A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald's Corporation.
One day each month,we visited hospitals bringing a little happiness to the children there. But there were two rules placed on me during a visit. First, I could not go anywhere in the hospital without permission. And second, I could not physically touch anyone within the hospital. They did not want me to carry germs(细菌)from one patient to another. Breaking either of these rules, I was told, I could lose my job. One day, as I was heading down a hallway and on my way home, I heard a little voice coming through a halfopened door,“Ronald,Ronald.”
I stepped in and saw a boy,about five years old, lying in his dad's arms, Mom with a nurse on the other side. I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked his name. He told me it was Billy and that I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say goodbye, he asked me “Ronald, would you hold me?”
At such a simple request, my heart was screaming, “Yes!”But my mind was screaming louder. “No!You are going to lose your job!”
“Hold me” was such a simple request, and yet I searched for any reasonable excuses that allowed me to leave, but none. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared. Then, I picked up this little boy. He was so weak and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes. With tears in my eyes, I left them. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy's mom that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy's life.
Billy's mom told me shortly after I left the room. Billy looked at her and said, “Momma, I don't care any more if I see Santa this year because I was held by Ronald McDonald.”
For the record, McDonald's Corporation did find it out, but, given the situation,permitted me to go on with my job. I continued as Ronald for another year before leaving the corporation to share the story of Billy and how important it is to take risks.
The underlined word “grave” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.
A.weak | B.serious | C.interesting | D.exciting |
When Billy asked the author to hold him, at first the author ________.
A.was unwilling to do so | B.was glad to do so |
C.hesitated to do so | D.hurried to do so |
What lesson did the author draw from his experience?
A.To amuse others is enjoyable. | B.To take risks is important. |
C.To break rules is necessary. | D.To be fired is not fearful. |
We learn from the story that ________.
A.the author left the corporation because he broke the rules |
B.the author left the corporation because he didn't like the rules |
C.the boy was quite happy with the experience with the author |
D.the boy was quite happy with Santa at Christmas |