History tells us that the origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicho

las, Bishop of Myra (an area in present day Turkey). One of the legends tells about that he【C1】______ a fortune when his parents died while he was still in his teens. By【C2】______ St. Nicholas was an honest and【C3】______ man. He cared deeply for the poor, and particularly【C4】______ to children. He brought various gifts, money and other useful items to the houses of the poor. He did this at night, and in【C5】______ , so that no one knew,【C6】______ he wanted no glory, he just wanted to help people. He became widely known for his generosity.

There is one famous【C7】______ about Saint Nicholas. The story tells【C8】______ Nicholas hearing one day of three beautiful sisters who lived in a miserable【C9】______ on the edge of Myra. The three sisters were very poor. They could【C10】______ earn enough to keep themselves and their old mother from starving to death. When Nicholas heard of their【C11】______ , he was very concerned. He decided to do【C12】______ to help them.

One night, when everyone was asleep, Nicholas crept through the streets to the【C13】______ of town. He tiptoed up to the hut【C14】______ where the three sisters lived. He climbed onto the roof and【C15】______ three bags of gold through the hole in the roof where the smoke from the fire came out. Now it so【C16】______ that the three sisters has washed their stockings before they went to bed. The stockings have been hung by the fire to【C17】______ . When Nicholas dropped the gold through the smoke hole, each bag of gold fell into a stocking,

The three sisters were overjoyed to find three bags of gold in their stockings when they woke up the next morning. Soon, the story began to【C18】______ . Other people began to hang【C19】______ stockings in the hope of finding bags of gold when they woke up in the morning. From this legend sprang the【C20】______ of hanging stockings up by the chimney on Christmas Eve. Over the years, Saint Nicholas became associated with Christmas.

【C1】

A．acquired

B．required

C．inquired

D．lost