完形填空

　　School was over and I was mentally and physically tired．I sat at the very front of the bus because of my 　　1　　 to get home．Sitting at the front makes you 　　2　　 out like a shiny coin in a pile of dull pennies．

　　Janie, the driver, tried to break the 　　3　　 atmosphere by striking the match of 　　4　　．I tried to mind my manners and 　　5　　 listen, but usually I was too busy thinking about my day．On this day, 　　6　　, her conversation was worth listening to．

　　“My father's sick”, she said to no one in 　　7　　．I could see the anxiety and fear in her eyes．With a sudden change of attitude and interest, I asked,“What's wrong with him?”

　　With her eyes wet and her voice tight from 　　8　　 the tears, she responded,“Heart trouble…”Her eyes lowered as she 　　9　　．“I've already lost my mum, so I don't think I can stand losing him．”

　　I couldn't respond．I was 　　10　　．My heart ached for her．I sat on the old, smelly seat thinking of the great 　　11　　 my own mother was thrown into when my father died．I saw how hard it was, 　　12　　 still is, for her, I wouldn't like anyone to go 　　13　　 that．

　　Suddenly I realized Janie wasn't only a bus driver．That was 　　14　　 her job．She had a whole world of family and concerns too．I had never thought of her as 　　15　　 but a driver．

　　I suddenly felt very 　　16　　．I realized I had only thought of people as 　　17　　 as what their purposes were in my life．I paid no attention to Janie because she was a bus driver．I had judged her by her job and brushed her off as 　　18　　．

　　For all I know, I'm just another person in 　　19　　 else's world, and may not even be important．I 　　20　　 not have been so selfish and self-centered．Everyone has places to go, people to see and appointments to keep．Understanding people is an art．

完型填空

　　Last Christmas while staying with my parents, I 　　1　　 across some old love letters that my parents wrote to each other．These letters were all piled up in a basket, dirty and 　　2　　 with dust．Deciding to read and sort them, I asked them if I could take the letters back to my Illinois home．They 　　3　　．

　　As I carefully opened each letter, 　　4　　 of them fragile with age, I discovered a new page 　　5　　 unknown to me in this private chapter of my parents' lives．

　　My father used to 　　6　　 in the army．So his letters were full of frontline 　　7　　 of the things about the war．Each of my mother's letters was marked with her 1944 dark red lipstick kiss．I was 　　8　　 to these letters like a magnet(磁铁)．

　　Just six weeks after our Christmas visit, Daddy became very 　　9　　 and was hospitalized．This time, he was fighting a 　　10　　 kind of war．As I sat by his bedside, we discussed the 　　11　　．He told me how much receiving those lipstick-kissed letters had 　　12　　 to him when he had been so far from home．

　　It so happened that the next day would be February 14．From the 　　13　　 letters I chose the card my father had sent Mother in 1944 and brought it to my father’s bedside．

　　At his bedside, I joked with him, saying 　　14　　, "Today is Valentine's Day, don’t you want to send Mother a present?" He became more 　　15　　 when I handed him the old 　　16　　．He carefully opened it and took out the card, and when he 　　17　　 it, his eyes were filled with tears．

　　My father, in a 　　18　　 tight with emotion(情感)read the loving message he'd sent to my mother fifty-six years 　　19　　．And this time, he could read it to her in 　　20　　．