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, Mickey, I’m Darry 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 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 laughed at me.. 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.
【小题1】Why did the mother apologize to the author?

I told you _______ that car, and now look what’s happened.

 You ______ things about. Look, what a mess in your room!  

A．always throw                           B．have always thrown

C．are always throwing                     D．had always been throwing

You ____ things about. Look, what a mess in your room!

     A. always throw 

     B. have always thrown

     C. are always throwing

     D. have always been throwing

完型填空（共20小题；每小题1．5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
Back in the 15th century, in a tiny village in Germany, lived a family with eighteen children．Eighteen! In order  36  to keep food on the table, the father, a goldsmith by  37  , worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade．Despite their seemingly   38  condition, two of the eldest children had a dream．They both wanted to pursue their talent for art,  39  they knew well that their father would never be able to 40  either of them to study at the Academy．
After many long discussions at night in their  41  bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact．They would toss （掷） a coin．The   42   would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings,   43  his winning brother for the academy．Then, in four years, he would support the Other one．Then Albrecht Durer won the toss and  44 to Nuremberg．Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years,   45 his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation．By the time he graduated, he was beginning to   46 considerable fees for himself．
When the young artist  47  home and said to his brother, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your   48  . Now you can go to the Academy to pursue your dream, and I will  49  you．"
Albert rose and wiped the  50   from his cheeks．"No, brother．I cannot go to Nuremberg．It is too  51  for me．Look…look what four years in the mines have done to my 52  ! I cannot even hold a glass, much less make delicate lines on canvas   53  a pen or a brush．"
More than 450 years have  54 ．By now, among Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits, "The Praying Hands" is one  55  creation that can catch the world's hearts．