With a hat by his feet, a blind boy sat on the steps of a building. He held up a sign which said, “I’m blind, please help.”

Only a few people put   36  in the hat. A man was walking by. He   37  some coins into the hat. He then turned the sign   38 , wrote some words, put the sign back and left.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people   39  to give money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man came to see   40  things were. The boy recognized his footsteps （認出他的腳步聲）and asked, “Were you the one who   41  my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a   42  way.” What he had written was, “Today is a beautiful day,   43 I cannot see it.”

Both the   44  told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply   45  people to help by throwing some money into the   46 . The second one, however, told people that they were able to enjoy the   47  of the day, but the boy couldn’t   48  he was blind.

There are at least two lessons we can learn   49  this story. First, be thankful for what you have. Someone else has less. Help them if you can.   50  , be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way!

Answer the questions (根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容回答下列問題)
1．Helen Monson has always been interested in helping her community. Her first volunteer experience was for the American Red Cross when she was in high school. When she was a school teacher, she also found time to volunteer. One year, she organized a Super Saturday Fun Day for kids in the community. She also used to volunteer at the Mint Festival every year. One summer, she served food, another year she organized an art programme.
2．After she retired, she started volunteering to help the old. When her father was older, he was not able to see as well as he used to, which made her sad because he had always enjoyed reading. She decided it would be fun to read to elderly people in her community. She also helped one woman write her stories. Ann was almost 100 years old, and Helen wrote down information about her life when she visited her. She put the information in a book and got it published. Ann was very excited to share her life story with her children and her grandchildren.
3．After a hurricane(颶風) destroyed some southern cities, Helen volunteered again for the American Red Cross. She prepared food and answered phones in a care centre. She says, “I have always liked the Red Cross because the organization helps people in need no matter what.”
4．One day, Helen read an article in the newspaper about refugees(難民) who needed to learn English. Now, she meets once a week with Sahra, a 38-year-old woman, from Somalia. Sahra is living and working in a town about 30 minutes’ walk from where Helen lives. They work on reading and writing skills. Helen gave Sahra a camera and asked her to take pictures of her daily life. She developed the pictures, and then asked Sahra questions about them. In the end, they wrote a book together and used the photos in the book. This helped Sahra learn many new words about her everyday life.
5．Helen says, “The most rewarding(有益的) part of volunteer work is becoming friends with the people I help. They enrich my life as well as I enrich theirs.”
【小題1】When was Helen’s first volunteer experience for the American Red Cross?
【小題2】What did Helen do after she retired?
【小題3】Why was Ann excited when her book got published?
【小題4】Where did Helen work when she volunteered again for the American Red Cross?
【小題5】How far is Sahra living and working from Helen’s home?
【小題6】Did Helen help Sahra to learn English?
【小題7】What can you learn from Helen?

Helen Monson has always been interested in helping her community. Her first volunteer experience was for the American Red Cross when she was in high school. When she was a school teacher, she also found time to volunteer. One year, she organized a Super Saturday fun day for kids in the community. She also used to volunteer at the mint festival every year, One summer she served food, another year she organized an art programme.

After she retired, she started volunteering to help the old. When her father was older, he was not able to see as well as he used to, which made her sad because he had always enjoyed reading.

She decided it would be fun to read to elderly people in her community. She also helped one woman write her stories. Ann was almost 100 years old, and Helen wrote down information about her life when she visited her. She put the information in a book and got it published. Ann was very excited to share her life story with her children and grandchildren.

  After a hurricane( 颶風 ) destroyed some southern cities, Helen volunteered again for the American Red Cross. She prepared food and answered phones in a care centre. She says,” I have always liked the Red Cross because the organization helps people in need no matter what.”

  One day Helen read an article in the newspaper about refugees( 難民 ) who needed to learn English. Now, she meets once a week with Sahra, a 38-year-old woman from Somalia. Sahra is reading and writing skills. Helen gave Sahra a camera and asked her to take pictures of her daily life. She developed the pictures, and then asked Sahra questions about them. In the end, they wrote a book  together and used the photos in the book. This helped Sahra learn many new words about

her everyday life.

   Helen says, “The most rewarding( 有益的 ) part of volunteer work is becoming friends with the people I help, They enrich my life as well as I enrich theirs.”

1.When was Helen’s first volunteer experience for the American Red Cross?

2. What did Helen do after she retired?

3. Why was Ann excited when her book got published?

4.Where did Helen work when she volunteered again for the American Red Cross?

5. How far is Sahra living and working from Helen’s home?

6.Did Helen help Sahra to learn English?

7. What can you learn from Helen?