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.

You’ve heard of the fat suit and the pregnancy suit; now meet AGNES — the old person suit.

AGNES stands for “Age Gain Now Empathy System” and was designed by researchers at MIT’s AgeLab to let you know what it feels like — physically — to be 75 years old. “The business of old age demands new tools,” said Joseph Coughlin, director of the AgeLab. “While focus groups and observations and surveys can help you understand what the older consumer needs and wants, young marketers never get that ‘Ah ha!’ moment of having difficulty opening a jar, or getting in and out of a car. That’s what AGNES provides.”

Coughlin and his team carefully adjusted the suit to make the wearer just as uncomfortable as an old person who has spent a lifetime eating poorly and not doing much exercise. Special shoes provide a feeling of imbalance, while braces on the knees and elbows limit joint mobility (机动性). Gloves give the feeling of decreased strength and mobility in the hands and wrists, and earplugs make it difficult to hear high-pitched sounds and soft tones. A helmet with straps (带) attached to it presses the spine (脊柱), and more straps attached to the shoes decrease hamstring flexibility, and shorten the wearer’s step.

AGNES has been used most recently by a group of students working on a design of an updated walker. By wearing the suit they could see for themselves what design and materials would make the most sense for a physically limited older person. Coughlin said the suit has also been used by clothing companies, car companies and retail goods companies to help them understand the limitations of an older consumer.

 “AGNES is not the destiny (天命) of everybody,” Coughlin said. “She is a badly behaved lady who didn’t eat and exercise very well. A secondary benefit we’ve found with AGNES is that it has become a powerful tool to get younger people to invest in their long-term health.” 

56. AGNES is supposed to _____.

     A. make the users more comfortable             

     B. let us understand old people better

     C. help old people move more quickly           

     D. produce new tools for the old-age business

57. According to the text, young marketers never _____.

     A. ask what old people need and want    

     B. see the efforts old people make

     C. feel the same way as old people do           

     D. say “Ah ha!” when they meet with difficulty

58. The 3rd paragraph mainly tells about _____.

     A. how advanced AGNES is           B. how AGNES has been developed

     C. how old people act                    D. how AGNES works

59. The underlined phrase “an updated walker” most likely refers to _____.

     A. a new kind of suit that helps people relax 

     B. a physically limited old person 

     C. some equipment that helps old people get around

     D. a company which serves old people

60. Which might be a fact resulting from the “secondary benefit” of AGNES?

     A. Young people respect old people more.     

     B. Old-age businesses improve their service.

     C. Old people eat and exercise well.

     D. Young people eat and exercise well.

You've heard of the fat suit and the pregnancy suit；now meet AGNES—the old person suit．

AGNES stands for “Age Gain Now Empathy(换位体验) System” and was designed by researchers at MIT's AgeLab to let you know what it feels like—physically—to be 75 years old．“The business of old age demands new tools，”said Joseph Coughlin，director of the AgeLab．“While focus groups and observations and surveys can help you understand what the older consumer needs and wants，young marketers never get that‘Ah ha!’moment of having difficulty opening a jar, or getting in and out of a car．That’s what AGNES provides．”

Coughlin and his team carefully adjusted the suit to make the wearer just as uncomfortable as an old person who has spent a lifetime eating poorly and not doing much exercise．Special shoes provide a feeling of imbalance，while braces on the knees and elbows limit joint mobility．Gloves give the feeling of decreased strength and mobility in the hands and wrists，and earplugs make it difficult to hear high—pitched sounds and soft tones．A helmet with straps(带)attached to it presses the spine(脊柱)，and more straps attached to the shoes decrease hamstring flexibility, and shortens the wearer's step．

AGNES has been used most recently by a group of students working on a design of an updated walker．By wearing the suit they could see for themselves what design and materials would make the most sense for a physically limited older person．Coughlin said the suit has also been used by clothing companies，car companies and retail goods companies to help them understand the limitations of an older consumer．

“AGNES is not the destiny of everybody,” he said．“She is a badly behaved lady who didn't eat and exercise very well．A secondary benefit we’ve found with AGNES is that it has become a powerful tool to get younger people to invest in their long-term health．”

1.AGNES has been developed to        ．

A．make the users more comfortable    

B．1et us understand old people better

C．help old people move more quickly   

D．produce new tools for the old-age business

2.“An updated walker”(underlined)most likely refers to     ．

A．someone who travels a lot

B．a physically limited old person

C．some equipment that helps old people walk

D．a company whose service involves old people

3.Which may be a fact resulting from the “secondary benefit” of AGNES?

