While I was waiting outside my wife’s office building for her to get out of work, I saw a beggar coming my way from across the parking lot.
“I hope he doesn’t ask me for any money,” I thought.
He didn’t.
He came and sat in front of the bus stop, but he didn’t look like he could have enough money to ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. “That’s a pretty car,” he said, pointing to my car. He was ragged (衣衫褴褛), but he had an air of dignity about himself.
I gave him a smile and continued cleaning my car.
He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected asking for money never came. As the silence between us widened, it seemed that a voice inside me said, “Ask him if he needs any help.” I was sure that he would say “yes”, but I listened to the inner voice.
“Do you need any help?” I asked.
He answered in three simple but meaningful words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women, and we expect it from those of higher learning and achievements. I expected nothing but a dirty hand from him, but he said three words that shook me.
“Don’t we all?” he said.
I was feeling high, successful and important above a beggar in the street, until those three words hit me like a shot.
Don’t we all?
I needed help. Maybe not for a bus fare or for a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only for a bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have achieved, you need help, too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help.
36. The story happened _________.
A. outside an office building B. in front of a store
C. near a post office D. on a bus
37. Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
A. The writer was waiting for his wife to get out of work.
B. He thought the beggar would ask him for money.
C. The beggar kept silent and didn’t ask him for money.
D. The writer was shocked by the three simple words.
38. We can learn from the passage that _________ .
A. we should expect nothing from a beggar
B. the writer felt depressed after he heard the beggar’s answer
C. it was the writer that started the small talk
D. the beggar, though ragged, said something meaningful
39. The best title of the passage is _________.
A. The Story of a Beggar B. Three Words That Upset Me
C. Everyone Needs Help D. Giving Help