英语智慧背囊 03-巨大的挑战
 音频下载[点击右键另存为][00:00.00]Big Challenges 巨大的挑战[00:05.19]“Keep staring! I might do a trick！” [00:09.67]That’s the message on a T-shirt of mine. [00:13.63]People stare at me all the time [00:15.91]so I thought this shirt would be funny. [00:18.22]See I’m a dwarf. [00:20.17]Most of the time people aren’t trying to be rude— [00:24.65]they just haven’t seen many dwarfs like me before. [00:28.61]I can understand that. [00:31.00]But I also want to let them know [00:33.53]that I see them staring. [00:35.37]Usually the T-shirt makes [00:37.57]them laugh at themselves not at me. [00:39.74]I was born with achondroplasia, [00:42.94]the most common form of dwarfism. [00:45.44]I have an average-size torso, [00:47.96]but my arms and legs are shorter [00:50.58]and my head is bigger than average. [00:52.88]Right now I’m almost four feet tall [00:55.38]and that’s about as tall as I’m going to get. [00:58.47]I’m not going to pretend [01:00.41]that my height isn’t a challenge. [01:02.39]It is. Light switches and counters are usually too high for me. [01:07.32]I can’t reach some shelves in the grocery stores. [01:10.81]It takes me almost three steps to keep up [01:13.67]with one step of an average-size adult. [01:16.50]And my mom has to hem almost all of my pants. [01:20.10]But everyone faces challenges. [01:22.52]You just have to face them with a good attitude. [01:25.38]So I have a long barbecue fork to pull things down [01:29.53]from pantry shelves. [01:30.93]I’m a great climber [01:32.14]and I can make a stool out of just about anything. [01:35.21]I’ll even be able to drive a car with the help of pedal extensions. [01:39.70]If all else fails, I ask for help. [01:42.53]Due to the way I see it, [01:44.84]I can do just about anything that an average-size person can do. [01:49.21]So I’ll never play professional sports [01:52.27]but I have no problem testing my limits. [01:55.34]I have to. For instance, everyone uses stoves. [01:59.60]Little people just have to figure out [02:02.43]how to use them in different ways. [02:04.31]I use a stool to reach mine at home. [02:07.36]It may take me longer and it may be harder [02:10.44]but I can still do it. [02:11.95]My T-shirt shows people the real me— [02:14.92]a kid with a sense of humor. [02:16.87]And maybe that’s the real trick showing others [02:20.06]that I’m just like them. [02:21.38]I play sports and video games, [02:23.88]I go to school and I hang out with my friends. [02:26.85]I’m just shorter. [02:28.47]I mean no one is exactly the same. [02:31.44]And anyway, I’m proud of who I am. |
