Introduction to Letters to Sam
Dear Reader,
Please allow me to tell you something before you read this book. When my 1 , Sam, was born, my heart
was filled with joy. I had been sitting in a wheelchair for 20 years before then, and I have been 2 ill many
times. So I wondered if I would have the 3 to tell Sam what I had 4 .
For years I have been hosting a program on the 5 and writing articles for a magazine. Being 6 to move
freely, I have learned to sit still and keep my heart 7 , exchanging thoughts with thousands of listeners and 8 .
So when Sam was born, I 9 to tell him about school and friendship, romance and work, love and everything
else. That"s how I started to write these 10 . I hope that Sam would 11 them sooner or later.
However, that expectation 12 when Sam showed signs of autism (自闭症) at the age of two. He had actually
stopped talking before the discovery of the signs. He 13 to communicate with others, even the family members.
That was 14 for me but didn"t stop me writing on. I realized that I had even 15 now to tell him. I wanted him
to 16 what it means to be "different" from others, and learn how to fight against the misfortune he"ll 17 as I
myself, his grandfather, did. I just 18 if I could write all that I wanted to say in the rest of my life.
Now, 19 the book has been published, I have been given the chance. Every chapter in the book is a letter to
Sam: some about my life, and all about what it means to be a 20 .
Daniel Gottlieb |
( )1. A. son
( )2. A. seriously
( )3. A. ability
( )4. A. written
( )5. A. radio
( )6. A. ready
( )7. A. warm
( )8. A. hosts
( )9. A. began
( )10. A. letters
( )11. A. find
( )12. A. developed
( )13. A. tried
( )14. A. exciting
( )15. A. less
( )16. A. understand
( )17. A. fear
( )18. A. felt
( )19. A. as
( )20. A. teacher | B. nephew
B. mentally
B. time
B. suffered
B. television
B. unable
B. broken
B. visitors
B. stopped
B. emails
B. read
B. disappeared
B. refused
B. acceptable
B. everything
B. explain
B. face
B. guessed
B. once
B. child | C. brother
C. slightly
C. courage
C. observed
C. stage
C. anxious
C. closed
C. readers
C. forgot
C. books
C. collect
C. changed
C. regretted
C. strange
C. more
C. believe
C. know
C. saw
C. though
C. man | D. grandson
D. quietly
D. responsibility
D. lost
D. bed
D. eager
D. open
D. reporters
D. decided
D. diaries
D. keep
D. arrived
D. hoped
D. heartbreaking
D. nothing
D. question
D. cause
D. doubted
D. if
D. writer | | 阅读理解。 | One morning more than thirty years ago, I entered the Track Kitchen, a restaurant where everyone from
the humblest (卑微的) to the most powerful came for breakfast. I noticed an empty chair next to an elderly,
unshaven man, who looked somewhat disheveled. He was wearing a worn-out hat and was alone. I asked if
I might join him. He agreed quietly and I sat down to have my breakfast.
We cautiously began a conversation and spoke about a wide rang of things. We never introduced ourselves.
I was concerned that he might have no money and not be able to afford something to eat. So as I rose to go
back to the counter and buy a second cup of coffee, I asked,
"May I get you something?"
"A coffee would be nice."
Then I bought him a cup of coffee, We talked more, and he accepted another cup of coffee. Finally, I rose
to leave, wished him well, and headed for the exit. At the door I met one of my friends. He asked,
"How did you get to know Mr. Galbreath?"
"Who?"
"The man you were sitting with. He is chairman of the Board of Churchill Downs."
I could hardly believe it. I was buying, offering a free breakfast, and feeling pity for one of the world"s
richest and most powerful men!
My few minutes with Mr. Galbreath changed my life. Now I try to treat everyone with respect, no matter
who I think they are, and to meet another human being with kindness and sincerity. | | 1. What does the underlined word "disheveled" mean? | | [ ] | A. Unfriendly.
B. Untidy.
C. Gentle.
D. Kind. | | 2. The author bought coffee for the old man because _____. | | [ ] | A. he thought the old man was poor
B. he wanted to start a conversation
C. he intended to show his politeness
D. he would like to thank the old man | | 3. How did the author probably feel after he talked with his friend? | | [ ] | A. Proud.
B. Pitiful.
C. Surprised.
D. Regretful. | | 4. What is the message mainly expressed in the story? | | [ ] | A. We should learn to be generous.
B. It is honorable to help those in need.
C. People in high positions are not like what we expect.
D. We should avoid judging people by their appearances. | | 完形填空。 | I met Mrs. Neidl in the ninth grade on a stage-design team for a play and she was one of the directors.
Almost instantly I loved her. She had an unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking, 1 she was
encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and me.
Mrs. Neidl would ask me for my 2 . She wanted to know how I thought we should 3 things. At first
I had no idea how to answer because I knew 4 about stage design! But I slowly began to respond to her
5 . It was cause and effect: She believed I had opinions, so I began to 6 them. She trusted me to complete
things, so I completed them perfectly. She loved how 7 I was, so I began to show up to paint more and
more. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.
Mrs. Neidl"s 8 that year was, "Try it. We can always paint over it 9 !" I began to take 10 . I had been
so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing-only things to be 11 upon. I learned to dip my brush into
the paint and 12 create something.
The shy, quiet freshman achieved success that year. I was 13 in the program as "Student Art Assistant"
because of the time and effort I"d put in. It was that year that I 14 I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing
stage design.
