社区筹集3.5万美元感谢学校看门人

Although Adrian Wood had already sent her three oldest children off to White Oak Elementary School in Edenton, North Carolina, she was anxious when it was her youngest son Amos’s turn to start classes. Adrian said, “Sending Amos to school was such a different path. He was 3 when he started school. He had autism (自闭症) and was completely nonverbal. He didn’t speak.”

Amos struggled to make friends and fit in, but there was always one person there who was very happy to see him. Custodian (看门人) Raymond Brown has worked at the school for the past 15 years. All of the students know and love him, and he’s truly a friend to all. He started calling Adrian’s son “Famous Amos” on day one. To the mom’s surprise, Amos quickly began responding with a cheerful, “Hey, Brown,” whenever he saw him. “He wasn’t even saying ‘daddy’ at that point, so it was really something,” Adrian said.

“Amos is a hard friend to have,” Adrian explained. “He takes a lot more than he gives and that’s tough for children. But those kids saw that he was popular and loved, and they started fighting over who would get to hold Amos’ hand on the way to the classroom. It meant so much to me for him to be so favored by the other children at school, and Mr. Brown had a big hand in that.”

About a year ago, school officials nominated Mr. Brown for North Carolina’s School Hero, a $20,000 prize. When the results came out and he didn’t win, Adrian was heartbroken. Adrian couldn’t let the disappointing results stand, so she took to Facebook to rally her community. Soon, she had planned to create an annual “Famous Amos” prize for Mr. Brown in their community. Her neighbors answered the call, donating $35,000 in just one week! Townspeople and school officials gathered in March to celebrate Mr. Brown and gave him the money they’d raised. Principal Michelle handed him a giant check and thanked him for everything he does to help kids like Amos find their way.

1.What made Adrian Wood feel anxious?

A Her three sons were poor in study.

B She couldn’t afford her sons’ schooling.

C One of her kids didn’t speak then.

D Her youngest son often did something bad at school.

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据第一段He was 3 when he started school. He had autism (自闭症) and was completely nonverbal.可知，他3岁开始上学，患有自闭症，完全不说话。故选C。

2.What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A Amos had a bad relationship with his father.

B Amos was happy to deal with Raymond Brown.

C Adrian turned to Raymond Brown for help at school.

D Raymond Brown treated Amos as his family member.

解析：选B。B推理判断题。根据第二段To the mom’s surprise, Amos quickly began responding with a cheerful, “Hey, Brown,” whenever he saw him.可知，令妈妈惊讶的是，阿莫斯一见到布朗先生，就立刻开始兴高采烈地回应：“嘿，布朗”。由此说明阿莫斯乐意与布朗先生打交道。故选B。

3.What changes did Mr. Brown’s behaviour bring to Amos?

A Amos got more love from other kids.

B Amos could go to school by himself.

C Amos learned how to get on well with others.

D Amos actively became a top student at school.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据第三段It meant so much to me for him to be so favored by the other children at school可知，阿莫斯在学校里受到其他孩子的宠爱。故选A。

4.What did Mr. Brown gain in the end?

A The school award.

B A “Famous Amos” prize.

C North Carolina’s School Hero prize.

D A check from the local government.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据最后一段可知，布朗先生未获得北卡罗来纳州的学校英雄奖金，阿德里安联合社区为布朗先生设立了一个年度“著名的阿莫斯”奖。镇上的人和学校的官员在三月份聚集在一起给布朗先生搞庆祝活动，并把他们筹到的钱给了他。故选B。