That holiday morning I didn’t have to attend school. Usually, on holidays, Mother   36  me to sleep in. And I would certainly take full advantage of it. On this particular morning,  ___37___,I felt like getting up early.
I stood by my window overlooking the ___38___, having nothing better to do. But as it turned out, I was soon to learn about something ___39___ in life.
As I watched several people go by, get into their cars and go off, I ___40___ an old man on a bicycle with a bucket on its ___41___ and a basket rags and bottles on its back-carriage. He ___42___ from one car to another, washing and cleaning them. From the water on the ground, it seemed that he had already ___43___ washing and cleaning about a dozen or more cars. He must have begun to work quite early in the morning.
Several thoughts ___44___my mind as I watched him work. He wasn’t well-dressed. He had on a pair of shorts and a(n) ___45___ T-shirt. The bicycle he rode was not by any means the kind modern ___46___would want to be seen riding on. But he seemed___47___ with life. There he was, working hard at his small business, ___48___ at passers-by and stopping to chat now and then ___49___ elderly men and women on their way to the market nearby.
There was a noticeable touch of___50___ in the way he seemed to be doing things— ___51___the windscreen (挡风玻璃), then standing back to admire it; scrubbing (擦净) the wheels and ___52___, standing back to see what they look like after the scrub.
It was a ___53___ to learn, I felt. At no age need one have to beg for a ___54___if one has good health and is willing to work hard. For a while I felt ___55__ of myself. Young as I am—just sixteen, and there was this old man who must have been usefully engaged perhaps before the sun appeared above the horizon.

I will never forget what my old headmaster told me. Normally when you are only 15years of age you do not remember most of the things that are preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of this story.

        It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:

        An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

        His house was filthy, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled horribly. The neighbours could not stand the smell anymore, so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

        The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.

        He said nothing at all: he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.

        Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment(专心，敬业). We should remain true to our course, although it may mean committing ourselves to things that people around us would normally disapprove. Just keep it in mind that commitment attracts wealth.

Why did the headmaster tell us the story?

      A. To enjoy ourselves.

      B. To teach us how to make money.

      C. To tell us the importance of commitment.

      D. To tell us not to look down upon beggars.

According to the passage which of the following is true?

      A. The old man made a living by begging.

      B. The old man was excited to be a millionaire.

      C. The old man became a millionaire by begging every weekday.

      D. The old man planned to became a millionaire.

Why did the police officer clean the old man’s house?

      A. Because the old man hired them to do so.

      B. Because they wanted to know how much money the old man had begged.

      C.Because the old man wanted to live comfortably.

      D. Because the neighbours could not bear the smell coming out of the oldman’s house.

What can we learn from the passage?

      A. Where there is a will, there is a way.

      B. Keep the general goal in sight while tackling daily tasks.

      C. Commitment attracts wealth.

      D. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.

