There Really Was a Santa Claus

    Ann worked for a big company. One of the duties of her job was to go to the 1 every day and picked up the company mail. One day in 2, she saw a beggar 3 himself up as a Santa Claus standing on the corner of the street. Each day she saved her 4  and dropped them in his bowl. He would 5 and wish her a Merry Christmas.

    At night the temperature 6 below 0℃, but the Santa Clause 7stood in the cold wind. After she dropped her coins into his bowl, she handed him a pair of  8.

    A week later, a new 9 was standing there. "What happened to the other Santa Claus?" she asked. He told her, "He's very sick today." She prayed for his 10.

    Later that day, a 11 came into her office in tears. "I don't know 12 I'm going to do." "What's wrong?" she asked. "It's my ex-husband," her colleague continued. "I don't have any money to buy my boys anything for Christmas, 13 my ex-husband refuses to send money to them. It breaks my heart that they won't have anything this year." The lady 14 her colleague, "I'm sure everything will 15. It's Christmas. Believe in miracles(奇迹)."

    That evening, she told her husband about her colleague's 16, "I know we don't have much money to help, but I'd like to 17 her fifty or a hundred dollars. We'll just get 18 less this year. Last year we couldn't afford to buy anything for ourselves but we still had a 19 Christmas." Her husband smiled, "Give her one hundred dollars. She needs it more than we do."

    She reached up and held him. Warmth spread through her body. He held her and realized that there 20 was a Santa Claus – and he had married her!

    Cheating happens a lot in our city. It can be hard to know who is really in 1 and who is trying to take advantage of other people's   2.

    Recently, I was finishing my work at home3 the dog barked letting me know that 4 was at the gate. I rushed to see who it was and there I saw a 5 weak woman in her late fifties.

    I said to her, “May I ask what you6?”

    She 7, “Hello, my name is Parvathy. My husband and I live nearby. We earn our living8working at construction sites. A few days ago my9 fell off the stairs while 10 a heavy load. He is 11hurt and hasn't been able to 12for the past five days, so we have no food. Now he is at home in bed with a high fever. Please help me! I need to take my husband to a doctor!”

    “Oh!” I said. “Please13here.” I went into the room. I felt really bad about her 14but ...Was she telling me the15or trying to cheat me out of my money?

    Finally, I 16 to help her. But first I said a simple prayer, “Dear Lord, you know17 I earn my pennies, so please make sure that my hard earned money helps those who 18 need it.”

I went out with a fifty note and19 it to her. The moment she got the money she broke down in tears. She took my hand and said, “Thank you so much!”

    I was so 20, and turned back to my work smiling.

    Charlotte Whitehead was born in England in 1843, and moved to Montreal, Canada at the age five with her family. While1her ill elder sister throughout the years, Charlotte discovered she had a(an)2in medicine. At 18 she married and3a family. Several years later, Charlotte said she wanted to be a4Her husband supported her decision.5, Canadian medical schools did not6women students at the time. Therefore, Charlotte went to the United States to study7at the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. It took her five years to8her medical degree. Upon graduation, Charlotte9to Montreal and set up a private10 Three years later, she moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and there she was once again a11doctor. Many of her patients were from the nearby timber and railway camps. Charlotte12herself operating on damaged limbs and setting13bones, in addition to delivering all the babies in the area.

    But Charlotte had been practicing without a license. She had14a doctor's license in both Montreal and Winnipeg, but was15. The Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons, an all-male board, wanted her to16her studies at a Canadian medical college! Charlotte refused to17her patients to spend time studying what she already knew. So in 1887, she appeared to the Manitoba Legislature to18a license to her but they, too, refused. Charlotte19to practice without a license until 1912. She died four years later at the age of 73.

    In 1993, 77 years after her20, a medical license was issued to Charlotte. This decision was made by the Manitoba Legislature to honor “this courageous and pioneering woman.”

    I was eighteen years old and I was the golden girl. I was president of the college drama society, a member of the student senate and so on. I was the 1of all my friends and I was in a state of 2.

    The old Greek tragedies 3us that when pride rises, punishment falls. My universe 4with great suddenness. The scenery（舞台布景道具） fell on my head and I was left almost 5for the next four months.

    My memory was in a mess and within a few months all my 6were taken away. I was even told that I would have to leave the college at the end of the spring term 7, clearly, I couldn't do academic work."

    Sad, I took one last 8by Dr. Jacob Taubes. He was the most brilliant teacher I had ever 9and in his class, I began to raise a tentative 10and ask an occasional question. He would answer with great intensity, and soon I found myself asking 11questions constantly.

    One day I was walking to the bus when I heard Dr. Taubes 12me, "Miss Houston, let me walk with you. You know, you have a most 13mind."

    "Me? I have a mind?"

    "Yes, of course." Then he asked my understanding of some problems discussed in the classes.

    From that day on, Dr. Taubes continued to14me to the bus, always 15me with intellectually vigorous questions. Within several weeks my eyesight came back and my spirit 16.

    What I acquired from this experience was a 17sense of life. I remain deeply 18for the attention Dr. Taubes had shown. He 19me when I most needed it. I swore then that I would try to20and acknowledge the unlucky person as I had been acknowledged.

    On a Friday 1, a poor young artist stood at the gate of the subway station, playing his violin. The music was 2, and many people 3 and put some money into the 4 of the young man.

    The next night, the young artist took out a large piece of5 and laid it on the ground. Then he began 6. The music sounded more pleasant. Some people gathered and they found the 7 on that paper. “Last night, a gentleman put a(n) 8 thing into my hat. Please come to get it back.”  When the people saw that, they felt very curious and began to

9 what it could be. After about half an hour, a man 10 there in a hurry and said, “It can't be true！You ...you ...”

    The young violinist asked, “Did you 11 something?”

    “Lottery (彩票).”the man answered12.

    The violinist took out a lottery ticket. “Is it？” he asked.

    The man was too13 to say a word ...George Sang 14 a lottery ticket a few days ago. The awards(奖)opened yesterday and he won $500,000. So lucky and excited did he feel that he 15 50 dollars and put it in the hat when hearing the music. However, the lottery ticket was also thrown into the hat without being noticed. The violinist found the lottery ticket. Thinking that the owner would 16 to look for it, he came back to where he was given the lottery ticket.

    Someone asked the violinist 17 he returned the lottery ticket to the man. He said, “18 I don't have much 19, I live happily; but if I lose 20 ,I won't be happy forever.”

    When Pat Jones finished college, she decided to travel around the world and see as many foreign places as she could1she was young. Pat wanted to visit Latin America2, so she got a job3 an English teacher in a school in Bolivia. Pat spoke a little Spanish,4 she was able to communicate with her students even when they didn't5much English.

    A sentence she had read somewhere stuck in her mind if you dream6 a foreign language, you have really mastered(掌握)it. Pat repeated this sentence to her students and7that some day she would dream in Spanish and they would dream in8.

    One day, one of her9students came up and explained in Spanish that he had not done his homework. He had10early, and had slept11.

    "What does this have to do with your12?" Pat asked.

    "I dreamed all night, Miss Jones, and my dream was in English."

    "In English?" Pat was very13, since he was such a bad student. She was14secretly jeal-ous (嫉妒的).Her15was still not in Spanish. But she encouraged(鼓励)her young student," Well,16 me about your dream."

    "All the people in my dream17 English," the student said. "And all the signs were, in English. All the newspapers and magazines and all the TV programs were in English. "

    "But that's18,"said Pat, "what did all the people say to you?"

    "I'm sorry, Miss Jones. That's19 I slept so badly. I didn't 20a word they said. It was a nightmare(噩梦)!"