搜索
Unit1livingwellMARTY’SSTORYHi,mynameisMartyFieldingandIguessyoucouldsaythatIam“oneinamillion”.Inotherwords,therearenotmanypeoplelikeme.Yousee,Ihaveamusclediseasewhichmakesmeveryweak,soIcan’trunorclimbstairsasquicklyasotherpeople.Inaddition,sometimesIamveryclumsyanddropthingsorbumpintofurniture.Unfortunately,thedoctorsdon’tknowhowtomakemebetter.ButIamveryoutgoingandhavelearnedtoadapttomydisability.Mymottois:liveonedayatatime.UntilIwasthenyearsoldIwasthesameaseveryoneelse.Iusedtoclimbtrees,swimandplayfootball.Infact,IusedtodreamaboutplayingprofessionalfootballandpossiblyrepresentingmycountryintheWorldCup.ThenIstartedtogetweakerandweaker,untilIcouldonlyenjoyfootballfromabenchatthestadium.IntheendIwentintohospitalformedicaltests.Istayedtherefornearlythreemonths.IthinkIhadatleastabilliontests,includingoneinwhichtheycutoutapieceofmusclefrommylegandlookedatitunderamicroscope.Evenafterallthat,noonecouldgivemydiseaseanameanditisdifficulttoknowwhatthefutureholds.OneproblemisthatIdon’tlookanydifferentfromotherpeople.Sosometimessomechildreninmyprimaryschoolwouldlaugh,whenIgotoutofbreathafterrunningashortwayorhadtostopandresthalfwayupthestairs.Sometimes,too,Iwastooweaktogotoschoolsomyeducationsuffered.EverytimeIreturnedafteranabsence,IfeltstupidbecauseIwasbehindtheothers.Mylifeisaloteasierathighschoolbecausemyfellowstudentshaveacceptedme.Thefewwhocannotseetherealpersoninsidemybodydonotmakemeannoyed,andIjustignorethem.AllinallIhaveagoodlife.IamhappytohavefoundmanythingsIcando,likewritingandcomputerprogramming.MyambitionistoworkforafirmthatdevelopscomputersoftwarewhenIgrowup.LastyearIinventedacomputerfootballgameandabigcompanyhasdecidedtobuyitfromme.Ihaveaverybusylifewithnotimetositaroundfeelingsorryformyself.Aswellasgoingtothemoviesandfootballmatcheswithmyfriends.Ispendalotoftimewithmypets.Ihavetworabbits,aparrot,atankfulloffishandatortoise.TolookaftermypetsproperlytakesalotoftimebutIfinditworthwhile.Ialsohavetodoalotofwork,especiallyifIhavebeenawayforawhile.Inmanywaysmydisabilityhashelpedmegrowstrongerpsychologicallyandbecomemoreindependent.Ihavetoworkhardtoliveanormallifebutithasbeenworthit.IfIhadachancetosayonethingtohealthychildren,itwouldbethis:havingadisabilitydoesnotmeanyourlifeisnotsatisfying.Sodon’tfeelsorryforthedisabledormakefunonthem,anddon’tignorethemeither.Justacceptthemforwhotheyare,adgibethemencouragementtoliveasrichandfullalikeasyoudo.Thankyouforreadingmystory.Reading2ALETTERTOANARCHITECTDearMsSanders.IreadinthenewspapertodaythatyouaretobethearchitectforthenewBankstowncinema.Ihopeyouwillnotmindmewritingtoaskifyouhavethoughtabouttheneedsofdisabledcustomers.InparticularIwonderifyouhaveconsideredthefollowingthings:Adequateaccessforwheelchairs.Itwouldbehandytohaveliftstoallpartsofthecinema.Thebuttonsintheliftsshouldbeeasyforapersoninawheelchairtoreach,andthedoorsbewideenoughtoenter.Insomecinemas,theliftsareatthebackofthecinemaincold,unattractiveplaces.Asdisabledpeoplehavetousethelifts,thismakesthemfeeltheyarenotasimportantasothercustomers.Earphonesforpeoplewhohavetroublehearing.Itwouldhelptofitsetsofearphonestoallseats,notjusttosomeofthem.Thiswouldallowhearing-impairedcustomerstoenjoythecompanyoftheirhearingfriendsratherthanhavingtositinaspecialarea.Raisedseating.Peoplewhoareshortcannotalwaysseethescreen.SoI’dliketosuggestthattheseatsatthebackbeplacedhigherthanthoseatthefrontsothateveryonecanseethescreeneasily.Perhapstherecouldbeaspaceattheendofeachrowforpeopleinwheelchairstositnexttotheirfriends.Toilets.Fordisabledcustomersitwouldbemoreconvenienttoplacethetoiletsneartheentrancetothecinema.Itcanbedifficultiftheonlydisabledtoiletisinthebasementalongwayfromwherethefilmisshowing.Andifthedoorscouldbeopenedoutwards，disabledcustomerswouldbeveryhappy.Carparking.Ofcourse,thereareusuallyspacesspeciallyreservedfordisabledandelderlydrivers.Iftheyareclosetothecinemaentranceand/orexit,itiseasierfordisabledpeopletogettothefilmincomfort.Thankyouforreadingmyletter.Ihopemysuggestionswillmeetwithyourapproval.Disabledpeopleshouldhavethesameopportunitiesasable–bodiedpeopletoenjoythecinemaandtodosowithdignity.Iamsuremanypeoplewillpraiseyourcinemaifyoudesignitwithgoodaccessfordisabledpeople.Itwillalsomakethecinemaownershappyifmorepeoplegoastheywillmakehigherprofits!Yourssincerely,AliceMajorReading3ZHANGYUNCHENGACHIEVESHISAMBITIONAttheageof25,ZhangYunchengachievedhisambitiontowriteandpublishabook.Havingabookpublishedisagreatachievementforanyone,butZhangYuncheng’ssuccessisparticularlyspecial.Yunchengwenttoschoolforonlyonedayandhedidnotstartlearningtoreaduntilhewas12yearsold.Evenmoreamazing,everycharactertheyoungauthorwritescauseshimpain.Yunchenghasadiseasewhichaffectsthemusclesinhisbody.Hisparentsfirstnoticedtherewassomethingwrongwiththeirsonwhenhewasjustthreeyearsold.Bythetimehewasseven,theboycouldneitherrunnorjump.Hecouldonlywalk.Onhisfirstdayofschool,Yunchenghadtowatchtheotherstudentsastheyranaroundatlunchtime.Thatdayhecaughtacoldandhisparentsdecidednottosendhimbacktoschool.SoYunchengstayedathomeandovertheyearshisconditiongotwor