Two years ago, Dubuque, Iowa, held its first Back to School Bash (返校狂欢盛宴), offering needy families an opportunity to learn more about free resources in the community. Courtney Holmes agreed to join. He was working as a barber and Saturday was his busiest haircutting day, but he chose to donate his time and give free haircuts to underprivileged kids so they’d look sharp on that first day of class. But then he had an idea: “The kids should earn their free haircut by having to read a book to me,” Holmes said.
The idea was so popular that he continued it the first Tuesday of every month for the next two years. Five-to-ten-year-old boys would grab a favorite book, settled into the barber chair, and read aloud while Holmes did his work. If they failed to pronounce the word, Holmes was there to help. After the haircut, they’d review the book, from the characters and vocabulary to the themes — just like in school, only more fun.
Holmes recognized that not every parent has the time to read with their kids. “You are working a job, and have to clean the house or cook dinner. Sitting down and listening to kids read is the last thing you have time to do. So I say bring your kids in and let them read to me,” said Holmes, “There was this seven-year-old boy who struggled through his book, reading some of the words with difficulty. I had him take the book home and practice. When the child came back a few days later, he read it with no problems.”
Holmes and his family have recently moved to a Chicago suburb. When they get settled, he plans to continue his role as the storybook barber. “The way the world is today with guns and violence,” he says, “It’s a shelter for the kids, to come to the barbershop and read books.”
【小题1】The underlined word “underprivileged” in paragraph 1 can be replaced by ________.| A．poor | B．smart | C．unusual | D．ugly |
| A．Parents have much time to listen to their kids read. |
| B．The seven-year-old boy has a serious reading disability. |
| C．Kids go to the barbershop just to earn free hair cuts. |
| D．Reading books in the barbershop gets kids away from danger. |
| A．The Great Value of Storybooks |
| B．A New Way of Improving Reading skill |
| C．Courtney Holmes, the Storybook Barber |
| D．A Specially-designed Barbershop in Iowa |
