阅读理解

　　Long long ago, there was an old merchant who had three sons．“To which one shall I leave my fortune?” he wondered．“It must be to the cleverest son．But which one is the cleverest?”

　　He called his three sons to him．“Here is some money,” he told them, “you must each take one coin to buy something that will fill this room．Anyone who can do this shall have my fortune．”

　　“It is a big room,” said the eldest son．

　　“One coin will not buy very much,” said the second son．

　　But the youngest son said nothing．He stood and thought, and then he smiled, “Come, brothers,” he said, “let us go to the market．”

　　The eldest son bought straw with his coin．But one coin bought only a bit of straw．Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the straw covered only a corner of the room．

　　The second son bought sand with his coin．But one coin bought only a bit of sand．Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the sand covered only half of the floor．

　　“What did you buy?” the eldest son angrily asked the youngest son．“You don't have any straw．”

　　“Yes, what did you buy?” the second son asked angrily．“You don't have any sand．”

　　“I bought this,” said the youngest son．

　　“A candle！” cried his brothers．“What good is a candle?”

　　“Watch”, said the youngest son．

　　He lit the candle, and all at once the room was filled from wall to wall, from ceiling to floor．It was filled with light!

　　“Although you are the youngest, you are indeed the cleverest of my sons,” the old merchant said．

　　And that is how, the old merchant left his fortune to his youngest son, the one who could fill a room with light．

完形填空

　　While attending a conference, I returned to my motel room late one rainy evening．The overhead light outside my door was 　　1　　 and I had difficulty finding the keyhole．When I finally 　　2　　 to open the door, I 　　3　　 around the wall for a light switch．I found a 　　4　　 where a switch was once installed…but no switch．

　　No discouraged easily, I remembered seeing a 　　5　　 by the bed when I put away my luggage 　　6　　 in the day．I found the bed in the dark and felt around until I found the lamp, but when I switched it on, 　　7　　 happened!Now what?

　　Though I knew that it was dark outside my window 　　8　　 the outdoor light was burned out, I thought that 　　9　　 if I opened the curtains I might be able to use the light from the 　　10　　 to find another lamp．So I 　　11　　 my way slowly across the room to the curtains and…no draw-string!

　　I finally stumbled(跌跌撞撞)around until I found a desk lamp that actually 　　12　　!That evening I discovered in a whole new way just how dark the world can be and how necessary 　　13　　 is．

　　But even more necessary than 　　14　　 light is the light that shines from people－the light of love, sympathy and 　　15　　．Because, for many people, the world is a dark and 　　16　　 place．

　　It is the shining that is important, for someone today just may be stumbling in discouragement or fear and in 　　17　　 of some light．

　　So let your light shine．Whatever light you 　　18　　 may be a beacon(灯塔)of hope and encouragement in someone's darkness．And if you feel that your light is 　　19　　 a candle in a forest, remember this－there isn't enough darkness in the world to 　　20　　 the light of one small candle．

完形填空

　　While attending a conference, I returned to my hotel room late one rainy evening．The overhead light outside my door was 　　1　　 and I had difficulty finding the keyhole．When I finally 　　2　　 to open the door, I 　　3　　 around the wall for a light switch．I found a 　　4　　 where a switch was once installed…but no switch．

　　No discouraged easily, I remembered seeing a 　　5　　 by the bed when I put away my luggage 　　6　　 in the day．I found the bed in the dark and felt around until I found the lamp, but when I switched it on, 　　7　　 happened!Now what?

　　Though I knew that it was dark outside my window 　　8　　 the outdoor light was burned out, I thought that 　　9　　 if I opened the curtains I might be able to use the light from the 　　10　　 to find another lamp．So I 　　11　　 my way slowly across the room to the curtains and…no draw-string!

　　I finally stumbled(跌跌撞撞)around until I found a desk lamp that actually 　　12　　!That evening I discovered in a whole new way just how dark the world can be and how necessary 　　13　　 is．

　　But even more necessary than 　　14　　 light is the light that shines from people－the light of love, sympathy and 　　15　　．Because, for many people, the world is a dark and 　　16　　 place．

　　It is the shining that is important, for someone today just may be stumbling in discouragement or fear and in 　　17　　 of some light．

　　So let your light shine．Whatever ligh you 　　18　　 may be a beacon(灯塔)of hope and encouragement in someone's darkness．And if you feel that your light is 　　19　　 a candle in a forest, remember this－there isn't enough darkness in the world to 　　20　　 the light of one small candle．