That Christmas Eve, the streets of Boston were crowded with people dressed in wool and flannel(法兰绒). “Jingle Bells” was playing in stores. Everyone, it seemed, was _____ by someone else smiling or ____ I was alone.
The eldest of a Puerto Rican family of 11 children growing up in one of New York’s _____ apartment.  I’d spent much of my life  _____ solitude(独处). Now, _____, at 27, was enduring the last break-up of a seven-year relationship. Every part of me wanted to be _____, but not at Christmas.
My family had returned to Puerto Rico, and my _____ were involved in their own lives. Dusk was falling, and the unavoidable return to my ____apartment brought tears to my eyes.
I stopped at the local market, feeling even more______ when I saw all the people there filling their baskets with gifts. I  _____ my family, my friends and the noisy parties at home, filled with laughter and dancing. I wanted to cry for having wanted to be alone and for having  _____ it.
In front of the church down the street, a manger(马槽) had been set up, with Mary, Joseph, and the barn animals in ______ the arrival of baby Jesus. As I walked home, I _____ that the story of Joseph and Mary wandering from door to door seeking shelter was much like my own. Leaving Puerto Rico was still a _____in my soul and I was struggling with whom I had become in my 15 years in the United States. I’d mourned my losses, _____for the first time, I recognized what I’d gained. I was _____, and educated and healthy. My life was still before me, full of ______.Sometimes the best ____ is the one you give yourself. That Christmas, I gave myself credit ____ I’d accomplished so far and permission to go ______ unafraid. It was the best gift I’ve ever received, the one that I most treasure.

A．chosen B．bothered C．allowed D．accompanied

A．working B．laughing C．studying D．thinking

A．crowded B．expensive C．cheerful D．large

A．looking for B．looking at C．looking through D．looking over

A．finally B．easily C．quickly D．likely

A．patient B．strict C．alone D．private

A．friends B．dreams C．guests D．customers

A．beautiful B．interesting C．clean D．empty

A．pleased B．upset C．surprised D．curious

A．hated B．loved C．missed D．forgot

A．achieved B．refused C．preferred D．offered

A．search B．expectation C．position D．control

A．imagined B．sighed C．realized D．expressed

A．effort B．belief C．wound D．wish

A．but B．so C．because D．though

A．excited B．independent C．ordinary D．worthless

A．desires B．possibilities C．ideals D．advantages

A．gift B．lesson C．purpose D．memory

A．on B．in C．at D．for

A．upward B．down C．around D．Forward