My father was driving us to our grandparents’ house for our annual Christmas dinner. The closer we got to the turnoff (岔道) for my grandparents’ house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said: “I can’t stand it!”
“What?” asked my mother.
“It’s those people back there at the Pan Am, standing in the rain. They’ve got children. It’s Christmas. I can’t stand it.”
When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children – two girls and a small boy.
My father rolled down his window. “Merry Christmas,” he said.
“Howdy (您好),” the man replied. He was very tall and had to stoop (弯腰) slightly to peer into the car.
My sisters Jill, Sharon, and I stared at the children, and they stared back at us.
“You’re getting wet standing here. Just a couple miles up the road there’s a shed (小棚) with a cover there, and some benches,” my father said. “Why don’t you all get in the car?”
The man thought about it for a moment, and then he waved to his family. They climbed into the car.
Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three unhappy faces gave him the answer.
“Well, I didn’t think so,” my father said, winking at my mother, “because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. We’ll just go to get them before I take you to the bus stop.”
All at once, the three children’s faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering.
When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. One of the girls spied Jill’s doll and hugged it to her breast. The little boy grabbed Sharon’s ball. And the other girl picked up something of mine.
We left them there at the bus stop in Winborn. As we drove away, I watched out the window as long as I could, looking back at the little girl hugging her new doll.
That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy.

1. 1.

   The writer’s father U-turned in the middle of the road because ______.
   

   1. A.
      he could not stand the people at the service station
   2. B.
      he could not bear the thought of leaving the people behind
   3. C.
      he wanted to do something special for his parents
   4. D.
      he wanted to help the family standing in the rain
2. 2.

   The reason the father asked the kids if Santa had found them was probably that _____.
   

   1. A.
      he knew the mention of Santa would lift their spirits
   2. B.
      he once promised to receive them as guests in his house
   3. C.
      he wanted to avoid embarrassing the family
   4. D.
      he had met Santa and got the presents for the kids
3. 3.

   How did the author feel at the end of the story?
   

   1. A.
      She was pleased that they had been able to give the kids presents and make them happy.
   2. B.
      She was unhappy remembering that they had been late for the Christmas dinner.
   3. C.
      She was angry because she realized that she didn’t receive a Christmas gift that year.
   4. D.
      She was puzzled by why her father had done this on Christmas.
4. 4.

   What is the article mainly about?
   

   1. A.
      How my family found the lost Santa.
   2. B.
      The people at the service station.
   3. C.
      The art of celebrating Christmas.
   4. D.
      The joy of making others happy.

完形填空

　It's 7 a．m．in Kyoto, Japan（日本京都）, and the taxi company has just called a second time to say they can't find my house．　　 　1　 I tell him directions even a blind person could 　2 　, looking impatiently at my watch．Only two hours remain before my 　3 　leaves --- and it's an-hour-and-a-half trip to the Osaka（大坂）Airport．

　The telephone rings 　4 　．“Terribly sorry,”begins the clerk．Then I 　5 　what's happened．Flooded with 　6 　, the company is too busy．I've heard this happens when the weather gets 　7 　．I shout into the 　8 　that I have a plane to catch and tell them I must be in Seoul（汉城） 　9 　and that I'll meet the 　10 　a few hundred meters away on a bridge over the Kamo River．

　Standing in the heavy 　11 　, I look up and down．No 　12 　．From the other direction a white car comes up, then stops．A young man throws 　13 　the door, waving to me to get in．Shaking with cold and 　14 　, I climb inside．

　The young man is perhaps one of the most 　15 　Japanese．He explains to me that he is the person with whom I have spoken 　16 　this morning．He apologizes again and again, but he does not explain why a taxi could not 　17 　, except to say they are“very, very busy”this morning．

　A few hours later, seated into my seat as the stormdelayed 727 　18 　, I open the 　19 　．My eyes wander to the headline of a short article：“Taxi Strike Begins This Morning In 　20 　．”

I finished my last work of the week and could hardly wait to get home, take off my nursing shoes, and relax.

As I _36_ my car, I saw one of my _37_ standing by the bus stop. I thought it would only take a couple of extra minutes to give her a ride home, and _38_, it was too cold to be standing outside on the coldest _39_ in January. I didn’t know where she lived, but I was _40_ I would be able to find my way back.

We _41_ about our work as I drove and _42_ we knew it, we arrived at her house. I started driving back. _43_ looked familiar, but at first that didn’t _44_ me. But soon I _45_ something wrong. I recognized nothing. But I told myself to stay _46_.

I was _47_ neighborhoods, streets and even streetlights. I no longer knew where I was now. How could I be so stupid! I looked down at my _48_. It was now 2:30 a.m. My gas was slowly running out. I _49_ the car and turned off the engine. In total defeat, I put my head down on the wheel, _50_. Then I raised my head and saw a(n) _51_ down the road in front of me. I turned my headlights on. A car! I drove a little _52_, got out of my car and knocked on the window of that car. An elderly man _53_ rolled his window down.

I said that I didn’t know how to get back into town. In silence, he started driving. I ran back to my car and drove behind him. Finally I _54_ a familiar street. As I turned to head home, the car disappeared. Then I _55_ my driveway (车道) when the warning light for my gas tank (汽油箱) turned on.

Though so many years have passed, I still thank the old man from my deepest heart.