Recently, I experienced a wonderful lesson in how little things still mean a lot. My brother, mother and I live in a very rural district on the Big Island of Hawaii. Our farm is at least a dozen miles from the most basic of services. Consequently, we take weekly trips to COSTCO to procure fuel and supplies. About a month ago, we’d finished loading up the SUV and prepared to leave. As I settled into my seat, I glanced down at the roadside, when a piece of paper caught my eye. I picked it up and read it carefully. Instantly, I was grateful I did.
The form turned out to be a receipt from the State Motor Vehicle Division, documenting the owners’ payment of their Vehicle’s Registration fees. Quickly, I put myself in their shoes and figured: no one would throw this out, especially if it was current. I also looked over the form for contact or any personal data, perhaps a license tag or telephone number. But that seemed impractical. Although the form had been born on the wind, where in the busy, crowded parking lot would I find the owners? Had it been lying there for a few minutes or a week? So I checked the date, the fees paid, noted the names of the owners and pocketed the receipt. Recalling the parable of the Good Samaritan, I concluded that the best and easiest step to take was to put the form in an envelope addressed to the couple and send it to them by post. Further, I imagined how crazy I’d be if I had misplaced my receipt. Much easier to attempt returning it than to leave them angry, upset, etc. over the loss.
By the end of the week, I received a beautiful thank-you letter from a very grateful and happy couple containing a hand written message and a gift card to use at any Starbuck’s. In her note, the wife explained how a gust of wind snatched their receipt from a pocket in her car’s passenger door. They had panicked and searched crazily for quite some time before giving up. It felt great to know I’d helped someone avoid a major loss by doing something that at first glance seemed minor or even unimportant.
小题1:What did the author really mean when he said “Instantly, I was grateful I did.”?A．He was lucky to notice the paper on the roadside.B．He was happy to do shopping in the district for it was convenient.C．He was right to pick the paper up because it was important.D．He was thankful to pick up the paper because he found it for a long time.小题2:Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the short passage?A．I rode my car to COSTCO to buy supplies a month ago.B．The receipt was out of date, so the owner threw it away.C．I waited on the roadside for the receipt owner for half a day.D．I called up the owner to take back the receipt.小题3:The author decided to give the paper back to the owner because ______.A．it was useless for himB．he knew the owner was upset about losing itC．the owner asked him to do soD．he knew the owner would reward him for it小题4:Which would be the best title for this passage?A．How I helped the coupleB．The loss of an important receiptC．The owner of the receiptD．Little things still mean a lot