40. The teacher spoke so fast that it was hard for the
students to _____ what he was saying.
A. take
off B. take in C. take on D. take after
School was over and I was both mentally
and physically tired. I sat at the very front of the bus because of my 21to get home. Sitting at the
front makes you 22 out like a shiny coin in a pile of dull
pennies.
Janie, the driver, tries to break the
23tmosphere by striking the match of 24 I try to mind my manners and 25listen, but usually I am too
busy thinking about my day. On this day, 26, her conversation was worth
listening to.
“My father's sick,” she said to no one in 27. 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 28 he tears, she responded,“Heart
trouble.”Her eyes lowered as she
29“I've already lost my mum, so I don't think I can stand losing
him.”
I couldn't respond. I was 30. My heart ached for her. I sat on
the old, smelly seat thinking of the great 31 my own mother was thrown into
when her father died. I saw how hard it was, 32 still is, for her. I wouldn't like anyone
to go 33 that.
Suddenly I realized Janie wasn't only a
bus driver. That was 34 her
job. She had a whole world of family and concerns too. I had never thought of
her as 35 but a driver.
I suddenly felt very 36. I realized I had only thought of
people as 37 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 38.
For all I know, I'm just another person in 39 else's world, and may not even be
important. I 40 not have
been so selfish and self-centred. Everyone has places to go, people to see and
appointments (约会) to keep. Understanding people is an art.
21A. anxiety B.
determination C.
decision D. attempt
22A. find B.
make
C. think D. stand
23A. unpopular B.
uncomfortable C. unusual D. unforgettable