Angels

My friend Heather mentioned that she had never seen an Angel. Then I remembered the  36   I had with my sister Sandra earlier this week.

This will be Sandra’s first Christmas without her husband. This summer he died in her arms. On Thursday, she was in the store 　37　 for an ideal card for her two sons and daughter. Time passed by quickly as she 　38   the many choices. She wanted a card that sent something special to each of them, 　39  she knew they would have a(n) 　40  place in their heart this holiday season.

Finally! She found the one that expressed the 　41  feeling. The words expressed the feelings that she wished to share. However, a sharp pain pierced(穿透) her heart when she realized that the card was 　42  “mom and dad.” She stood there, 　43  it close for a long time, unable to move from the 　44  . Tears began to run down her cheeks.

“Is there something I can do for you?” a 　45  voice asked. She 　46  to face a stranger, a woman, who was looking at her with 　47  and concern. “Uh…oh...OH!” Sandra responded, “I can’t give this card to my children because…because my husband died and this is the 　48  card.”

Hearing this, the stranger’s face softened with sympathy(同情) and love. She reached out and 　49  my sister into her arms, giving her unspoken permission to cry in the protection of her embrace(拥抱). She 　50  held my sister until her calmness 　51  . “Thank you for listening to me cry on,” was what my sister said when all was better. “You are welcome, and I am so sorry for your 　52  ,” the stranger answered and said goodbye to her.

During her telling of this event I was feeling 　53  that I hadn’t been there. My sister needed me and a stranger had to do my 　54  .  “You know,” she went on, “a friend suggested that it was like meeting with an Angel.” My 　55  disappeared in an instant. My sister required an Angel, and I think that is exactly what she got.

When I was young， my father used to grow carnations (康乃馨).His carnations were red， pink and white. Everyone who saw them admired them for their beauty.
He took care of them with so much love and   　36　    . Every day he came home from work， he went   straight    to see them. He 　37　 watching them every day. We the kids did too. But he used to tell us， “No one should touch my flowers.”
One day my younger sister， who loved my dad very much， had wanted to help him and she   　38　     the carnations from their stems (枝干) one by one and arranged them  　39　      . She believed that he would be very   　40　    to see them that way.
When mom and I realized what my sister had done， we became completely hopeless. However， my sister had no idea why no one showed her any appreciation. When my dad arrived he went，　41　， straight to see the flowers. When he saw his flowers    lying     on the floor like dead animals， he was 　42　 at first. He looked towards the street， to see if it was any of the  　43　    children who could have done it. Then he entered the living room and looked at mom in silence.
Finally mom， who always taught us to   　44　    no matter what， looked at dad and said： “We have no bad neighbors in our area”. Then with a nice tone she continued： “No outsider did this great job， only your lovely daughter Clémence.” My dad’s face   changed     into 　45　 and then he said： “Do I have a better   　46　     than my lovely daughter？” My younger sister smiled and  　47　    dad tightly.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The Festival of Cultures

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　August 11-14

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　City Park

　　The Festival of Cultures is an annual event to celebrate the wide range of cultures found in our great state. People representing 40 cultural groups will share their traditions and customs. Here are just a few of the festival’s many activities.

　　Crafts: See the fine art of basket weaving from Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Watch the delicate art of making paper umbrellas from Thailand and the decorative craft of paperl picado, or paper cutting, from Mexico. All craft demonstrations provide a firsthand view of how things are made. You will appreciate the process involved in making these products.

　　Music and Dance: Experience musical instruments that you have never heard before. Listening to the music of a sho from Japan, a bull-roarer from Australia, a sitar from India, and a chakay from Thailand. You will also be entertained by folk dances from around the world, such as the troika from Russia and the mayim mayim from Israel. From 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on August 14, special folk-dancing classes for children will be offered. Children ranging in age from 6-8 can learn the kinderpolka from Germany. Children ranging in age from 9-12 can learn the raspa from Mexico.

　　Storytelling: Listen for hours as professional storytellers charm you with captivating tales. Fables, folktales, and ballads from various countries will be told. By popular demand, Gwendolyn Washington, a famous African American storyteller, is back.

　　Food: Enjoy irresistible foods from other countries, such as gyros from Greece, seafood paella from Spain, crepes from France, and tandoori chicken from India. These tasty dishes will be difficult to pass up.

A lesson in caring

It was a cold evening. My daughter and I were walking up Broadway. I didn’t notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box. But Nora    36    . She wasn’t even four, but she   37    at my coat and said, “That man’s cold. Daddy, can we take him home?”

    I don’t remember my   38    . But I do remember a sudden   39    feeling inside me. I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her   40     , whether it was     41    flying or children playing. But now she was noticing   42    and beggary.

