Last night, when I was driving back home, I noticed a hitchhiker(搭便车的人) who was having no luck getting a ride. I rolled down my__ 21  and signed to the man to my car. I asked him where he was   22   and he told me he needed a    23   to his doctor’s office which would close in 15 minutes. I told him to   24   and he gratefully did so.

25   he got in he told me that he was a   26   and went out to sea for weeks at a time. He took medicine for his nerves and  27   to get another prescription(处方) before he left on the boat. He said that he had prayed (祈祷) 28   would stop for him so he could be there before the   29   office closed. With some 30   driving we managed to make it there in about 10   31 . I then asked him how he   32   on getting back home and he said he could walk. “I’ll patiently 33   for you and bring you back,” I told him. He 34   me and said he should only be about 15 minutes.

Afterwards he got back in my   35  and tried his hardest to pay me back: offering me dinner, gas money, even offering to ship me 40 lbs of scallops (海扇贝)! I  36  refused, gave him a smile card and asked him to help someone else the next time he had a  37 . I drove him back to where I had picked him up and  38   one more “thank you” he was on his way.

I feel that the world  39  offers us what we need. In the man’s  40   it was a ride, in mine the chance to help someone else.

I couldn’t ________ to her. The line was busy.

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.

A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”

The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.

Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”

The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.

1.The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.

A. his wife             B. his mother-in–law 

C. his own mother       D. no one

2.He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.

A. he was very rich      B. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him

C. he was anxious to get it   D. his business had been successful

3.He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.

A. exactly the same size as the black one

B. exactly the same quality as the black one

C. worth no more than $ 25,000

D. exactly as big and nice as the black one

4.Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.

A. to see the perfect pearl

B. to buy some beautiful pearls too

C. to get in touch with the rich man

D. to sell their own pearl at a high price

5.The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.

A. he died suddenly.

B. He happened to be out

C. He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money.

D. He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time.

They supply these things to the market and       a little extra income.

One day a few years ago we had a guest of the uninvited variety. In fact, this uninvited guest was a bird--- a(n) __1__, to be more precise(精确地).
“What’s that?” I asked when I first heard the thump(重击声). “It sounds like Joe is outside playing basketball,” my wife, Anita, said. She paused and __2__ more devotedly. “It’s coming from the __3__.” she said. “Maybe it’s one of the little __4__”.
We rushed out the door. Jonathan, our youngest, was easy to make __5__. “If he’s making holes in the wall again…” I said as I searched there. No children at all. But there was that __6_ again, coming from right up there.
And that’s when I __7__ the sparrow. It was flying __8__ just inches below the ceiling. It was clearly trying to __9__, but couldn’t see that the way out wasn’t up, but down and out through the open _10__. So the bird continued beating its wings and hitting its head against the __11__.
“Poor thing,” Anita said. “It must be __12__.”
“Well, maybe it’s because of me,” I said as I moved toward it. I tried to show the bird how to glide (滑翔) down a few feet so it could get outside, __13__ that only seemed to frighten it more.
“Why don’t we just __14__?” Anita suggested. “I’m sure he’ll __15__ eventually.”
So we went back into the house, where we continued to hear the ongoing struggle. Then suddenly, it was __16__. We looked into the garage, and our uninvited guest was __17__.
“See?” Anita said. “I told you he would make it.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But how many knocks on the head did it __18__ him?”
I’ve thought about that little sparrow through the years. Just like that sparrow, we often meet situations we don’t know how to __19__. Born to go upward, we don’t __20__ consider the possibility that something good might happen if we stop flapping(拍打) around and just glide down a little bit.