It's the day before Christmas. Karen Hartley, 33, was skiing（滑雪）by 1 at Powder Mountain in Utah. By mistake, she began to ski off the trail. Soon she 2. She shouted for help, but no one heard her. Night came, and the temperature 3 below freezing（凝冻）. Karen was very cold and afraid of 4. But she stayed calm. She played music in her mind and danced all night long to stay 5. She danced to old disco songs, pop songs, and Christmas songs. “It was either dance 6 die,” she said. “I kept on 7. I didn't give up.”

    The next morning, a helicopter began to 8 Karen. After 18 hours in the cold, she was 9 just before it's too late. Karen was very cold but all right. She 10 Christmas Day in a hot tub（浴缸）.

    Susan had long blonde hair and big blue eyes.So did most of the other1in her school class，which troubled her a lot.“I look like everyone else！I'm not special！I'm bored！”Susan2to her mother.

    She decided to try to make herself look3She painted big pink spots on her neck and when she didn't get attention，she stuck a long plastic nose on top of her real nose.Nobody noticed that，4.She took ink(墨水)and poured it all over her5.She wore clown(小丑)clothes to school and stuck leaves in her ears.6no matter what she did，she still didn't get any7and nobody thought she was special.

    One morning her8went to wake her up and told her to get ready for school.She made Susan9the ink out of her hair and clean her neck.“I'm not going to school10！I'm bored！”She buried(埋葬)her head11the quilt and cried.

    “Susan，”her mother said，“you are different.You are unique(独一无二)and special.12in the world looks just like you.Some people have blonde hair like you and some have blue eyes like you，but none of them has your smile or the twinkle in your eyes or your pink face.Nobody laughs like you，either.Now13and get ready for school.”

    Susan went to school that day and looked at all the other kids in her class.“Mom was14.Nobody looks just like me.”Susan said.“I am special.I am unique and I am not15！”

    David was a middle school student. His father, Mr. Hill, was a rich farmer and he had a very big 1. They lived in a small village for fifteen years. Later on Mr. Hill opened a shop in our town and 2 a house here last month. Then his family moved to the new house and David began to study in our class. But David was shy, so it was not easy for him to 3 friends.

    His neighbor Cathy was a 4 girl. She had many friends. When she found the boy 5 talked with others, she decided to help him. She talked a lot with him and sometimes played with him. So very soon 6 became good friends.

    One afternoon, Cathy said to David, "It′ll be my 7 birthday tomorrow. I′ll have a birthday party. Will you please come?"

    "Certainly. I′m glad to," the boy said 8.

    David got home and thought about 9 he could give to Cathy. He was sorry that he forgot to ask the girl what she liked. Then he asked his mother, "What would you like 10 it were your sixteenth birthday, Mommy?" "Nothing," the woman said, "I just wish I were 16."

    When I was eight years old, Mother told me to put my coat on because we were going to go someplace 1. Usually, that meant we were going to see someone important or 2. I would at least get a new toy. I asked which one it would be that day, and she told me that I would be getting something better than a toy. She said I would get "access(通道)to a world of toys."

    I had no idea why she was being so 3that day.  4, I had no real idea what she meant.

    "Access to a world of toys?" Did that mean we were buying a toy store?

    But we did not 5 at any toy store. Nor did we finally see anyone we knew.6, Mother pulled her car into a parking lot in front of a building that looked like 7 out of the past.  It didn't have a modern look at all. And as we 8 the car, I still had no idea what this place was.

    We took stone steps up to the entrance. Only then did I find out what this place was, because there was a sign that 9"Marcy Public Library". We pushed the door open, and Mother led me to the front desk. "I'd like to get my daughter a library card", she told the man 10the desk. He asked her to fill out a form and smiled at me. "What kind of books do you like?" he asked. I was too shy to 11 them. I simply smiled back and shrugged my shoulders. "Well, you'll find it out in time," he said.

    I do not remember 12 I checked out that first day, but  I know  that  in  the years  that followed I read everything  I could  find 13 at that old library. I read through all the Nancy   Drew books before working on Judy Blume, then the 14: Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Shakespeare. Then I read books on history, books of poetry, and books about art. The library opened up a world that I 15 knew existed (存在).

    So Mother was right. Getting a library card was like getting access to a world of toys.