单选题
It was years since I【C1】______my hometown and I was determined to enjoy my stay. I went to see my old friend, Tom Clark who, among other things, was a member of the Local Council. 【C2】______the time Tom was busy making arrangements for a distinguished writer to give a talk on modern literature at the town library. As the subject【C3】______me a great deal, I gladly accepted Tom's invitation to go with him. Tom was going to introduce【C4】______and that evening we went to the library to meet him. Since he【C5】______, I left Tom and went into the Reading Room【C6】______a large audience had already gathered. I was disappointed to find that I did not know a single person there. Just before the talk was【C7】______begin, I saw Tom waving to me from the doorway. I went to him immediately, as he looked very worried. He explained that he【C8】______a telephone message from the writer' s secretary. Our guest speaker had missed the train and would be unable to come! While we were talking about the problem, Tom suddenly asked me if I would mind【C9】______as the speaker. I hardly had time to think about the matter when I found I【C10】______into the Reading Room to address the waiting audience.