At St. Francis High School in La Canada, Calif. ,there’s something to be said about math teacher Jim Connor.
Truth is, Connor can be a bit of a drudge. But the 70-year-old Vietnam vet says he’s not here to entertain his students. “It drives me crazy when people say school should be fun,” he says. “I mean, it’s nice if it could be, but you can’t make school fun.”
And for years, the kids thought that’s all there was to him — until last November, when senior Pat McGoldrick learned they didn’t know the half of him.
Pat was in charge of a student blood drive and had just come to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for a meeting. And he says it was weird: whenever he told someone he went to St. Francis High School, they all said, “Oh, you must know Jim Connor. Isn’t he wonderful? ”
“It was disbelief, really,” Pat says. “It was almost kind of finding this alter ego (另一面) that he has.” Inside the blood donor center, Pat found a plaque listing all the top blood donors at the hospital, including the record holder, Jim Connor. Then he learned something even more unbelievable: that whenever Connor isn’t torturing kids with calculus (微积分), he’s on a whole other tangent-cuddling sick babies. Three days a week for the past 20 years, Jim has volunteered at the hospital, stepping in become involved in an activity when parents can’t, to hold, feed and comfort their children.
“They tend to calm for him,” Nurse Erin says. “They tend to relax with him. They fall asleep with him.”
“I just like them and relate to them somehow,” Connor says.
Connor has never been married; he has no kids of his own. But he has fallen hard for these babies.
“I’ve always respected him, but now it’s to an even different degree — really to the point where I try to emulate him,” Pat says. “He’s the epitome of a man of service.”
4. What do we learn from paragraph 2?
A.School can never be fun. |
B.Connor is highly demanding. |
C.Connor’s students drive him crazy. |
D.Connor thinks education is for all. |
5. What did Pat find out about Mr Connor?
A.Mr Connor donated blood as well as his time. |
B.Mr Connor was awarded for his love toward babies. |
C.Mr Connor used to he a very strict teacher. |
D.Mr Connor had a unique teaching philosophy. |
6. Which of the following is true about Mr. Connor?
A.He works two shifts every day for a living. |
B.He has his alter ego in the eyes of his students all the time. |
C.He has the ability to connect with those kids he holds. |
D.He falls hard for those sick kids so he decided not to have his own. |
7. What is the best title for the text?
A.Bonding with babies in need of love |
B.A real lesson is life through learning calculus |
C.Everybody keeps something under his hat |
D.Tough teacher has a soft heart |