One cold night，I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco． There I was walking home around one o’clock in the morning after a    26   practice at the theatre． With the opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines by heart．I was having    27   handling my part-time job at the bank in the daytime and my acting at night at the same time． As I walked I thought seriously about    28    both acting and San Francisco．I had    29  too much of city life．   
As 1 walked down the    30    streets under the tall buildings，I felt very small and cold, so I began    31   both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers．Very few people were still out    32   a few homeless people under blankets．
About a block from my    33  , I heard a sound behind me． I    34 quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun． The street was empty．All I saw was a shining streetlight． Still，the noise had made me    35   , so I started to run faster． Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I    36    what the noise had been．It  had been my wallet    37  to the sidewalk．
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired any more．I ran out of the door and back to where I'd heard the noise．Although I searched the sidewalk    38   for 15 minutes，my wallet was   39 to be found．
Just as 1 was about to quit the    40  , I heard the garbage truck stop to the sidewalk next to   41 ．When a voice came from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?”I thought I was   42 ．How could this man know my name? The door opened and out jumped a small blonde man with an amused look in his eyes, “Is this   43  you’re looking for?” He asked, holding up something like a wallet．
It was already 3 am． by the time I got into bed． I couldn’t get much sleep，but I had got my wallet back． I also had got back some    44  of city life． I realized the city couldn’t be a bad place    45   people were willing to help each other．

It was a busy morning，about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s came to the hospital. I heard him saying to the   11  that he was in a hurry for an appointment(约会) at 9:30.
The nurse had him take a   12  in the waiting area, telling him it would be at least 40 minutes before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his   13  and decided, since I was not busy—my patient didn’t   14  at the appointed hour, I would examine his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment. He said no and told me that he   15  to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his   16 , who had been there for a while for a special disease. I asked if she would be   17  if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not been able to   18  him for five years. I was   19 , and asked him，“And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”
He smiled and said. “She doesn’t know me but I know who she is.” I had to hold back   20  as he left.
Now I   21  that in marriages，true love is   22  of all that is. The happiest people don’t   23  have the best of everything; they just   24  the best of everything they have.   25  isn’t about how to live through the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator (美洲鳄) was swimming toward the shore.
His father working in the yard saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.
Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U – turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug – of – war (拔河) between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, took aim and shot the alligator.
Remarkably, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his fresh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.
The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy asked if he would show his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my dad wouldn’t let go.”
You and I can identify with that boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because someone has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, someone has been there holding on to you.
If you have the scars of someone’s love on your arms, be very, very grateful. Someone in your life did not and will not ever let you go.
Never judge another person’s scars, because you don’t know how they got them.
【小题1】 Which of the following is the most closely related to the underlined word “passionate”?