

3.In the third paragraph, the author tells us that        .

A. attention should be paid to the receiver’s responses

B. one learns from what he did in the past

C. the choice of girls reflects one’s emotional qualities

D. one should spend more time choosing gifts

4.The best possible title for this passage is “　　　”.

A. Ways of Choosing Gifts

B. An Important Tradition

C. Exchanging Presents

D. Message in a Gift

The greatest source of inspiration for me has always been my father. Though he’s been gone for 17 years, his   21  still resonate（产生共鸣）. He taught me how to run my own race in life. But the most inspiring thing he taught me was to   22 .

One incident is   23  in my mind. It happened when I was a teenager. My sister and I weren’t very fond of a so-called friend of   24 . Dad was a very generous man, and as he’d done with so many people, he’d given this fellow great help. But when he asked for a favor   25 , the guy didn’t deliver.

Dad’s outlook（人生观）on most things was “Live and let live.” In this case, however, his calmness   26  Terre and me, and we let him know it.

“How can you be nice to that man?” we said to him. “You’ve been so kind to him, and he’s not being kind back. Why would you want to give him the time of day again?”

My father shrugged（耸肩）and said to us, “I do not bend my back with   27 . ”

I didn’t get it at first, but over the years I came to understand the   28 . Holding a grudge（怨恨）doesn’t   29  the person you’re angry with, but it changes you. It makes you heavier and gives you more weight to drag around.

After my father died in 1991, a (n)   30  came from a fellow I’d had a quarrel with years before to   31  his sympathy. He wrote: “I thought I’d tell you how sorry I am   32  the loss of your father. I know he   33  the world to you. I just wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts. ”

Much moved, I wrote back. I thanked him for his   34 . And then, because he’d   35  

our disagreement, I recalled Dad’s inspiring words. “I am my father’s daughter,” I wrote. “And like him, I do not bend my back with yesterday.”