I tried to grow a gardenia （梔子花）．I had tried everything my mother taught me about caring for houseplants—more light, less water, spraying, even replanting, but _1_ seemed to work．

I _2_ Mom were here now．Mother’s Day was coming up, the second one since her death, and the pain of losing her was still so fresh．There is a Mother’s Day _3_ I follow．One wears a red flower if one’s mother is _4_ and a white one if she is not．I had hoped that planting a white gardenia, Mom’s favorite flower, would help me through the sorrow of her _5．

Mom had a way with all things _6_．My sister and I always joked, “Mom could _7_ a telephone pole grow leaves and bear fruit．”

Why can’t I? I thought．Still, I couldn’t stand throwing the dead plant away．Instead, I placed it into a dark corner of our bathroom．I didn’t even water it．I just left it there _8_ I could deal with it．

My husband asked me if I was going to wear a white flower to church that Mother’s Day．“Yes,” I told him, “but I need a _9_ gardenia．” I added silently．

Sunday morning I woke up early to get dressed and made for the _10_．Still _11_, I walked to the bathroom．Suddenly I was woken up by a pleasant scent （香味）．I pushed the door open and stepped into the bathroom．That morning I knew I would be ready to wear a small white flower for Mom．In that dark corner, _12_ as if it had a light of its own, bloomed a perfect white gardenia!

1.A．everything               B．nothing                C．anything              D．something

2.A．feel                         B．believe                 C．wish                   D．think

3.A．way                        B．method                C．habit                   D．tradition

4.A．alive                        B．healthy                C．dead                   D．ill

5.A．passing                  B．getting                 C．giving                 D．dying

6.A．white                      B．blue                    C．green                  D．yellow

7.A．cause                      B．make                   C．use                     D．allow

8.A．when                      B．until                    C．while                  D．if

9.A．red                          B．plastic                 C．paper                  D．fresh

10.A．market                   B．school                 C．church                D．office

11.A．excited                  B．angry                  C．happy                 D．sleepy

12.A．bright                    B．dark                    C．large                   D．small

I was nineteen years old the first time I saw my own true character.
My trip to and from work each day included a ten-minute walk through the heart of downtown, where the   36  often gathered. Like most busy citizens, I learned to   37  those nameless faces. When it came to homeless beggars, my   38  life experience had led me to one   39  that they are on the street because they choose to be, probably due to alcohol or drugs.
It was an extremely cold day. When I passed the groups of beggars as usual, I heard a shaky voice target me.
“Spare some change?” he asked.
I didn’t even   40  looking up at his nameless face. I briefly   41  him walking into a liquor store and buying whiskey with the money we spared him. Like most teenagers, it took me only moments to   42  him.
“I have no money on me,” I said quickly
Looking back now, I feel as if God had set out that day to teach me a lesson. And God   43 . Just a few feet past him, I managed to find the only ice patch on the sidewalk. I   44  and landed heavily on my right knee. The   45  was almost killing me as I tried to get up. Then I heard a shaky voice only inches above me.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
I knew immediately this was the man I had just rushed past. Even in pain, I   46  took a quick moment to sniff for the smell of alcohol on his breath. There was none. He wasn’t   47 . I saw the   48  in his eyes.
I   49  to get to my feet. He held my arm as I walked difficultly to the nearby bus stop.
“My name is Mike,” he said. “That’s quite a fall you took, and you really need to get it checked by a doctor,” he said with deep   50 .
“This bus goes past the hospital,” I said.
Mike paused, and a look of sudden   51  crossed his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cup. He took out all the change and held it out toward me.
“I think there’s just enough here for you to take the bus,” he said,
I was highly embarrassed as I remember my   52 . I reached for my purse and took out my change. At least ten dollars. I offered Mike all my change.
“Thank you and take care of yourself,” I said. Both of us knew that few minutes earlier I couldn’t have   53  what happened to him.
Mike held his cup tightly,   54  it as if it were the first gift he had ever received.
A half cup of change seemed too small a gift for the man who gave a   55  to every nameless face I’ve ever seen.

One afternoon, I joined Charity Focus Folks to distribute food to homeless people. We went around a few streets in Manhattan. I was travelling back to India the next day.   16  , I took part in this activity in the afternoon. We  17  at a coffee shop with lots of   18  packed properly for distributing.
The first person we offered food cried. This was a (n)   19  moment for all of us and really   20  me. After this the food was distributed   21  with a crowd surrounding us. Our activity was over by 5:00 pm and we started back to our homes.
However, I was still feeling the need to do   22  . So I decided to buy dinner   23  myself but give it to someone more needy and   24  my dinner for the day. This was an inspiration I never had before. But somehow it  25  me.
There weren’t any beggars around for the next three or four blocks and I was   26  who I would give the food to. I found one but he   27  to take food as he needed only money. I found another person, but he went away   28   I could approach him.
But I had a feeling that   29  would come. Then I found one old lady sitting on one corner of the road. I asked her if she would like to eat something and she   30  . I purchased a large cheese pizza and cakes at a nearby supermarket and gave the entire   31  to her. The lady looked excited, opened the package and began eating at once with great   32  .
As I walked home, I felt a surge (澎湃) of   33  I had never experienced before. I didn’t feel  34  though I hadn’t eaten much the whole day. This was a unique, deep feeling, and I felt a little inspired. What I got was much more than what I   35  .

I was in the kitchen making lunch when I saw my six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. I could only see his back. He  1  to be walking with a great effort, trying to be as  2  as possible.
A few minutes after he disappeared into the   3 , he came running toward the house again. I went back to making sandwiches,   4  that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later,  5 , he was once again walking slowly toward the woods.
 6 curiosity, I walked out and followed him on his journey. He was  7  both hands in front of him as he walked, being  8  not to spill the water he held in them. I secretly walked   9  behind him as he went into the woods and I saw the most amazing  10  .
Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost  11   at him to get away. A huge male deer with elaborate（精美的）antlers was   12  close. But they didn’t even move as Billy   13  . And I saw a small deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from   14 and extreme heat, lift its head  15  to drink the water cupped in my beautiful boy’s hands.
It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of  16 . You know, we hadn’t had any rain for three months and our crops were   17 . As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly   18  by other drops. I looked up at the sky. It was  19  God was moved to weep. The rain came that day and saved our farm, just like the  20  of one little boy who saved another.