I lost my sight when I was four years old by falling off a car and landing on my head. Now I am thirty-two. I can vaguely remember the brightness of __36____ and what color red is. It would be ___37____ to see again, but a(n) __38____ can do strange things to people. I don’t mean I would __39___ to go without my eyes. I simply mean that the loss of them made me appreciate more what I had _40_____.
My parents and my teachers saw something in me ----- a __41____ to live ---- which I didn’t see, and they made me want to fight in out with _42____.
The __43___ lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself. I am not talking about simply the kind of __44____ that helps me down so unfamiliar staircase alone. I __45___ something bigger than that: a confidence that I am, despite being __46____, a real, positive person; that there is a special place where I can make myself fit.
It took me years to discover and strengthen this confidence. It had to start with the easy and simple things. __47____ a man gave me an indoor baseball. I thought he was laughing at me and I was __48____. “I can’t use this,” I said. “Take with you,” he urged me, “and roll it around.” The words __49___ in my head. “Roll it around!” By rolling the ball I could _50_____ where it went. This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought _51____ before playing baseball. At Philadelphia’s Overbrook School for the Blind I _52___ a successful variation of baseball. We called it ground ball.
I have set ahead of me a series of goals and then tried to reach them, one at a time. I had to be clear about my _53____. It was no good crying for something that I knew at the start was __54___ out of reach because that only invited bitterness of failure. I would fail something anyway, __55___ on the average I made progress.

For new countries joining the European Union, and older ones getting used to their burgundy passports, becoming “Europeans” is a bit like marrying into a large, eccentric (古怪的) family. Europeans have a lot in common but it is their differences, not their similarities, which attract the attention of sociologists (社会学家) and market researchers, that are more interesting.

35% of Germans live alone; but only 9% of Spaniards. Perhaps this explains why Spaniards lead Europe in the habit of going out for a drink.

The British attend more adult evening classes than anyone else in Europe, and the Belgians least. So it can’t just be the dark evenings. There are no figures on how many Britons go for a drink afterwards. If there were, they might be up at the top with Spain!

The British think black cats are lucky. Every other European country regards them unlucky.

The Dutch and Germans are the greatest caravanners（活动房居住者）, but the Germans like bigger beds in their caravans.

The French are the most athletic Europeans. Next come the Dutch. But the Belgians, just over the border, play fewest sports.

The Germans spend twice as much on heating as the Spaniards. Well, of course they do; it’s colder.

Dutch husbands do the household shopping a lot more often than Italians or Spaniards.

The French are the champion public transport commuters （使用月票者）of Europe. If you hate commuting, go and live in the Netherlands, where journeys to work are shorter than anywhere else.

The amount of direct eye-contact between strangers is three times greater among Spaniards than it is among the British or Swedish. Sharing a lift is torture (折磨) for both the British and the Swedish.

No European countries really agree with any other about how to make good coffee. All of them are different.

There are exceptions to all these rules. Deal with them in the spirit of my 8-year-old daughter. “If you don’t understand each other’s language, you just laugh a lot, and eat, and point at things.”

1．If you work or live in Belgium, you ____.

       A．will have to change your living places often

       B．will seldom see people playing sports

       C．will not get used to its cold weather

       D．will be invited to go for a drink frequently

2．What does “Sharing a lift is torture for both the British and the Swedish” mean?

       A．The British and the Swedish care about their safety most.

       B．The British and the Swedish like to appear gentle and smart.

       C．The British and the Swedish hate to look at each other face to face.

       D．The British and the Swedish enjoy a richer life than others.

3．In the last paragraph, the author wants to express his idea that ____.

       A．his daughter knows well how to understand foreigners in unfamiliar situations

     B．Europeans actually share the same culture even if they have different languages

     C．being a European, you will have no living trouble at all in the European Union

       D．there are differences between European countries, but don’t take it too serious

Ever since I was little I loved doing things for other people. As I got older I began doing random ( 随意的 ) things for people. For example, during holidays, such as Christmas, I would make an extra   21  along with the ones for my relatives. Then I would go and find someone in the grocery store and just hand it to them and walk away. It was so much fun. I admit,   22 , the first time I did it I was so   23 . I didn’t know who to give the card to. So I said a little prayer and knew that the   24  person would just appear. About that time an elderly man ran   25  me with his shopping cart. It was an accident, and he   26  a million times. We smiled and he walked away, and I knew that he was the one.  Later I found him in a different isle(过道), handed him the card, and smiled. I said Happy Holidays, and then walked away. It was so great, and the   27  I had afterwards was unexplainable.

Then one day I came across your website (the coolest website ever) and   28  some Smile Cards. When they came in, I started a new project. When I go into a store, I locate a person who I think needs a   29 . Then, I buy a flower, a carnation, to be exact, and   30  it in the most beautiful paper they have. I tie lots of ribbons on it to make it   31 , and then slip the smile card into an envelope and   32  it to the flower. After that, I pay for it and explain to the cashier   33  it is to go to (I live in a pretty small town so it’s easy to get the help of the cashiers). They then give it to that person when they come through.. Once in a while I’ll buy the flower and then just leave it for the cashier. That gets smiles.

My favorite time was when I picked out this elderly woman who was walking around the   34  somewhat confused. I had come across her numerous times and she only smiled slightly once. When she came to the check out (I was watching from outside) her face   35  and the smile was the biggest I had ever seen. Later that week the cashier whom I had had   36  me told me that the lady had been so surprised and while she was walking out with the grocery bag to her car, she was planning what she was going to do for someone else. It was awesome.

I absolutely love the random acts of kindness cards. I   37  at least two in my purse and others in my car, locker and everywhere I go. As I mentioned, my club, STARS, is doing a Random Acts of Kindness Project with the smile cards so they also are using them. I look forward to hearing about their success. It’s really great. I   38  used them in school. I bought my entire math class cans of pop after lunch one day. They came in from lunch and a can of pop and a smile card were setting   39  that day. It totally lightened the mood in the class that day   40  we were studying for a test. Thank you for all of the help that you provide. The smile cards are a great program that brings smiles into the lives of many!