A、The speaker’s friend. B、The speaker’s uncle. C、The speaker’s workmate. D、The clerk in the gym. A

It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty.(19)I wasn’t sure about entering a new decade of my life and feared my best years were now behind me. Every morning I would go to the gym for a workout. Today,(20)I met my friend Nicholas there. He was seventy-nine. As I greeted Nicholas, he noticed my depression and asked why. I told him I was worried about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look back on my life once I reached Nicholas’s age, so I asked him, "What was the best time of your life?" Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, "Well, Joe, this is my philosophical answer to your philosophical question. When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was the best time of my life.(21)When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life. When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life. When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life. When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life. And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. This is the best time of my life."