22、A house in Clarktown caught fire on Christmas Eve, 1982. The woman who lived in the house was already in her eighties. Being in poor health, she had trouble in _ _ 21 _ _ even when things were fine. With her house burning down around her, she was not able to go _ _ 22 _ _ . The smoke made her choke (窒息). The fire was very hot. Without quick help she would have died.
Fire fighters got to the house. They started to put the fire out. They did not know the old woman was still _ _ 23 _ _ . The people heard her crying for help. The fire was still very hot and there was lots of smoke.
A man dressed like Santa Claus(圣诞老人) was passing by. He was on his way to give gifts to poor families. Hardly had he heard the old woman' cry when he ran into the burning house. After a while he rushed out with the old woman on his back and came to her safety. Then, as _ _ 24 _ _ as he had done that, the man left. No one knew the real name of the hero who had saved the old woman's life.
The man went on and took the gifts to the poor children. He did not return home until it was dark. He told his _ _ 25 _ _ what had happened. She decided that she did not need to keep the story a secret. She told people that Santa Claus was actually David Rodriguez, her husband. Mr. Rodriguez is a music teacher when he is not playing Santa Claus.