On August 26, 1999, New York City was struck by a terrible rainstorm. The rain caused the streets to    (1)   and the subway system almost came to a stop.
  Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour. Many people who were going to work were    (2)   to go home. Some battled to    (3)   a taxi or to get on a bus. Still others faced the    (4)   bravely, walking miles to get to work.
  I    (5)   to be one of people on the way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most     (6)    had stopped. After making my way    (7)   crowds of people, I finally found a subway line that was     (8)  . Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to    (9)    the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the     (10)   . So I took the train going in the opposite direction, and then switched back to the downtown train. Finally, after   (11)   seemed like forever, the train  reached my stop. Then I had to walk several blocks in the increasingly heavy rain. When I finally got to my office, I was    (12)   through, exhausted and     (13)   . 
  My co-workers and I spent most of the day drying off. When it was 5:00 p.m., I was ready to go home. I was about to turn off my computer     (14)    I received an email from Garth, my Director:
   I would like to thank all of you who made the effort and  (15)      reported to work. It is always reassuring( 令人欣慰 ), at times like these, when employees so clearly show their    (16)    to their jobs. Thank you.
  Garth’s email was short, but I learned more from that     (17)   message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of   (18)   can make a big difference. The rainstorm and the traffic    (19)   had made me tired and upset. But Garth’s words immediately     (20)   me and put a smileback on my face.