A struggling Waffle House employee who was trying to serve nearly 30 people by himself after midnight got a full serving of kindness when some customers jumped behind the counter to help him.
Ethan Crispo, 24, witnessed the inspiring scene in the early hours of Nov. 3 at a Waffle House in Birmingham, Alabama.
Crispo told TODAY’s Kerry Sanders that he had come to the 24-hour restaurant from a friend’s birthday party and saw the struggling employee, identified only as Ben, trying to cook the food, serve it, bus tables and wash dishes while more than 25 people were waiting to eat.
“The look on his face was just confusion,” Crispo told Sanders.
An unidentified male customer then decided to help him out, grabbing an apron and going behind the counter to wash dishes.
Another customer, Alison Stanley, went behind the counter to make some coffee—still dressed from a night out on the town.
“I don’t think it’s anything special,” Stanley told Sanders. “He needed help, so I got up and helped out.”
Crispo took some photos of the scene as multiple customers worked to bus tables and wash dishes while Ben focused on taking orders and preparing the food.
Waffle House told TODAY that Ben was left to support himself due to a scheduling issue.
“We had two associates scheduled to leave, however, due to a communication mix-up, their relief did not show up on time,” Waffle House director of PR Pat Warner said in a statement. “That left Ben, our cook, alone in the restaurant with hungry customers. He worked the grill (烤架) and got the orders out.”
The company was also thankful for the customers who joined in and helped Ben out.
“We are grateful that many of our customers feel like they are part of our Waffle House family,” Warner said. “There is a sense of community in each and every one of our restaurants, and we appreciate the fact that they consider our associates like family.”
“We are also very thankful for Ben, who kept the restaurant open. He is a representative of our Waffle House culture by always putting the customers first.”
Crispo had his usual order, double plain waffle, as he took in the scene of strangers helping out Ben on his shift.
“Humanity truly isn’t good, it’s great!” he said.
1.Ben was left to work alone during his midnight shift because ________.
A.his associates asked for a leave B.there was a scheduling mistake
C.few customers needed to be served D.the restaurant was scheduled to close
2.Some customers helped Ben out by ________.
A.washing dishes B.taking photos
C.taking orders D.cooking food
3.Why did the customers lend a helping hand according to Pat Warner?
A.They shared the same community spirit. B.They were family members of Ben.
C.They wanted to serve themselves. D.They were too hungry to wait.
4.How did Crispo feel as a witness of the scene?
A.Lucky and excited. B.Moved and inspired.
C.Relieved and hopeful. D.Content and unbelievable.
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1.The Olympic Studies Center mainly aims to ________.
A.give personalized guidance
B.provide resources on the Olympics
C.receive Olympic fans across the world
D.update information on Olympism for officials
2.What can be learned about the academic community?
A.It is organized by Olympic officials.
B.It launches projects at universities.
C.It promotes academic exchanges.
D.It provides electronic documents.
3.If you want to visit the center, you have to ________.
A.fill out a visitor request form B.enter the Olympic Museum
C.make an appointment D.arrive on workdays
My Boxing Experience
This year I joined boxing class. My friend Lea and I were the only ________ in the class. We got to throw our first punches (拳击) and learned how we should stand. I still didn’t know how to do it well, but I felt that choosing the boxing class was the right decision. Mr. Vernon, our boxing teacher, made us work hard and sweat. The boxing pads (拳击护具) were my favorite, but my punches weren’t ________ enough.
After participating in more practices, we had learned how to punch in six different ways. The boys were improving a lot on their strength, and Lea with her speed, and me? Well, I had a hard time seeing the ________. Mr. Vernon would always tell me that practice would make me stronger, and this is what helped motivate me to ________.
Each practice there was at least one boy who would ________ me and say, “Oh you’re too short to box. Mr. Vernon has to ________ down when you are on the boxing pads; oh you’re not strong enough; you punch like a mouse.”
I know those comments were not to ________ me, but just to have fun. It’s true, I’m a small and short person and I did lack confidence; but hearing those comments can either bring you ________, or make you feel motivated to show them they are ________. In my case, they started to discourage me. I didn’t have the strength to think they were wrong, and a part of me thought that they were speaking the ________. I hid it inside my heart because I thought that showing that I was ________ myself would make it worse.
I remember one particular practice where I was mad and angry, and my punches suddenly felt stronger and faster. I was ________, yet I had a feeling in me that it was there all along. I just didn’t have that ________ in me. After practice, Mr. Vernon pointed out that I was getting stronger and better, which really made me feel more ________ and showed me that what the others were saying about me was wrong. I had ________ found the strength I needed. The following practices, Mr. Vernon was impressed with my hooks and uppercuts, because they were getting ________.
This experience taught me that boxing requires a lot of work and effort, but it also taught me not to feel ________ about what people say. If you focus on your strong points and improve on your ________ ones, there is no reason for you to feel disappointed. Boxing taught me how to fight, and defend myself physically and mentally, and show that short girls can do anything if they have the ________ to prove people wrong. Being short doesn’t ________ me and definitely does not limit me from doing things that tall or stronger people can do.
1.A.girls B.boys C.teenagers D.adults
2.A.large B.strong C.accurate D.quick
3.A.difference B.grade C.point D.judgement
4.A.relax B.change C.return D.continue
5.A.wave goodbye to B.take advantage of C.pay attention to D.make fun of
6.A.look B.sit C.bend D.turn
7.A.teach B.hurt C.amuse D.warn
8.A.down B.back C.along D.in
9.A.rude B.wrong C.funny D.simple
10.A.result B.word C.truth D.reason
11.A.fooling B.doubting C.convincing D.criticizing
12.A.surprised B.worried C.moved D.disappointed
13.A.relief B.fear C.anger D.interest
14.A.regretful B.comfortable C.embarrassed D.confident
15.A.eagerly B.finally C.gradually D.gratefully
16.A.normal B.reliable C.harmful D.powerful
17.A.discouraged B.ashamed C.annoyed D.confused
18.A.small B.old C.weak D.shining
19.A.experience B.curiosity C.attention D.motivation
20.A.want B.help C.define D.forgive
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
Nearly two decades have passed since China sent the first Beidou satellite into space in 2000. During that time, more Beidou satellites were sent into orbit (轨道), 1. (form) the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). In late 2012, it began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging 2. (service) to people in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region. At the end of 2018, BDS started to serve users worldwide. Now with two more Beidou satellites 3. (launch) on Dec 16, 2019, BDS has 53 satellites in orbit.
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
The red-crowned crane (鹤) is one of the 1. (large) cranes in the world, standing at about 150cm tall. Its feathers are as white as snow, except for some black ones on its face, neck and wings. Its unique feature, from which it gets its name, is the bright red skin on the top of its head. The red-crowned crane 2. (find) in China, Russia, Mongolia, Japan and the Korean Peninsula (半岛). In China, it spends the warmer months in the rivers and wetlands in the north-east. 3. the weather gets cold, it migrates to east-central China. The red-crowned crane is a symbol of long life and good luck in Chinese culture.
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。
During a trip to New York City, Alabama woman Mary Anderson 1. (notice) a trolley driver couldn’t see well when it was snowing. At that point, drivers had to open the window 2. (clear) it, letting snow and rain into the vehicle. As a solution, Anderson designed and patented wood and rubber arms 3. would push rain and snow off the window at the pull of a lever (控制杆). But she was told her 4. (invent) was distracting and impractical, and she never profited from her design.
