Question

    In the summer of 2010, Deborah Barrett and her son, Anthony, walked out of a restaurant near the

Edmonton high school from which he’d graduated two years earlier. They had volunteered to wash dishes there to give Anthony something to do, but when they went out, the sun sliced through the clouds and Deborah had a realization: my kid is not spending his life in a dish pit.

Cleaning plates isn’t the only option for high-school graduates. But Anthony has autism（自闭症）and is mostly non-verbal, aside from short words in answer to yes-or-no questions and the Eeeee sounds he makes when he’s excited, happy or frustrated. Once a person with intellectual disabilities ages out of school, “There’s no life for them,” Deborah says. Programs end, and jobs are usually humble.

As her son entered his 20s, Deborah thought about what he could do and what he enjoyed. Among his likes: being driven around and carrying things, as well as seeing new places but not staying long. Maybe he could be a courier? The catch: Anthony doesn’t move fast, and courier jobs would require his support staff to be his driver and co-worker.

That wasn’t an issue for Mike Hamm. In 2012, he became Anthony’s new assistant and embraced the plan of spending part of their days delivering packages as a team. The pair called their venture Anthony at Your Service, signed a few customers and set out in Hamm’s lorry.

Seven years later, boxes awaiting distribution are piled on the porch of the home. Anthony, 30, shares with Deborah and her husband, David, a lawyer. The company now has two-dozen delivery teams — each comprising a contractor with an intellectual disability and their support-worker contractor — in Edmonton and Calgary.

Launching a company that employs 24 contractors with intellectual disabilities, and all the logistics that come along with that, wasn’t the original plan, Deborah says. But the realities of delivery work — the peaks and valleys in demand, the long hours — meant that Anthony and Hamm couldn’t shoulder the load alone.And the feedback she received from Alberta’s autistic and intellectually disabled communities suggested they wanted to work for a company that understood them.

Running Anthony at Your Service has become Deborah’s full-time, and she gave up her psychotherapy practice and the presidency of Autism Society Alberta a couple years ago. “What I’m doing for Anthony now has made more difference in his life than any of that other work,” she says. “We want to create jobs for people with all kinds of abilities and disabilities.”

1.What’s the future of the persons with intellectual disabilities according to Deborah?

A.They will lose their lives.

B.They will get well-paid jobs.

C.They will clean plates in restaurants.

D.They will find it hard to find a decent job.

2.What does the underlined word “courier” mean in the 3 rd paragraph?

A.Accountant. B.Barber.

C.Deliveryman. D.Engineer.

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A.David launched the company for his son.

B.Anthony’s contractors are mainly disabled.

C.Deborah gave up her original job unwillingly.

D.Mike Hamm is an intellectually disabled person.

4.Which of the following words can best describe Deborah Barrett?

A.Accessible. B.Caring.

C.Humorous. D.Modest.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。短文报道了Deborah和患有自闭症的儿子Anthony，随着Anthony年龄的增长，Deborah为了Anthony能够更好的生存，创建了“安东尼为您服务”快递公司，公司雇佣的员工主要是患有智能障碍的人。她为这些患有智能障碍的人创造了良好的就业机会。

1.细节理解题。由第二段“Once a person with intellectual disabilities ages out of school, “There’s no life for them,” Deborah says. Programs end, and jobs are usually humble”可知，一旦一个患有智能障碍的人离开了学校，“他们无法生活，” Deborah说。他们所从事的工作也很不起眼。所以根据Deborah 的说法，患有智能障碍的人的未来是他们会发现很难找到一份体面的工作。故选D项。

2.词义猜测题。由第四段“In 2012, he became Anthony’s new assistant and embraced the plan of spending part of their days delivering packages as a team ”可知，2012年，他成为了安东尼的新助手，并欣然接受了这个计划，他们的一部分时间用来运送包裹。通过上下文的语境可以判断出，第三段划线的单词“courier”是Deliveryman“送货员”。故选C项。

3.推理判断题。由第四段和倒数第二段“The company now has two-dozen delivery teams — each comprising a contractor with an intellectual disability and their support-worker contractor .Launching a company that employs 24 contractors with intellectual disabilities”可知，该公司现在有24个送货团队，每个团队由一名患有智能障碍的人和他们的辅助工人组成。公司雇佣了24名智障员工。由此推断出，Anthony所雇佣的员工大部分都是残疾人。故选B项。

4.推理判断题。由倒数第二段以及最后一段“And the feedback she received from Alberta’s autistic and intellectually disabled communities suggested they wanted to work for a company that understood them. We want to create jobs for people with all kinds of abilities and disabilities”可知，Deborah从阿尔伯塔省孤独症和智障社区得到的反馈信息表明，他们希望为一家理解他们的公司工作。Deborah想为有各种能力和有残疾的人创造就业机会。所以Deborah能够理解这些智障人的困难，并为他们提供了良好的就业机会。由此判断出Deborah有同情心的且乐于助人的。故选B项。