My Teacher in the School of Life

20070406

 
I spent the opening day of school this year at DeMatha Catholic High School in much the same way I spent the first day of classes   1     30 years ago ; I sat in Dr Charles E. Offutt’s British literature class , listening to him    2    what his seniors would learn and get them excited about the journey they would   3     . I’m the principal (校长) of the school now , but for a few minutes I was back in 1975,   4    what the future held.

I have been learning from Dr Offutt for 30 of the 51 years he had been teaching at DeMatha . He not only taught me to think , he    5    me , as much by example as    6    , that it was my moral duty to do so and to serve    7    .

Neither of us could know how our    8    would develop over the years . When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English . I worked for Dr Offutt , the then department chair . After several years , I was    9    department chair , and our relationship changed   10     . I thought that it might be    11    chairing the department , since all of my former English teachers were still there , but Dr Offutt   12     me throughout . He knew when to give me    13    about curriculum , texts and personnel , and when to let me design my own course .

In 1997, I needed his advice about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school . If he had asked me to stay at DeMatha , I might have .  14     , he encouraged me to seize the new    15    .

Five years ago, I became the   16     of DeMatha . Once again , Dr Offutt was there for me , letting me know that I could   17     on him as I tried to fill such big shoes . I’ve learned from him that great teachers have a (an)   18    wealth of lessons to teach .   19    his students don’t know it yet , I know how    20    they are ; I’m still one of them .

1.A.mostly                 B.exactly               C.only                   D.simply

2.A.explain                 B.predict                C.speak                 D.teach

3.A.keep                    B.achieve               C.choose               D.take

4.A.preparing              B.discovering         C.wondering          D.realizing

5.A.assisted                B.reminded            C.advised               D.convinced

6.A.words                  B.action                 C.explanation         D.models

7.A.the others             B.everyone             C.others                D.anyone

8.A.relationship           B.position              C.situation             D.condition

9.A.pointed                 B.named                C.given                  D.taken

10.A.already               B.yet                     C.still                     D.again

11.A.foolish                B.surprising           C.uncertain            D.challenging

12.A.promoted            B.accepted             C.supported            D.welcomed

13.A.advice                B.information         C.notice                 D.thought

14.A.Otherwise           B.Therefore           C.Furthermore       D.Instead

15.A.choice                B.opportunity         C.occupation          D.possibility

16.A.teacher               B.principal             C.officer                D.clerk

17.A.live                    B.look                   C.depend               D.take

18.A.rich                    B.little                    C.valuable              D.endless

19.A.Once                  B.Even if               C.Unless                D.Until

20.A.fortunate       B.curious           C.innocent         D.satisfied

The wheelchair-bound young man, a patient of mine, was pushed to the lectern(演讲台) at the high school to deliver his commencement address. His face still partially paralyzed(瘫痪), he spoke in a soft voice. But Mark Orsini delivered a powerful speech and received a thunderous applause from his fellow students, who had wondered if he’d live to graduate.

The 18-year-old had developed Guillain-Barre syndrome(综合病症),which can cause paralysis. Soon he was almost completely paralyzed.

His parents insisted that he was a fighter. He’d get through this and go on to attend Dartmouth. But meanwhile, immobile and on a ventilator(呼吸器), how was he going to ask questions or be involved in his care?

The solution was remarkable: The Orsinis would sit at Mark’s side and recite the alphabet. When they got to a letter Mark needed to spell a word, he’d nod “yes”. They’d write it down, then start over and wait for him to nod again. They never lost patience and Mark was involved wit every decision. Standard treatment hadn’t helped, so I proposed a risky procedure to filter(过滤)his blood.

After treatment he showed improvement and soon he could move his toes, his legs and then his arms.

Mark has graduated from Dartmouth. I saw him in my office some time ago, and he was feeling great. But there was a lot left unsaid. I wanted to say I was in awe of him, and that his parents were some of the most amazing people I’d ever met, sitting by his bed for hours, patiently listening to their child speak letter by letter. I wanted to tell him of my shame when my children tried to talk to me and I brushed them off because I didn’t have time to listen. I wanted to say I’d never forget him or his parents. But words failed me.

1.The underlined word “commencement” in Paragraph 1 means           .

       A.graduation           B.promise               C.birthday              D.ceremony

2.What did Mark’s parents do for him when he was learning in class?

       A.They did everything for Mark.

       B.They assisted Mark in learning.

       C.They lost patience sometimes.

       D.They made decisions for him.

3.We can learn from the passage that           .

       A.the standard treatment Mark received was a great success

       B.the doctor was not satisfied with Mark’s treatment and felt ashamed

       C.the doctor told Mark’s parents that they were impressive and unforgettable

       D.the doctor would like to have shared more of his true feelings with Mark

4.According to the last paragraph, how did the writer feel about the way he treated his children?

       A.He felt proud of it.                               B.He felt confident of it.

       C.He felt guilty of it.    D.He felt doubtful about it.

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