Five-year-oldSallystoodnervouslyinfrontofherkindergartenclasswithBellamytraineddogsittingcalmlybyherside.HerclassmatesfocusedonSallywaitingforhertospeak.ItwasJune—onlyonewe

题目详情

Five-year-old Sally stood nervously in front of her kindergarten class with Bella my trained dog sitting calmly by her side. Her classmates focused on Sally waiting for her to speak. It was June — only one week of school left — but they had never heard her voice. Not once.

Sally had selective mutism an anxiety disorder that made her freeze up in social situations. She’d been so excited about putting on a dog show for her class. She had practiced with Bella and me for weeks. Now her eyes found mine. I nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth. But not a word came out. Sally stood off to the side head down. I felt awful.

I’m a nurse and use Bella to help children in my community to bring them joy comfort and confidence the way only a dog can. I thought back to when I’d first brought Bella to the school.

That morning in January the counselor ( 指导老师 ) led us to an office. “Sally hasn’t spoken outside her home in two years ” the counselor told me. “Her parents have taken her to doctors but nothing has worked.” A little girl stood shyly just inside the doorway. Her eyes brightened when she noticed my dog.

“This is Isabella Rose. I call her Bella ” I said. “Would you like to pet her? She doesn’t know anyone here and she’d like to meet you. She can play tricks. Would you like to see?”

Sally nodded. I moved my hand. Bella lay down and then rolled over. Sally’s eyes cheered up.

“She’ll do it for you too ” I said. “I can teach you.”

We visited the school once a week. I showed Sally the hand signals for various commands. She was good at communicating with Bella maybe because she couldn’t rely on spoken words herself. Bella sensed that and responded. Soon Sally was able to take Bella through her paces all on her own.

One morning in March when she was working with Bella I heard a tiny voice barely a whisper “Good dog.” Sally didn’t take her eyes off Bella but I wanted to jump for joy. Sally spoke a little more each week only to Bella at first but then to me. She started giving voice commands with her hand signals and her confidence rose. Still she hadn’t spoken in class and the school year was about to end.

Sally returned to her seat not looking at anyone not even Bella.

The next week the last of the school year Sally met us at the door of our room. “I want to try again ” she said before I even said hello.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “You don’t want to wait till next school year?”

“No ” she said. “Today I can do it.”

She looked up at me her face determined. Bella who’d parked herself beside her friend wore a matching expression. “Great!” I said. We headed to Sally’s classroom. The kids were sitting in a circle on the floor listening to the teacher. They turned when we arrived. We walked to the front of the now quiet room. I squeezed Sally’s hand and stepped back. For a few seconds that seemed like hours she stood silently staring at her classmates. Finally she whispered “This is Isabella Rose.” Then a little louder “Isabella Rose.”

The kids clapped. The whole class cheered.

Sally took a bow just like we’d practiced. I followed her and Bella back to our room. There was a leap to Sally’s step that I hadn’t seen before a lightness that came from breaking free from her fear. “I had an AWESOME day!” she declared with a huge smile on her face.

1. The underlined part “freeze up” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “ ”.

A. fail to speak B. watch her manners

C. stand upright D. feel cold

2. Why is Sally good at communicating with Bella according to the writer?

A. Because Sally could not express herself in spoken words.

B. Because Sally takes regular practice once a week at school.

C. Because Bella receives professional training and responds well.

D. Because the writer has taught Sally the necessary hand signals.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Sally hasn’t spoken at home for five years.

B. The writer trained Sally to speak for two years.

C. Sally started to speak outside her home in March.