A．Young people respect old people．   

B．Old-age business improves their service

C．Old people eat and exercise well．   

D．Young people eat and exercise well．

You've heard of the fat suit and the pregnancy suit；now meet AGNES—the old person suit．

AGNES stands for“Age Gain Now Empathy(换位体验)System”and was designed by researchers at MIT's AgeLab to let you know what it feels like—physically—to be 75 years old．“The business of old age demands new tools，”said Joseph Coughlin，director of the AgeLab．“While focus groups and observations and surveys can help you understand what the older consumer needs and wants，young marketers never get that‘Ah ha!’moment of having difficulty opening a jar, or getting in and out of a car．That’s what AGNES provides．”

Coughlin and his team carefully adjusted the suit to make the wearer just as uncomfortable as an old person who has spent a lifetime eating poorly and not doing much exercise．Special shoes provide a feeling of imbalance，while braces on the knees and elbows limit joint mobility．Gloves give the feeling of decreased strength and mobility in the hands and wrists，and earplugs make it difficult to hear high—pitched sounds and soft tones．A helmet with straps(带)attached to it presses the spine(脊柱)，and more straps attached to the shoes decrease hamstring flexibility, and shortens the wearer's step．

AGNES has been used most recently by a group of students working on a design of an updated walker．By wearing the suit they could see for themselves what design and materials would make the most sense for a physically limited older person．Coughlin said the suit has also been used by clothing companies，car companies and retail goods companies to help them understand the limitations of an older consumer．

“AGNES is not the destiny of everybody,”he said．“She is a badly behaved lady who didn't eat and exercise very well．A secondary benefit we’ve found with AGNES is that it has become a powerful tool to get younger people to invest in their long-term health．”

56．AGNES has been developed to        ．

A．make the users more comfortable     B．1et us understand old people better

C．help old people move more quickly    D．produce new tools for the old-age business

57．According to the article，young marketers never       ．

A．feel the same way as old people do    B．see the efforts old people make

C．ask what old people need and want   D．say“Ah ha!”when they meet with difficulty

58．The 3rd paragraph mainly tells about       ．

A．how the AGNES wearer feels    B．how AGNES has been developed

C．how old people act             D．how AGNES works

59．“An updated walker”(underlined)most likely refers to     ．

A．someone who travels a lot

B．a physically limited old person

C．some equipment that helps old people walk

D．a company whose service involves old people

60．Which may be a fact resulting from the“secondary benefit”of AGNES?

A．Young people respect old people．    B．Old-age business improves their service·

C．Old people eat and exercise well．    D．Young people eat and exercise well．

You've heard of the fat suit and the pregnancy suit；now meet AGNES—the old person suit．

AGNES stands for “Age Gain Now Empathy(换位体验)System” and was designed by researchers at MIT's AgeLab to let you know what it feels like—physically—to be 75 years old．“The business of old age demands new tools，”said Joseph Coughlin，director of the AgeLab．“While focus groups and observations and surveys can help you understand what the older consumer needs and wants，young marketers never get that ‘Ah ha!’ moment of having difficulty opening a jar, or getting in and out of a car．That’s what AGNES provides．”

Coughlin and his team carefully adjusted the suit to make the wearer just as uncomfortable as an old person who has spent a lifetime eating poorly and not doing much exercise．Special shoes provide a feeling of imbalance，while braces on the knees and elbows limit joint mobility．Gloves give the feeling of decreased strength and mobility in the hands and wrists，and earplugs make it difficult to hear high—pitched sounds and soft tones．A helmet with straps(带)attached to it presses the spine(脊柱)，and more straps attached to the shoes decrease hamstring flexibility, and shortens the wearer's step．

AGNES has been used most recently by a group of students working on a design of an updated walker．By wearing the suit they could see for themselves what design and materials would make the most sense for a physically limited older person．Coughlin said the suit has also been used by clothing companies，car companies and retail goods companies to help them understand the limitations of an older consumer．

“AGNES is not the destiny of everybody,” he said．“She is a badly behaved lady who didn't eat and exercise very well．A secondary benefit we’ve found with AGNES is that it has become a powerful tool to get younger people to invest in their long-term health．”

71. AGNES has been developed to ______ ．

A. make the users more comfortable  

B. 1et us understand old people better

C. help old people move more quickly 

D. produce new tools for the old-age business

72. According to the article，young marketers never       ．

A．feel the same way as old people do 

B．see the efforts old people make

C．ask what old people need and want 

D．say “Ah ha!” when they meet with difficulty

73. The 3rd paragraph mainly tells about       ．

A．how the AGNES wearer feels    B．how AGNES has been developed

C．how old people act             D．how AGNES works

74. “An updated walker”(underlined)most likely refers to     ．

A．someone who travels a lot

B．a physically limited old person

C．some equipment that helps old people walk

D．a company whose service involves old people

75. Which may be a fact resulting from the “secondary benefit” of AGNES?

A．Young people respect old people．   

B．Old-age business improves their service·

C．Old people eat and exercise well．   

D．Young people eat and exercise well．