A Good Man
It’s a late Saturday afternoon in early March, and I am sweating in search of the only gift my son wants from Los Angeles: a ______ to the homes of the stars such as Brad Pitt and Jet Li.
A cheerful taxi driver says, “No problem. Map sellers are everywhere!” When the taxi stops, a fellow ______ with a thin folded sheet and says: “Ten dollars.”
Ten dollars! With absolute ______, I inform him, “That’s too much.” The map man leaves. I begin walking, certain I’ll find a (an)______ star map soon.
I am ______. There’s hardly anybody on the street. There don’t seem to be many real stores, just cars and bars. No maps. No stars. Blocks pass. The sun begins to sink. At the edge of West Hollywood,______ fellow wanders ahead, selling star maps to some teenage girls.
Ten dollars ______. Forget it. My son will ______.
That night, I call my wife. “Did you get one of those maps to the stars? He’s been talking about ______ else.”
This ______ is hard to ignore, It’s late. At all-night markets: no maps. I head back to the hotel. Morning is coming. There will be one last ______. After I check out, I take a taxi. But at nine in the morning, map sellers are ______ to be found.
“You know,” says the driver, “The guys with the maps just ain’t up yet!” He’s right.
“Forget it. Let’s go to the airport.”
“Well,” says the driver, “I could ______ you one if you like.”
Sure. Trust this guy? I might as well throw cash onto the freeway. But exiting the taxi, I ______ my last chance. I hand him $13 and my business card. Three weeks pass. I’ve ______ on the star map. My son has stopped mentioning it.
Then one afternoon, sticking out from under piles of flyers, there it is: a big white envelope. There is a small note. I can hardly read it,______ I make out a few phrases一“forgive ______,” “taxi’s been down” and, finally, “here’s map for your son.” There’s no return address. It’s signed, “kind regards, M.”
I hold the note in my hand,______ what my son said to me when I got back from Los Angeles.
“Did you meet any ______, Dad?” he asked.
Now I know what to tell him.
“Yes, I did. I met a guy named M.”
If you never ______ anybody, you’ll never find the good guys.
1.A. decoration B. map C. book D. symbol
2.A. argues B. requests C. competes D. approaches
3.A. assurance B. permission C. anxiety D. bargain
4.A. perfect B. inexpensive C. proper D. detailed
5.A. shocked B. confused C. impatient D. wrong
6.A. one B. some C. another D. either
7.A. still B. even C. almost D. yet
8.A. believe B. regret C. understand D. admit
9.A. anything B. everything C. something D. nothing
10.A. idea B. news C. change D. reason
11.A. try B. journey C. action D. minute
12.A. everywhere B. somewhere C. anywhere D. nowhere
13.A. give B. mail C. show D. spare
14.A. create B. recognize C. deserve D. blow
15.A. given up B. thrown doubts C. refused offers D. dropped in
16.A. and B. or C. but D. for
17.A. fault B. delay C. carelessness D. rudeness
18.A. remembering B. reminding C. reviewing D. realizing
19.A. admirers B. friends C. stars D. heroes
20.A. look up to B. turn to C. have faith in D. agree with
What is your main reason for choosing one restaurant another?
A. over B. of
C. from D. for
David didn’t attend his daughter’s graduation ceremony, but he does wish he there.
A. should be B. would be
C. had been D. were
She doesn’t speak our language, she seems to understand what we say.
A. yet B. and
C. or D. so
Beijing’s new international airport into operation in 2019 will serve 72 million passengers annually.
A. being put B. to be put
C. put D. to put
We climbed up to the top of a hill, we got a good view of the whole forest park.
A. which B. where
C. when D. that