旧房“改头换面”：志愿者助孤儿兄弟住进新家

It has been a long time since anything good has happened for Jaylan Gray and his brother, Julian Nicholson.

Over the past few years, the brothers lost both their parents and grandparents. This left 22-year-old Jaylan struggling to raise his 12-year-old brother Julian by himself in their home. When 2017’s Hurricane Harvey and the winter freeze of 2021 destroyed the home, Jaylan felt helpless and alone.

That’s when their community stepped in to let them know that they’re not alone. Not only that, but they came prepared to shoulder the burden and give Jaylan a much-needed break! Katy Responds is a non-profit started in 2018 that helps families recover from disasters. The organization reached out to the brothers with an offer to help. With the help of local volunteers, they completely renovated(翻新) the home in about three months.

Jaylan and Julian couldn’t hold back the tears as they toured their new home, which was fully furnished(配备家具陈设) by a local church. “I love it,” said Jaylan. “I’m speechless. Completely grateful.” 

Before the boys’ mother passed away, she asked Jaylan to take care of his little brother. It’s a promise he takes seriously, and having a safe place to live relieves a ton of pressure. “I try my best to keep him in check, make sure he doesn’t get in trouble and make sure he’s loved,” Jaylan said emotionally. As for Julian, the tears flowed freely as he thanked his community for helping them feel a little bit less alone in the world. “It makes me so happy to see that there are good people,” Julian said through tears. “I just like the way we’ve been treated. I didn’t think anything good would happen.”

Jaylan has a long road ahead of him, but knowing he’s got support from his community makes all the difference.

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1.What were the cause of Jaylan and Julian’s broken home?

A The old age of the house and the weather.

B The surroundings and the natural disaster.

C The high temperature and the hurricane.

D The natural disaster and the low temperature.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句的“When 2017’s Hurricane Harvey and the winter freeze of 2021 destroyed the home, Jaylan felt helpless and alone.”可知，自然灾害(飓风)和寒冬的打击摧毁了他们的房子。故选D。

2.How did Jaylan and Julian feel when seeing their new home?

A Disappointed but grateful.

B Moved and grateful.

C Surprised and nervous.

D Embarrassed and surprised.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据第四段第一句的“Jaylan and Julian couldn’t hold back the tears as they toured their new home”可知，兄弟俩在参观他们的新家时忍不住流下了眼泪，由此可推知他们很感动；根据本段最后一句的“Completely grateful.”可知，他们对志愿者的帮助很是感激。故选B。

3.What does the underlined word “relieves” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A Presses.

B Clicks.

C Reduces.

D Ensures.

解析：选C。C词义猜测题。根据文章内容可知，父母的离世让抚养年幼弟弟的重担落在了22岁的Jaylan身上，而房子的倒塌让兄弟俩的生活雪上加霜，这时有一个安全的房子供兄弟俩居住可以减轻(reduce)Jaylan身上的压力。故选C。

4.Where is the text most likely from?

A A newspaper.

B A science fiction.

C A guidebook.

D A children’s novel.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。通读全文可知，本文主要讲了志愿者们帮助孤儿兄弟翻新家园的故事，属于社会新闻，我们可以在报纸中读到。故选A。