阅读理解

　　Some say everyday miracles(奇迹)are predestined(注定的)－the right time for the appointed meeting．And it can happen anywhere．

　　In 2001, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother's Little League team in Lancaster, New York．It was an early evening in late July．Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game．Swinging his bat back and forth, giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give．The boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest．His heart stopped．

　　When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid．Penny Brown hadn't planned to be there that day, but at the last minute, her shift(换班)at the hospital had been changed to see her son’s performance．She was given the night off．Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving CPR, breathing into his mouth and giving chest compressions．And he revived in the end．

　　After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid techniques that had saved his life．He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time．

　　Kevin, now 18, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion, employees rushing toward a table．He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat．She was choking．

　　Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands．Then, using skills he'd first learned in Scouts．The food that was trapped in the woman's throat was freed．The color began to return to her face．

　　"The food was stuck．I couldn't breathe," she said．She thought she was dying．"I was very frightened．"

　　Who was the woman?

　　Penny Brown．

完形填空

　　It’s fourteen years since I left the Philippines to live with my family in the USA．A month ago, while on summer vacation back in my motherland, I learned a lesson from mosquito(蚊子)bites．Right before 　　1　　 Kennedy Airport in New York, my grandma 　　2　　 me of the behavior of the native mosquitoes around the 　　3　　 like me．She said, “There’s an old saying－the 　　4　　 you stay away from the motherland, the sweeter your blood 　　5　　 to the mosquitoes．“Not 　　6　　 it,” I replied, “Grandmaaaa, that’s just an old wives’ tale!”

　　Well, less than a week 　　7　　 my arrival in Manila, I was already carpeted with a 　　8　　 of mosquito bites．I took many measures to keep myself from being 　　9　　, but they all proved useless．

　　Late one 　　10　　 in my cousin’s home, I couldn’t bear the 　　11　　 of the bites．Hoping to find some comfort, I 　　12　　 my cousin, who was sleeping peacefully in the bed next to mine．Unhappy for being 　　13　　she said, “There is nothing you can do．Go back to sleep．” With a few turns, she slept again．Enviously(妒忌地)　　14　　 her sleep, I hoped a big mosquito would 　　15　　 on her face．However, the mosquitoes would just lightly dance around her forehead and fly away quickly, never biting her．Amazed(惊奇的), I ran to others’ 　　16　　, only to find they were all sleeping 　　17　　 as the same thing occurred again and again．

　　From those bites, I came to 　　18　　 my grandma’s silly tale．From then on, I’ve always tried to keep a(n)　　19　　 mind about those strange old wives’ tales 　　20　　 they do have some truth to them．