“钢铁”兄妹
Although suffering from frequent broken bones while growing up, as a result of brittle bone disease, a pair of iron-willed sister and brother in Hubei Province are now able to support themselves as teachers after studying hard and graduating from university. They grew up in a village in the mountains. Their parents gave them home schooling at first because the sick children had to lie on the bed most of the time.
“Our parents kept taking us to doctors to try to find out what disease we were born with,” said 27-year-old Cheng Shuangjia. “We were eventually diagnosed(诊断) with osteogenesis imperfecta(骨脆症) in 1998.”
Although there is no cure for the genetic condition, there are treatments and medicines that can help sufferers. However, the family had no money for any treatment and the two children were sent directly to a grade-three class at a primary school after they could take care themselves.
“Since then, my sister and I knew that studying was the only way to improve our situation,” said Cheng Shuangjia. “We often went to school with the pain. We knew that if we went to hospital, we would have to spend a lot of money on treatment and waste half a year, which would mean missing classes for a whole term,” he said. Their father Cheng Yongbai said, “They showed great perseverance(毅力).”
1.What does the underlined word “brittle” mean?
A Badly hurt.
B Heavily hit.
C Hardly seen.
D Easily broken.
解析：选D。D 词义猜测题。根据第一句“Although suffering from frequent broken bones while growing up, as a result of brittle bone disease”可知frequent broken bones和brittle bone disease意思相近，故推测brittle意为easily broken，故选D。
2.How old was Cheng Shuangjia when he was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta?
A Twenty-seven.
B Twenty-four.
C Three.
D Only one.
解析：选C。C 数字计算题。根据第二段可知Cheng Shuangjia今年27岁(2022年)，即他出生于1995年，则1998年他3岁，故选C。
3.Why were the brother and sister sent directly to a grade-three class?
A Because they learned things quickly.
B Because there is no cure for the disease.
C Because they had no money for treatment.
D Because they could take care of themselves.
解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第一段“Their parents gave them home schooling at first because the sick children had to lie on the bed most of the time.”和第三段“However, the family had no money for any treatment and the two children were sent directly to a grade-three class at a primary school after they could take care themselves.”可知他们更小的时候大多数时间都需要躺在床上，那时候父母在家教他们学习，后来两个孩子能够自理了，父母才送他们到小学上学，故选D。
4.What are the two children like according to the last paragraph?
A Friendly.
B Quiet.
C Strong.
D Creative.
解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据最后一段“We often went to school with the pain.”和“They showed great perseverance.”可知这两兄妹非常坚强。故选C。
5.Where may you read this passage?
A In a fashion magazine.
B In a play.
C In a storybook.
D In a speech.
解析：选C。C 文章出处题。本文讲述了一对患有脆骨症的兄妹，不畏疾病折磨，努力拼搏，最终都成为了光荣的人民教师的故事，由此可推断文章最有可能选自故事书，故选C。