Rising above the names

　　 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，I'm Darryl 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 achondroplasia 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 picked on me，calling me names.Then I knew.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．Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word“diminished”？

A．Dismissed. 　　　　 B．Increased.

C．Decreased. 　　　　 D．Discriminated.

4．How does the author feel about people's stares?

A．Angry. 　　　　　　 B．Calm.

C．Painful. 　　　　　 D．Discouraged.

The Mother Goose Stories, so well known to children all over the word, are commonly said to have been written by a little old woman for her grandchildren. According to some people, she lived in Boston, and her real name was Elizabeth Vergoose. Her son-in-law, a printer named Thomas Fleet, was supposed to have published the famous stories and poems for small children in 1719. However, no copy of this book has ever been found, and most scholars doubt the truth of this story—and doubt, moreover, that Mother Goose was ever a real person. They point out that the name is a direct translation of the French “Mere I’ Oye.” In 1697 the Frenchman Charles Perrault published the first book in which this name was used. The collection contains eight tales, including “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” and “Puss in Boots.” But Perrault did not originate these stories; they were already quite popular in his day, and he only collected them.

In 1729 there appeared an English translation of Perrault’s collection,Robert Samber’s Histories or Tales of Past times, Told by MotherGoose(London,1729), which introduced “Sleeping Beauty”, “Little Red-hood”, “Puss in Boots”,”Cinderella” and other Perrault’s tales to English-speaking audiences. These were fairy tales(童话)。 John Newbery published a book of English rhymes，Mother Goose’s Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle( London, undated,1765), which switched the focus from fairy tale to nursery  rhymes, and in English this was until recently the primary meaning for Mother Goose.A book of poems for children entitled Mother Goose’s Melody was published in England in1781, and the name “Mother Goose” has been associated with children’s poetry ever since.

1.What is supposed to have happened in 1719?

　 A.　Elizabeth Vergoose wrote the first Mother Goose Stories.

　 B.　 The Mother Goose Stories were translated into French.

　 C.　 Thomas Fleet published the Mother Goose Stories.

　 D.　Charles Perrault published the first Mother Goose Stories.

2. Most scholars consider Mother Goose to be _________.

　　 A. a real person                                                 B. a translation from French

 　　C. a collection by Elizabeth Vergoose          D.　 a book written by a little old woman

3.When Perrault published the first book in 1679, _______.

　　 A. no story of the book had been known to people

　　 B. some stories of the book were already well known

　　 C. few people were interested in the stories of the book

　　 D. stories like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” became popular

4.The name used in the first book published in 1679 is supposed to have been _______.

　A. Mother Goose         B. Charles Perrault C. Elizabeth Vergoose  D. Mere I’ Oye 

5.When people talk about Mother Goose, they refer to,___________

     A.    a printer of Boston          B. a kind of animal

     C.    children’s  poetry            D. the  French “Mere L’oye

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡将该项涂黑。

There was a woman in Detroit（底特律），who has two sons．She was worried 36 them，especially the younger one，Ben， 37 he was not doing well in school．Boys in his class 38 fun of him because he seemed so 39 ．

　 The mother 40 that she would，herself，have to get her sons to do better in school．She 41 them to go to the Detroit Public Library to read a 42 a week and do a report about it for her．

　 One day，in Ben’s 43 ，the teacher held up a rock and asked if anyone knew it．Ben 44 up his hand and the teacher let him 45 ．“Why did Ben raise his hand？” they wondered．He 46 said anything；what could he possibly want to say？

　 Well，Ben not only 47 the rock；he said a lot about it．He named other rocks in its group and even knew 48 the teacher had found it． The teacher and the students were 49 ．Ben had learned all this from doing one of his book 50 ．

　 Ben later went on to the 51 of his class．When he finished high school，he went to Yale University (耶鲁大学) 52 at last became one of the best doctors in the United States．

　 After Ben had grown up，he 53 something about his mother that he did not know as a 54 ．

　 She，herself，had never learned how to 55 ．

36．A．about　　　　　　 　　　 B. on　　　　　 　　　　 C. with　　　　 　　　　　　 D. over

37．A．because　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. so　　　　　 　　　　 C. but　　　　　 　　　 D. though　　　

38．A．played　　　　　 　　　 B. got　　　　 　　　　 C. took　　　　 　　　　　　 D. made

39．A．clever　　　　　 　　　 B. hard　　　　 　　　 C. slow　　　　 　　　　　　 D. quick

40．A．asked　　　　　　 　　　 B. decided　　 　　　 C. forgot　　　 　　　　　　 D. heard

41．A．made　　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. let　　　　 　　　　 C. told　　　　 　　　 D. considered

42．A．notice　　　　　 　　　 B. message　　 　　 C. book　　　　 　　　　　　 D. question

43．A．class　　　　　　 　　　　 B. room　　　　 　　　　　　 C. office　　　 　　　　　　 D. lab

44．A．looked　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. gave　　　　 　　　 C. took　　　　 　　　　　　 D. put

45．A．think　　　　　　 　　　　 B. leave　　　 　　　 C. stand　　　　 　　　　　　 D. speak

46．A．always　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. even　　　　 　　　 C. quickly　　　 　　 D. never

47．A．found　　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. played　　　 　　　　　　 C. knew　　　　 　　 D. threw

48．A．whether　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. when　　　　 　　　　　　 C. where　　　　 　　 D. why

49．A．afraid　　　　　 　　　　 B. surprised　 　　 C. worried　　　 　　 D. unhappy

50．A．pictures　　　　 　　　　　　 B. exercises　 　　 C. shops　　　　 　　　　　　 D. reports

51．A．top　　　　　　　 　　　　 B. end　　　　 　　　 C. back　　　　 　　　　　　 D. side

52．A．so　　　　　　　 　　　　 B. and　　　　 　　　 C. or　　　　　 　　　 D. however

53．A．learnt　　　　　 　　　　 B. remembered　 　 C. understood　 　 D. guessed

54．A．doctor　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. child　　　 　　　　 C. student　　　 　　 D. teacher

55．A．read　　　　　　 　　　　 B. work　　　　 　　　　　　 C. teach　　　　 　　　　　　 D. show