I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice. “Mom, come here! There’s this lady near my size!” The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize. I smiled and told her, “It’s okay.” Then talked to the boy, “Hi, I’m Darry Kramer. How are you?” He studied me from head to toe, and asked, “Are you a little mommy?” “Yes, I have a son,” I answered. “Why are you so little?” he asked. “It’s the way I was born,” I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any bigger.” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an achondroplasia dwarf (侏儒). Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids joked on me, calling me names. Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I de
cided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality.
I’m 47 now, and the stares have not diminished as I’ve grown older. People are amazed when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have – a great family, nice friends.”
It’s the children’s questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers (a person of the same age, class, posi
tion, etc.), whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect.
Why did the mother apologize to the author?
| A．Because the boy ran into the author. |
| B．Because the boy laughed at the author. |
| C．Because they boy said the author was fatter than him. |
| D．Because the mother thought the boy’s words had hurt the author. |
When
did the author realize that she was too short?
| A．When she grew up. |
| B．When she was 47 years old. |
| C．When she began to go to school. |
| D．When she met the boy in the supermarket. |
Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word “diminished”?
| A．doubted | B．increased | C．decreased | D．improved |
.How does the author feel about people’s stares now?
| A．Angry | B．Calm | C．Painful | D．Discouraged |
In 1933 an unknown American called Clarence Nash went to see the film-maker Walt Disney. He had unusual voice and he wanted to do work in Disney’s cartoon films for children. When Walt Disney heard Nash’s voice, he said, “Stop! That’s our duck!”
The duck was the now-famous Donald Duck, who first appeared in1934 in the film The Wise Little Hen. Donald lived in an old houseboat and wore his sailor jacket and hat. Later that year he became a star after an eight-minute Mickey Mouse film. The cinema audiences liked him because he was lazy and greedy, and because he lost his temper very quickly. And they loved his voice, when he became angry with Mickey’s eight nephews. Soon Donald was more popular than Mickey Mouse himself, probably because he wasn’t goody-goody like Mickey.
In the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Donald and his friends Mickey, Goofy and Pluto make hundreds of Disney cartoons. He also made educational films about the place of the USA in the world, and safety in the home. Then in 1966 Donald Duck and his voice disappeared—there were no more new cartoons.
Clarence Nash died in February, 1985. But today’s children can still see the old cartoons on television and hear that famous voice.Walt Disney ______.
| A．played the part of Donald Duck | B．made Donald Duck films |
| C．had Donald Duck’s voice | D．drew cartoons |
Walt Disney chose Clarence Nash ______.
| A．because his voice was right for Mickey Mouse |
| B．because his voice was right for the duck in a new cartoon film |
| C．because he was fond of playing jokes |
| D．because he was quite humorous |
The first Donald Duck film ______ .
| A．appeared in 1934 | B．was shown in 1933 |
| C．was greatly appreciated in 1966 | D．was popular in 1930 |
Which of the following in NOT true?
| A．Clarence Nash had Donald Duck’s voice. |
| B．People liked Donald Duck better because he was lazy and greedy and became angry quickly. |
| C．Donald Duck’s voice disappeared in 1966. |
| D．Mickey Mouse wasn’t a goody-goody. |
If you find that your teacher is unfair to you, think about what is happening. Try to find out whether your teacher really dislikes you, or whether something else is going on. Here are some questions to ask yourself: Ask your classmates if they are having trouble with the teacher, too. If they say yes, perhaps your teacher is to blame.
Are you working up to your ability? Maybe you got a C in your last test, and your teacher told you that you could do better. And the kid sitting beside you got a C, too. Isn’t this unfair? Well, it could be that your teacher knows that you could do better if you put more effort into it.
There’s nothing wrong with being sensitive (敏感的) ，but if you react to criticism quite differently from others, this could be a reason why you think your teacher doesn’t like you.
Does your teacher seem to act unfairly all the time, or just once in a while? Think about the harsh (苛刻的) things your teacher has done to you. Are these things happening every day, or just once or twice a month? If your teacher really hates you, you would probably be picked on all the time.
| A．Are you the only person being treated badly, or is your teacher rough on the whole class? |
| B．Are you getting along well with your classmates? |
| C． Are you more sensitive than other students? |
| D． Are you interested in your lessons? |
E . If your teacher has acted unfairly only a few times, then there’s probably something else going on.
F．Teachers often grade students by different standards.
G．But the teacher didn’t say anything to him！
Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.
The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes "the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to learn from history." Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.
A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can not even understand why we are and where we are without history, much less (更不必说) try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.
