During my first year in college, I was silent. I was too afraid of saying something wrong.
I declared a religion major as a sophomore and took a class from Barbara, a young theologian. My mind was split open by a range of new thinkers and writers and by the quality of Barbara’s questions, I finally had something to say and the energy to say it. I was a frequent visitor during Barbara’s office hours, a rocket of words. She listened and calmly responded, a perfect contrast to my feverish ramblings. I loved what she saw in me, which was a range of abilities I had never seen in myself. In the following years, our relationship gradually deepened, but I was always conscious of a teacher-student dynamic.
This changed fundamentally when I became a parent. I had my son in March 2010, and Barbara was one of the first to congratulate me. When, nine months later, my child was diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease, a rare and always terminal illness with no treatment and no cure, she sent me a letter-handwritten on a white legal pad. For the next two and a half years, Barbara wrote me regular, sometimes weekly, letters, remarkable letters that are revealing, loving, and kind.
The letter written right before my son died, when he was three, was the most personal and perhaps the most profound. “I think he’s made you better by opening up the great fire of your love,” she wrote, “with his small but magnificent existence.” I have never in my life read a more deeply comforting sentence, one that spoke to my grandest hopes, my deepest fears, and the only faith that remains to me, which is a belief in chaos. Our love had bloomed and deepened from a guarded mutual respect to a richer, deeper friendship.
Mentors are meant to lead those in their charge into fresh understanding, help them sort and filter new experiences, assist in the project of making sense out of the chaos that is human life. Mentors observe and accompany the darkest despair, the wildest sorrow, and the most unexpected joy.
4. What can we learn from paragraph 2?
A.The author took the class because she excelled1 in theology. |
B.Their relationship changed significantly beyond a teacher-student mode. |
C.The author was a frequent visitor to Barbara’s home after working hours. |
D.Barbara’s peaceful exterior was a contrast to the author’s overexcited talk. |
5. What does the underlined word “This” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A.The way Barbara treated her students. | B.The fact that the author kept silent in class. |
C.The role of the author as a college student. | D.The relationship between Barbara and the author. |
6. What transformed the relationship between Barbara and the author from a mutual respect to a deeper friendship?
A.Barbara’s efforts to solve the problem. |
B.Barbara’s sympathy shown in the letter. |
C.The author’s in-depth understanding of Barbara. |
D.Barbara’s congratulations on the birth of the author’s son. |
7. What does the author think of Barbara?
A.Demanding and dedicated. | B.Responsible and reasonable. |
C.Insightful and inspiring. | D.Aggressive and ambitious. |