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, Mickey, 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 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 laughed at me.. 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.How does the author feel about people’s stares?
A．Angry. B．Calm. C．Painful. D．Discouraged.
When people want to know about the weather, they usually go to there radios, TVs, newspapers, or to the Internet. However, you can also find many weather signs among wildlife, because of their highly developed senses. Drops in air pressure（压力） produce an effect on small animals in many ways. Mice and deer are good weather indicators. People who spend a lot of time outdoors have observed that, before a storm, field mice come out of their holes and run around, Deer leave high ground and come down from the mountains.
Birds are especially good weather indicators because they also show the effect of a pressure drop in many ways. For example, some birds become irritable（急躁的）and quarrelsome and will fight over a piece of bread. Other birds chirp（叽叽喳喳）and sing just before a storm. It seems they know they won’t get another chance for an hour or two. Birds also seek safe places before a storm, You will sometimes see birds settling in trees or gathering together on a wire close to a building. Pre-storm low pressure makes the are so thin that birds have difficulty flying.
It is unusual to see many birds flying overhead in the summertime, rather than during the periods in the spring or autumn. Watch for other weather signs if you see this. If they fly in the wrong direction, they may be flying ahead of a storm.
By paying closer attention to some important signs in nature, we can become better prepared for any kind of weather.
1.The word“indicators”in paragraph I probably means ________.
A．maps B．services C．signs D．stations
2.There will be a storm if birds __________ .
A．make more noise than usual B．fly in different directions
C．come down from tall trees D．share a piece of bread
3.How can birds sense the coming of a storm?________
A．By feeling a drop in air temperature.
B．By noticing the change of wind directions.
C．By feeling a drop in air pressure.
D．By noticing the movements of other animals.
4.The best title for the text would be ________ .
A．Signs of a Storm B．Drops in Air Pressure
C．Animals’Sharp Senses D．Nature’s Weather Signs
In old times, man considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries(神秘事物)of nature. In fact a single flash of lightning 1. 6 kilometers long has enough electricity to light one million lamps.
The American scientist, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to suggest that lightning is in fact electricity formed between the earth and clouds high above. It happened in 1752. In the same year, he also built the first lightning rod(避雷针)to protect buildings from being struck by lightnings.
Modern science has discovered that lightning is very strong and powerful. A lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travels at a speed of 30 million meters per second. Scientists have the opinion that there are about 2, 000 million flashes of lightning per year. In the United States alone, it kills almost one person per day. The safest place to be in during an electrical storm is a closed car. Outside, one should go close to low ground for cover and not stop under a tree. Also one should stay out of water and away from metal fences. Inside a house people should keep away from open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things.
1.From this passage we know lightning is_______ .
A. one of the great mysteries of nature
B. electricity high above the earth
C. a kind of light
D. the sound from the clouds
2.In the US _______.
A. every person can see lightning every day
B. at least one person is killed by lightning every day
C. there are about 6 million flashes of lightning per year
D. about one person per day dies from lightning
3.During a lightning storm, it would be best if you _______.
A. stand under a tree B. go outside C. stay in a closed car D. stop near windows
4.A lightning rod can _______.
A. prevent accidents caused by lightning
B. stop lightning
C. protect buildings from being washed away
D. delay the coming of lightning
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(录取) to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科医师) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women.
1.Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
A. She couldn’t get admitted to medical school
B. She decided to further her education in Paris
C. A serious eye problem stopped her
D. It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States
2.What main obstacle(障碍) almost destroyed Elizabeth’s chances for becoming for a doctor?
A. She was a woman.
B. She wrote too many letters.
C. She couldn’t graduate from medical school.
D. She couldn’t set up her hospital.
3. How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her hospital?
A. Eight years B. Ten years C. Nineteen years D. Thirty-six years
4.According to the passage, all of the following are “firsts” in the life of Elizabeth Blacekwell, except that she ______.
A. became the first woman physician
B. was the first woman doctor
C. and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children
D. set up the first medical school for women
In the past, man did not have to think about the protection of his environment. There were few people on the earth, and natural resources（资源） seemed to be 26 .
Today things are 27 , the world has become too 28 . We are using up our natural resources too quickly, and at the same time we are 29 our environment with dangerous chemicals. If we continue to do this, human life on the earth will not 30 .
Everyone 31 today that if too many fish are taken from the sea, there will soon be none left. Yet, with modern fishing 32 , more and more fish are caught. We know that if too many trees are cut down, 33 will disappear and nothing will grow on the land. Yet, we 34 to use bigger and more powerful machines to 35 more and more trees.
We realize that if rivers are polluted with waste products from factories, we will die. ___36, in most countries wastes are 37 put into rivers or into the sea, and there are 38 laws to stop this. We know, too, that if the 39 of the world continues to rise at the present rate, in a few years there will not be enough food. What can we do to 40 these problems ?
If we eat more vegetables and less 41 , there will be more food available for everyone. Land that is used to grow crops 42 five times more people than land where animals are kept. Our natural resources will 43 longer if we learn to recycle them. The world population will not rise so quickly if people use modern methods of birth 44 .
Finally, if we educate people to think about the problems, we shall have a better and cleaner 45 in the future.
1. A. beautiful B. unlimited C. rare D. valuable
2.A. common B. the same C. changeable D. different
3.A. crowded B. small C. dirty D. busy
4.A. protecting B. saving C. polluting D. fighting
5.A. breathe B. survive C. drink D. move
6.A. wonders B. realizes C. considers D. discovers
7.A. poles B. boats C. methods D. ideas
8.A. mountains B. the sea C. trees D. forests
9.A. continue B. stop C. keep D. go on
10.A. grow B. plant C. save D. cut down
11.A. Thus B. However C. But D. Therefore
12.A. still B. even C. also D. certainly
13.A. too many B. a few C. some D. few
14.A. production B. pollution C. population D. pronunciation
15.A. work B. deal C. solve D. serve
16.A. fruit B. meat C. fish D. grain
17.A. feeds B. increases C. supplies D. helps
18.A. use B. stay C. keep D. last
19.A. control B. born C. plan D. reward
20.A. nature B. sea C. planet D. forest
– I’m sorry I didn’t finish it on time.
-- ________.
A. Fine, thanks. B. No, thanks. C. Thanks a lot. D. Thank you all the same.
