Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he
was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas
would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or
risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren"t bad enough, he had no
health insurance.
After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he"d better find a way to fight back. He
left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic
Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their
loved ones-a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.
Jason Swencki"s son, Kody, was diagnosed with diabetes at six. Father and son visit the
online children"s forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids
from all over," says Swencki, one of the site"s volunteers. "They know what he"s going through,
so he doesn"t feel alone."
Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United
States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.
These days, Thomas"s main focus is his charity(慈善机构), Fight It, which provides medicines
and supplies to people-225 to date-who can"t afford a diabetic"s huge expenses. Fightit.org has
raised about $ 23,000-in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic
Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.
Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause,
while still doing his fulltime job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting
money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar"s original members. "But Christopher
is the only person I know saying people need help now."
A.India.
B.Canada.
C.Belgium.
D.Germany.
( )1. A. supposed ( )2. A. overlooked ( )3. A. designed ( )4. A. environment ( )5. A. happened to ( )6. A. possibility ( )7. A. unfair ( )8. A. curiosity ( )9. A. controlled ( )10. A. Although ( )11. A. difference ( )12. A. success | B. determined B. associated B. created B. region B. reached for B. pleasure B. mistaken B. despair B. affected B. Once B. promise B. fortune | C. encouraged C. faced C. sailed C. view C. occurred to C. privilege C. helpless C. admiration C. destroyed C. Since C. switch C. health | D. allowed D. reflected D. displayed D. scene D. came to D. capability D. unnatural D. envy D. enriched D. Before D. effort D. happiness | |||||||||||
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A little boy knocked on the door of the old house. He waited, and sweated from 1 of seeing the owner, who 2 ever came out. As he was ready to 3 , the door slowly opened. "What do you want?" the old man asked. "Uh, sir, I"m 4 magazines for school and I was 5 if you would like to buy 6 ." The old man only 7 at the boy. Meanwhile, the boy saw many dog figurines(小雕像) inside the house. "Do you 8 dogs?" he asked. "Yes, I have many dog figurines in my house; they are all I have." The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed he was very 9 . "Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is 10 for you. I also have one about dogs since you…" The old man started to close the door, saying 11 , "No, boy. I don"t need any magazines of any kind. Now goodbye." The boy was 12 for the old man being so lonely. He went home and then had an 13 . He had a little dog figurine which didn"t 14 much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family. The boy headed 15 . He knocked on the door again and this time the old man came right to the door. "Boy, I thought I told you no 16 ." "No, sir. I want to bring you a 17 ." The boy 18 him the figurine and the old man"s face 19 . " Boy, you have a big heart. 20 are you doing this?" "I think it means more to you." From that day on, the old man started coming out and talking with neighbors. | ||||||||||||||
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