阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

    I went online to check if my pay was in my bank 1. To my amazement I discovered that not only had I been paid, a 2 I'd never worked for had also paid me! I knew I'd have been beside myself if my own salary was not in my account, so I tried to get the money 3 to the right person. Easier said than4 .

    The bank couldn't help as it wasn't a bank 5. The human resources department at the company that paid me was unable to help as I didn't have enough 6 . I rang the bank again. 7, I had a sympathetic call operator who gave me a(n)8 , so I again rang the company “Daniel” worked for.

    I expected the bank would 9 me to arrange to take the money from my account and repay Daniel. I heard 10 for a month and the money remained in my account when Daniel called, 11 he'd tried to get back his money but had been unsuccessful as neither the bank nor his company felt it was their12 . He had rung to ask if I could speak to the bank, but after chatting for a few minutes we realized we could probably 13 this problem ourselves.

    We decided I would take the money from my account and he would14 it up from me. Due to my busy job I was unable to meet Daniel 15 but he left me a lovely bottle of wine 16 what was rightfully his. I never had any 17of keeping Daniel's pay but red tape(繁琐手续) made 18 difficult to do the right thing. It all came down to (归结为) 19 people being able to do what a huge bank and a large company couldn't do— 20 a mistake has occurred and fix it.

    Four days ago, I was taking a taxi. On the way, I just had the 1 stop at a store to buy something. A woman2me to let her hitchhike(免费搭车).

    I 3and picked this woman up. I thought she was too fat; she 4 about 120 kg. But she was very sweet and kind-hearted, so I didn't5.

    She was talking to me6 while going back to her place about how she got everything for her7. So I thought to myself she must have a happy family. But nothing special 8 yet.

    I got to her apartment9she needed help getting all the things she got to her place. I just helped her out and while I was 10the stuff(物品) inside her house, I11 that her husband walked in from the back of the apartment. So she was talking to him in her12 voice.“Honey, I got you this ; Honey, I got you that.” But what I came to notice was that her husband was13. And then I looked close to how they were together and I knew for that moment I was seeing “ TRUE14.”

    They cared for each other so 15 and what they looked like was not 16 at all. I was just deeply 17 by the true love between them.

    Sometimes I think about going back to the apartment to tell them what I 18 in them and to thank them for sharing their 19with me. Even though it is for a few 20 I like the way the blind couple care about each other; it is a very happy and romantic thing.

    I remember the first day when I saw Sally playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she struggled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. She seemed so 1, but she managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her 2 nobody could.

    I began to notice Sally at other times, basketball in hand, playing 3. She practiced dribbling（运球）and 4 over and over.

    One day I asked Sally why she 5 so much. Without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is to get a 6. I'm going to play college basketball and I want to be the best one. I believe that if I am 7 enough, I will get one. My father has told me that if the dream is big enough, the facts don't 8.”

    I 9 her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her team to 10. One day in her senior year, I saw her siting on the grass, her head 11 in her arms. Slowly and quietly, I 12 and sat down beside her. “What's wrong?” I asked. “Oh nothing,” came a soft reply, “I am just too short” The 13 told her that at 165cm she would probably never play for a top team－still less she would be14 a scholarship-so she should stop dreaming about college.

    I felt she was extremely 15. I asked her if she had talked her dad about it yet. She told me that her father said those coaches were 16. They didn't understand the 17 of a dream.

    The next year, Sally was seen by a college basketball coach after a big game. She was 18 offered a scholarship and 19 to the college team. She was going to get the college education that she had 20 and worked toward for all those years.

    It's true if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.

    I was driving to a business appointment when I came to a very busy crossroad. The traffic light had just turned red. Suddenly, an unforgettable 1 caught my eye. A young couple, both blind, were 2 arm-in-arm across this busy crossroad with cars racing by in every direction. Each of them had a walking stick extended, searching for clues to 3 them.

At first I was moved. They were trying to 4 what I felt was one of the most scary disability—blindness. It 5 be terrible to be blind. My thought was quickly interrupted by 6 when I saw that the couple were directly walking toward the middle of the crossroad. Without 7 the danger they were in, they were walking right into the path of oncoming cars. I was concerned because I didn't know 8 the other drivers understood what was happening.

    To my astonishment, I saw a(n) 9 scene unfold before my eyes. Every car in every direction came to a(n) 10. No sharp sounds of brakes or noisy horn were heard, 11 did anyone yell, “Get out of the way!” Everything 12. At that moment, time seemed to stand still for this couple.

    Amazed, I 13 the cars around me. I noticed that everyone's attention was fixed on the couple. 14 the driver to my right yelled, “To your right! To your right!” Other people 15 in union, shouting, “To your right!”

    The couple 16 their own course and they made it to the other side of the road. 17 they arrived at the roadside, one thing impressed me--they were 18 arm-in-arm. I was taken aback by the 19 expressions on their faces and judged that they had no idea what was really 20 around them.

    As I drove away, I did so with more awareness of life and care for others than ever before.

    Manuela got up earlier and bought two bags of cat food. She began going to the1barbershop on the corner, making her weekly visit to see Hussein, the old barber. Hussein was both2and delighted to see Manuela and the bags of food. The two hurried over to the tiny food dishes lined up in the alley. Several3appeared soon.

    As the two4and made their way back inside the shop, Hussein's smile5 and he explained he was about to6the barbershop. He had been told to leave within 7 days. His7barbershop simply couldn't pay enough rent and the landlord had invited another roomer, one who wouldn't be8animals outside.

    Manuela's eyes began to9as Hussein expressed his10about the homeless cats he cared for. But as fate(命运) would have it, there was something better11for the barber and his cats. As Manuela's blog supporters read her12about Hussein, they, one after another,13donating to him and his cats. Every day for the next week, Manuela went to Hussein with the14. And on the fourth day, something unbelievable happened when Hussein was able to15a storefront in an old building near his shop. No electricity,16there was potential. Manuela and other people17to help paint and clear rubbish while electricians made all the necessary18.

    In less than two weeks, the barber was back in19again. Through the kindness of strangers,20, his and his cats' whole world was brought back.

 Lindsey Stallworth, a high school student from Alabama, is on her way to a promising career in paleontology (古生物学) due to an unexpected discovery on family property. For years, she had been collecting fossils on their land in Monroe County, unaware of significant scientific value. However, her teacher at the Alabama School of Math and Science, Dr. Andrew Gentry, a paleontologist himself, took an interest when she showed him her collection.

" Upon examining the fossil shark teeth Lindsey presented, I quickly identified one cr: became eager to learn about its origin," said Andrew.

Lindsey guided her teacher through the rural area where she had unearthed various relics, including shark teeth. Before long, they encountered an especially significant find on the. grounds:a large bone from a 34- million- year- old whale skeleton! This led the pair to launch the huge project of uncovering the rest of the bones. After two months of hard work, they' ve managed to find the animal's skull·(颅骨),

" Assuming the entire skeleton is present, it may require several years for us to have the entire animal back in the lab," Andrew explained.

 Lindsey secured a research scholarship to persist in her fossil- digging expeditions alongside her instructor. Her enthusiasm for the project was at an all- time high, though she had never imagined a childhood pastime would lead her down this road." We would go out and pick up shark teeth and fossil shells, but we never knew anyone that could tell us anything about them," she recalled." We just thought they were cool."

" The Research Fellows Program allows Lindsey to gain real- world experience in scientific research and even present that research at professional conferences," Andrew said." It's a once- in-a- lifetime opportunity for a high school student to stand out when applying to college and maybe even discover a new career path."