John chose his food carefully in Walmart. He estimated he had 36　 80 cents today. He was pleased he had got good 37　 for his money again.

At the exit, the freezing wind 38　 him of his gloves. He was sure he was wearing them when entering the

39　 . He made a search of his pockets. Then he thought they must have been　 40　 somewhere in the store. John had bought the black gloves for $35 ten years ago. They were leather, soft and durable. Until then, he had worn cheaper man-made material that never lasted long. His　 41　 to buy the gloves turned out to be good, which even 42　 his position on the bus, as poorer passengers stared at him 43　 .

　 take long to be 　 46　 that the gloves were not there. His 47　 grew heavier. “People have changed”, he 48　 . “Years ago, if somebody　 49 something lost, they would give it back.”

　 Yet he did not give up. This time he focused on the gloves on other shoppers’　 50　 . Suddenly he　 51　 a lady nearby wearing a black pair of gloves. He said, “Hi!” But when the surprised lady returned his　 52　 , his eyes dropped to the floor, for the fingers of her gloves were too small for him.

　 Without gloves, he had to　 53　 his hands into his sleeves. Back home, John was　 54　 . He could not do without gloves. John decided to buy another leather pair. But before that, he stepped into Walmart again to see if by any

　 55 his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. The girl looked into her drawer and took out a pair of men’s leather gloves. “Are they?”

　 “Yes! Mine!” John shouted with joy.

After the board meeting, Frank began to tell us of his childhood. “I grew up in San Pedro. My dad was a fisherman and had his own 　36 . But it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he 　37 enough to feed the family.”

He looked at us and said, “I 　38 you could have met my dad. He was a big man and strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he　 39 like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and overalls with the rain hat　 40 down over his brow. No matter how much my mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish.”

Frank’s voice 41 a bit as if he were back to his childhood. “When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. His truck was older than he was, which you could hear coming for 42 . As he would drive toward the school, I would shrink down into the seat hoping to 43 .”

“When the truck stopped, it would throw out a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like 　44 would be standing around and watching. Then he would 　45 　and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so 　46 for me at that time.”

He paused and then went on, “I 　47 that day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school, he had his 　48 big smile. He started to lean toward me, 　49 I put my hand up and said, ‘No, Dad.”

“It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this 　50 look on his face. My dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear 　51 . I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out of the windshield. ‘You are right,’ he said, ‘You are a big boy --a man. I won’t kiss you any more.’”

Frank got a funny look on his face, and tears began to well up in his eyes as he spoke. “It wasn’t long 　52 that when my dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet stayed 　53 but not dad.”

I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again, “Guys, you don’t know 　54 I would give to have my dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek ... If I had been a 　 55 , I would never have told my dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss.”

36. A. house　　　　　 B. truck　　　　　　　　　　 C. boat　　　　　　　　　 D. car

37. A. caught　　　　 B. received　　　　　　　　 C. made　　　　　　　　 D. took

38. A. think　　　　　 B. wish　　　　　　　　　　 C. hope　　　　　　　　 D. mean

39. A. looked　　　　 B. tasted　　　　　　　　　　 C. felt　　　　　　　　　　 D. smelled

40. A. pulled　　　　　 B. taken　　　　　　　　　　 C. put　　　　　　　　　　 D. laid

41. A. worked　　　 B. rose　　　　　　　　　　　 C. lost　　　　　　　　　 D. dropped

42. A. blocks　　　　 B. streets　　　　　　　　　 C. hours　　　　　　　　 D. moments

43. A. appear　　　　 B. escape　　　　　　　　　 C. disappear　　　　　 D. flee

44. A. the students B. everybody　　　　　　 C. somebody　　　　　 D. the teachers

45. A. come over　 B. lean over　　　　　　　 C. go over　　　　　　 D. turn over

46. A. exciting　　　 B. frightening　　　　　　 C. embarrassing　　 D. surprising

47. A. remember　　 B. believe　　　　　　　　　 C. think　　　　　　　　 D. imagine

48. A. unusual　　　 B. common　　　　　　　 C. ordinary　　　　　　 D. usual

49. A. and 　　　　　 B. but　　　　　　　　　　　 C. so　　　　　　　　　　 D. therefore

50. A. surprised　　 B. excited　　　　　　　　　 C. moved　　　　　　　 D. worried

51. A. up 　　　　　 B. down　　　　　　　　　　 C. off　　　　　　　　　　 D. away

52. A. since　　　　　 B. before　　　　　　　　　 C. after　　　　　　　　　 D. from

53. A. on 　　　　　 B. in 　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. off　　　　　　　　　　 D. out

54. A. if　 　　　　　 B. that　　　　　　　　　　　 C. which　　　　　　　 D. what

55. A. student　　　　 B. boy　　　　　　　　　　　 C. child　　　　　　　　 D. man