I got out of the train station with my father. A woman came to him and said that her  1  had been stolen. She asked if he could  2  her some money to go back home. My father gave her what she asked for and told her not to  3  paying it back. I was shocked. How could my father be so  4 ? It was clear that she was telling a lie, staying at the station all day long  5  money.

“She was lying!” I shouted.“ 6  did you give her anything? ”

My father looked at me. He was a bit  7  . “And what would you like me to do?” he said. “Should I tell  8  that I am a college professor and I can see through her scam(詭計)?” I did not understand him at all, and then he told me something that I have  9  forgotten. “First, she would not do this  10  she did not need the money. Second, I made her day, because now she thinks that she is  11  than me. It is more important to her than the money, but I do not  12  this.”

A week later, we were at the same  13  , and the same woman came to my father with the same story. “Not this time,” my father told her. “In your business, you should learn to 14  people. Try another story  15  me next week.”

1. A. money                  B. bicycle                     C. phone               D. child

2. A. borrow                 B. keep                         C. lend                  D. pay

3. A. give up          B. worry about             C. hurry up       D. turn off

4. A. clever           B. friendly                    C. strict          D. silly

5. A. asking for        B. dealing with             C. fighting for        D. picking out

6. A. What                    B. When             C. Why                 D. How

7. A. angry                   B. happy                       C. sad                   D. shy

8. A. them                    B. her                           C. you                   D. me

9. A. seldom                 B. often                        C. never                D. usually

10. A. unless                 B. until                         C. while                D. if

11. A. smarter               B. younger           C. taller                 D. better

12. A. close                  B. mind                        C. enter                 D. hear

13. A. stop                   B. hospital                    C. station               D. school

14. A. think for             B. recognize          C. know                D. understand 

15. A. of                      B. in                C. on                     D. at

“Hurry up, Chris,” my dad said in a low voice. “He’s gonna get away. You need to   36  him now.” I was pointing my   37  at a duck. It was a(n)   38  day for me. Shooting those ducks would make my father   39  , but I just couldn’t. My father   40  fishing and hunting ducks. I thought fishing was boring,   41  Dad hardly ever asked me to go with him. I had gone hunting with Dad before but   42  brought a gun, because I didn’t own one, and his were too big for me. The gun was a present for my birthday. I’d been   43  almost every evening.

I   44  I could hit that duck, but I didn’t want to. I had never   45  killing things, and I hated people who killed animals for no reason at all. I liked   46  . I didn’t want to hurt it.

I pointed the gun at the duck. He was trying hard to find food and had to keep a careful eye on his   47  at the same time, and now my dad asked me to kill him so we could have one nice   48  . I hated myself for   49  pointing the gun at the duck, but I hated to   50  my father’s feelings too.

“I… I can’t tell which is the duck,” I explained.

“Just try, Chris. I know you can do it,” Dad   51  me.

“Thanks, Dad.” I   52  to myself. “Your words just make it harder for me.” My eyes filled with tears as my brain had made a(n)   53  —I wouldn’t shoot the duck.

“You really don’t want to shoot him, do you?” Dad quietly cut in on my   54  . I was too choked (哽咽的) to say anything.   55  , a nod was enough.

Outside our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a seemingly ancient woman waited beside the door with her hand outstretched. Every day I put my hand in hers as our eyes met. She never failed to return my smile, my grasp, and my greeting.
On the last day of our visit, I found myself alone on a busy corner across the street from our hotel. Bicycles and motorbikes rushed in front of me. As I hesitated on the sidewalk, I felt a hand on my elbow and looked down to see the smile of my small beggar friend looking up at me. She nodded her head toward the street, indicating that she would take me across. Together, we moved slowly into the chaos.
Then we moved on toward the sidewalk, where she pulled my face down to hers, kissed me on both cheeks, and then left, still smiling and waving back to me.
Traveling in poorer nations, I have witnessed a variety of ways to deal with beggars. The most common response of tourists faced with the poverty-stricken is to ignore them and focus their eyes elsewhere. I have seen people push away an outstretched hand in angry annoyance. A few may drop a few coins into the hand in a hurry, hoping that other ragged pursuers won’t immediately appear on the scene.
For many reasons, giving money is not the best response to an outstretched hand. Many world travelers have discovered that the greatest gift they can give is their time and respect. Everyone needs recognition, to be seen as worthy of being known, to feel appreciated and loved. And I believe that everyone is worthy and worth knowing.
【小題1】The woman beggars helped the author go across the busy street because __________.