Once upon a time, there was a tiger. His name was Kamau which means the quiet soldier. Kamau wondered, “Will I ever live up to my name?” Kamau is young and makes friends with everyone, but thinks low of himself. His leg disability makes it hard to walk. It makes him feel useless. But what he doesn’t know is that today will change it all.
One bright morning, Kamau spotted a bird in a tree, whose bright colors are so cheerful. She looked old. And he noticed one of her wings was cut. Kamau kept on walking towards the bird. “My name is Jelani,” she squawked as if she could read his mind. “I am Kamau,” he roared. “I know,” she said as if she had been watching over him his whole life. They spent a moment studying each other. At last, Kamau continued going past the tree.
“Do you know the meaning of your name?” she asked. Kamau stopped. The pain showed in his eyes. This is a question he has asked himself every day.
“My name means quiet soldier,” he said. Then he paused. “But I have been given the wrong name, for I am no warrior.”
“Do you know what my name means?” she asked. There was silence. “It means mighty. But as you can see, my body is not fit for it.” Then she looked up.
Kamau asked, “What are you looking at?”
“I am dreaming of flying free. Have you ever thought of running through the jungle, pride in your face?”
“We will never get that kind of life.” Kamau said angrily.
Jelani expected this. So, she explained why she didn’t care about it. “Sometimes, you have to let go of the things you don’t have and make do with what you have.”
“But even if I know this, I can’t be happy because I can’t do anything about my body. My mind knows it,” he said.
“I don’t know what you’ll be, but your mind tells you. It’s telling you that you’re useless, but if you ask your mind to stop, you will find your true self!” Jelani tells him.
Kamau realizes how lucky he was to have met Jelani. How fortunate he was to be able to change his mind.
Kamau finishes the story, making his sons think. It’s a year later and Kamau is a father. He hopes to teach his sons the same lesson that Jelani taught him. “Sons, we can’t always depend on physical abilities to show us who we are. First, think about what your mind can do to change your bad feelings into good ones.”
1. Why does Kamau think low of himself?2. Paraphrase the underlined sentence in paragraph 2.
Kamau spotted a bird in a tree, whose bright colors are so cheerful
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Kamau finally realized that it is important to move on toward the things you desire and forget what you already have.
4. What ways do you have to change your bad feelings into good ones?（50词左右）
2 . There are many kinds of heroes. Even animals can be heroes. This month’s newsletter tells about three amazing animals. Each one is a hero!
Thumper the Dog
Thumper was a dog that lived with a family which had a three-year-old son named Benjamin. One day Benjamin wandered into a large field. The grass in the field was taller than he was, so he could not find his way out. Hundreds of people began to search for Benjamin. When they found him, they saw Thumper stayed with Benjamin and kept him warm. So Benjamin had stayed safe and calm.
Lulu the Pig
The Altsmans had a pet pig named Lulu. One summer the couple went camping and took Lulu with them. The husband went fishing one morning. The wife didn’t feel well, so she and Lulu stayed in the camper. Suddenly Mrs. Altsman fell to the floor. Lulu pushed the camper door open and climbed out to locate help. When a car came by, she lay down in front of it. When the driver got out, Lulu led him back to the camper. The man called for help and Mrs. Altsman was taken to hospital.
Sugar the Cat
Sugar was a beautiful cat. Three years ago she wandered onto the Woods’ farm in California and Mrs. Woods began feeding her. Mrs. Woods noticed something wrong with the cat’s left leg, but this didn’t make Sugar any less special. Mrs. Woods loved Sugar. Later the couple moved to a new farm in Oklahoma. They gave Sugar to a neighbor who would take good care of her, because they knew she wouldn’t like riding in cars for days. However, Sugar walked across deserts and mountains and traveled more than 1,500 miles to the Woods’ new farm! Mr. and Mrs. Woods could hardly believe their eyes. No one knows how Sugar found her way to Oklahoma.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Lovely pigs. |
| B．Unknown heroes. |
| C．New friends. |
| D．Amazing animals. |
| A．By searching for him in the field. |
| B．By finding the way out for him. |
| C．By staying with him all the time. |
| D．By cutting the grass around him. |
| A．To get help. |
| B．To watch the cars. |
| C．To have a sleep. |
| D．To ask for a lift. |
| A．Sugar tried to find help. |
| B．Sugar protected her owners. |
| C．Sugar went camping with her owners. |
| D．Sugar went a long way to find her owners. |