I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio (录音机) tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. if, in doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplished. I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.The main purpose of this passage is to __________.
| A．instruct the parents how to teach their children history |
| B．show the importance of history in politics |
| C．explain the reasons why children study history |
| D．introduce the writer’s own way of teaching history |
Which of the following is not the reason for studying history according to the author?
| A．One can learn from history in order not to make the same mistakes. |
| B．It can help us to understand the current political climate. |
| C．Without history, one can be nothing but a fool in every aspect. |
| D．One can know the principle of doing something and not doing something. |
Some positive historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show __________.
| A．people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil |
| B．people may also learn from bad historical figures |
| C．more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements |
| D．today’s people can also achieve what they achieved |
What would be talked about in the following paragraph?
| A．How to teach history effectively. |
| B．Some negative reasons for studying history. |
| C．How to get more people to study history. |
| D．Some bad historical figures. |
About 97% of the world's water is salty and is found in our oceans and seas. But, as we can't drink seawater, how can it be important?
Every part of our seas and oceans contains an amazing number of animals and fish that live at different ocean depths. Most of the different species of animals and fish depend on simple plants for their food. These simple plants called algae (海藻) drift near the surface of the ocean and use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into food and oxygen. In fact, algae produce over half of the oxygen people breathe. How important seawater is!
Each plant or animal in our seas and oceans is an important link in a food chain. The algae are eaten in large amounts by microscopic animals, which are in turn consumed by larger animals. These food chains are delicately balanced.
The bad news about the food chains in the oceans is that they are under threat because of man. People once thought that the oceans were so big that it didn't matter if we dumped rubbish into them or caught huge quantities of fish and whales for food. But we now know this is not true and fish stocks in the oceans have started to drop.
Thankfully, the world is taking steps to protect the future of our oceans by introducing international agreements to protect marine habitats. Most countries have introduced fishing restrictions to protect fish stocks in the oceans and new techniques are being pioneered to cope with pollution. Finally, the importance of protecting oceans is being made known to more people. This is just the beginning of a long process to protect the oceans for our future. We depend on the oceans for fish which are an important part of the human diet. How important seawater is!People used to think that the rubbish thrown into the sea ________.
| A．wouldn't harm the fish in the sea |
| B．would change the balance of the food chain |
| C．would be broken down in the sea |
| D．wouldn't do much harm to the sea |
From the passage, we learn that ________.
| A．most fish and sea animals live at the surface of the seas |
| B．it is very difficult to break the balance of a food chain |
| C．excessive fishing has caused the decrease in fish stock |
| D．it won't be long before the problems concerning oceans will be solved |
Which of the following is NOT a way being used to protect oceans?
| A．The use of international agreements. |
| B．Forbidding fishing to protect fish stocks. |
| C．The use of new techniques. |
| D．Raising people's awareness of the need to protect oceans. |
What would be the BEST title of the passage?
A. The importance of seawater.
B. Life in the oceans.
C. How to protect food chains.
Down-to-earth means being honest, open, and easy to deal with. It is a pleasure to find someone who is down-to-earth. A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to. He or she accepts others as equals. A down-to-earth person may be an important member of society, of course, but they do not let their importance go to their heads, and they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important. Someone who is filled with self-importance and pride, often without cause, is said to have his nose in the air. There is no way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth.
Americans use another expression that is similar in some way to down-to-earth. The expression is both feet on the ground. Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality. He has what is called common sense. He may have dreams but he does not allow them to block his knowledge of what is real. The opposite kind of person is one who has his head in the clouds. A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the world. Sometimes such a dreamer can be brought back to reality; sharp words from the teacher, for example, can usually get a daydreaming student to put both feet back on the ground.
The person who is down-to-earth usually has both feet on the ground. But the opposite is not always true. Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down-to-earth. When we have both our feet firmly on the ground, we are realistic and we act honestly and openly toward others, and our lives are like the ground below us, solid and strong.If a person has his nose in the air, he ____.
| A．is down to the earth | B．is easy to deal with |
| C．always thinks he is more important than others | D．is confident |
From the second paragraph, we know that sharp words from a teacher can usually ________.
| A．help a student get down to the earth |
| B．wake a student up |
| C．help a daydreaming student come down to the ground |
| D．help a daydreaming student to become more realistic |
The underlined sentence “But the opposite is not always true.” most probably means that ______.
| A．the person who has his nose in the air is not true |
| B．a man with his head in the clouds is often not intelligent |
| C．the opposite direction is always wrong |
| D．a person who has both feet on the ground may not be down-to-earth |
From the passage, we can infer the person who is _______ is the most popular kind of person.
| A．down-to-earth | B．standing on the ground |
| C．with his nose in the air | D．with his head in the clouds |
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