He was angry with me． __________, I didn’t mean to hurt him．

A． What’s more                              B． That is to say

C． In other words                    D． To be honest

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 talked to the boy, “Hi, 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 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 they boy said the author was fatter than him．

       D．Because the mother thought the boy’s words had hurt the author．

2．What does the underlined expressions “calling me names” mean in the text?

       A．use unpleasant words to describe me in order to upset me

       B．to greet me by calling my full name

       C．warn me against danger by calling my family name

       D．use some nicknames to show the close relationship between us

3．Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word “diminished”?

       A．dislike                 B．increased             C．decreased            D．appeared

4．How does the author feel about people’s stares?

      A．Angry．              B．Calm．               C．Painful．             D．Discouraged．

　　　 It was a Sunday morning, and I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me．I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in. “Want to go for a ride，today，Beck? It’s a beautiful day.”

　　　 “No ! Leave me alone!”Those were the last words I said to him that morning．

　　　 My friends called and invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later．I forgot to be mad at them and went I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it. “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital”．

　 When I reached the hospital，my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive.“Your lather told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911，thank God! If he had moved Daddy，there’s no telling what might have happened．A broken rib（肋骨）might have pierced（穿透）a lung….”

　　　 My mother may have said more，but I didn’t hear．I didn’t hear anything except those terrible

words：Leave me alone．My dad said them to save himself from being hurt more．How much had I hurt him when I hurled those words at him earlier in the day?

　 It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation．I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him．

　　　 “Daddy… I am so sorry….”

　　　 “It’s okay，sweetheart．I'll be okay．”

　　　 “No，”I said，“I mean about what I said to you that day．You know, that morning?”

　　　 My father could no more tell a lie than he could fly．He looked at me and said．“Sweetheart,

I don’t remember anything about that day， not before，during or after the accident． I remember

kissing you goodnight the night before，though．”He managed a weak smile．

　 My English teacher once told me that words have immeasurable power．They can hurt or they

can heal．And we all have the power to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.

56．The author was in bad mood that morning because　　　 .

A．his father had a terrible accident

B．he couldn’t drive to the mall with his friends

C．his friends hadn’t invited him to the cinema

D．his father didn’t allow him to go out with his friends

57．Why did the author say sorry to his father in the hospital?

　　　 A．Because he didn’t go along with his father．

　　　 B．Because he was rude to his father that morning．

　　　 C．Because he failed to come earlier after the accident．

　　　 D．Because he couldn’t look after his father in the hospital

58．The reason why the author’s father said he forgot everything about that day is that　　　

　　　 A．he had a poor memory

　　　 B．he didn’t wanted to comfort his son

　　　 C．he just wanted to comfort his son

　　　 D．he lost his memory after the accident

59．What lesson did Beck learn from the matter?

　　　 A．Don’t treat your parents badly．

　　　 B．Don’t hurt others with rude words．

　　　 C．Don’t move the injured in an accident．

　　　 D．Don’t be angry with friends at small things

It was a Sunday morning and I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me. I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in and said, “Want to go for a ride, today, Beck?”
“No ! Leave me alone!” Those were the last words I said to him that morning.
My friends invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later. I forgot to be mad at them and went. I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it.    “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital.”
When I reached the hospital，my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive. “Your father told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911，thank God! If he had moved Daddy，there’s no telling what might have happened. A broken rib（肋骨）might have pieced（穿透）a lung…” My mother might have said more, but I didn’t hear anything except those terrible words: leave me alone.
It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation. I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him. “Daddy…I am so sorry…” “It’s okay, sweetheart.” “No,”I said, “I mean about what I said to you that day.”
My father never tells lies but he looked at me and said, “I don’t remember anything about that day, not before, during or after the accident. I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though.” I regretted for my thoughtless words.
My English teacher once told me that words have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the power to choose our words.
【小题1】Why did the author say sorry to his father in the hospital?