My son Sam is 16 and autistic (自闭症). There’s a lot of going on in that beautiful and brilliant mind of his, but even on a good day he can be easily at a loss. Throw in some diagnosed anxiety, an inability to read social cues (信号) and an unexpected change to his daily routine, and you have the way to deal with a very public meltdown (崩溃).
It was Sam’s very first day at high school. We’d set up a plan for how he’d get home: I’d pick him up outside the shop near his school at 3:30 pm and I believed this was a perfect plan. Unknown to me, very bad weather was on its way and I was unable to warm him to take a shelter.
With the combination of his dead phone battery and my dead car battery, I was running late and unable to communicate that to him. As a result, he was left alone and extremely frightened. He became very upset outside the shop, exactly where I’d told him to wait.
This was when a beautiful older Vietnamese lady not only went to CHECK ON him, but took him inside her shop, calmed him down, got my phone number form him and called me.
Five years later he continued to go into her shop every afternoon, bought a drink, had a chat and she sent him home with enough bread and rolls to feed a small nation.
Sam will graduate this year, and I’m increasingly feeling the need to drop by the shop to let this wonderful lady know that she has saved Sam, and that she has saved me. I’m not sure if I can communicate all of this, but at least I will get to thank her.
There are people I will not get to thank, though-the many kind strangers who have been there for Sam. And believe me, if you’re wondering if this world is a complete mess right now, I’m here to say that is not.
So I guess this is a love letter to those of you who have helped a stranger out of the goodness of your heart. Pleased know you are appreciated, that your beautiful heart and kindness are appreciated, and that, perhaps unknowingly, you have made a great difference in someone’s life.
5. What can we learn about Sam from the first paragraph?
A.He is rather slow with his studies. |
B.He can deal with sudden changes well. |
C.He has difficulty in dealing with things. |
D.He tries hard to learn how to read social cues. |
6. The underlined part “check on” in paragraph 4 probably means“ ______ ”.
A.discover | B.visit | C.recognize | D.examine |
7. What happened to Sam after his first day at high school?
A.He could get on well with his classmates. | B.He made good friends with the nice lady. |
C.He brought the lady some food to thank her. | D.he became willing to communicate with others. |
8. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A.To express her thanks to kind people. | B.To remind us all to help autistic people. |
C.To show how difficult life is for autistic people. | D.To tell us how to make a difference in other’s lives. |