About 15 years ago, Andrew McLindon, an entrepreneur and avid cyclist was riding his bike in Austin, Texas, when he thought about a friend’s 12-year-old son. The boy had never known the joy of biking because he suffered from hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain that often causes balance disturbances.
When he got home, McLindon, now 60, went online and found a three-wheel recumbent bike with a seat belt, perfect for a child with balance issues. Soon the boy was pedaling around the street with his peers, having fun and getting exercise. But there was more, as McLindon got from his friend’s reaction. “To see his son interacting with other kids,” McLindon says. “I’ll never forget the smile on his face.”
That smile launched the McLindon Family Foundation. Funded by donations, the group works with pediatric rehab clinics (儿科康复诊所) to find children who can benefit from owning an adaptive bike and to help craft each bike to the particular needs of the child. A bike may include a headrest, a shoulder harmess, a seat belt, and a caregiver’s steering and brakes in the back. The bikes are expensive: $3,000 to $4,000, and that’s with the foundation’s steep manufacturer’s discount, For kids lucky enough to get one, they’re a life changer.
“We worked with a 14-year-old who has spina bifida (脊柱裂),” says McLindon. “She spent most days on the couch watching TV. Soon after she got her bike, she was training for special-needs triathlons. In a magazine interview, she said, ‘I always knew there was an athlete in me.’”
So far, the foundation has given away 450 bikes, and that’s just a start. “I do a lot of things. I run a lot of companies,” McLindon says. “But getting these kids their bikes is the most important thing that I do.”
【小题1】What kind of disease is “hydrocephalus” ?(no more than 15 words)【小题2】What inspired McLindon to launch the McLindon Family Foundation?(no more than 15 words)
【小题3】What’s the purpose of the McLindon Family Foundation?(no more than 15 words)
【小题4】What does the bike recipient mean by saying “I always knew there was an athlete in me”?(no more than 10words)
【小题5】What kind of person do you think McLindon is? Please explain in your own words.(no more than 20 words)
Rebecca Munkombwe, an 11-year-old girl from Zimbabwe, is regarded as a hero for saving a 9-year-old friend from the jaws of a crocodile by jumping or、the crocodile and gouging (挖) its eyes out.
According to Zimbabwean media, Rebecca and her friends had just got back from a swim in a stream near their home village when they heard the screams corning from the water. She was shocked to see her 9-year-old friend Latoya Muwani being dragged into the water by a crocodile. While all the other children were running scared, Rebecca ran toward the water, jumped on top of the crocodile and started beating it with her bare fists. However, that didn’t seem to bother the crocodile at all, so she then used her fingers to gouge its eyes out until it loosened its grasp of Latoya. Once she was free, Rebecca swam with her to the bank.
Surprisingly, the 11-year-old heroine managed to save her young friend without suffering any wounds, while Latoya was lucky to escape with just mild wounds that were later treated at a regional hospital. Latoya’s parents praised Rebecca’s courage and thanked her for saving their daughter’s life. “I was at work when I learnt that my daughter had been attacked by a crocodile while swimming. For a moment I thought of the worst before I learnt that she’d survived after being saved by Rebecca,” Latoya’s father, Fortune Muwani, said. “I don’t know how she managed to do that, but I’m grateful to her.”
Local authorities confirmed the crocodile attack, adding that the number of such incidents was increasing. Apparently, the lack of easily accessible water sources (水源) is forcing women and children to use unprotected sources like this crocodile-infested (遍布鳄鱼的) stream.
【小题1】What made Rebecca Munkombwe a hero?| A．Her catching a crocodile hare-handed. |
| B．Her rescuing a drowning friend in time. |
| C．Her helping a friend out of deadly danger. |
| D．Her making friends with a wild crocodile. |
| A．Brave and smart. | B．Calm and careful. |
| C．Honest and considerate. | D．Courageous and patient. |
| A．He knew every detail about the rescuing process. |
| B．Latoya’s conditions were far better than expected. |
| C．Latoya’s being attacked by a crocodile sounded unbelievable. |
| D．He regretted not accompanying Latoya while she was swimming. |
| A．Because people have poor awareness of safety. |
| B．Because people enjoy getting close to animals in the wild. |
| C．Because people have little knowledge of accessible water sources. |
| D．Because people have to share limited water sources with wild animals. |
Aniza Khan, a young girl from Lahore has devoted her life to rescue animals for the past 10 years. Having about 35 cats and 16 dogs at home, Khan has rescued 1,500 plus animals so far. Taking inspiration from her parents, Khan has been rescuing animals since childhood.
