Why did I come today?I wondered．My feet ached almost as much as my head． My Christmas 1 contained several people that claimed they needed nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt 2 I bought them something, so gift buying was 3 but fun．
Hurriedly, I finished shopping and 4 the long checkout lines．In front of me were a boy of about five and a younger girl．She carried a beautiful pair of 5 slippers．When we finally 6 the checkout register, the girl 7 placed the shoes on the counter．She treated them as though they were a 8 ．
“That will be ＄6.09,” the cashier said．The boy 9 his pockets．He finally came up with ＄3.12．“I guess we will have to put them back,” he bravely said．“We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow．” With that statement, a soft 10 broke from the little girl．“But 11 would have loved these shoes,” she cried．
“Well, we’ll go home and work some more．Don’t cry．We’ll surely 12 ,” he said．Quickly I handed ＄3.00 to the cashier．These children had waited in line for a long time．And, 13 , it was Christmas．Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and a small voice 14 said, “Thank you, lady．” “What did you 15 when you said Jesus would like the shoes?” I asked．The boy answered, “Our mommy is sick and going to 16 ．Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus．” The girl spoke, “My Sunday school teacher said the streets in heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes．Won’t mommy be 17 walking on those streets in these shoes?”
My eyes 18 as I looked into her tear-stained face．“Yes,” I answered, “I am 19 she will．” Silently I thanked God for using these children to 20 me of the true spirit of giving I once was familiar with．
Why did I come today? I wondered．My Christmas 1 contained several people that claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt 2 I didn’t buy them anything, so buying gifts was 3 but fun．
Hurriedly, I finished shopping and 4 the long checkout lines．In front of me were a boy of about 5 and a younger girl．She carried a beautiful pair of 5 slippers．When we finally 6 the checkout register, the girl 7 placed the shoes on the counter．She treated them as though they were a 8 ．
“That will be ＄6.09,” the cashier said．The boy 9 all his pockets．He finally came up with ＄3.12．“I guess we will have to put them back,” he said 10 , “We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow．” With that statement, a 11 sob(抽噎)broke from the little girl．“But Jesus would have loved these shoes,” she cried．
“Well, we’ll go home and work some more．Don’t cry．We’ll surely 12 ,” he said．Quickly I handed ＄3 to the cashier．These children had waited in line for a long time．And, 13 , it was Christmas．Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and the girl said 14 , “Thank you, lady．” “What did you 15 when you said Jesus would like the shoes?” I asked．The boy answered, “Our mommy is sick and going to 16 ．Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus．” The girl spoke, “My Sunday school teacher said the streets in heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes．Won’t mommy be 17 walking on those streets in these shoes?”
My eyes 18 as I looked into her tear-streaked face．“Yes,” I answered, “I am 19 she will．” Silently I thanked God for using these children to 20 me of the true spirit of giving．
I have to say that am shocked at just how bad the new music is．This cannot be the same band that produced great albums such as HTDAAB and ATYCLB!This is awful!They either do not care anymore, or have completely lost it．I never thought U2 would become irrelevant, but they have officially become one of those bands that you will now say,“Remember when they were great?”
－Posted by Ronald Harris
February 28th, 2009 8∶29 pm GMT
Total drivel, Mr Harris．The new album is great, far better than the safe, cynical HTDAAB and ATYCLB．U2 have become inventive again, like they were in the 1990s．thank goodness!
－Posted by Dan
March 3rd, 2009 12∶09 pm GMT
Agree, Dan．The new album is the best since Actung Baby．Magnificent is an anthem in the waiting, Breathe is unbelievable, and Stand Up Comedy is absolutely outstanding－to name just three!Loving the new sound, pure class as usual．
－Posted by Martin
March 4th, 2009 7∶43 pm GMT
Totally agree with you guys．This album is unbelievable．Breathe is definitely a great song, same with Moment of Surrender．I bet their upcoming tour will be amazing．If you haven't bought the CD yet, you should．I bought mine on Amozon.com for ＄3.99．I couldn't believe it．
－Posted by Josh Briggs
(1)
According to Ronald Harris, U2's new album is ________．
[ ]
A．
pretty good
B．
so bad
C．
the same as before
D．
completely fresh
(2)
whose comment is contrary to the others?
[ ]
A．
Martin's
B．
Dan's
C．
Josh Briggs'
D．
Ronald Harris'
(3)
Martin and Josh Briggs both like the song ________．
[ ]
A．
Magnificent
B．
Moment of Surrender
C．
Breathe
D．
Stand Up Comedy
(4)
Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
Trudy, an American girl, tried swimming across the English Channel．That was August 6, 1962．Her father had 1 her two things．One was not to pull her out of the water 2 she asked．The other was to give her a red sports 3 if she made it． In gay spirits Trudy 4 out , swimming strongly．All the swimmers started at 7∶09 in the morning．His father and the trainer were going along in a boat beside her．
At ten o’clock, rain began falling． 5 , Trudy trod (踩)water while drinking and eating a chicken leg．Then she started swimming 6 The wind was 7 and the sea became rougher．
Late 8 the wind became even worse．The trainer 9 it was useless trying to finish．He called to Trudy to 10 ．
“No human being could do it in this weather, ” he said, “It’s 11 to go on．
However, her father shouted, “Don’t grab her．Let her 12 ”
At seven o’clock the tides(潮水)turned 13 her．It was more difficult to move ahead．But Trudy still swam on．She 14 victory was possible now, for the English coast was in 15 ．
It was getting dark．A sound could be heard 16 the wind; hundreds of car horns (喇叭 )were cheering her on．With 17 strength, she finished the last 200 yards．
At 9∶35 p．m．Trudy got out of water．She had swum some 35 miles in 18 the 21 - mile - wide - Channel 19 a strong storm．But she had made it in 14 hours and 30 minutes．
“Well, Pop, ”she said to her father．“I 20 I get my car this time, don’t I?”
Why did I come today?I wondered．My Christmas(1)________ contained several people that claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt(2)________ I didn't buy them anything, so buying gifts was(3)________ but fun．
Hurriedly, I finished shopping and(4)________ the long checkout lines．In front of me were a boy of about 5 and a younger girl．She carried a beautiful pair of(5)________ slippers．When we finally(6)________ the checkout register, the girl(7)________ placed the shoes on the counter．She treated them as though they were a(8)________．
“That will be ＄6.09,” the cashier said．The boy(9)________ all his pockets．He finally came up with ＄3.12．“I guess we will have to put them back,” he said(10)________, “We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow．” With that statement, a soft(11)________ broke from the little girl．“But Jesus would have loved these shoes,” she cried．
“Well, we'll go home and work some more．Don't cry．We'll surely(12)________,” he said．Quickly I handed ＄3 to the cashier．These children had waited in line for a long time．And,(13)________, it was Christmas．Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and the girl said(14)________, “Thank you, lady．” “What did you(15)________ when you said Jesus would like the shoes?” I asked．The boy answered, “Our mommy is sick and going to(16)________．Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus．” The girl spoke, “My Sunday school teacher said the streets in heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes．Won't mommy be(17)________ walking on those streets in these shoes?”
My eyes(18)________ as I looked into her tear-streaked face．“Yes,” I answered, “I am(19)________ she will．” Silently I thanked God for using these children to(20)________ me of the true spirit of giving．