Once again, I had run away and really did not know why. I walked out of the gate to go to school and then kept walking, and walking, and walking. I was 11years old. It was almost dark; I was tired, cold, and all alone. I had not eaten all day and was afraid to turn myself over the police. I knew I would receive another beating once I returned to the Children’s Home Society. There was nothing for me to do, except keep on walking.
As darkness fell, I entered the darkened area in a city park sat down on a wooden bench hoping to avoid the police cars. It was cold and I began to tremble uncontrollably. All was quiet except for the passing cars in the distance.
“Well, hello young man.” A voice came from behind me. I jumped, almost falling off the park bench. My heart was beating ninety miles per hour. I gasped and I could hardly catch my breath. I looked up and saw a woman standing behind me in the shadows.
“You look cold and hungry,” she said. She took off her scarf, wrapped it around my shoulders and asked me to follow her. We walked about twenty feet, and then stopped under one of the park streetlights.
She held out her hand and said, “Here, you take this letter.” Seeing nothing in her hand., I stood still.
“Reach out and take the letter from my hand,” she insisted. Slowly I reached out, acting as though I was taking something from her hand. “Now hold the paper tightly and take it to any store owner,” she instructed.
I closed my thumb and finger as though I were grasping the letter and began walking toward Five Points. Several blocks down the road, I came to a store with a woman sitting behind a counter. I opened the door, walked in, and stopped directly in front of her. Very slowly I held out my hand toward her. I watched her face to see if she might think I was crazy or something.
She reached out and as her hand touched mine, I opened my tightly closed fingers and stood there waiting. She pulled back, smiled, and looked down at her hands.
She immediately turned and walked to the back of the store. After a while, the woman returned holding a paper plate.
“Here is something for you to eat.” She smiled and signaled to me to eat. Within two or three minutes, I downed the entire plate of food and several Coca Colas.
Before I left, she held out her hand and asked me to take the letter. Again seeing nothing, I held out my hand and closed my thumb and finger as though I were taking something from her. Tightly grasping nothing more than air, I walked out into the street and headed back to the park. The old woman was still there.
“It is really magic. Can I have the letter so I can be magic too?” I asked her.
She reached out, took my hand, and opened my tightly closed fingers. Whatever was being held between my fingers, she took and placed into her apron pocket. “Would you help someone if they were hungry?” she asked me.
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Would you help someone if they were hurt, cold or scared?”
“Yes Ma’am. I would be their friend.”
“You are a very lucky little boy. You will never need the magic letter,” she responded.
小題1:What can we learn about the boy?
| A．Though lost in the city, he didn’t feel worried or lonely. |
| B．He had nowhere to go and wandered aimlessly in the street. |
| C．He avoided the police for the fear that he would be sent to prison. |
| D．He had to run away because of his bad performance at school. |
小題2:What can we infer from paragraph 3?
| A．The boy was out of breath as he did some exercises. |
| B．The boy felt excited at the appearance of the woman. |
| C．The boy was scared by the sudden voice of the woman. |
| D．The boy held his breath, waiting for the woman to come. |
小題3:Why does the store owner offer the boy a good dinner?
| A．Because she had great sympathy for him. |
| B．Because she knew the boy and his parents. |
| C．Because he was a kind boy who deserved it. |
| D．Because the woman in the park had paid for it. |
小題4:What does the writer want to tell us through the story?
| A．It's better to give than to take. |
| B．Kindness is a universal language. |
| C．Don't cry even if life cheats you. |
| D．Life is full of the getting over of suffering. |
小題5:What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．A Kind Woman. | B．A Sleepless Night. | C．A Magic Letter. | D．A Lucky Boy. |