Currently working completely in welfare, Khan has been financing her project by herself along with family and friends. She has registered a web page to call for donations, which helps her with some of her funds.
Talking about her experience in rescue, she stated, “Each animal has their own lifestyle, making each one of them different with individual needs. We cannot keep all animals together. We have to keep them separately. It not only is good for their environment but also helps in case of any viral spread of disease.”
Due to the lack of space in her home, Khan has bought land to set up her own animal shelter. Along with rescuing, Khan has been feeding stray (无主的) cats and dogs.
Animal rescuing culture is not found in the country, where dog killing campaigns are run by the government. Khan mentioned her struggles: “Most of the days I wake up to another cat being thrown on my gate. I have both cats and dogs and it is always hard to protect the new addition. People do not contact and leave them by my doorstep.”
Khan promotes the concept of “Adopt don’t Shop”. She says, “If you are looking for love, you will find it from a stray cat with broken legs. You do not need to have an expensive species to show or get love.”
“We need to understand that animals are living creatures just like us humans, having needs and a heart just like us. We need to take care of them because they can’t voice their own needs,” she says.
【小题1】What does Khan do to keep the rescued animals healthy?| A．Keep them in single shelters. | B．Satisfy their curiosity. |
| C．Maintain a balanced diet. | D．Feed them together. |
| A．The reasons for feeding animals. | B．The increase of rescued animals. |
| C．The tendency of protecting animals. | D．The facts of animals being treated badly. |
| A．Take them into their own family. | B．Keep these strays healthy. |
| C．Raise expensive species of them. | D．Treat their leg injuries. |
| A．Voicing a common concern of the whole society. |
| B．Raising the awareness of protecting endangered animals. |
| C．Spreading the message of coexistence and mercy to animals. |
| D．Promoting better understanding between humans and animals. |
HEMLOCK, MI --When classes resume at Hemlock's K.C. Ling Elementary School next week, the students will have a brand new playground complete with gaga ball pit(坑), Boogie Board, slides and more.
About 50 volunteers worked together to build the new playground Sunday, Aug. 19. The "community build" was the culmination of nearly a year of fundraising, said Sarah Baird, a parent and chairwoman of the playground committee.
"It felt amazing yesterday to see everybody come together," Baird said Monday. "It will be all set and ready for them for their first day of school."
The school year begins Aug. 27. A ribbon-cutting(剪彩) ceremony and open house are planned for Wednesday, Aug. 22.
K.C. Ling houses the district's first- through fourth-graders. Hemlock Elementary School, the district's other elementary school, offers preschool, young fives and kindergarten.
Baird said the former playground equipment at K.C. Ling Elementary was 30 years old, unsafe and beginning to rust(生锈). A few years ago, the Richland Township Fire Department gave the parent-teacher organization $2,500 to build a new playground. The equipment they originally wanted would have cost $100,000.
"We formed a committee and we started doing some fundraising," Baird said. "I did some things and we really tried to do something with the playground."
In the end, with the support of the community, Hemlock Semiconductor, Saginaw Community Foundation, Morley Family Foundation, Dow Corning Foundation and other donors, the group raised $70,000.
"It felt amazing yesterday to see everybody come together," Baird said of the community build. "(We had) huge support from the community and we're very thankful."
【小题1】What does the underlined word " culmination " in paragraph 2 refer to？| A．Flag. | B．Key. |
| C．Name. | D．Result. |
| A．There is not enough money to build the playground. |
| B．There is not enough space to build the playground. |
| C．There is no support for doing it. |
| D．There is no time to do it. |
| A．The day of the school's start is Monday. |
| B．The first grade goes to school in K.C.Ling. |
| C．K.C. Ling Elementary has a history of 30 years. |
| D．Most of the playground construction fund is provided by Richland Township Fire Department. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. |
| C．Education. | D．Science. |
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