上海大学大一计算机考试题库,上海大学英语网络考试题库(编辑版)

Passage Four:

Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first day of school in the fall. She looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same, that she would treat them all alike. And that was impossible because there in front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn't play well with the other children. And Teddy was unpleasant.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's records. When she opened his file, she was surprised. His first-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around."

His third-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy continues to work hard but his mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken." By now Mrs. Thompson recognized the problem, and Christmas was coming. Her children brought her presents, all in beautiful ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy's, which was clumsily wrapped in heavy, brown paper. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.

She stopped the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, put it on, and dabbed some of the perfume behind the other wrist. Teddy Stoddard said, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to." After the children left, she cried for at least an hour.

On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and speaking. Instead, she began to teach children. Jean Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year he had become one of the smartest children in the class.

A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the teachers he'd had in elementary school, she was his favorite.

Ten years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher.