Once, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus._26_, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.
This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. Their clothes were not_27_, but they were clean. The children were _28_, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, _29 _hands. They were excitedly jabbering(喋喋不休地说) about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night.
One could _30_they had never been to the circus before. It _31_to be a highlight of their young lives.
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He _32_responded, "Please let me buy _33_children's tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady _34_the price. The mother’s head_35_, and her lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little _36_and asked, "How much did you say?"
The ticket lady again quoted the price. The man didn't have enough money.
Seeing what 37 , my dad put his hand in his pocket, _38 a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) Then reached down, _39_the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell _40_your pocket."
The man knew what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout _41_certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking, embarrassing_42_. He looked straight _43_my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with a tear running down his_44_, he replied, "Thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."
My father and I went back to our car and_ 45_home. We didn't go to the circus that night, but we didn't go without.
26 | A. Immediately | B. Finally | C. Hopefully | D. Suddenly |
27 | A. expensive | B. cheap | C. plain | D. bad |
28 | A.badly-behaved | B. polite | C.well-behaved | D. lovely |
29 | A. holding | B. shaking | C. putting | D. waving |
30 | A. know | B. understand | C. judge | D. sense |
31 | A. advised | B.recommended | C. promised | D. allowed |
32 | A. happily | B. honestly | C. bravely | D. proudly |
33 | A. six | B. eight | C. ten | D. two |
34 | A. answered | B. quoted | C. spoke | D. said |
35 | A. dropped | B. bent | C. shook | D. nodded |
36 | A. nearer | B. harder | C. tighter | D. closer |
37 | A. up to | B. going on | C. happened | D. the matter |
38 | A. turned out | B. handed out | C. pulled out | D. put out |
39 | A. picked up | B. took up | C. sent up | D. made up |
40 | A. off | B. from | C. down | D. out of |
41 | A. and | B. but | C. or | D. so |
42 | A. situation | B. condition | C. surrounding | D. position |
43 | A. into | B. onto | C. at | D. in |
44 | A. head | B. mouth | C. cheek | D. nose |
45 | A. went | B. got | C. drove | D. walked |