阅读理解

　　I began reading words when I was eight months old．By the time I was two, I had read Charlotte’s Web．My parents thought it was odd, but because I didn’t have any siblings for them to compare me with, they didn’t realise just how odd．

　　At pre-school in Northport, New York, I quickly overtook everyone．At seven, I was going into high school for my classes but still doing all my social activities with kids my age．But when I was nine, the public school administration said that I had to go to high school full-time with 16-year-olds．I didn’t want to, because some kids there were always teasing me -it was pretty horrible when they called me a know-it-all and tried to grab my homework．

　　My parents tried to find me another school but, in the end, because I was so advanced, the only place that was on the same level as me was State University of New York at Stony Brook．

　　The admissions people said that if I thought I could manage I could have a place, as long as my mother accompanied me to classes．

　　So, aged 10, I started an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics．I was frightened on my first day, but I was also excited that I was going to attend my first real physics class．Most of the teachers were nice but one or two didn’t like me．One professor said that just because I did as well as the other, male, students, it didn’t mean I was as good as them．But the students were supportive and my parents always made sure that I had a group of friends of my own age; they didn’t want me to be a social misfit．

　　I graduated summa cum laude(with the highest honor)when I was 14 -the youngest student ever to do so in the US．

　　I was a perfectionist; I don’t think I would have settled for less than that．I went on to Drexel University and, at 17, I was awarded a Master’s and continued to study for a Ph．D．

　　But that was when I grew disillusioned with the science world．I saw bad conduct and realised that some professors weren’t motivated by a love of science．I fell out with the adviser who was supervising my Ph．D．I charged Drexel University in a civil lawsuit and the case has now gone into private, binding arbitration(仲裁)．

　　I believe my adviser applied for grants and patents using my ideas, and took credit for them．He denies this and has accused me of stealing his work．Even though the university has cleared me of plagiarism(剽窃)it has still refused to award me my Ph．D．

　　At the time I was fully expecting to receive my PhD, I applied for a post teaching advanced technology fusion at Konkuk university in Seoul．When I was appointed, I was just under 19, so I made it into Guinness World Records．

　　In South Korea, I was treated as a minor celebrity．People stared at me wherever I went on campus, and I was asked to give inspirational talks to teenagers．But I didn’t renew my contract：I’d had a great year, but I wanted to come home．

　　I still don’t have my PhD and I am angry and disappointed about that．I worked so hard all my life and my research ended up going nowhere．

　　There’s always hope, but the experience at Drexel has derailed me．If a university gave me a place to complete my studies, I would take it．But I am someone who is suing her former university, so a lot of colleges are afraid to touch me．

　　For now, I’m enrolled in law school and training to be a lawyer．I want to combine legal and science knowledge so that I can protect people’s research rights．

　　It’s strange being back at school：I’m 21 years old and for the first time in my life, I’m the same age as the other students．