Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

In the following paragraph "...handed some astonished child", what is the meaning of "some"?

"I would dress up like Santa Claus, go to the poorest neighborhoods, and knock on any door. When the door was opened, I said "Merry Christmas!" and handed some astonished child a beautifully wrapped gift. I always included a note explaining my Christmas experience as a child. It said, "All I ask in return is that you take good enough care of yourself so that someday you can do the same thing for someone else."

[2006]

There, "some" means an, an uknown, no particular, a randomly chosen.

It is not someone you know or specifically chose; it is just whoever happened to be there.