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When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.

One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum. He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour later, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn’t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to wait right there. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, “You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?” I did not know how to answer that question. He continued, “It’s OK if you can’t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.” Then he sent us to mum’s workplace by taxi.

My whole life I have depended on the kindness of many strangers, I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I do not even remember what the man’s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson—people are more important than things.

1.Why did the younger brother cry for his mother?

默写

New Concept English    Lesson 9

It was the last day of the year and      1     of people had gathered under the Town Hall Clock. It would      2     in twenty minutes’ time.

…The big clock      3     welcome the New Year. At that moment, everybody began to laugh and sing. 

New Concept English    Lesson 14

After I had left a small village in the south of France, I      4     to the next town.      5    , a young man waved to me. …I said good morning to him and he      6     in the same language. Apart from a few words, I don’t know any French       7    .

New Concept English    Lesson 17

My aunt Jennifer is an actress. She must be      8     thirty-five years old. In spite of this, she often appears on the stage      9    a young girl. …If anyone ever asks her how old she is, she always answers, “Darling, it must be                                               terrible to be      10    !”

用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空，使短文通顺、正确、连贯（每个单词限用一次）。