阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

    It was Thanksgiving morning. In the crowded kitchen of my small house I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey 1the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in 2clothes and thin little sandals(凉鞋), staying together at the door on the top step.

    “Any old 3 ， lady?” asked one of them. I was4 . I wanted to say “no” until my eye 5their sandals, which were wet with heavy snow.

    “ 6and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”They walked 7and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks on the8 . I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight9the freezing cold outside. 10 I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget for Thanksgiving Day.

    The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a 11 voice，“Lady, are you 12?” “Am I rich? Pity. No!”

    I looked at my old sofa covers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer(托盘)13and said,  “Your cups match your saucers.” Her voice was flat with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after that， 14their papers against the wind. They hadn't said “Thank you.” They didn't need to. They had 15me that I had so much to be grateful for. Plain blue China cups and saucers were 16worth five pence. But they matched.

    I tasted the potatoes and the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good and steady job—these 17 ， too.

    I moved the chairs back from the fire and 18 the living room. The muddy(沾上泥的) 19 of small sandals were still wet on my floor. Let them remain for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to 20how rich I am.

    It was early one hot morning in 2015 when, accompanied by my mother, I was1wheeled to the taxi stand. Three weeks earlier, I had2my left ankle at home. Now, I was on my way to being3 for an operation at the Philippine General Hospital.

    I was feeling 4as I'd never had surgery before and the thought of it5me. After waiting for6for more than 90 minutes, we were still standing there. It usually only takes a few minutes, but on this particular Sunday they would7 us either already filled with passengers or8to take us. Perhaps they weren't 9to carry my 10. My mother was starting to get frustrated as we were fast running out of time; our11was scheduled for 10:45am. Then a black SUV12 and stopped in front of us. The driver, taking a look at us, said, “You two look like you could use a13!” He told us he'd seen us earlier as he was taking his son to a14school activity. He was now returning home and saw that we were still there.

    With no questions asked, this good Samaritan welcomed us aboard and got us to the hospital. We arrived at 10:30 – just in time. He refused any15, saying people should help one another. He left with a smile.

    I was finally16. A long recovery process and physical therapy followed and now I am able to17again.

    To this day we have not18again this friendly driver who went out of his way, but his generosity towards us has19in our minds and taught me to keep watch for and help others 20.

    When I was 7 months pregnant with my daughter, I witnessed a car accident. Someone and I1to get the elderly lady who2the accident out of the car. It was during the summer months and I was one of the few3staff on. I stayed with her4the ambulance came but I couldn't travel with her as there was no one else in my department to5the class.

    My mother-in-law,6years later, was collecting donations about a 10-minute walk from where the7occurred. She left calling cards saying she would be back to houses where no one was in. When she8to a house an elderly lady was really9of talking to her. She questioned my mother-in-law and asked if she had any10called Rose-Marie.

    The lady had made a11with my surname (姓) she had remembered from all those years ago and my mother-in-law' surname. The lady12the story to my mother-in-law and told her of my13. She also said she had tried to14me down and even put a notice in the petrol station nearby asking anyone who15me to get in touch with her! She had also been16about me as I was pregnant.

My mother-in-law was17to tell her my daughter was healthy and 10 years old. It is a really beautiful kindness to me to18remember me after all that time and to even remember my19. Her kindness touched me more than20could possibly touch her.

    I'm Therese, a business manager living in Berlin, Germany. Last month, I 1 to read over 100 nonfiction books in psyshology, politics, and leadership. It might sound 2, but I really did.

    It started with a 3. A colleague 4 me to read Mallcolm Gladwell's The Story of Success in two 5. Determined as I was, I just couldn't 6 the deadline. I 7 the first few chapters quickly but found it impossible to finish all in 2 hours. So I 8 the bet, but it gave me an idea: I needed to find a better way to consume nonfiction books. I finally registered the Blinkist app, which is really 9 for me to read quickly. Blinkist is one of the apps that transform books into "bite-sized" 10. I've learned that in order to produce proper insights from every book, over 100 literary experts 11 themselves to work. I also love that the app has an audio 12 allowing me to listen to great ideas. So I set a fresh 13 with this cool app — to read the key insights from 100 books in one month. How did I do? I read 102 titles exactly.

    I used to 14 much time on social media. Moreover, my job is exhausting, so by the time I leave work, my brain is pretty useless. 15, reading a book on the Blinkist app is like a snack for my 16. I'm happy that I'm doing something  17 with my time. Every day, I wake up 18 than the day before. If you want to get wiser too, then I challenge you to try and 19 my 102-title record! 20 the Blinkist app and start your reading adventure!

    When you are five years old, your mother is your everything. She is your1, friend, nurse; the only person you rely on2with your hopes, dreams, and wishes. But for me, this was not the case.

    My mother suffered from 3problems that would keep her in bed for days, leaving me to care for her and look after myself. This situation4me to grow up much faster. While I knew my mother was sick, I felt deep down that we could5it and everything would be okay. 6, in 1997 everything went terribly wrong, and my life changed forever.

    Adoption is a7word to a five-year-old, but when I realized that my own mother had signed me over to8, I felt it was the worst betrayal. I suffered from shock, anger, and confusion as I attempted to adjust to my new family. No longer could I trust anyone since the person I had loved more than all else had9me. Hearing people tell me that she did it in my best interest, I felt it even more10. I could not forgive her and always11 how she could reject me like an old sofa.

    However, the more I got older, the more I began to understand how12 our situation had been. We had been13 on boxes of noodles, and at one point we14 lived in our car. I was once passed from drug-addicted cousins to mentally unstable neighbors as my mother15 to try and save me from what our lives were becoming16 each day passed.

      17 recently have I begun to understand why my mother gave me to strangers.    18, she really did save me. She loved me more than anything, so she wanted me to have a chance in life, 19 she could no longer offer me. I now know my life has been a special 20only because she was selfless enough to give me up.