be aware of 知道 attitude 态度

permissive 许可的 to one’s mind 根据某人的意见

allowance 津贴，零用钱 budget 预算

handle 处理，操作 survive 幸存

occasion 时机，机会 carnation 康乃馨

Part D

restaurant 饭馆

standard 标准

shining 光亮的，华丽的

Unit 2

Part B

Text1

What a Coincidence! (Part One)

Andrew had always wanted to be a doctor. But the tuition for a medical school in 1984 was 15,000 dollars a year, which was more than his family could afford. To help him realize his dream, his father, Mr. Stewart, a real estate agent, began searching the house-for-sale ads in newspapers in order to find extra business. One advertisement that he noted down was for the sale of a house in a nearby town. Mr. Stewart called the owner, trying to persuade him to let him be his agent. Somehow he succeeded and the owner promised that he would come to him if he failed to get a good deal with his present agent. Then they made an appointment to meet and discuss the thing.

As good things are never easy to acquire, the time for the appointment had to be changed almost ten times. On the day when they were supposed to meet at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Stewart received another call from the owner. His heart sank as he feared there would be another change of time. And so it was. The owner told him that he couldn't make it at three but if he would come right then, they could talk it over. Mr. Stewart was overjoyed. Leaving everything aside, he immediately set out to drive to the house.

As he approached the area, he had a strange feeling of having been there before. The streets,

the trees, the neighborhood, all looked familiar to him. And when he finally reached the house, something clicked in his mind. It used to be the house of his father-in-law! The old man had died fifteen years ago but when he was alive, he had often visited him with his wife and children. He remembered that, like his son Andrew, his father-in-law had also wanted to study medicine and, failing to do so, had always hoped that one of his two daughters or his grandchildren could someday become a doctor.

Questions:

1. Who are the two main characters in the story you have just heard?

2. How did Mr. Stewart get to know the owner of the house?

3. What problem did Mr. Stewart have?

4. What is the coincidence in the story you have just heard?

Text2

What a Coincidence! (Part Two)

When he entered the house, Mr. Stewart was even more amazed to find that the house was decorated exactly as he had remembered it. He told the owner about this and the latter became intrigued too. However, they were in for even greater surprises. It so happened that in the middle of their discussion, a postman came to deliver a letter. And the letter was addressed to Mr. Stewart's father-in-law! Were it not for Mr. Stewart's presence there and then, the letter would be returned as no person of that name lived in the house any longer. As the postman demanded a signature on the receipt slip, Mr. Stewart signed for his long-deceased father-in-law. Mystified, the owner urged Mr. Stewart to open the letter and see what it contained. The letter was from a bank. When he opened it, two words immediately met his eye -- 'For education'. It was a bank statement of an amount his father-in-law had put in years ago for his grandchildren's education needs. With the interest it had earned over the years, the standing value of the amount came to a little over $15,000, just enough money to cover the tuition of Andrew's first year at a medical college!

Another thing that is worth mentioning is about the postman. The original postman, who had worked in this neighborhood, called in sick that day. So the postman, who was new to the area, came to deliver mail in his place. Had it been the old postman, the letter would undoubtedly be returned to the sender as he knew full well that no person bearing that name lived in that house any longer.

The miracle was a blessing for Andrew. With the money given to him by his grandfather he was able to study medicine. Now he is a doctor in Illinois.

Statements:

1. Several coincidences happened in the story.

2. The coincidences made it possible for the owner to sell his house at a good price.

3. No one actually benefited from the coincidences.

4. It can be inferred that Mr. Stewart did not have to seek extra work from then on.

5. With the extra money Mr. Stewart had earned, Andrew's dream finally came true.

Part C

Dad Stops for Gas, Finds Lost Son

Nueng Garcia was the son of an American serviceman stationed in Thailand in 1969. But his father went back to the States when Nueng was only three months old. When he grew up Nueng immigrated to the United States and worked as a gas station clerk in Pueblo, Colorado. His dream was to find his father John Garcia. Year after year, he tried in vain to search for information about the whereabouts of his father.

It was a fine day in Pueblo. There was not a cloud in the blue sky. But for him, it was just another day on the job. Suddenly he noticed the name of one customer who paid with a check. The man, who was in his fifties, had the same surname as his own. Nueng raised his head from the check and looked at the man. Could this be his father?

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At this truth dawned on the man. They stared at each other and realized at the same moment that they were father and son who were separated 27 years ago and half a world away.

John Garcia hadn't seen his son since 1969. He lost touch with Nueng's mother when she started seeing another man. He moved to Pueblo nine years ago. He said he never went to that gas station, wasn't even low on gas that day and hardly ever paid with a check.

Statements:

1. Nueng's parents divorced when he was only 3 months old.

2. After moving to the U.S.A., Nueng worked at a gas station in Colorado.

3. Nueng never gave up his efforts to find his father, but John Garcia had never looked for his son.

4. One day while at work Nueng's eyes fell on the photo of a customer's driver's license, and the man in the photo looked like his father.

5. John Garcia was once in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Thailand.

6. John Garcia and his son didn't meet each other again until 1996.

7. Nueng's father said he often went to that gas station but never paid with a check.

8. It was by coincidence that John Garcia and his son were reunited after many years of separation.

Part D