I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.“Mom，come here！There's this lady here my size！”
The mother rushed to her son；then she turned to me to say sorry to me.
I smiled and told her，“It's OK.”Then I talked to the boy，“Hi，I'm Dory Kramer. How are you？”
He studied me from head to toe，and asked，“Are you a little mommy？”
“Yes，I have a son,” I answered.
“Why are you so little?”he asked.
“It's the way I was born,” I said.“Some people are little. Some are tall. I'm just not going to grow any bigger.”After I answered his other questions，I shook the boy's hand and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance( 一瞥) to see I’m different. I stand three feet nine inches tall(="1.14" metres).I was born a dwarf．In spite of this，I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn't realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids called me names (辱骂).Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year.
But I learned to smile and face the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. What I lacked in height，I made up for in personality. When people are rude，I remind myself，“Look what else I have－a great family，nice friends.”
【小题1】Why did the mother say sorry to Dory Kramer?

I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.“Mom，come here！There's this lady here my size！”

     The mother rushed to her son；then she turned to me to say sorry to me.

     I smiled and told her，“It's OK.”Then I talked to the boy，“Hi，I'm Dory Kramer. How are you？”

     He studied me from head to toe，and asked，“Are you a little mommy？”

“Yes，I have a son,” I answered.

    “Why are you so little?”he asked.

    “It's the way I was born,” I said.“Some people are little. Some are tall. I'm just not going to grow any bigger.”After I answered his other questions，I shook the boy's hand and left.

     My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.

     It takes only one glance( 一瞥) to see I’m different. I stand three feet nine inches tall(=1.14 metres).I was born a dwarf．In spite of this，I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.

     I didn't realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids called me names (辱骂).Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year.

     But I learned to smile and face the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. What I lacked in height，I made up for in personality. When people are rude，I remind myself，“Look what else I have－a great family，nice friends.”

1.Why did the mother say sorry to Dory Kramer?

A．Because the boy ran into the author.

B．Because the boy hit the author.

C．Because the boy said the author was fatter than him.

D．Because the mother thought the boy's words had hurt the author.

2.What does a dwarf look like?

A．Of medium height.            B．Very tall.

C．Very short.                      D．Very thin.

3.When did the author realize that she was too short?

A．When she grew up.

B．When she was 47 years old.

C．When she began to go to school.

D．When she met the boy in the supermarket.

4.What does the sentence “What I lacked in height，I made up for in personality”mean?

A. Although I am not tall, I often dress up to make myself different.

B. Although I am not tall, I can make myself tall by dressing up.

C. Although I am not tall, I try to keep it as my personal secrets.

D. Although I am not tall, I can make myself good with good personal qualities.

I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.“Mom，come here！There's this lady here my size！”
The mother rushed to her son；then she turned to me to say sorry to me.
I smiled and told her，“It's OK.”Then I talked to the boy，“Hi，I'm Dory Kramer. How are you？”
He studied me from head to toe，and asked，“Are you a little mommy？”
“Yes，I have a son,” I answered.
“Why are you so little?”he asked.
“It's the way I was born,” I said.“Some people are little. Some are tall. I'm just not going to grow any bigger.”After I answered his other questions，I shook the boy's hand and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance( 一瞥) to see I’m different. I stand three feet nine inches tall(="1.14" metres).I was born a dwarf.In spite of this，I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn't realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids called me names (辱骂).Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year.
But I learned to smile and face the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. What I lacked in height，I made up for in personality. When people are rude，I remind myself，“Look what else I have-a great family，nice friends.”

1. 1.

   Why did the mother say sorry to Dory Kramer?

   1. A.
      Because the boy ran into the author.
   2. B.
      Because the boy hit the author.
   3. C.
      Because the boy said the author was fatter than him.
   4. D.
      Because the mother thought the boy's words had hurt the author.
2. 2.

   What does a dwarf look like?

   1. A.
      Of medium height.
   2. B.
      Very tall.
   3. C.
      Very short.
   4. D.
      Very thin.
3. 3.

   When did the author realize that she was too short?

   1. A.
      When she grew up.
   2. B.
      When she was 47 years old.
   3. C.
      When she began to go to school.
   4. D.
      When she met the boy in the supermarket.
4. 4.

   What does the sentence “What I lacked in height，I made up for in personality”mean?

   1. A.
      Although I am not tall, I often dress up to make myself different.
   2. B.
      Although I am not tall, I can make myself tall by dressing up.
   3. C.
      Although I am not tall, I try to keep it as my personal secrets.
   4. D.
      Although I am not tall, I can make myself good with good personal qualities.

During my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly, but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty and that we could not have our own small family without a big family.　　  Later I was a hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”. Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.

I spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

When the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right.　　  Giving up a holiday for the company is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.

Today my parents are retired （退休）and stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able to take care of us when we were young.

Nowadays, Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.   

1. What do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?

A. You have to pay when you take a holiday.　　 

B. Someone will pay for your holiday.　　 

C. You are still paid when you have your holiday.　　

D. You can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.   

2. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Working is the only part of the life.      

B. Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.　　 

C. Enjoying holidays is as important as working　　 

D. Sharing happiness with your family is more important   

3. The writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will _______.　　  A. plan their holiday beforehand　　  B. get used to long holidays and enjoy themselves　　  C. give up a holiday for their work　　   D. bring business home after work hours