    A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and   43     it to an elderly person. It was quick and easy. I signed us up. Nora was   44    about it. She could understand the importance of food, so she could easily see how   45    our job was. When Sunday came, she was ready, but I had to    46    myself to leave the house to fetch the food package. On my way to the school, I fought an urge (强烈愿望) to turn    47    . The Sunday paper and coffee were waiting for me at home. Why do this?   48    , we phoned the elderly person we’d been appointed. She   49    us right over.

    The building was in a bad state. Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress. She took the package and asked us to come in. Nora ran inside. I unwillingly followed.   50     inside, I saw that the department belonged to someone poor. Our hostess showed us some photos. Nora played and when it came time to say goodbye, we three hugged. I walked home    51    .

Professionals call such a(n)   52    “a volunteer opportunity”. They are opportunities and I’ve come to see. Where else but as volunteers do you have the opportunity to do something    53     that’s good for others as well as for yourself? Nora and I regularly serve meals to needy people and   54     clothes for the homeless. Yet, as I’ve    55     her grow over these past four years, I still wonder—which of us has benefited more?

1.A. did                    B. was                          C. has            D. had

2.A. pulled　　　　    B. replaced                   C. waved        D. aimed

3.A. debate                   B. reply                        C. explanation D. expression

4.A. general　　　　    B. funny                       C. heavy         D. magical

5.A. web　　　　　    B. dream　　　　　    C. castle         D. world

6.A. insects                   B. animals　　　　      C. plants　　　D. birds

7.A. coldness 　　　    B. illness 　　　       C. suffering　　D. appearance

8.A. sent 　　           B. returned　　　      C. devoted　　 D. posted

9.A. concerned              B. sorry　　　　         C. worried      　D. excited

10.A. creative　　　    B. valuable　　　      C. shocking　　D. simple

11.A. warn　　　　　  B. stop　　　　  　    C. allow 　　　D. push

12.A. back 　　　　    B. away　　　　          C. up　　　　 D. out

13.A. Therefore　　　  B. But     　　          C. Anyhow　　D. Also

14.A. requested      　　    B. promised　　　      C. invited 　　 D. helped

15.A. Although                 B. Once　　　　　      C. Because 　　D. Though

16.A. in tears                B. in surprise                C. in reality      D. in disappointment

17.A. stay                         B. visit 　　　　         C. reception　　D. challenge

18.A. fair                         B. famous　　　　       C. difficult　　 D. enjoyable

19.A. collect                 B. make　　　　　      C. order 　　　D. design

20.A. let                       B. made　　　　　      C. watched 　　D. affected

　　More than four out of five people admit to telling little white lies at least once a day and the preferred way of “being economical with the truth” is to use technology such as cell phones, texts and e-mails, a survey last Thursday said.
　　The research by UK pollsters 72 Point found that “techno-treachery(高科技说谎)” was wide-spread with nearly 75 percent of people saying gadgets made it easier to fib(撒小谎).
　　Just over half of respondents(被调查者) said using gadgets made them feel less guilty when telling a lie than doing it face to face.
　　The workplace was a favorite location for fibbing with 67 percent of the 1,487 respondents admitting they had lied at work.
　　The top lie was pretending to be ill (43 percent) followed by saying work had been completed when it hadn’t (23 percent). Worryingly for bosses 18 percent said they lied to hide a big mistake.
　　But, employers were not the only ones on the receiving end of dishonest statements. Just over 40 percent of the respondents said they had lied to their families or partners.
　　Key topics to lie about were: buying new clothes or the cost of them (37 percent), how good someone looked in something (35 percent), how much they had eaten (35 percent) and drunk (31 percent) and how much they weighed (32 percent).
1. The underlined phrase “being economical with the truth” probably means ________.
A. telling lies           B. making apologies      C. feeling guilty     D.admitting mistakes
2. It can be inferred from the passage that ___________.
A. employers sometimes lie to their employees, too
B. 75% of people have ever lied to someone
C. without gadgets, people may feel more pressure when telling white lies
D. more people lie to their family than to their bosses
3. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. Cell phones make people more likely to lie.
B. Some people might lie to their bosses when they are not doing their work well.
C. 40% of employers admit that they have lied to their families or partners.
D. Nearly 1,500 people were questioned in the survey.
4. According to the passage, in which of the following situations are you most likely to lie?
A. You are going to spend the night at your friend’s, which your parents won’t allow.
B. Your friend is wearing a new dress and asks you how you find it.
C. You are a little too fat, and you’re trying to tell your friend how heavy you are.
D. You want to ask your boss for a sick leave, although you are not ill.
5. The main idea of the passage is that __________.
A. people are getting more likely to lie
B. gadgets are seen as the best way to tell white lies
C. most people tell white lies at the workplace
D. 18% of people lie to their bosses