Last year at Christmas time, my wife, three children and I were on our way from Paris to Nice. Somehow everything went wrong. Our hotels were "tourist traps" and our rented car broke down. On Christmas Eve, when we checked into a dirty hotel in Nice, there was no Christmas spirit in our hearts.
It was raining and cold when we went out to eat. We found a small restaurant poorly decorated for the holiday. Only five tables in the restaurant were taken. There were two German couples, two French families, and an American sailor, by himself. They were eating in stony silence except the sailor. He was writing a letter, and a half-smile lighted his face. In the corner a piano player was listlessly (无精打采地) playing Christmas music.
All of us were interrupted by an old French flower woman through the front door. She had a worn overcoat and her old shoes were wet. Carrying her basket of flowers, she went from one table to another. No one bought any. Exhausted and sad, she sat down at a table.
The sailor finished his meal and got up to leave. Putting on his coat, he walked over to the flower woman's table.
"Merry Christmas," he said, smiling and picking out a handful of flowers. "How much are they?"
"Two francs, sir."
The sailor put a twenty franc note in the woman's hand.
"I don't have change, sir," she said. "I'll get some from the waiter."
"No, ma'am, "said the sailor, leaning over and kissing the ancient cheek." This is my Christmas present for you."
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为80左右；
2）续写部分的开头语已为你写好；
Then the sailor headed for our table with the flowers in his hand.
