阅读理解。
A brief act of kindness brings an unexpected insight (领悟).I was shopping at a department store and
had just boarded the clown escalator  (电动扶梯)  when I noticed a woman standing to the side. She
looked about 65, and her expression told me she was scared. I turned toward her and asked, “Do you
need help?"
As the escalator continued moving, I heard the woman  reply  softly, “I’m afraid." There was a hint of
doubt in her voice. "Want me to come back and get you?" I called to her. She nodded. But by the time I
reached her, the woman had reconsidered. "I don't think I can do it", she said.
I  was  suddenly  aware that I had made a far greater investment than I expected. "I know we can do
it," I said. "I can  hold  on  to you." She looked down  at the beast  (庞然大物). Then  her eyes came
back  to  mine,  looking  doubtful "This has never happened to me before," she said, as much to herself
as to me. I felt that her  sudden  fear had to do with the escalator's mechanical nature, its basic inhuman
untrustworthiness.
I took her arm. "Shall we?" She made a little sound of  alarm as we stepped on, but  we'd passed  the
point of no return. She relaxed slightly as the stairs moved us downward. "I don't understand this at all,"
she said. As we neared the bottom, her grip (紧握) tightened again, but we did fine. "I'm so grateful."She
began. "It was nothing," I said. "I was happy to do it.
"Happy? Yes. I do very little to help others. I am busy caring for a family and  working full time. For
a brief moment, I had a flash of insight into why someone would become a nurse or a social worker
or a priest. When I helped the woman, I felt pure and whole, purposeful. It was a happier moment than
I'd had in weeks.
1. Why did the old woman look scared at first? Because ______.
A. she was afraid to talk to strangers.
B. she didn't dare to go down the escalator.
C. she couldn't carry her heavy things downstairs.
D. she felt she might be robbed of her things.
2. What does the sentence "I don't think I can do it" imply? The old woman couldn't ______.
A. hold on to the escalator.
B. give the author a hand.
C. accept the author's help.
D. afford to buy necessary things.
3. We know from the text that the old woman ______..
A. bought so many things.
B. was very thankful to the author.
C. couldn't go out shopping alone.
D. believed in the author from the beginning
4. The author learned from the experience that ______.
A. she should become a social worker.
B. she should first perform her own duties well.
C. the most important was to understand each other.
D. people needed other people's help in the society.

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