My husband Jeff and I moved into our new home in Scottsbluff last year just before Christmas. I did not have the1or energy to carry out my traditional Christmas decorating and baking activities. What was the point, anyway? It was going to be a 2istmas after all.

   3, the neighborly nature of west Nebraska residents started to trickle (陆续来临) in.

    There was a4on the door one evening. It was Jeff's new colleague, John Smith, and his wife, Phyllis. The Smiths had stopped by to5us to town with a loaf of homemade bread. They pointed out a6on the porch (门廊). Apparently the doorbell wasn't working in the cold snowy weather and we had7a visit from the Browns, our across-the-street neighbors, who brought us a Christmas card and more Christmas cookies.

  The8feelings brought by these thoughtful gestures lasted longer than the food.

  As Jeff and I were clearing pre-Christmas9from our driveway, Ernie Guzman came over from next door to 10us to dig out.

  Then, we received an invitation to11 a Christmas Eve meal with our neighbors, Ernie and Nancy Sommer, and their12 —a 90-year-old lady, who also had no family in the immediate area with whom to spend the holiday.

  Our Christmas Eve was quite merry, thanks to our13. Our Christmas morning14 was special, thanks to the Smiths' gift of bread. I was so15for these gestures of welcome, especially during the holidays.

  This year, we were again unable to be with our families for Christmas. The 16and work schedules just made things too difficult.17  that sense of Christmas isolation (孤立) all too well, we decided to try to round up some other folks who were18in the holidays.

  Lonely people are all around us, but most of us 19notice them. Just take a look around you. Sometimes, the smallest20gesture can make a world of difference.

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。

    On a warm Monday, Jenny Neilson bought a sandwich and parked her car under some trees. Rolling down the windows to 1 in fresh air, she settled back to enjoy her lunch. Suddenly she2 a big bald（秃顶的）man running through the parking lot. Before she came to 3 what would happen, the man was there, shouting through her window, “Get out!”

    Neilson 4.

    Pulling open her door, the man seized her 5 the neck and hair, and threw her out of the car onto the ground. She screamed, 6 her purse and the keys.

    Two reporters of the local newspaper, Robert Bruce and Jeff Jackson, just outside their office building on a7, heard the screams and began running.

    When they 8 Neilson's car, the attacker had jumped into the driver's seat and was 9 searching for the keys. Bruce opened the door, and he and Jackson dragged the man out. The attacker 10 back. But even in his cornered panic, he was no11 for the two athletic men.

    Reggie Miller, a worker of the local newspaper, heard the screams, too. He rushed back to the office to 12 the police, and then ran back with some plastic ropes—used to tie up newspapers.

    With his arms13 tight behind him, the prisoner looked up and said 14, “I hope you guys feel good about yourselves—you just caught one of the most wanted men.” They 15 him and waited for the police.

    Later, Bruce and Jackson were shocked to learn the man was the 16 carjacker（劫车者）and suspected murderer, whose 17—but with a full head of hair—had been recently printed in their own newspaper.

    Neilson considers herself lucky 18 she suffered injuries. She believes the story might have had a19 ending if those good people had not come to her aid. “Unfortunately,” she said, “many people would20 have done what they did, and that's the real truth.”

    It was Tom's first visit to England, and he was looking forward to his first journey on London's Underground Railway. And against his friends'1 he was determined to travel 2.

    He entered the station shortly after five o'clock in the afternoon. This is a  3 time to travel in London,4 crowds of people go home from work at this hour. He 5 to join a long line of people waiting for tickets. When at last his 6 came, he had some difficulty in making himself understood by the ticket seller.7, he got the right ticket in the end and by asking people the 8he also found the right platform. It was 9with people. He did not 10 to get on the first train, but he was able to move nearer to the platform so as to be in a better 11to get on the next one. When this train came in, Tom was 12 forward onto the train by the 13 of people from behind. The doors closed and the train moved off. He was unable to see the14 of the stations where the train 15but he knew that the station he wanted was the sixth 16 along the line. When the train reached the sixth station, Tom got off, feeling 17that his journey  had been so easy. But he suddenly realized that he had come to a station he had never 18He explained his 19 to a man who was standing on the platform. With a 20on his face, he told Tom that he had caught a train going in the opposite direction.

    While high school does not generally encourage students to explore new aspects of life，college sets the stage for that exploration. I myself went through this1 process and found something that has changed my2 at college for the better：I discovered ASL—American Sign Language(美式手语).

    I never felt an urge to3 any sign language before. My entire family is hearing，and so are all my friends. The 4 languages were enough in all my interactions(交往).Little did I know that I would discover my5 for ASL.

    The6 began during my first week at college. I watched as the ASL Club 7their translation of a song. Both the hand movements and the very8of communicating without speaking9me. What I saw was completely unlike anything I had experienced in the10.This newness just left me11more.

    After that, feeling the need to12further, I decided to drop in on one of ASL club's meetings. I only learned how to13the alphabet that day. Yet instead of being discouraged by my14progress，I was excited. I then made it a point to15those meetings and learn all I could.

    The following term, I 16an ASL class. The professor was deaf and any talking was17I soon realized that the silence was not unpleasant.18 if there had been any talking, it would have19us to learn less. Now, I appreciate the silence and the20way of communication it opens.

    Growing up, I always hid my thumbs in my fists because of their unusual shape. 1 they do look more like a big toe（脚趾）2 a thumb. And from an early age, my thumbs 3 another name “toe thumbs” .

    In high school, I served as a cashier in a grocery store. One day, I was 4 a sweet little old lady and as I 5 her change back to her, she suddenly took my hands and said in a thick Polish 6, “You are Polish! Look at those 7 Polish thumbs! They match mine!” She raised her hands and 8 her thumbs to me that 9 weathered and wrinkled, looked exactly like mine! She 10 my hands again and said, “Be11of those thumbs!”

    I'll never forget that 30-second 12 with a stranger that forever 13 my view of a part of me I once was 14 by and now accept. As I was eating dinner with my Samuel tonight, he looked down at my hand 15 on the table next to his and said, “Mommy! Our thumbs 16!” I smiled and answered, “Yes, they do, buddy! Those are strong Polish 17 you have! Take pride in them! Maybe someday you'll have a little boy or girl who will have the same thumbs!” I 18 my son never hides his thumbs like I did. I hope he'll be proud of their “unusualness” and the 19 behind them. He carries on a(n) 20 part of me and that for me will always be beautiful!

    One of my favourite films is Mr. Bean. At a Fancy (化装)Restaurant. In the film, after being1at his table, Mr. Bean takes out a2, writes a few words on it, signs his name, puts it into an envelope and 3it on the table. After a moment, he looks at the4but this time he looks surprised, as if he did not know it was there. He opens it to find a birthday card and delightedly puts it on the table for everyone to see.

    When he looks at the5, an astonished look quickly6on his face. He takes all7out of his pockets, counts it and puts it in a saucer(碟子).He then looks from the menu to the money with 8until he finds one thing that makes him smile. He9a dish called "steak tartare." When the dish arrives, he is 10to discover that "steak tartare" is11a raw(生肉的)hamburger. He12an attempt to eat it, but it is13, from the look on his face, that he finds the taste really terrible. He cannot14his feelings, except when the waiter asks whether everything is OK. He smiles and nods,15that everything is fine.16no one is looking, however, he17himself hiding the raw meat anywhere he can18, inside a sugar bottle, a tiny flower vase and under a plate. He becomes so disappointed in the end that he19hides some inside the20of a woman sitting near him and throws some under the seat of the restaurant's violinist!

    I like to watch Mr. Bean on TV but I wouldn't want to meet someone like him in real life.