Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes(基因)decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.

But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.

No doubt(怀疑) you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).

Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.

Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later ——between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.

If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, ____________.

   A. you should have enough exercise           B. you can ask doctors for help

   C. you should save the environment           D. You can record your growth during puberty

This passage is mainly about ____________.

   A. how the genes work in your body           B. when is the time you grow fast

   C. why you look like your parents                D. how you grow to a certain height 

After reading this passage, we can explain ___________.

   A. how good it is to be a doctor             B. how much sleep time we need

   C. why genes can’t decide everything            D. what healthy diet is

Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

   A. Your height most probably depends on how high your parents are.

   B. Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

   C. The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.

   D. You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.

Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes(基因)decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.
But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.
No doubt(怀疑) you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).
Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.
Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later ——between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.
You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.
【小题1】If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, ____________.

A．how the genes work in your body	B．when is the time you grow fast
C．why you look like your parents	D．how you grow to a certain height

Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes(基因)decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.

But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.

No doubt(怀疑) you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).

Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.

Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later ——between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.

1.If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, ____________.

   A. you should have enough exercise           B. you can ask doctors for help

   C. you should save the environment           D. You can record your growth during puberty

2. This passage is mainly about ____________.

   A. how the genes work in your body           B. when is the time you grow fast

   C. why you look like your parents                D. how you grow to a certain height 

3. After reading this passage, we can explain ___________.

   A. how good it is to be a doctor             B. how much sleep time we need

   C. why genes can’t decide everything            D. what healthy diet is

4. Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

   A. Your height most probably depends on how high your parents are.

   B. Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

   C. The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.

   D. You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.

Growing up is not always easy. When facing difficulties, courage and a spirit of independence can be more useful than crying for    36  ! That’s what Hong Zhanhui’s story of  37   from boy to man with family hardships tells us.

    Hong was born in 1982 in a poor family in Xihua County, Henan Province. When he was   38   11, his father became mentally ill and one day came back with an abandoned baby girl. A year later, Hong’s mother and younger brother both    39  home because of poverty and pressure from his sick father.

    Their burdens fell onto the 12-year-old’s shoulders: to treat his father’s illness, to   40   the adopted sister Chenchen, and to go on to study.

    Hong didn’t   41   . Since a young age, he has worked in part-time jobs to feed his family. At the same time, he has studied at college. To take care of Chenchen , he worked hard to   42  a room near his campus for her, and send her to school.

  After Hong’s story went public, people were   43  to tears by his unselfishness. Hard   44   his life was, Hong didn’t abandon his father and the adopted   45  , because they needed his help. With his hard-won money, he even aided other students   46  against misfortunes.

    Today when many tend to worry more about their own happiness, Hong’s deeds   47   us of what we usually neglect: Love and care for others. Without these,   48   of us could survive.

    Hong   49   donations from others. He said that he felt encouraged by kind offers, but he could   50   his own work. Short of money to buy food, the boy climbed tall trees to get birds’ eggs for his baby sister. He walked two hours at weekends to buy different things to   51   around his school to earn money. Through his hard life, the boy developed   52   against misfortune that made him a hero in people’s eyes.

    Hong’s story shows that with love and willpower , no hardship can   53   a person but himself. So when facing difficulties, don’t   54   about bad luck. Consider what more you could do for your family and society   55  you’ll find the world smiling back.

I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard the young voice.  

“Mom, come here! There’s this lady here my ___31___!”  

The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to ___32___.  

I smiled and told her: “It’s okay.” Then I talked to the boy, “Hi, I’m Darryl Kramer. How are you?”  

He ___33___ me from head to toe, and asked: “Are you a little ___34___?  

“Yes, I have a son,” I answered.  

“Why are you so little?” he asked.  

“It’s the way I was ___35___,” 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 ___36___ like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.  

It takes only one glance to see my ___37___. I stand 114 cm tall. I was born a dwarf（侏儒）. ___38___ this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.  

I didn’t ___39___ how short I was until I started school. Some kids picked on me, calling me names（辱骂我）. Then I knew. I began to ___40___ the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I ___41___ to climb the school bus stairs.  

But I learned to smile and ___42___ the fact that I was going to be ___43___ my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I ___44___ in personality.  

I’m 47 now, and the stares have not ___45___ as I’ve grown older. People are ___46___ when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are ___47___, I remind myself: “Look what else I have ―a great family, nice friends.”  

It’s the children’s questions that make my life ___48___. I enjoy answering their questions. My ___49___ is that, I will encourage them to accept their peers（同龄人）, whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with ___50___.