Last Christmas was a very difficult time for me. My family and all of my close friends were back home in Florida, and I was all alone in a rather cold California. I was working too many hours and became very sick.
I was working a double shift at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, it was about 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve, and I was feeling really miserable inside. There were a few of us working and very few customers waiting to be helped. When it was time for me to call the next person to the counter, I looked out to see the sweetest-looking old man standing with a cane. He walked very slowly over to the counter and in the faintest voice told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him that there were no more flights that night and that he would have to go in the morning. He looked so confused and very worried. I tried to find out more information by asking if he had a reservation or if he remembered when he was supposed to travel, but he seemed to become more confused with each question. He just kept saying, “She said I have to go to New Orleans.”
After much time, I was able to at least find out that this old man had been dropped off at the curb on Christmas Eve by his sister-in-law and told to go to New Orleans, where he had family. She had given him some cash and told him just to go inside and buy a ticket. When I asked if he could come back tomorrow, he said that she was gone and that he had no place to stay. He then said he would wait at the airport until tomorrow. Naturally, I felt a little ashamed. Here I was feeling very sorry for myself about being alone on Christmas, when this angel named Clarence MacDonald was sent to me to remind me of what being alone really meant. It broke my heart.
Immediately, I told him we would get it all straightened out, and our Customer Service agent helped to book him a seat for the earliest flight the next morning. We gave him the senior citizen’s fare, which gave him some extra money for travelling. About this time he started to look very tired, and when I stepped around the counter to ask him if he was all right, I saw that his leg was wrapped in a bandage. He had been standing on it that whole time, holding a plastic bag full of clothes.
I called for a wheelchair. When the wheelchair came, we all stepped around to help him in, and I noticed a small amount of blood on his bandage. I asked how he hurt his leg, and he said that he had just had bypass surgery and an artery was taken from his leg. Can you imagine? This man had had heart surgery, and then shortly afterward, was dropped off at the curb to buy a ticket with no reservation to fly to New Orleans, alone!
I never really had a situation like this, and I wasn’t sure what I could do. I went back to ask my supervisors if we could find a place for him to stay. They both said yes, and they obtained a hotel voucher for Mr. MacDonald for one night and a meal ticket for dinner and breakfast. When I came back out, we got his plastic bag of clothes and cane together and gave the porter a tip to take him downstairs to wait for the airport shuttle. I bent down to explain the hotel, food and itinerary (行程) again to Mr. MacDonald, and then patted him on the arm and told him everything would be just fine.
As he left he said, “Thank you,” bent his head and started to cry. I cried too. When I went back to thank my supervisor, she just smiled and said, “I love stories like that. He is your Christmas Man.”
【小题1】Last Christmas the writer had a miserable time because ______.

It was freezing outside my car and I did not want to get out of it. We were passing by a small shop when I noticed an old man 36 with cold. It was freezing that night. 37, here he was, seated in the corner, waiting for anyone who would give him a(n)38 coin or a cup of hot tea.
I asked my husband to go over and 39 a packet of biscuits to this old man. He looked into my husband’s face 40 and smiled. I felt so happy and 41 I prayed for him to live through the cold night.
I 42 to visit again and find out 43 he was the next day. I did so the next evening, and he was still there.44 my car, the old man came up to my 45 and smiled at me. I became 46 once more and this time I gave him a bag of food, which I brought with the 47 of finding him in the same spot. He 48 for the bag and I gave him my hand. He 49 my hand and said，“ May God bless you. Thanks for your help.” With his cap on his head and the 50 of his hand and the smile on his face, he 51 me of my father.
At a closer 52, I saw my father in this old man, waiting for anyone to show him some 53 or love. Maybe one day, it could 54 to one of us, so do not pass by a poor person without offering  at least a word of 55 and a kind smile or an act kindness of any kind.

A
My friend Robert started a new job this week and he’s been in the training class for two days. The employer has a very strict dress code—dark blue shirts and pants.
On the first day, an older gentleman in his class did not have the proper clothes and he was strictly told that he would be fired if he didn’t have the right clothes the next day. He explained, “Sir, I had not been told about this. Because of my larger size, it’s sometimes difficult to find the right clothing for a price I can afford.”
Last night, Robert and I decided that this old man shouldn’t lose the chance of work simply because he couldn’t afford the clothes. I had some cash on hand and Robert took it with him this morning just in case it was needed.
When training started this morning, the trainer was ready to fire the older gentleman. “You have 10 minutes to be in proper clothes,” he was told. At this point, Robert spoke up and asked if he could have 10 minutes to get him the clothes. He then ran out to the store and bought the proper-sized pants and a shirt; he returned with both and gave them to the older man.
The older gentleman began to cry and told him that he couldn’t accept such a gift from a stranger. Robert told him he had to because he had lost the receipt(收据) and couldn’t return them—a little white lie. The pants were a perfect fit, the shirt was a bit tight but he was able to keep his job.
“My wife and I tried to gather together some money last night, but we didn’t have enough to buy the clothes,” he told Robert. “It’s unbelievable to me that anybody would do such a thing for only knowing me a day!”
More unbelievable is how good it has made Robert and me feel to do this.
【小题1】If the older man did not have the proper clothes, he would _____