Emilio Santana is 14 years old. He is a ninth grader. He has been preparing for something since the third grade.

He was at the beach. A little girl at the beach was going to the water. She took her hat off and her hair went with it. She was so sad and felt embarrassed, and that stuck with Emilio. The sight of the young girl’s struggle encouraged him to take action. He started growing out his hair to help children who have lost their hair because of illness. 

For many years, Emilio grew his hair with one goal in mind: to donate it and make a difference in someone’s life. “Knowing how big of a part that could play in somebody else’s life and bring joy to them, it made me want to take action,” he explained. 

Growing his hair wasn’t always easy. Emilio faced challenges, especially as an athlete. Keeping long hair while being active in sports was a task. He also heard bad words from others. “Even when I got some comments like ‘boys shouldn’t have long hair’ and stuff like that, I decided as long as I get to see somebody smile and make their life better, I wanted to do it,” Emilio said.

Emilio kept going even though he met many difficulties, and it finally paid off. His hair has been donated to children with medical hair loss at no cost.

1.1.What has Emilio been doing since the third grade?

A Helping sick girls.

B Keeping exercising.

C Growing out his hair.

D Receiving good grades.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第二段内容，尤其是最后一句“He started growing out his hair to help children who have lost their hair because of illness.”可知，他从三年级开始，一直在做的一件事是留长发。故选C。

2.2.What/Who inspired Emilio to do something special?

A A girl who wanted to kill herself.

B A special moment at the beach.

C A break during class at school.

D A visit to a hospital.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第二段内容可知，是一次去海滩的经历让埃米利奥决定做点什么。故选B。

3.3.What does the underlined word “comments” probably mean?

A Words.

B Actions.

C Examples.

D Behaviors.

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据划线单词所在句前文“He also heard bad words from others.”可知有人对他恶语相向。由此可知，comments在此处指的是话语。故选A。

4.4.What kind of person is Emilio?

A Outgoing and friendly.

B Humorous and lively.

C Fun and pretty.

D Kind and firm.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据全文内容可知，埃米利奥留长发帮助他人（善良），他面临许多困难仍坚持留长发帮助他人（坚定）。故选D。

5.5.The passage is mainly about ________.

A kindness

B satisfaction

C interest

D service

解析：选A。A 主旨大意题。根据全文内容可知，埃米利奥留长发帮助他人，传达的是善意。故选A。