Question

As Amy Hagadorn rounded the corner across the hall from her classroom, she crashed with a tall boy from the fifth grade running in the opposite direction．

“Watch it, Squirt,”the boy yelled, as he dodged around the little third grader． Then, with an unfriendly smile on his face, the boy took hold of his right leg and mimicked the way Amy limped（跛行）when she walked．

Amy closed her eyes for a moment． ―Ignore him,‖ she told herself as she headed for her classroom．

But at the end of the day, Amy was still thinking about the tall boy‘s mean teasing． It wasn‘t as if he were the only one． Amy was tired of it． Sometimes, even in a classroom full of other students, the teasing about her speech or her limping made her feel all alone．

Back home at the dinner table that evening Amy was quiet． That‘s why Patti Hagdorn was happy to have

some exciting news to share with her daughter．

“There‘s a Christmas Wish Contest on the radio station,” she announced． “Write a letter to Santa and you might win a prize． I think someone at this table with blond curly hair should enter．”

Amy giggled． The contest sounded like fun． She started thinking about what she wanted most for Christmas．

A smile took hold of Amy when the idea first came to her． Out came pencil and paper and Amy went to work on her letter． ―Dear Santa Claus,‖ she began．

While Amy worked away at her best printing, the rest of the family tried to guess what she might ask from Santa． Amy‘s sister, Jamie, and Amy‘s mom both thought a 3-foot Barbie Doll would top Amy‘s wish list． Amy‘s dad guessed a picture book． But Amy wasn‘t ready to reveal her secret Christmas wish just then． Here is Amy‘s letter to Santa, just as she wrote it that night:

Dear Santa Clause,

My name is Amy． I am 9 years old． I have a problem at school． Can you help me, Santa? Kids laugh at me because of the way I walk and run and talk． I have cerebral palsy（大脑性瘫痪）． I just want one day where no one laughs at me or makes fun of me．

Love,

Amy

At radio station WJLT in Fort Wayne, Indiana, letters poured in for the Christmas Wish Contest． The workers had fun reading about all the different presents that boys and girls from across the city wanted for Christmas．

When Amy‘s letter arrived at the radio station, manager Lee Tobin read it carefully． He knew cerebral palsy was a muscle disorder that might confuse the schoolmates of Amy who didn‘t understand her disability． He thought it would be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special third grader and her unusual wish． Mr． Tobin called up the local newspaper．

The next day, a picture of Amy and her letter to Santa made the front page of the ．News Sentinel‖． The story spread quickly． All across the country, newspapers and radio and television station reported the story of the little girl in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who asked for such a simple, yet remarkable Christmas gift – just one day without teasing．

Suddenly the postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house． Envelopes of all sizes addressed to Amy arrived daily from children and adults all across the nation． They came filled with holiday greetings and words of encouragement．

During that unforgettable Christmas season, over two thousand people from all over the world sent Amy letters of friendship and support． Amy and her family read every single one． Some of the writers had disabilities; some had been teased as children． Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak up． Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to carry her head high． Each writer had a special message for Amy． Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy glimpsed a world full of people who truly cared about each other． She realized that no amount or form of teasing could ever make her feel lonely again．

Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing at South Wayne Elementary School． Additionally, everyone at school got an added bonus． Teachers and students talked together about how bad teasing can make others feel．

That year, the Fort Wayne mayor officially proclaimed December 21st as Amy Jo Hagadorn Day throughout the city． The mayor explained that by daring to make such a simple wish, Amy taught a universal lesson．

“Everyone,” said the mayor, “wants and deserves to be treated with respect, dignity and warmth．”

1. The underlined word ―mimicked‖（Paragraph 2）can probably be replaced with ___________．

A． struck B． copied

C． blocked D． declined

2.According to Paragraph 4, the message is conveyed that ___________．

A． Amy was often made fun of at school and she disliked the fact

B． loneliness always accompanied Amy because of the tall boy

C． some other students teased Amy made her think of the mean boy．

D． Amy hated being laughed at in the classroom full of other students．

3.Amy‘s mother shared the news of a Christmas Wish Contest that day because she knew ___________．

A． her daughter was teased by a fifth grader．

B． Amy‘s disease went much worse than before．

C． the contest would change Amy‘s life．

D． things weren‘t going well with Amy at school．

4.The postman suddenly became a regular because ___________．

A． he wanted to comfort Amy regularly．

B． a number of letters needed delivering there．

C． he used to be teased alike at school．

D． holidays greetings were asked to give to Amy．

5.Amy learned through strangers‘ cards and letters that ___________．

A． the world was filled with care and love．

B． she would take teasing as a present in life．

C． some people were being teased similarly．

D． everyone should be treated with kindness．

6.The passage talks about ___________．

A． Everyone can do something remarkable．

B． A small act makes a difference．

C． A girl who was brave to speak her wish up．

D． The disabled deserve respect．

Answer 1