阅读理解

    One day I got in a taxi, and we left for the airport. We were driving in the right lane（车道）when, suddenly, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver stopped his car at once. The tire（轮胎） made a very loud noise, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the back of the other car.

    I was frightened. But then I couldn't believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, turned his head and started yelling at us. I couldn't believe it! But my taxi driver just smiled at the guy. So I asked, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost sent us to hospital.”

    This is when my taxi driver taught my what I now call, “The Law of the Rubbush Truck（垃圾车法则）.” He explained that many people are like rubbish trucks. They run around full of rubbish, full of anger and full of bad feelings. As their rubbish piles up, they look for a place to throw it away and sometimes they'll throw it at you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their rubbish and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.

    Successful people never let rubbish trucks change their moods. Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love those who love you and pray（祈祷）for those who don't.

    One day, an 11-year-old girl asked her dad," What are you going to get me for my 15th birthday? "The father replied, "Don't worry about that. We still have plenty of time."

    But on a day after her 14th birthday, She passed out(昏倒) and was rushed to the hospital. The family learned that the girl had a serious heart disease and that she might die. At night, she asked her dad, "Daddy, have they told you that I am going to die?" The father replied, "No, you will live as long as anyone else." She wondered and asked, "How can you be sure?" He smiled to her and said," I just know it?"

    After the girl turned 15, She had a heart transplant (心脏移植手术). After she came back from the hospital, she found a letter on her bed. It said, "My dearest daughter, one day you asked me what I would give you for your 15th birthday. I wasn't sure then. But now you know that my present to you is my heart." The father had given his heart to his daughter.

    Parents are selfless (无私的). They even make great sacrifices to make their children grow up happily. Keep this in mind when you feel angry toward your parents. Always, they're just doing what they think best for you.

    We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers. Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way home we had to stop at traffic lights, and there my wife saw the bookshelf.

    It stood outside a furniture shop. "Buy it," she said at once. "We'll carry it home on the roof-rack(车顶架). I've always wanted one like that."

    What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer, and the bookshelf was tied onto the roof-rock. It was tall and narrow, quite heavy, too.

    As it was getting darker, I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.

    After a time my wife said, "There's a long line of cars behind. Why don't they overtake(超车)?"

    Just at that time a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously when they went past. But then, with a kind smile, they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me. "Right, Sir," he said. "Do you need any more help now?"

    I didn't quite understand. "Thanks, officer," I said. "You've been very kind. I lived just down the road."

    He was looking at our things: first at the flowers, then at the bookshelf. "Well, well," he said and laughed. "It's a bookshelf you've got there! We thought it was something else. "My wife began to laugh. Suddenly I understood why the police drove here.

    I smiled at the officer. "Yes, it's a bookshelf, but thanks again." I drove home as fast as I could.

No one knows when the first kite was made. The first record of a kite was more than 2,000 years ago in China. Han Xin, the leader of an army, wanted to bring down a king. He decided to dig a tunnel (隧道) into the king's palace. He flew a kite over the wall of the palace to make sure the length of its string (线). In this way, he could determine how long the tunnel should be. His men in the tunnel took the kite string with them. When they reached the end of the string, they knew to dig up.

  Kites have been flown in Japan for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, kites were flown in autumn to give thanks for a good harvest. They were also flown to send good wishes to couples who had their first son. Today in Japan, kites are often flown as part of a celebration, such as the beginning of a new year. And kite festivals are held each year in many parts of the country.

  Kites have been used for scientific purposes in the western world. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin tied a key to a kite and flew it in a storm to find out that lightening was a form of electricity. In the 1890s, Lawrence Hargrave invented the box kite to test ideas about flight. From 1898 until 1933, the United States Weather Bureau (气象局) used box kites to collect weather data. The Wright brothers also experimented (试验)with kites. What they learnt helped them make the first airplane flight in 1903.

It was a Sunday morning. Lori was busy writing in her book. Marilyn was drinking coffee and I was reading a newspaper. Suddenly, Lori 1  and asked, "Why are there more pictures of Lisa than there are of 2  ?"Lisa is our older daughter.

I stared back, not understanding the 3 . Lori left the room . I looked at Marily,"Are there more pictures of Lisa than of Lori?"

"I've never 4  them. I don't know,"replied Mrilyn.

" But 5  would Lori ask such a question?" I asked. After a few minutes of thought, Marilyn said,"In my memory(记忆),you were taking photos when Lisa was born.

You hardly went 6  without a camera. When Lori was born, videos became 7  . You used a video camera to record nearly everything in our lives. There must be hundreds of videos of Lori in the computer that Lori has8 seen or doesn't remember."

Later that night, when we were alone, I turned on the computer and found the 9  of Lori.

"What are you going to do?" Marilyn asked.

"Her birthday is coming," I said. "Let's make an album for her as a gift. I don't know if the album will answer her question, 10  at least she'll know that we care enough to find her an answer."

Over the next few days, we secretly went through all the videos. We selected (挑选) some 11 . Marilyn had them made into photos. When the photos were returned, we placed them' into an album.

When we looked at the album, all the 12  memories came back. We hoped it showed how 13  she was to us.

On th June, when passing Lori's room to leave for work, I opened the door and slipped the album inside. Attached to it was a birthday card with a note 14  why her mother and I had put the album together.

It was about eight o'clock when my office telephone rang. I picked up the receiver. A tiny voice spoke,"I love you, Daddy,"she said and disconnected. I knew our 15  had been received.