2 . It was Christmas Day. For Antony, this was another day spent in a white-walled ______. His wife and son were enjoying chicken and soup at home. But for Antony, he couldn’t enjoy the Christmas ______ with them. Instead, he was surrounded by flashes of red from arriving ambulances. He was _______ lives.
About fifty years ago, Antony was born in a little ______ in Northern Greece, where religious festivities were upheld with the highest honor. However, he was a boy who _____ Santa. When asked the reason, he laughed out and said, “He was always there, but he never _______ me Christmas presents.” His laugh then turned into a(n) ______ yell, trying to get emotional resonance (共鸣). He continued, “All the other children in the village got Christmas _______ except me.”
When he was a boy, his parents struggled hard to make ends meet and couldn’t ______ to buy him gifts. He was left to think Santa was an ________ magical man who always forgot him. Santa brought the other children presents, but ignored him. People could never imagine what it was like for him to watch all the other _______ open their Christmas presents.
______, when other children in the village played with new toys, Antony passed the time by reading his older brother’s ______ textbooks. His appetite for reading and the example his older brother set _______ him to study hard and become a _____. Antony is now a senior cardiologist. He works ______ at the hospital, close to the village where he grew up.
Doctors are especially needed, and Antony is not relying on Santa to deliver. He is at the hospital, like Santa, faithfully ________ the greatest gift of all. Antony teaches us that we can rise from _______ beginnings. His story shows us that though we may not grow up having what others do, with the right _______ and hard work, we can do something _______.
1. | A．restaurant | B．hospital | C．supermarket | D．cinema |
2. | A．appointment | B．performance | C．delight | D．blessing |
3. | A．improving | B．wasting | C．enjoying | D．saving |
4. | A．farm | B．village | C．shop | D．school |
5. | A．hated | B．followed | C．admired | D．trusted |
6. | A．bought | B．taught | C．brought | D．lent |
7. | A．forgettable | B．considerate | C．impolite | D．infectious |
8. | A．records | B．presents | C．information | D．knowledge |
9. | A．afford | B．reject | C．claim | D．arrange |
10. | A．attractive | B．aggressive | C．awful | D．ambitious |
11. | A．patients | B．parents | C．doctors | D．kids |
12. | A．In the past | B．In the distance | C．In the end | D．In the meantime |
13. | A．musical | B．physical | C．medical | D．natural |
14. | A．required | B．inspired | C．forced | D．persuaded |
15. | A．salesman | B．consultant | C．manager | D．doctor |
16. | A．tirelessly | B．regularly | C．exactly | D．reasonably |
17. | A．trying out | B．drawing out | C．giving out | D．selling out |
18. | A．smooth | B．promising | C．complex | D．humble |
19. | A．opinion | B．motive | C．comment | D．privilege |
20. | A．extraordinary | B．familiar | C．practical | D．traditional |
