Brandon Smith, in Houston, Texas, turned 12 on April 11. It is a tough time to have a birthday. But he still had a socially distanced birthday celebration that he will always remember.
Celebrations in the age of the coronavirus（冠状病毒） have forced people to get creative. Brandon’s father, Jody Smith, went on Twitter with a simple request. He posted a picture of Brandon on it. In the photo, Brandon is holding up a drawing. It is a blank map of the world. Mr. Smith asked people on Twitter to reply to his post and say where they are. That way, his map-loving son could mark the locations.
“I thought it would be fun to get 50-maybe 100-people to reply from around the world, and most would be in the US.” Smith said, “That’s really what my expectations were.”
To his surprise, however, thousands of responses to Smith’s request came in. Pictures were sent from the Caribbean, South America and Europe.
Brandon would add each spot to his map. “He is having a blast,” Mr. Smith said.
In the afternoon of April 11, Brandon was popular on Twitter. He was the most-talked-about topic.
Brandon did not really want a birthday party. He wanted to do an activity he likes. “Brandon is on the autism spectrum（自闭症）.” Smith said. Children with autism have different abilities. They get very interested in things. They will be interested in it for just a few weeks, Sometimes, months, One thing that Brandon continues to love is maps.
Mr. Smith’s phone pinged with so many birthday messages. Each time one arrived, Brandon put a mark on his map. He put it wherever the message came from. He knew where most places were. He hardly had to look at a real map to check.
By noon, Brandon’s map was covered in marks. Mr. Smith was grateful for all the responses.
“These are pretty trying times,” Mr. Smith said. He was glad to see people being kind. Mr. Smith said the responses made Brandon feel so special on his birthday.
1.Why did Smith ask people on Twitter to send birthday messages to his son?
A.Brandon needed encouragement during this difficult time.
B.He wanted to see how many responses he could get.
C.Brandon spends much of his time talking to people on the internet.
D.He could not celebrate how he usually would because of the coronavirus.
2.What happened after people told Brandon where they were?
A.He marked the locations on his map.
B.He added the spots to a list.
C.He mailed them a letter.
D.He read about the places.
3.Why does Brandon does not like birthday parties?
A.The coronavirus has changed how people are celebrating.
B.Friends have what is being called socially distanced birthday parties.
C.Children with autism have different abilities.
D.Mr. Smith explained that Brandon gets very interested in things.
4.Why does Smith feel surprised about the response to his Twitter post?
A.He thought that more people would reply to it.
B.He did not expect so many people to reply to it.
C.He thought that more people from Texas would reply to it.
D.He did not know that he had so many Twitter followers.
5.What does the underlined word “trying” mean?
A.Difficult. B.hard-working.
C.Interesting. D.tiring.
Drawing For Fun
You will learn some basic techniques using soft pencils. These and different types of paper are provided. Just bring yourself and a willingness to ''have a go''. This is a start-up day so people who have already attended courses should not apply.
Time: 1:00 PM-3:00 PM
Focus On Landscapes
This course is designed for students who are familiar with painting in watercolours, but are having difficulty with some techniques. We will discuss choice of materials, colour mixing and other areas that may be raised.
The day will start with a demonstration, followed by a chance to paint outdoors. After a light lunch cooked in the studio, there will be a further practice session.
Time: 9:30 AM-3:00 PM
Find Your Voice
You may feel you can’t sing or you may be a good singer who wants to develop singing skills. You will be shown how to sing correctly and how to project your voice. You may atend this course more than once and each time you will have a wonderful experience. Everyone can sing and it's great fun.
Time: 2:00 PM-5:00 PM
The Music Takeaway
Get some friends, family or coworkers together for your own music course in a place of your choice, which could be your front room, basement or workplace. We send two guitar teachers to lead a one-day course for you in the sty le of music you prefer, such as rock, country, funk or blues.
Time: 2:30 PM-9:00 PM
1.Those who atend Drawing For Fun are required to_____________.
A.bring their own works
B.be a newcomer to the course
C.be good at watercolour painting
D.bring their own pencils and paper
2.What's the purpose of Focus On Landscapes?
A.Paint outdoors.
B.Discuss the painting materials.
C.Improve the students painting techniques.
D.Teach how to start watercolour-painting.
3.Which course you can attend repeatedly?
A.Find Your Voice.
B.Drawing For Fun.
C.Focus On Landscapes.
D.The Music Takeaway.
4.Which allows you to decide where the course is held?
A.Find your Voice. B.Drawing For Fun.
C.The Music Takeaway. D.Focus On Landscapes.
5.What do the four courses have in common?
A.All last a whole day. B.All offer free lunch.
C.All are related to the arts. D.All are open to all levels.
Tim Cook is both blind and deaf. And try as they might, staff on the night just couldn’t figure out how to _______ with the man, who was traveling all alone.
But then, a 15-year-old girl used sign language and genuine sympathy to _______ the day.
Teenager Clara Daly was _______ with her mother Jane from Boston to Los Angeles when the flight attendants（空乘人员） made a（n） _______ over the speaker. They were _______ for anyone on board who knew sign language.
Clara _______ the call button, because she’d studied a year of American Sign Language in school. She was the only one on the plane _______ of truly communicating with Tim, and her heart went out to him.
“ _______ six hours of just not being able to talk to anyone,” she recalled sympathetically.
Clara talked to Tim through fingerspelling, which is a system of speaking to deaf people by touching his hand with her fingers and _______ each letter in a word. This way, Tim could ________ Clara’s hands and they could communicate, First. Clara helped the night attendants ________ all of Tim’s needs were met. Then, she spent the rest of the time just ________ with him.
Together, they shared stories about their families and Clara’s future plans, while Clara ________ about Tim’s past as a salesman.
Lynette Scribner, A ________ behind them on the plane, couldn’t help taking a photo and ________ it on social media. She said she was amazed to see such incredible ________ .
After she wrote about Clara’s ________ on social media, Lynette’s post ________ . So far, it has been shared over 730,000 times on US social media platform Facebook.
The ________ girl was quick to point out that she just did what any one of us should do when given the opportunity: help out.
“Everyone should just be ________ each other just because that’s the nature of people,” Clara said.
1.A.cooperate B.connect C.communicate D.meet
2.A.save B.enjoy C.spend D.live
3.A.shopping B.traveling C.working D.staying
4.A.forecast B.effort C.suggestion D.announcement
5.A.looking B.waiting C.standing D.sending
6.A.picked B.fixed C.pressed D.made
7.A.afraid B.capable C.aware D.fond
8.A.Notice B.Predict C.Describe D.Imagine
9.A.drawing B.singing C.signing D.saying
10.A.feel B.see C.shake D.move
11.A.prevent B.ensure C.prove D.recognize
12.A.chatting B.dealing C.quarrelling D.singing
13.A.cared B.thought C.read D.learned
14.A.doctor B.play C.passenger D.visitor
15.A.considering B.sharing C.mailing D.stopping
16.A.sympathy B.adventure C.courage D.confidence
17.A.politeness B.bravery C.sadness D.kindness
18.A.put up B.came up C.set off D.took off
19.A.proud B.humorous C.humble D.thankful
20.A.believing B.helping C.accepting D.understanding
Some good habits at young ages help to_________ our character in later life.
A.pass B.reduce C.revise D.form
Professor Smith is very kind. You can turn to him for help as long as he is_________.
A.active B.confused C.available D.busy
After graduation, Jane_________ her job as a volunteer teacher in the countryside.
A.set out B.set up C.took up D.took over
