Why did I come today? I wondered. My Christmas (36) _______ contained several people that claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt (37) _______ I didn’t buy them anything, so buying gifts was (38) _______ but fun.
Hurriedly, I finished shopping and (39) _______ the long checkout lines. In front of me were a boy of about 5 and a younger girl. She carried a beautiful pair of (40) _______ slippers. When we finally (41) _______ the checkout register, the girl (42) _______ placed the shoes on the counter. She treated them as though they were a (43) _______.
“That will be $6.09,” the cashier said. The boy (44) _______ all his pockets. He finally came up with $3.12. “I guess we will have to put them back,” he said (45) _______, “We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow.” With that statement, a soft (46) _______ 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 (47) _______,” he said. Quickly I handed $3 to the cashier. These children had waited in line for a long time. And, (48) _______, it was Christmas. Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and the girl said (49) _______, “Thank you, lady.”“What did you (50) _______ when you said Jesus would like the shoes?” I asked. The boy answered, “Our mommy is sick and going to (51) _______. 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 (52) _______ walking on those streets in these shoes?”
My eyes (53) _______ as I looked into her tear-streaked face. “Yes,” I answered, “I am (54) _______ she will.” Silently I thanked God for using these children to (55) _______ me of the true spirit of giving.

完形填空（共20小题，每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Our three-year-old daughter Becky wanted a dog. But we were too busy to buy one. One day, Becky ran in, shouting, “Mom! Come to see my dog!” Her face was red with   1 .
I followed her to the bush and found a   2 ! He was hurt. Seeing me, he stood up   3 ! I could see his teeth! God! My mouth felt dry. “Don’t be afraid. That’s Mom. She  4 you, too.” Becky said. Then he became friendly. It was  5 !
I   6  to find my husband and told him about the wolf. We should have  7  the wolf, but Becky loved him. Besides, he was gentle(温柔的) to Becky. So we called the vet finally.
Becky named the wolf (狼) Ralph ,  8  she carried food to him every day. Later, Ralph got well. They played together in the daytime. At night, Ralph would return to the mountains. Sometimes he   9  but came back several days later.
On Becky’s first day of school, we could see Ralph’s   10 . After the school bus left, Ralph lay by the side of the road and   11  . When Becky returned, he got happy again. This   12  throughout Becky’s school years.
Twelve   13  passed.
One day we heard that a she-wolf was killed. The other wolf was hurt and ran away. We were   14  about Ralph. That night, Ralph returned with a wound (伤). Fifteen-year-old Becky held his head and   15  him. We hope he could come through. However, he   16 .
Becky cried. I noticed something strange in the bush — two little yellow eyes! Ralph’s  17 ! Before he died, Ralph   18  his child to us! He knew he would be  19  here, as he had been. Ralph, Ralph. I was   20 .
“Don’t be afraid, little ... Ralphie. That’s Mom. She loves you, too.”

There was a sweet, wonder-filled little girl who was hurt over and over again. She  36  that she was so bad that others just couldn’t be  37  to her.

She asked many wise people to help her  38  why she was so bad that even her mother hurt her, and why she was unable to be  39  so that others wouldn’t hurt her. So she was on a  40  that she thought was to help her be “better”, but she carried a big  41  with her everywhere she went.  42  was all the hurt she had experienced. During the trip she willingly  43  what the wise people said about forgiving（宽恕）.

After 50 years, she decided to  44  the bag up and just see what happened. When she looked inside it was filled with bits of paper. Once they had  45  on then, detailing the hurt. But as time went on, the words  46  slowly. She had been carrying this bag that held nothing  47  the image（印象）of something that once was.

The little girl had now become an almost-old woman. She  48  the silliness of carrying that bag around. She started  49  and dancing and she felt free!

She was able to see that her  50  loved her child, but was  51  that her little girl felt unloved. By throwing away the bag of paper and forgiving those who  52  her, she looked in the mirror and said, “I am clever, interesting and kind.” But most  53  , she was able to say “I am lovable.”  54  it took many years, she was finally open to bringing  55  into her life.

