When I was young, there was an apple orchard (果园) near my home. The man owning the orchard employed some migrant families to gather apples and care for the trees. They worked hard but got paid and fed little.

Once my grandmother struck up a conversation with one of the young women. Her name was Maria. She and her husband, Tony, were expecting a baby. “We’re going to stay with my parents,” Maria said. “We work here to earn money for the bus ticket.”

“They’re going to need a lot of things when the baby comes,” Grandmother told me when we got home. “Let’s ask God to send angels to help that young couple.”

“Angels?” I was surprised.

“If we do our part, angels will do the rest.” she said. Grandmother went to the closet and brought out a box filled with S & H trading stamps, which can be used to buy things. She spilled the pile of stamps on to the kitchen table. “You can see I’ve been saving up the stamps for just the right purchase.”

We sat down at the table and looked through the baby section of the S & H content. My eyes fell on a bassinet (摇篮) with a silk canopy (罩篷) over it. “That’s what a young mother will need,” Grandmother said. “Let’s see if we save 20 books of stamps, we can get a bassinet.”

In the coming weeks, we tried hard to collect the stamps, but before Maria and Tony left, we were three books short. And there were no angels helping us with the stamps either.

“Open the content,” Grandmother said. “Let’s pick a bassinet we can afford.” We chose one without a canopy. The next day we went to the Green Stamp store to get it. “Maria will love this one just as much.”

Grandmother assured me as she pushed the door open. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Grandmother gave the clerk the information and handed over the 17 books of stamps we saved. The clerk walked to the backroom and returned empty-handed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “We don’t have such a bassinet for the 17 books of stamps.”

2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。

I couldn’t believe it. No bassinet for the 17 books of stamps.

“That’s a lovely replacement with a canopy,” Grandmother said.

“Why are we bringing groceries for Mrs. Killinger?” Bobby asked his mother, Anna, as they walked back from the supermarket with a few extra bags for their elderly neighbor. He enjoyed helping his mother with these tasks, but they had never bought anything for any neighbor before.

“Honey, Mrs. Killinger is now having trouble walking around, so I offered to bring some things from the market,” Anna explained as they climbed up the wooden steps to Mrs. Killinger’s house and rang the doorbell.

“Ok, but she could get a wheelchair and move around,” the boy commented as if it was the most straightforward solution in the world.

“You know, Bobby. Mrs. Killinger doesn’t have the money to buy one right now.

They can get expensive.”   Anna explained, and Bobby pursed his lips in thought.

Mrs.Killinger answered the door, smiled, and invited them for some coffee and cookies. Bobby noticed how slowly she moved, and an idea formed in his mind. He told the older woman and his mother all about it, and they grinned at him indulgently (宽容地笑).Neither of them thought Bobby would do it.

That’s why Anna was surprised the following day when Bobby had made several ads. “Mom, can you add your phone number here, so people can call me with work?”

“Oh, honey. This is very sweet. But I don’t know if it’ll be enough to raise the money she needs to buy a wheelchair,” Anna explained. She loved that her son had such a big heart, but he didn’t want him to be heartbroken if no one called or he couldn’t raise the money.

“Well，at least，I can say that I tried to help，” Bobby chirped (欢快地说)with his bright smile and eager eyes. Anna nodded and added her phone number to the ads. In his ad, Bobby offered his “services” which included helping with shopping, mowing lawns, keeping company, and walking dogs. He also left the price of his services, which made Anna smile. He honestly just wanted to help.

Anna helped him put up the ads around the neighborhood.

Two weeks later, Bobby still hadn’t raise the amount of money he wanted.

Back in 2008, I lost my job and lived in my car with my wife and two teenage children. I was desperate for a new job, any job, so when I saw an ad for a position as a gatekeeper at a private home, I applied. The money wasn’t great, but the position came with a small one-bedroom apartment to get my family off the streets. And I had to pay debts with over 40% of my small salary every month. My wife and I agreed that whatever food we could afford to buy would go to the children. And whatever were leftovers were our meal, and sometimes there wasn’t much at all.

My boss was a man in his sixties, who showed his employees apparent haughtiness（傲慢）, never responding when I greeted him when I opened the gates. But I wouldn’t quit the job, though. My job consisted of standing watch, opening and closing the gates, and patrolling（巡逻）the grounds.

One afternoon, my rounds brought me around the back where the leftovers were thrown into the garbage bins, most of which stayed untouched. I was so hungry, so I went looking for leftovers in the bins and took them to my wife. Regardless of desperation and shame, I kept doing that almost every day.

Then one day, my boss watched me look for leftovers from a window. Ignoring the embarrassment, I walked away with the food.

The next morning, we were surprised by a large bag on our doorstep. Inside the bag were vegetables, milk, meat and a selection of fruit. We wondered who could have placed it there. My wife and I wept with gratitude. The next week, another bag of groceries arrived on our doorstep. And it appeared the next two years.

Then a shock hit us. The boss, who’d been in hospital for some kind of operation, was dead. I was frightened I’d lose my job, but everything went on as usual.

I’d had a rather stressful day at work. It didn’t help that I’d also had another argument with my teenaged daughter that morning. By the time I arrived home, I eagerly anticipated(期盼)getting my evening walk to clear my mind. It was getting cloudier and I could tell that rain was coming. No problem. I would be home long before the liquid sunshine fell.

The intense walk worked off much of my energy. I slowed my pace, but a quick glance down shocked me. The cutest Jack Russell Terrier had appeared out of nowhere and was keeping pace beside me. I knelt to pet her, delighted to discover that her ears were so soft that she reminded me of my childhood dog. She had the same coloring as Lucky — white with a large black spot on her back and side, brown face, and white nose.

“Where did you come from, little one?” She was not wearing a collar or identification tags. I remembered seeing a Terrier when I drove into the neighborhood a few hours earlier. It had darted(突然行进)into the street in front of my car, but I had assumed she lived in the area. She must be the same dog.

I continued my walk, thinking she would find her way home on her own. The little stray continued to keep pace, walking next to me as if we were age-old companions. When I looked around, I was not surprised that, other than the dog, I was alone on this dreary(沉闷的)night. The sky had already darkened. I was worried. If I left her out there, she might be hit by a car. I wondered if I should just take her home.

The timing was ironic(讽刺的). My sixteen-year-old daughter, Megan, wanted another pet. Our family dog, Daisy, had slowed considerably in her old age, and Megan hoped we would adopt a younger, livelier dog. We had resisted her requests, since she would be leaving for college in a couple of years. Besides, Megan and I had not exactly seen eye-to-eye earlier that day. I didn’t want it to seem as if I was rewarding her after yet another argument.

The heavens opening and rain pouring, I made my decision.

The neighbor offered to give me a spare leash(遛狗绳), and I accepted gratefully.