A funny thing happened to Arthur when he was on the way to work one day. As he walked along Park Avenue near the First National Bank, he heard the sound of someone trying to start a car. He tried again and again but couldn’t get the car moving. Arthur turned and looked inside at the face of a young man who looked worried.

Arthur stopped and said, “It looks like you’ve got a problem.”

“I’m afraid so. I’m in a big hurry but I can’t start my car.”

“Is there something I can do to help?” Arthur asked. The young man looked at the two suitcases in the back seat and then said, “Thanks. If you’re sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble, you could help me get these suitcases into a taxi.”

“No trouble at all. I’d be glad to help.”

The young man got out and took one of the suitcases from the back seat. After placing it on the ground, he turned to get the other one. Just as Arthur picked up the first suitcase and started walking, he heard the long loud noise of an alarm.

It was from the bank. There had been a robbery (抢劫)!

Park Avenue had been quiet a moment before. Now the air was filled with the sound of the alarm and the shouts of people running from all directions. Cars stopped and the passengers joined the crowd in front of the bank. People asked each other, “What happened?” But everyone had a different answer.

Arthur still carrying the suitcase, turned to look at the bank and walked right into a young woman in front of him.

She looked at the suitcase and then at him. Arthur was surprised. “Why is she looking at me like that?” he thought. “The suitcase! She thinks I’m the bank thief!”

Arthur looked around at the crowd of people. He became frightened, and without another thought, he started to run.

As he was running, Arthur heard the young man shouting behind, “Stop! Stop!” _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The taxi stopped in front of the police station. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2 . It was a sunny but cold winter here in the mountains. I was _________ home along the clear roads. The last_________ had been over a week ago but down the sides of the hills lining the highway there were still _________ walls of ice. As I started to round a sharp turn, I_________ that a large piece of ice had broken off and fallen onto the road. I _________ turned my car to the other lane (车道) to _________ it. After I did it, I noticed a small dog was walking in my former lane just beyond where the ice had _________. If I had still been in that lane, I would have surely _________ him. Slowing down, I honked (按喇叭) and the dog was_________. He looked at me for a moment and then __________ the road and got into the safety of the woods.

I pulled over to a __________ place and parked. Then I walked back to the ice and moved it __________ the road so that no one would hit it. As I walked back to my car, I looked up at the__________. The clouds had just parted again to__________ the sun to shine through. I smiled and__________ fate (命运) for putting that ice just where it needed to be to keep me from hitting that little dog.

As I__________ driving home, I started thinking of all the times that the traffic in my life must have been redirected (重新定向). How many times had I been the small dog walking into traffic only to have the “ice” so I wouldn’t be__________? How many times had fate given me another __________ to find my way back to the right path without being __________?

Fate __________ us all so much. So let’s live wisely and thankfully.

5 . Five-year-old Willard Wigan struggled to tell the difference between an M and a W or a 6 and a 9. Unfortunately, his schoolteacher knew nothing about dyslexia (阅读障碍症), a learning disability that can make letters and numbers ________. She didn’t try to ________ him.

Not ________, Willard didn’t like school. Usually, his mind drifted (游荡) to playing outside, to his dog Maxie, or to the ________ that lived near his family’s garden bed. Willard was especially ________ about those ants. He felt like them-________ and insignificant.

Willard ________ that the ants were coming and going from a hole in the dirt. One ant was carrying a piece of grass, and Willard thought, “He’s trying to build a ________, so I am going to help him!”

Willard constructed a small house for ants. At school, Willard still ________, but now he knew he could do something ________. Maybe he wasn’t a failure after all. Willard later went home and created tiny furniture (家具) for the ant house.

His artistic skill ________, and a love for little things began to grow in his heart. When he showed his mother his carved works, she said, “This is what you do well. You must make ________ to be the best in the world.”

With her ________, Willard continued. When he quit school at age 15 to help support his family, Willard still spent his spare time ________. His confidence grew as more people appreciated his talent.

Because of their beauty and rarity, Willard’s sculptures have made him a(n) ________ man. But he says, “Success isn’t about material things like an expensive watch or a costly ring; it’s about determination and achieving your dreams.”

It was the day of the big cross-country run. Students from seven different primary schools in and around the small town were warming up and walking the route(路线)through thick evergreen forest.

I looked around and finally spotted David, who was standing by himself off to the side by a fence. He was small for ten years old. His usual big toothy smile was absent today. I walked over and asked him why he wasn’t with the other children. He hesitated and then said he had decided not to run.

What was wrong? He had worked so hard for this event!

I quickly searched the crowd for the school’s coach and asked him what had happened. “I was afraid that kids from other schools would laugh at him,” he explained uncomfortably. “I gave him the choice to run or not, and let him decide.”

I bit back my frustration(懊恼). I knew the coach meant well—he thought he was doing the right thing. After making sure that David could run if he wanted, I turned to find him coming towards me, his small body rocking from side to side as he swung his feet forward.

David had a brain disease which prevented him from walking or running like other children, but at school his classmates thought of him as a regular kid. He always participated to the best of his ability in whatever they were doing. That was why none of the children thought it unusual that David had decided to join the cross-country team. It just took him longer—that’s all. David had not missed a single practice, and although he always finished his run long after the other children, he did always finish. As a special education teacher at the school, I was familiar with the challenges David faced and was proud of his strong determination.

All the housewives who went to the new supermarket had one great ambition: to be the lucky customer who did not have to pay for her shopping. For this was what the notice just inside the entrance promised. It said: “Remember, once a week, one of our customers gets free goods. This may be your lucky day.”

For several weeks Mrs. Emerson hoped, like many of her friends, to be the lucky customer. Unlike her friends, she never gave up hope. Her kitchen were full of things which she did not need. Her husband tried to dissuade(劝阻) her but failed. She dreamed of the day when the manager of the supermarket would approach her and say, “Madam, this is your lucky day. Everything in your basket is free.”

One morning, after she had finished her shopping and had taken it to her car she found that she forgot to buy any tea. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn't be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date.

We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile—warm and reassuring(安慰的)-and I returned her gift by smiling back.

''Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers," she said.

''Yes, she's special," I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. ''It's only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she's the one'' jokingly, I added, ''The only problem is that I can't figure out why she'd want to date a guy like me. ''

''Well, I think she's very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her," the woman said. ''My husband used to bring me flowers every week-even when times were tough and we didn't have much money. Those were incredible (难以置信的)days； he was very romantic and-of course-I miss him since he's passed away. ''

Para. 1 There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her.

Para. 2 It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased.