I tried not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His social worker assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee. He was short, a little fat with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Down’s Syndrome(唐氏综合症). I thought most of my customers would be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.
I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his fat little finger, and within a month my regular truck customers had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot(吉祥物). After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished.
Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home.
That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a heart surgery. His social worker said that people with Down’s Syndrome often have heart problems at an early age so this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.
A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, the head waitress, did a little dance when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at her and asked, "OK, Frannie, what was that all about?"
"We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay."
"I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?"
Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is." Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables.
After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I cleared off that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting after they left, and I found this was folded and put under a coffee cup."
She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie".
That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His social worker said he had been counting the days until the doctor said he could work. I arranged to have his mother bring him to work, met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back.
I led them toward a large corner booth. I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups, and dinner plates, all sitting slightly bent on dozens of folded paper napkins.
"First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said.
Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed on it.
I turned to his mother. "There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. "Happy Thanksgiving !"
Well, it got really noisy about that time, with everybody hollering and shouting, and there were a few tears, as well. But you know what's funny?
While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table.
51. Why did the author have doubts about hiring Stevie?
A. Stevie was not that reliable. B. Stevie was mentally disabled.
C. Stevie was too short and fat. D. Stevie was bad-tempered.
52. According to the story, which of the following sentences is true?
A. Stevie made customers uncomfortable.
B. Stevie couldn’t fix his attention on his work.
C. Stevie often spilled coffee out of cups.
D. Stevie usually cleaned the table too early.
53. By saying the underlined sentence in Para. 3, the author meant that the money she paid Stevie ________.
A. could help Stevie out of the money trouble.
B. couldn’t thoroughly solve Stevie’s problem.
C. could make a great difference to Stevie’s life.
D. couldn’t send Stevie to a group home.
54. Why did Frannie sigh after she got word that Stevie would be OK ?
A. She was worried that the owner would fire Stevie.
B. She was worried about Stevie’s health.
C. She was worried about Stevie’s finance problem.
D. She was worried that no one would help Stevie.
55. Why did the author ask Stevie to clean up the mess on the table after he returned?
A. It was Stevie’s duty to clean the table.
B. The table was so dirty that it needed cleaning.
C. Stevie would find the money that was given to him.
D. She wanted to congratulate Stevie on his coming back.
56. Stevie was popular among the staff and customers in the restaurant because of ______.
A. his special appearance. B. his hard work and optimism.
C. his funny speeches and actions. D. his kind-hearted behaviours.