In the seventh grade I realized I was dyslexic, which made it difficult for me to read and spell. I did really badly in my history course, so my mother said to me, “I’ll work with you for a full week. I’m going to show you what you can do if you put in the right amount of effort.” So we did. We worked on history for a full week, an extra hour every day. But I still failed the test as always.

By the time I got to college, things didn’t get better. I would wait in registration lines all day to sign up for extra courses. Then I would go around the first day of class and ask each professor: “What’s your policy on misspelling?” If he said, “Three misspellings is a fail,” I’d drop it.

Although I was an academic failure, I had a great time. I had many friends and I was always popular. I was a good football player. I never had a day when I would think “People don’t like me.”

In spite of my obvious weaknesses, I became successful in my career, so much so that people say to me, “So you’ve overcome dyslexia.” No. I don’t overcome it. I just learn to compensate for it. Some easy things are hard for me. Most people read 500 words a minute. I only read 200. I try not to dial a phone because I sometimes have to dial three times to get the number right. I owe my successful career to my writing instructor, Ralph Salisbury. He looked past my misspellings and gave me encouragement. So I always feel confident.

The real fear that I have for dyslexic people is not that they have to struggle with their reading skills or that they can’t spell correctly, but that they will quit on themselves before they get out of school.

【小题1】When the author did badly in the course, what did his mother do?

A．She led him to make more efforts.	B．She taught him history in person.
C．She blamed his laziness bitterly.	D．She sent him to an extra class.

【小题2】Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．The author always dials three times to make a phone call.

B．The author cures himself without anyone’s help.

C．The author failed in many extra courses.

D．The author leads a successful life.

【小题3】The meaning of the underlined phrase “compensate for” is equal to ______.

A．fight for

B．make up for

C．struggle with

D．put up with

【小题4】What is the author’s suggestion for dyslexic people?

A．They should make more efforts to practice reading skills.

B．They should turn to a writing instructor for help.

C．They should not give up on themselves.

D．They should ignore the disease.