Martha was busy with her job. She believed she had to work harder because she loved her father who was sick with cancer. She had to provide for his expensive medicines. Her brothers and sisters meanwhile stayed with their father most of the time. They bathed him, sang for him, spoon-fed(用匙喂) him or simply kept him company.
One day Martha was hurt. She overheard(无意中听到) her father telling her mother, "All our children love me except Martha."
"How can this be?" Martha thought. "Am I not the one killing myself in my work to have money to pay for his medicines? My brothers and sisters do not even provide their share in the expenses."
One night, as Martha was as usual late in going home, she saw her father was lying awake. She walked close to his bedsides. Her father held her hands and said, "I miss you. I don't have much time. Stay with me." And she stayed with her father holding his hand the whole night.
The next morning Martha said to everybody, "I have taken a leave of absence. I would like to be with father. I will bathe him and sing for him from now on." Her father had a beautiful smile. He knew Martha loved him, too.
As children, we need the presence of our loved ones. Adults need no less. I have observed my mother’s orchids(兰花). When she is away for a long time, they are unhealthy and many of them wither(干枯). But when she is around , they bloom with beautiful flowers. My mother does nothing special . She just spends her time looking after them.
【小题1】Before Martha heard her parents’ talk ,she thought her father _____.

In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.
After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet. The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting. He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this,” the owner said. The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West.
On the way out of town, he began to understand what that fellow did. Maybe nobody dropped the money at all. “Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn’t embarrass(使困窘) me. So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”
Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man. Now he lives near Kansas City. Each year he gives away thousands of dollars. He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants. Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.
【小题1】The underlined word “this” in the second paragraph refers to         .

There was one shop in the town of Mufulira which was widely known for its racial discrimination. It was a drugstore .While Europeans were served at the counter ,a long line of Africans queued at the window and often not only were kept waiting but were treated rudely by the shop assistants .One day I was determined to make a public protest （抗议）against this kind of thing ,and many of the schoolboys in my class followed me to the store.
I simply went into the shop and asked the manager politely for some medicine. As soon as he saw me standing in the place where only European customers were allowed to stand ,he shouted at me in a bastard （怪声怪气的）language which is only used by a boss when speaking to his servants .I stood at the counter and politely requested in proper English that I should be served .The manager became angry and said , “Even if you stand till Christmas ,I will never serve you .”
I went to the District Commissioner’s office .Fortunately ,he was out ,for he was one of the old school; however ,I saw a young District Officer who was a friend of mine .He was very concerned to hear my story and told me that all I had to do was come to him personally and he would buy my medicine for me .I protested that that was not good enough .I asked him to accompany me back to the store and to make a protest to the manager .This he did ,and I well remember him saying to the manager , “Here is Mr. Kaunda who is a responsible member of the Urban Advisory Council, and you treat him like a common servant .” The manager of the drugstore apologized and said , “If only he had introduced himself and explained who he was ,then ,of course ,I should have given him proper service.”
I had to explain once again that he had missed my point .Why should I have to introduce myself every time I went into a store…any more than I should have to buy my medicine by going to a European friend ? I want to prove that any man of any color ,whatever his position ,should have the right to go into any shop and buy what he wanted .After all, the money which I paid across the counter was exactly the same money as was paid by a European customer.
【小题1】The writer was ,at the time of the story ,     .

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college. I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of set on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and main body. She was wearing a little white dress with red dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me, I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the cutest(可爱的), largest smile I have ever seen.
All of a sudden her handicap (残疾)was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and  gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her world--- a world of smiles, love and warmth.
That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I feel down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.
【小题1】What do we know about the author?

My six-year-old granddaughter, Caitlyn, and I stopped at a Tim Horton’s shop for a blueberry cake. As we were going out of the door, a young teenage boy was coming in.
This young man had no hair on sides of his head with a set of blue spiked（竖起的）hair on top of it. One of his nostrils(鼻孔) was pierced （扎、穿）, and a ring ran through the hole and a chain went across his face and was attached to a ring he was wearing in his ear. He held a skateboard under one arm and a basketball under the other.
Caitlyn, who was walking ahead of me, stopped at once when she saw the teenager, I thought he’d scared her and she’d frozen on the spot.
I was wrong.
My granddaughter backed up against the door and opened it as wide as it would go. Now I was face to face with the young man. I stepped aside and let him pass. His response was a polite “Thank you very much”.
On our way to the car, I praised Caitlyn for her manners in holding open the door for the young man. She didn’t seem to be troubled by his appearance, but I wanted to make sure. If a grandmother’s talk about freedom of self-expression and allowing people their differences was in order, I wanted to be ready.
As it turned out, the person who needed the talk was me.
The only thing Caitlyn noticed about the teenager was the fact that his arms were full. “He would have a hard time to open the door. ”
I saw the partially shaved head, the set of spiked hair, the piercing and the chain. She saw a person carrying something under each arm and heading toward a closed door.
In the future, I hope to get down on her level and raise my sights.
【小题1】What did the author think of the young man?