When I was an official of a school in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents knew his difficulties, but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.
“Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time. If I had only known that, I would have said to him, ‘Jim, I love you and I’m always so proud of you.’ I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, his laughter, and his genuine love to other people.
“When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating (恼人的) things such as the radio that was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., I find that the irritations really don’t amount to much.
“I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died. He called me to say, ‘Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. You have to go to work now. Bye.’ That day, he gave me something to treasure forever. ”
If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people, especially family members, that they should take the time to let each other know just how much they care. You may never have another chance. Do it today!
【小题1】What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “the educationally handicapped”?

South Asia heatwave kills nearly 100.
DHAKA - A heat wave sweeping India, Bangladesh(孟加拉国) and Nepal has killed nearly 100 people over the past two weeks, officials said on June 3, 2005.
A third of the people died in northern Bangladesh, mostly women and children from dehydration(脱水), heat stroke and diarrhoea(腹泻).
"We are getting reports of several deaths due to heat wave and related diseases almost every day," an official said, as temperatures touched 43degC .
The weather office in Dhaka said the hot weather will persist for another week until the monsoon(季风) rains which are normally due by the middle of June.
Severe heat conditions in the southern Indian have killed at least 55 people, officials in the two states said.
While temperatures have fallen from a high of 45degC in Andhra Pradesh to around 40degC, giving a respite to people, they are still on the rise in Orissa with Talcher town registering 48.5deg C, a weather official said.
At least five people have died in Nepal from extreme heat, the government said.
【小题1】We can infer that the heatwave can cause ______.

Rescuers have found the bodies of over 130 people killed in two ferry disasters in Bangladesh．The accidents happened during a storm that hit the country on April 21st．Hundreds more are missing or feared to be dead．

The two ferries sank in different rivers near the capital city of Dhakfi as strong winds and rain hit the South Asian country．The government has since banned all ferries and other boats from traveling at night during the April-May stormy season. One of the ferries，MV Mitali，was carrying far more people than it was supposed to．About 400 passengers fitted into a space made for just 300，police said．The second ferry carried about 100 passengers．

“The number of deaths is certain to rise．”said an official in charge of the rescue work．“No one really knows how many people were on board the ferry or how many of them survived.” Ferries in Bangladesh don’t always keep passenger lists，making it difficult to determine the exact number of people on board．Besides the ferry accidents，at least 40 people were killed and 400 injured by lightning strikes．falling houses and trees and the sinking of small boats．Storms are common this time of year in Bangladesh，as are boating accidents．Ferry disasters take away hundreds of lives every year in a nation of 130 million people．Officials blame these river accidents on a lack of safety measures, too many passengers in boats and not enough checks on weather conditions． Ferries are a common means of transport in Bangladesh．It is a country covered by about 230 rivers．Some 20,000 ferries use the nation’s  Waterways every year．And many of them are dangerously overcrowded．Since 1977, more than 3,000 people have died in some 260 boating accidents．

1.The two ferry disasters occurred_______.

A. at noon    B. in the morning    C. at night．    D. In the afternoon．

2._______ passengers was MV Mitali designed to carry?

A.500        B.100              C.400          D.300

3.Officials attribute boating accident to _______

A. strong winds．             B. bad weather conditions．

C. the blockages of waterways． D. the lack of safety measures．

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true of the two ferry disasters?

A. They happened during a storm．         B. They sank on April 21．

C. The exact number of deaths could be easily determined．

D. They sank somewhere near Dhaka．

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) April 24, 2006—Three explosions shook the Egyptian Sinai resort of Dahab on Monday, killing 23 people and wounding dozens of others, rescue and security officials said.

Witnesses said smoke billowed^① up from the town’s tourist bazaar, and residents said they saw body parts and debris^② on the street after an explosion at a restaurant.

People in the small beach and diving resort, which is popular with backpackers, described scenes of carnage^③ and chaos^④.

A cafe worker who was about 200 meters (yards) from the scene said: “We saw many dead people. People were screaming. People were being taken to hospital. Egyptians went to give blood. There were body parts. There’s police everywhere.”

“There are ambulances and cars taking people to hospital,” said another resident, who also did not want to be named.

The explosions took place at the Nelson Restaurant, the Aladdin Cafeteria and the Ghazala Supermarket, the Interior Ministry said.

The explosions took place in quick succession at about 7.15 p.m. (1715 GMT). “There is smoke coming from the area and there are people running everywhere,” said one witness, who heard the blasts.

An official with the local ambulance service said many of the dead appeared to be foreigners.

Israeli divers often stay in the resort but with the Passover holiday over it is unlikely many were there. The Israeli ambassador in Cairo and Israeli authorities said they did not know of any Israeli casualties^⑤.

One visitor said police were stopping cars and buses leaving the resort and had imposed restrictions on movements in and out of backpacker camps in the area.

It was the third set of three explosions on the eastern coast of the Sinai peninsula since October 2004, when a group attacked the Hilton hotel in the border resort of Taba and two other resorts on the northeast coast, killing 34 people.

Notes:

① billow  v.  翻腾

② debris  n.  残骸

③ carnage  n.  残杀，流血

④ chaos  n.  混乱

⑤ casualty  n. （人员）伤亡

What’s the result of the explosions in Dahab?

        A. 34 people were killed.

        B. There were many Israeli casualties.

        C. 23 people were killed and dozens of others were injured.

        D. Many houses were burned to the ground.

How many places did the explosions take place in?

        A. Two      B. Three      C. Six      D. Eight

What does the underlined word “resort” mean?

        A. popular holiday centre      B. hotel or guest-house for holidaymakers

        C. visiting some place         D. Making use of something for help

Which of the following statements is right?

        A. Many of the dead appeared to be residents.

        B. The first set of three explosions took place in October 2004.

        C. Police couldn’t know what to do.

        D. Israeli divers stayed in the resort with the Passover holiday over.

The 16-year-old girl Jessica Watson is said to be the youngest person to sail non-stop alone around the world. But her record has been questioned because someone thought that she has not sailed far enough. She will also not be recognized by the World Speed Sailing Record Council, as it was too dangerous for someone under 18 years old.
Ms Watson sailed into Sydney port on Saturday, seven months after leaving on a hard voyage. Family, friends and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have gathered to greet her. Thousands of well-wishers waited at the port and watched from boats as Ms Watson sailed her pink, 10m boat over the finishing line. Many more Australians watched the event broadcast live on television. Watson said she was just an “ordinary girl who believed in her dream”.
Ms Watson left Sydney on 18 October, despite that some people disagreed to her plan. Watson traveled northeast through the South Pacific and across the equator (赤道), south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia. The route took her through some of the world’s most changeful waters, and she battled through huge storms and suffered seven accidents of her boat.
People around the world have followed Ms Watson’s adventures on her blog, which she has daily updated (更新). On her blog, she wrote down beautiful sunrise over seas, the excitement of meeting a blue whale and the bright, terrible sight of a shooting star flying across the night sky above her boat. Ms Watson has reportedly sold her story to a news company for $700,000. She is planning to write a book on her experience.
【小题1】Which of the following oceans didn’t Ms Watson cross through in her voyage?