I stood outside New York's Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world.
From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phoelia, a deformity that affected both legs below the knee, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes.
Life was tough. I couldn't stand, much less walk. I rarely, left the farmhouse---and then only in someone's arms. Mam bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season.
“The world will see him when he can walk,” she told Dad. “And he will walk.”
Mam devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin.
A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs (肢). Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs.
“There's nothing anyone can do but you can't,” Mam said. “You and I are going to walk through town.”
The next day Mam dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mam took my hand. “Hold your head up high, now, Ronan,” she said.
We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I'd walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mam's eyes shining with a mother's pride.
That night, back on our farm, I lay exhausted on my bed. It meant nothing, though, pared to what I'd done on my walk.
Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mam's words came back to me—Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do—and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it.
I've sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world's finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mam's words chiming in my ears. Then I began singing. I couldn't feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my heart, the same place where Mam's promise lived.
【小题1】What was the problem with the author as a baby?A．He was expected unable to walk.B．He was born outward in character.C．He had a problem with listening.D．He was shorter than a normal baby.【小题2】The underlined word “deformity” in the second paragraph most probably means .A．shortingB．disadvantageC．disabilityD．delay【小题3】Why did Mam dress him and herself in finest clothes?A．To hide their depressed feeling.B．To indicate it an unusual day.C．To show off their clothes.D．To celebrate his successful operation.【小题4】From the story we may conclude that his mother was .A．determinedB．stubbornC．generousD．distinguished【小题5】According to the writer, what mattered most in his success?A．His consistent effort.B．His talent for music.C．His countless failures.D．His mother's promise.A
网友回答
(答案→)A
解析：文章讲述了一位坚定的母亲一直支持自己残疾的儿子追求人生梦想，最终成功的故事。
【小题1】A 细节题。根据文章2,3段，尤其是Life was tough. I couldn't stand, much less walk.可知我被认为不能走路，故A正确。
【小题2】C 猜测词义题。根据后面的定语从句that affected both legs below the knee可知这是一种腿部的残疾，故C正确。
【小题3】B 推理题。那是第一次我和父母一起在街上用自己的双脚走路，对于我们来说，这都是特殊的日子，故B正确。
【小题4】A 推理题。根据文章内容可知母亲坚定的认为我能够用自己的双脚走路，说明她是一个很坚定的人。故A正确。
【小题5】D 推理题。通读全文可知，支持作者一直走下去，直至成功的主要原因就是妈妈对我的坚信和决心，故D正确。