The
first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my
life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when 1
ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
“My God, you’re tall,” he said.
Of
course, the class began to laugh. Angry, I walked to my seat without a word.
I
glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would
be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware
of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my
friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway,
every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date
with Reed Harrington.
“Take that seat，” Mr. McCarthy told the cocky
newcomer Carlos，pointing to the only empty one，in the back of the room.
Carlos
laughed widely. “But I need a couple of
dictionaries.” Again the class laughed, but now
they were laughing with Carlos，not at him. He had been here only
10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
The
bell rang for classes. As I stood up to go, I saw Carlos coming toward me. “ I’ sorry I embarrassed you,” he said. I looked straight head over the top of his black
hair. “That’s
all right.”
“ I ought to know better.” He was still blocking my way.”
What’s your name?”
“Karen Forbes.”
“ You probably heard me say I’m Carlos Herrera.” He held out his hand. Unwillingly,
I shook hands with him. He looked up at me seriously with his brown eyes.” “ I don’t
see why you’re so touchy.”
I brushed by him and said sharply, “You wouldn’t understand.”
He followed me a few steps. “I’m
just the one who should, Karen,” he said. “ You and I have a lot in common.”
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington
was voted president and Carlos vice-president. “How
come?” I kept asking myself,” How come this shrimp who’s
only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”
So that morning，I stopped Carlos and said，“It doesn’t
seem to bother you — being short.” He looked up at me, “Of course I mind being short. But
there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I
realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin，I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being
myself.” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted, “But what about me? Nobody wants
to date a girl taller than he is.” “The
trouble with you is that you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more
than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
1.The author was angry because
________.
A．the class made fun of her B．Carlos
was too rude to her
C．she had to carry many books D．Reed
Harrington didn’t date her
2.Which of the following about
Carlos is NOT TRUE?
A．He was popular. B．He
was new in the school.
C．He was shorter than the author. D．He
was chosen president in the school elections.
3.The underlined word “ touchy” in paragraph 8 probably
means________
A.
moved
B. cheerful C.
curious D. annoyed
4.We can infer from Paragraph 4
that the author ________.
A.
cared much about Reed’s
attitude B. hoped Reed was laughing
with others
C.
thought Reed was the same as others D. couldn’t stand Carlos playing tricks on her
5.According to the text, which is
the most likely ending?
A.Carlos
and Reed became very good friends
B.Carlos
and the author argued with each other.
C.The
author changed her attitude towards Carlos.
D.Carlos
was elected president of the student committee.
