It is in their ability to speak ______ humans ______ from animals. 

Now that she is out of a job, Lucy ______ going back to school, but she hasn’t decided yet.

The boys ______ the newspaper on the ground and began to read the news and articles in it.

______ frightened us ______ a tiger turned up suddenly in front of us.  

By the time you come back, your aunt ______ for Nanjing to attend a meeting.  

The trade union intended to call on the workers to go on strike ______ the government’s limitation on exports.  

They demanded that the books ______ to the school library right away.  

Please leave your phone number ______ we can get in touch with you in case of emergency.

It was her laughing that drew my attention. Note taking really wasn’t all that funny.

Walking over to the offender (someone that does something wrong), I asked for the   36 . Frozen, she refused to give it to me. I waited, all attention in the classroom on the quiet   37  between teacher and student. When she finally   38  it over she whispered, “Okay, but I didn’t draw it.”

It was a hand-drawn   39  of me, teeth blackened and the words “I’m stupid” coming out of my mouth.

I managed to fold it up calmly. My mind,   40 , was working angrily as I struggled not to   41 . I figured I knew the two students who were most likely to draw the picture. It would do them some   42  to teach them a lesson, and maybe it was high time that I did it!

Thankfully, I was able to keep myself   43 .

When there were about six minutes remaining, I showed the class the picture. They were all silent as I told them how   44 this was for me. I told them there must be a reason   45  and now was their chance to write down anything they needed to tell me. Then I let them write silently while I sniffled(抽鼻子) in the back of the classroom.

As I   46  the notes later, many of them said something like, “I’ve got nothing against you,” or “I’m sorry you were hurt.” A number of them said, “You give us too much homework.” Some kids said, “We’re   47  of you.” But two notes, from the girls who I   48   were behind the picture, had a list of issues. I was too   49  , too strict…

Reading those notes, I realized that over the course of this year, instead of   50 my students, I had begun commanding them to   51 . Where I thought I was driving them to success I was   52  driving them away.

I had some apologizing to do. But the next day in the classroom, one boy and one girl each handed me a card. The one   53  by all the boys expressed sincere regret for the ugly joke. The one from the girls asked for   54 .

This was a lesson for both the kids and me. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the   55 . 

I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone,“ Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”

At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket.

I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?

She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room — if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”

Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control. ” With that, she left the room.

After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.

1. Why did the author shout at the telephone?

2.What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?

3.What made the author laugh?

4. What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?