Being on that stage-design team 15 Mrs. Neidl changed me completely. Not only was I stronger and more
competent than I had thought, but I also 16 a strong interest and a world I hadn"t known existed. She taught
me not to 17 what people think I should do: She taught me to take chances and not be 18 . Mrs. Neidl was
my comforter when I was upset. Her 19 in me has inspired me to do things that I never imagined 20 . | ( )1. A. and
( )2. A. opinion
( )3. A. make
( )4. A. anything
( )5. A. questions
( )6. A. hold
( )7. A. happy
( )8. A. message
( )9. A. again
( )10. A. steps
( )11. A. improved
( )12. A. easily
( )13. A. introduced
( )14. A. confirmed
( )15. A. with
( )16. A. developed
( )17. A. accept
( )18. A. bored
( )19. A. trust
( )20. A. accessible | B. yet
B. impression
B. keep
B. something
B. comments
B. follow
B. lively
B. motto
B. more
B. control
B. acted
B. carefully
B. recognized
B. decided
B. below
B. discovered
B. care
B. lazy
B. patience
B. enjoyable | C. so
C. information
C. handle
C. everything
C. explanations
C. evaluate
C. reliable
C. saying
C. instead
C. charge
C. looked
C. confidently
C. identified
C. realized
C. of
C. took
C. judge
C. sad
C. curiosity
C. possible | D. for
D. intention
D. change
D. nothing
D. remarks
D. form
D. punctual
D. suggestion
D. later
D. risks
D. reflected
D. proudly
D. considered
D. acknowledged
D. by
D. fostered
D. wonder
D. afraid
D. interest
D. favorable | | 阅读理解。 | Goldie"s Secret
She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall. No way could I have sent her away. No way, not
me anyway. Maybe someone had kicked her out of their car the night before. "We"re moving house." "No space
for her any more with the baby coming." "We never really wanted her, but what could we have done? She was
a present." People find all sorts of excuses for abandoning an animal. And she was one of the most beautiful
dogs I had ever seen.
I called her Goldie. If I had known what was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name.
She was so unsettled during those first few days. She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about
her. There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed. Heaven knows what had happened to her at
her previous owner"s. But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down. Always by my side, whether
we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire.
That"s why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk. We
were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless. Eventually I couldn"t hold her
any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie. But when I saw her licking (舔) the
four puppies (幼犬) I started to feel sympathy towards them. "We didn"t know what had happened to her," said
the woman at the door. "I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just
disappeared." "She must have tried to come back to them and got lost," added a boy from behind her.
I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I"ve got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother. And I"ve learnt
a good lesson: not to judge people. | | 1. How did the author feel about Goldie when Goldie came to the house? | | [ ] | A. Shocked.
B. Sympathetic.
C. Annoyed.
D. Upset. | | 2. In her first few days at the author"s house, Goldie _____. | | [ ] | A. felt worried
B. was angry
C. ate a little
D. sat by the fire | | 3. Goldie rushed off to a farmhouse one day because she _____. | | [ ] | A. saw her puppies
B. heard familiar barkings
C. wanted to leave the author
D. found her way to her old home | | 4. The passage is organized in order of _____. | | [ ] | A. time
B. effectiveness
C. importance
D. complexity | | 完形填空。 | Robert Moody, 52, is an experienced police officer. Much of his work involves dealing with 1 an gang (团
伙) problems in the schools of his community. Knowing that many kids often 2 trouble, he decided to do
something about it. So in 1991 he began to invite small groups of kids to go fishing with him on his day 3 .
Those fun trips had a(n) 4 impact. A chance encounter in 2000 proved that. One day, 5 working security
at a school basketball game, Moody noticed two young guys 6 . He sensed trouble between them. 7 one of
them headed toward Moody and gave him a hug. "I 8 you. You took me 9 when I was in fifth grade. That
was one of the 10 days of my life."
Deeply touched by the boy"s word, Moody decided to create a foundation (基金会) that 11 teenagers to the
basics of fishing in camping programs. "As a policeman, I saw 12 there was violence, drugs were always behind
it. They have a damaging 13 on the kids," says Moody.
By turning kids on to fishing, he 14 to present an alternative way of life, "When you"re sitting there waiting
for a 15 ," he says, "you can"t help but talk to each other, and such 16 can be pretty deep."
"Talking about drugs helped prepare me for the peer (同龄人) pressures in high school," says Michelle, who
17 the first program. "And I was able to help my little brother 18 drugs."
Moody faces 19 in three years, when he hopes to run the foundation full-time. "I"m living a happy life and I
have a responsibility to my 20 to give back," Moody says. "If I teach a kid to fish today, he can teach his brother
to fish tomorrow." | ( )1. A. drinking
( )2. A. ran into
( )3. A. ahead
( )4. A. immediate
( )5. A. once
( )6. A. quarreling
( )7. A. Slowly
( )8. A. understand
( )9. A. fishing
( )10. A. quietest
( )11. A. connects
( )12. A. where
( )13. A. impression
( )14. A. asked
( )15. A. solution
( )16. A. concerns
( )17. A. participated in
( )18. A. misuse
( )19. A. unemployment
( )20. A. team | B. drug
B. got over
B. away
B. damaging
B. while
B. complaining
B. Suddenly
B. hear
B. sailing
B. longest
B. introduces
B. unless
B. burden
B. intended
B. change
B. interests
B. worked out
B. avoid
B. challenge
B. school | C. security
C. left behind
C. off
C. limited
C. since
C. talking
C. Finally
C. see
C. boating
C. best
C. reduces
C. as
C. decision
C. pretended
C. bite
C. conversations
C. approved of
C. tolerate
C. competition
C. family | D. smoking
D. looked into
D. out
D. lasting
D. until
D. cheering
D. Secretly
D. remember
D. swimming
D. busiest
D. commits
D. whether
D. impact
D. agreed
D. surprise
D. emotions
D. made up
D. test
D. retirement
D. community |
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