She finally saw the sweet, wonder-filled little girl that she had always been.

1.A. decided                        B. considered                C. promised           D. hoped           

2.A. bad                      B. sorry                        C. thankful            D. nice           

3.A. guess                           B. understand                C. expect               D. invent          

4.A. better                           B. worse                       C. angrier                     D. harder           

5.A. holiday                        B. date                         C. trip                   D. path           

6.A. bowl                                B. basket                      C. bag                   D. purse          

7.A. Beneath                        B. Above                      C. Outside             D. Inside          

8.A. agreed with                  B. fought against           C. gave up      D. suffered from          

9. A. pick                            B. open                        C. put                   D. break          

10.A. pictures                      B. memories                 C. words               D. dreams          

11.A. disappeared         B. appeared                   C. showed             D. changed          

12.A. and                                B. with                         C. among                     D. but          

13.A. refused                       B. forgot                      C. realized             D. preferred          

14.A. crying                        B. laughing                   C. shouting            D. worrying           

15.A. daughter                         B. mother                            C. teacher              D. friend          

16.A. sad                          B. happy                      C. excited              D. hopeful          

17.A. liked                          B. hurt                         C. educated            D. ignored          

18.A. surprisingly                B. terribly                    C. nervously          D. importantly          

19.A. Although                    B. If                                   C. Because             D. So          

20.A. trouble                       B. love              C. money               D. future          

There was a sweet, wonder-filled little girl who was hurt over and over again. She  36  that she was so bad that others just couldn’t be  37  to her.

   She asked many wise people to help her  38  why she was so bad that even her mother hurt her, and why she was unable to be  39  so that others wouldn’t hurt her. So she was on a  40  that she thought was to help her be “better”, but she carried a big  41  with her everywhere she went.  42  was all the hurt she had experienced. During the trip she willingly  43  what the wise people said about forgiving（宽恕）.

    After 50 years, she decided to  44  the bag up and just see what happened. When she looked inside it was filled with bits of paper. Once they had  45  on them, detailing the hurt. But as time went on, the words  46  slowly. She had been carrying this bag that held nothing  47  the image of something that once was.

    The little girl had now become an almost-old woman. She  48  the silliness of carrying that bag around. She started  49  and dancing and she felt free!

    She was able to see that her  50  loved her child, but was  51  that her little girl felt unloved. By throwing away the bag of paper and forgiving those who  52  her, she looked in the mirror and said, “I am clever, interesting and kind.” But most  53  , she was able to say “I am lovable.”  54  it took many years, she was finally open to bringing  55  into her life.

    She finally saw the sweet, wonder-filled little girl that she had always been.

1.A. decided           B. considered      C. promised       D. hoped      

2.A. bad               B. sorry           C. thankful       D. nice       

3. A. guess            B. understand      C. expect         D. intvent    

4.A. better            B. worse           C. angrier        D. harder     

5. A. holiday          B. date            C. trip           D. path      

6.A. bowl              B. basket          C. bag            D. purse       

7.A. Under             B. Above           C. Outside        D. Inside      

8.A. agreed with       B. fought against  C. gave up        D. suffered from       

9.A. pick              B. open            C. put            D. break       

10.A. pictures         B. memories        C. words          D. dreams       

11.A. disappeared      B. appeared        C. showed         D. changed       

12.A. and              B. with            C. among          D. but        

13.A. refused          B. forgot          C. realized       D. preferred         

14.A. crying           B. laughing        C. shouting       D. worrying      

15.A. daughter         B. mother          C. teacher        D. friend   

16.A. sad              B. happy           C. excited        D. hopeful

17. A. liked           B. hurt            C. educated       D. ignored

18.A. surprisingly     B. terribly        C. nervouslyD. importantly

19.A. Although         B. If              C. Because        D. So

20.A. trouble   B. love C. money    D. future