Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station(加油站) about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款臺(tái)), I said hello to an older couple（夫婦）who were also paying for gas.
I
took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car, I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays wonderful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery（電池） was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership - a shop selling cars - was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
"Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?" I asked and told them my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck (小貨車) to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.
"Thank you" - two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.
小題1: The writer planned to stop at Oklahoma City ______.
| A．to visit a friend | B．to see his parents |
| C．to pay at the cash register | D．to have more gas for his car |
小題2:The words "took off" underlined in Paragraph 2 mean“______”．
| A．turned off | B．moved off | C．put up | D．set up |
小題3:What happened when the writer found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card. |
| C．The couple offered to help him. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
小題4:The battery of the writer’s car was dead because ______.
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．the meeting lasted a whole day |
| C．he forgot to turn off the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
小題5:By telling his own stories, the writer tries to show ______.
| A．how to write a thank-you letter |
| B．how to deal with（處理）car problems |
| C．the kind-heartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |
erfect, so you must learn not to b
e too unhappy when you make a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one is to be blamed unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged(泄氣的) when they know their unpleasant qualities—selfishness，laziness，etc. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.
ith the situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can’t change.