完形填空

　　It was Christmas, 1961．I was teaching in a small town and my pupils were 　　1　　 looking forward to the great day of 　　2　　．

　　Each day the children produced some new things like strings(串)of popcorn, which we hung from the 　　3　　．Through it all, Maria remained 　　4　　, watching quietly．I wondered what would happen to this quiet child, 　　5　　 so happy, now so suddenly lonely．I hoped the 　　6　　 would excite her, but nothing did．We made cards and gifts for each other and for family members．　　7　　 my gift, I made my students each a little bag for 　　8　　 their gifts．

　　The happy and exciting day of gift-giving finally came．Through it all, she sat quietly watching．I had made a 　　9　　 bag for her, hoping to see her smile, hut she 　　10　　 away．I had not broken the wall she'd built around herself．

　　After school, she didn't leave, 　　11　　 watched her classmates go out of the door．I sat down to 　　12　　 my breath, hardly aware of what was happening．She came to me with a small box, saying nothing．“For me?”I asked with a 　　13　　 smile．She just nodded her head．Inside was a small golden bell．Then I 　　14　　 into her dark brown eyes and in a flash I knew——she had 　　15　　 it for her mother, who had 　　16　　 just three weeks before．

　　I looked at the bell and then the giver, whispering,“Oh, Maria, it is so beautiful．　　17　　 would have loved it．”Neither of us could 　　18　　 the tears．She came into my arms and we wept(哭泣)together．And for that brief moment I became her 　　19　　, for she had given me the greatest 　　20　　 of all： herself．

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