A
When I was three years old, I couldn’t speak. It was a strange reality that none of the doctors I visited could understand.
One day, I was shadowing (尾随) my mother. She found herself looking in a mirror, and through it our eyes met. She began to speak to me through the reflection, and I slowly began to mimic (模仿) her mouth’s movements until I formed a word.
It turns out that I’m deaf in my left ear, and have a slight problem in my right. Being hard of hearing has been difficult, but I’ve never lived in a state of self-hating sorrow. Imagine being able to shut out all sounds as you lay your head down to sleep by simply rolling over onto one side. That’s my reality when I sleep on my “good ear”, and it makes me feel like a superhero sometimes.
People call my deaf side my “bad ear”, but when I wear my hearing aid, I have access to a range of features that some other deaf people don’t. In cinemas, for example, with one click of a button I can enjoy a whole film as though it were whispered to me from the mouths of the actors.
Owning a hearing aid hasn’t always felt good, however. On the first day I got my aid, when I was eight, I took it to school for show-and-tell. As I explained how it worked to my classmates, a boy yelled out, “Aren’t those for old men?” At that moment, I felt different. It took a long time for me to get over that sense of being so unlike my peers.
But it’s not just schoolkids who can make us deaf and hard-of-hearing people feel like burdens. Every video on social media that lacks subtitles (字幕), for example, means an entire community of deaf people is unable to enjoy it. Completely deaf people are excluded from enjoying many movies too, as subtitles in cinemas are almost impossible to find.
And with hearing aids costing around $2, 500 each, it can be hard for many people to afford to be able to listen to the things that others take for granted. As for me, I can listen to music, enjoy films, and catch conversations—I’m lucky. I’m deaf, but I can still hear everything. I’ve been blessed with wonderful life experiences, and I am human. And when it comes to sleeping, I’m even superhuman.
【文章大意】本文是一篇记叙文, 主要讲述了作者积极应对自己听力障碍的励志故事。
1. How does the author view his hearing difficulty?
A. It’s a disaster and causes him a lot of trouble.
B. It gave him a chance to experience something special.
C. It made him feel embarrassed in front of his classmates.
D. It helped him to live in his own world without being interrupted.
【解析】选B。推理判断题。根据对第三段的整体理解, 尤其是最后一句“That’s my reality when I sleep on my ‘good ear’, and it makes me feel like a superhero sometimes. ”可推知, 听力障碍让作者有了与众不同的体验, 与最后一段倒数第二句“I’ve been blessed with wonderful life experiences, and I am human. ”呼应, 故选B。
2. What can be inferred from the passage about the author?
A. He was born deaf.
B. He is optimistic and helpful.
C. His family and classmates have supported him a lot.
D. The hearing aid brings much convenience to his daily life.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据第四段第一句“People call my deaf side my ‘bad ear’, but when I wear my hearing aid, I have access to a range of features that some other deaf people don’t. ”和对本段的整体理解可推知, 助听器给作者的生活带来了诸多便利, 故选D。
3. What is the author’s attitude toward his life?
A. Grateful. B. Anxious.
C. Excited. D. Disappointed.
【解析】选A。推理判断题。根据最后一段第二句“As for me, I can listen to music, enjoy films, and catch conversations—I’m lucky. ”和第四句“I’ve been blessed with wonderful life experiences, and I am human. ”可推知, 作者对自己的生活充满感激之情, 故选A。
4. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the passage?
A. To give advice on life to disabled people.
B. To show how difficult life is for disabled people.
C. To share his experience of treating a disadvantage with gratitude.
D. To show the convenience a hearing aid could bring.
【解析】选C。推理判断题。根据对全文的整体理解可知, 本文主要讲述了作者积极应对听力障碍的励志故事, 故选C。
【知识拓展】长难句分析
In cinemas, for example, with one click of a button I can enjoy a whole film as though it were whispered to me from the mouths of the actors.
分析:本句是主从复合句。as though引导的方式状语从句与现实相反, 故谓语动词用were。
翻译:例如, 在电影院, 只需点击一个按钮, 我就可以欣赏整部电影, 就像演员们对我耳语一样。
