Rising above the names

　　 I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.

　 “Mom，come here！There's this lady here my size！”

　　 The mother rushed to her son；then she turned to me to apologize.

　　 I smiled and told her，“It's okay.”Then I talked to the boy，“Hi，I'm Darryl 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 picked 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 decided 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，position，etc.)，whatever size and shape they come in，and treat them with respect.

1．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 the boy said the author was fatter than him.

D．Because the mother thought the boy's words had hurt the author.

2．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.

3．Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word“diminished”？

A．Dismissed. 　　　　 B．Increased.

C．Decreased. 　　　　 D．Discriminated.

4．How does the author feel about people's stares?

A．Angry. 　　　　　　 B．Calm.

C．Painful. 　　　　　 D．Discouraged.

 

完形填空

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从每小题所给四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。

　　… We've heard it before－we've heard it on the news, from teachers, from parents－children and teenagers today are growing up too fast. There are not too many people that will 1 with that statement. Teenagers are faced with serious problems and decisions at an early 2 . In fact most teenagers' daily schedules(日程表) are as 3 as those of an adult's.

　　I have been working since I was thirteen, and always in 4 in which I was working with adults(成年人). I have had to learn to think and 5 like an adult to be taken seriously. So, I count myself as one who has grown up too fast. I just graduated from high school, and have recently spent some time reflecting (反思) on the 6 eighteen years－thinking about myself, what I have gained, and what 7 I have yet to achieve.

　　We are expected to work hard, get excellent 8 , be in a good relationship, and know what we want to do 9 . The list goes on and on. But the 10 is clear：We live in a society today that is 11 our childhood. We no longer have many years to be careless and fancy－free. We are expected to 12 the strict school rules and to excel(擅长) in everything we do.

　　I've known these things for a long time, and knew that they. 13 me. But, I never really admitted it until last night, when I learned a 14 lesson, taught to me by my boss where I work. We had finished a job at a remote(遥远的) site. It was about 11:30 at night, and we had 15 to his house. We were talking about the 16 he had been making to his home. One of the things he said was “I 17 my basketball hoop(篮圈).” Then he threw a basketball to me.

　　I hadn't 18 a basketball in five years.

　　We proceeded to shoot hoops for about 40 minutes. Both of us were terribly bad at it, but we spent the whole time 19 like children. Then I realized something：I am still a child. Oh, the law says I'm an adult. But, we are still really and truly children. We all need to have 20 once in a while.

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