Before I even started school, people felt that I was not going to amount to much. At the age of four, I started speech lessons because even I could not speak well enough to be understood.
First grade was a struggle. I not only had difficulty speaking, but I was expected to learn to read and I just couldn't do it. My parents grew more and more frustrated. They bought books and offered great rewards if I could read one of them from start to finish to them. Well, with my speech problems and now my reading problems, I did not like to do reading and so refused to do it whenever possible.
Second grade was not much better. It was in the second grade that the teacher decided that I needed special education. I remember the days of taking the physical exams. However, after all that, they decided that I did not qualify for special education.
It was in third grade that a new school was built close to where I lived. I remember going there with my parents and helping to get the school ready so that we could transfer(转学). It was a happy day that we started school at Vandalia. However, things did not get better as my parent expected.
It was now time for fifth grade. Mrs. Wakefield was my teacher, and if ever there was a teacher that deserved a gold star, it was her. She did not make me feel upset. Instead, she helped me in so many ways and built my self-confidence so that I actually did believe that I could do something special. And that is just what I did.
For the past 22 years, I have been a fifth grade teacher. Because of Mrs. Wakefield's influence in my life, I am now encouraging students who have had difficulties in their lives to believe that they can overcome and become someone. I have won a large number of awards but I know that all of them belong to one fifth grade teacher who believed in me and challenged me to be all that I could be.
I still have a class picture of her with her fifth grade class hanging on the wall of my office, encouraging other teachers to reach out to their students.
【小题1】 What does the underlined phrase “amount to much” mean in Paragraph l?

There was a story many years ago of a school teacher-Mrs. Thompson．She told the children on the first day that she loved them all the same．But that was a lie There in the front row was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard．He didn’t play well with the other children and he always needed a bath．She did not like him．

Then Mrs. Thompson got to know that Teddy was in fact a very good boy before the death of his mother．Mrs. Thompson was ashamed of（感到惭愧）herself．She felt even worse when，like all her other students，Teddy brought her a Christmas present too．It was his mother’s perfume（香水）．

Teddy said，“Mrs. Thompson，today you smell just like my Mom used to．”After the children left she cried for at least an hour．On that very day, she stopped teaching reading，writing and math．Instead，she began to teach children．

Mrs. Thompson paid more attention to Teddy．The boy’s mind seemed to come alive．The more she encouraged him，the faster he improved．By the end of the sixth grade，Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class．

Six years went by before she got a note from Teddy．He wrote that he had finished high school，third in his class，and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life．He went to college．Mrs. Thompson got two more letters from him with the last one signed，Theodore F．Stoddard，M．D．（医学博士）．

The story doesn’t end there．On his wedding day, Dr．Stoddard whispered（低声说）in Mrs. Thompson’s ear,“Thank you，Mrs. Thompson，for believing in me．You made me feel important and showed me that I could make a difference．”

Mrs. Thompson，with tears in her eyes，whispered back，“Teddy, you have it all wrong．You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference．I didn’t know how to teach until I met you．”

（    ）1．What did Mrs. Thompson do on the first day of school?

A．She made Teddy feel ashamed．

B．She asked the children to play with Teddy．

C．She changed Teddy’s seat to the front now．

D．She told the class something untrue about herself．

（    ）2．What did Mrs. Thompson find out about Teddy?

A．He often told lies．                                  B．He was good at math．

C．He needed motherly care．                          D．He enjoyed playing with others．

（    ）3．In what way did Mrs. Thompson change?

A．she taught fewer school subjects．

B．She became stricter with her students．

C．She no longer liked her job as a teacher．

D．She cared more about educating students．

（    ）4．Why did Teddy thank Mrs. Thompson at his wedding?

A．She had kept in touch with him．

B．She had given him encouragement．

C．She had sent him Christmas presents．

D．She bad taught him how to judge people．

（    ）5．The underlined word smartest in the passage probably means“______”．

A．cleverest              B．cleanest                  D．hardest                  D．fastest

Do you ever feel like you are just running from one activity to another? In school, do you rush from one subject to another?

When things happen so fast, it is easy to get lost of what you are doing or learning. It is important to stop yourself every now and then to think about what you’ve been doing or learning.

Self reflection means slowing down and calming (使平静) yourself, including calming your mind. By being calm and going slowly, you give your brain a chance to think about what it has already received. Some people prefer to do these self reflections only in their mind. Others keep a diary or written notes. Either method works, depending on your own personal learning.

School textbooks are divided into units of study. This makes it easier for someone to begin self reflection. Look for time when you complete a unit of study in the subjects you are learning, such as math, science and art. Sometimes you know the unit is over because there is some kind of test. Use these natural breaks to stop and do self reflection.

Find a quiet place. You can even be sitting at your desk at school when you finish something early and the other students are still working. If you are going to take notes, take out paper or your reflection diary. Write down some notes on the new things that you learned in the unit. Let your mind think about the notes you have written and make some connections.

Next, think about things that you are not sure of. Maybe you learned a new way to work out a math problem, but you’re not sure when to use it. Writing down your questions will help you remember to look for answers the next time you are working with the same topic.

Self reflection is important for a successful student. If you have never taken the time to do self reflection, try it now.

53. We do self reflection to ____.

A. have more activities and subjects

B. make things happen faster and better

C. think about what we have learned

D. let our brain have a good rest

54. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Taking notes is necessary when we do self reflection.

B. It’s a good time to do self refection when we finish a unit.

C. Self reflection should be done after class in the school.

D. It’s easy for us to find answers when we do self reflection.

55. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Self Reflection in Mind or Taking Notes?

B. Self Reflection Makes You A Better Learner

C. Why Not Try These Steps of Self Reflection?

D. Find A Good Time and Place for Self Reflection