When Dave was eighteen, he bought a second-hand car for ￡200 so that he could travel to and from work more 1 than by bus. It worked quite well for a few years, but then it got so old, and it was costing him2 much in repairs that he decided that he had better3 it.

    He asked among his friends to see if anyone was particularly4 to buy a cheap car, but they all knew that it was falling to pieces, so 5_of them had any desire to buy it.

    Dave's friend Sam saw that he was 6 when they met one evening, and said, “What's 7, Dave?” Dave told him and Sam answered, “Well, what about advertising it in the paper? You may8 more for it that way than the cost of the advertisement!” Thinking that Sam's 9was sensible, he put an advertisement in an evening paper, which read: “For sale: small car,10very little petrol, only two owners. Bargain at ￡50.”

    For two days after the advertisement first appeared, there was no 11. But then on Saturday evening a man rang up and said he would like to 12 him about the car. “All right,” Dave said, feeling happy. He asked the man whether ten o'clock the next morning would be 13or not. “Fine,” the man said. “And I'll 14 my wife. We intend to go for a ride in it to 15 it.”

    The next morning, at ten quarter, Dave parked the car in the square outside his front door,16 to wait there for the person who had 17 his advertisement. Even Dave had to 18 that the car really looked like a wreck (残骸). Then soon after he had got the car as 19 as it could be, a police car stopped just behind him and a policeman got out. He looked at Dave's car and then said, “Have you reported this 20 to us yet, sir?”

    As a kid I loved everything about school. I loved books1tests and homework. Most of all I longed to someday march down the aisle (通道) to receive my2.That seemed more appealing even than getting married. But at 15, I had to3because my parents4afford tuition. My hope of getting a diploma was dead.

Pretty soon, I married. I had three Children, and I thought: "There5my diploma."

    Even so, I wanted my children to be educated. But Linda, our youngest child, had juvenile arthritis (幼年型关节炎) in her6and knees, which made it7for her to function (活动) in a normal classroom.

    One day, I saw an ad in the newspaper for evening courses.

"That's the answer," I said to myself. Linda always feels8in the evening, so I'll just sign her up for night school.

Linda was busy9out enrollment (入学) forms when the secretary said: "Mrs Schantz, why don't you come back to10?"

I11: "There's no way! I'm 55!"

12he insisted, and before I knew what I had done, I was enrolled for classes in English and crafts. "This is only an experiment," I13him, but he just smiled. To my surprise, both Linda and I thrived (茁壮成长) in evening school. I went back again the next semester, and my grades14improved.

It was15going to school again, but it was no game. Sitting in a class full of kids was awkward,16most of them were respectful and encouraging. During the day, I still had loads of housework to do. But when I was down, Linda encouraged me. "Morn, you can't17now!" And when she was down, I18her. Together we saw it through. At last, I got my diploma19 my classmates voted unanimously (一致地) for me to be class speaker, and I got a ＄3, 000 college scholarship.

    Yes, Mom, I was late for school, but I got there20.

    In 1973, I was teaching elementary school. Each day,27kids1“The Thinking Laboratory.” That was the 2 students voted for after deciding that “Room 104” was too3.

    Freddy was an average4,but not an average person .He had the rare balance of fun and compassion（同情）.He would5 the loudest over fun and be the saddest over anyone's6.

    Before the school year7,I gave the kids a special 8, T-shirts with the words “Verbs Are Your9” on them. I had advised the kids that while verbs（动词）may seem dull ,most of the10 things they do throughout their lives will be verbs.

    Through the years, I'd run into former students who would provide 11 on old classmates. I learned that Freddy did several jobs after his 12 from high school and remained the same 13 person I met forty years before .Once, while working overnight at a store, he let a homeless man 14in his truck. Another time ,he 15a friend money to buy a house .

    Just last year, I was16 a workshop when someone knocked at the classroom door. A woman17 the interruption and handed me an envelope. I stopped teaching and 18 it up. Inside were the “Verbs” shirt and a 19 from Freddy's mother. “Freddy passed away on Thanksgiving. He wanted you to have this.”

    I told the story  to the class. As sad as it was, I couldn't help smiling. Although Freddy was taken from us, we all20something from Freddy.

    A little boy invited his mother to attend his school's first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy's 1, she said she would go. This 2be the first time that his classmates and teacher 3 his mother and he felt 4 of her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar（疤痕）that 5 nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to 6 why or how she got the scar.

    At the meeting, the people were 7 by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother 8the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed（尴尬）and 9himself from everyone. He, however, 10 a conversation between his mother and his teacher.

    The teacher asked 11 ,"How did you get the scar on your face?"

    The mother replied,"12 my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught fire. Everyone was 13 afraid to go in because the fire was 14, so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked 15 but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us." She16 the burned side of her face. "This scar will be17, but to this day, I have never 18 what I did."

    At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He held her in his arms and felt a great 19 of the sacrifice（牺牲）that his mother had made for him. He held her hand 20 for the rest of the day.

    This year I decided to do something to regain my good name as a kindly uncle. My 1 , Tony, had never forgiven me for the dictionary I had bought him as a birthday present last year. His 2 had no reason to be thankful to me either, because the year before, I had 3 their dear son with a pot of paste(浆糊) and some funny pictures. Instead of 4 them into a book, Tony had naturally covered every wall in the house with them. This year, 5, I decided to let him 6 for himself.

We went into a big shop, but Tony was very particular about 7 . Although I tried to show him toy after toy, he was not to be 8 . Then I saw he suddenly became 9 , he had discovered something he really liked: a large tin drum. I was quite happy too— 10 I thought what Tony's mother would say when she saw it. Nobody would get any 11 for weeks! I led Tony away 12 , saying that the drum was too expensive.

    Tony asked for permission to go off 13 and I made the most of my chance to sit down and 14 my aching feet. Fifteen minutes passed but there was still no sign of Tony. I began to get 15 and got up to look for him. I asked a young lady if she had seen a little boy in a grey suit. She looked 16 her helplessly and pointed out that there were so many 17 in grey suits. I was just going to call the police for help, when I saw a strange 18 dressed in strange orange clothes. He was wearing a false beard and had a caveman's axe(斧子) in one hand, and a space gun in the other. It was, of course, Tony, who informed me 19 that he was the first 20 to fly into space.

On their {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（arrive）in Toronto ，Li Daiyu and her cousin spent a few hours touring the city and having dinner with Lin Fei ， {#blank#}2{#/blank#} was Li Daiyu's mother's old schoolmate. She told the girls there were a few more Chinatowns in the Greater Toronto Area and there were many Chinese people  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（live） in Canada. Therefore ，they could get all {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（kind）of great food there from all over China.

At night ，the train left late and arrived in Montreal early the next morning. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} surprised the girls was that all the signs and advertisements {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（be）in French and many people spoke English with {#blank#}7{#/blank#} accent. As their train wouldn't leave until evening ，they spent the afternoon  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（go）around the city. When they sat in a restaurant ，a young man named Jean-Philippe joined them. He told them something about the city and hoped they would stay a little {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（long）to visit wonderful sights of the city.

On the train towards the province of Nova Scotia ，the cousins dreamt {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（happy）of the beautiful cobblestone streets ，old brick buildings ，and the red maple leaves of Montreal.