Before I even started school, people felt that I was not going to amount to much. At the age of four, I started speech lessons because even I could not speak well enough to be understood.
First grade was a struggle. I not only had difficulty speaking, but I was expected to learn to read and I just couldn't do it. My parents grew more and more frustrated. They bought books and offered great rewards if I could read one of them from start to finish to them. Well, with my speech problems and now my reading problems, I did not like to do reading and so refused to do it whenever possible.
Second grade was not much better. It was in the second grade that the teacher decided that I needed special education. I remember the days of taking the physical exams. However, after all that, they decided that I did not qualify for special education.
It was in third grade that a new school was built close to where I lived. I remember going there with my parents and helping to get the school ready so that we could transfer(轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)). It was a happy day that we started school at Vandalia. However, things did not get better as my parent expected.
It was now time for fifth grade. Mrs. Wakefield was my teacher, and if ever there was a teacher that deserved a gold star, it was her. She did not make me feel upset. Instead, she helped me in so many ways and built my self-confidence so that I actually did believe that I could do something special. And that is just what I did.
For the past 22 years, I have been a fifth grade teacher. Because of Mrs. Wakefield's influence in my life, I am now encouraging students who have had difficulties in their lives to believe that they can overcome and become someone. I have won a large number of awards but I know that all of them belong to one fifth grade teacher who believed in me and challenged me to be all that I could be.
I still have a class picture of her with her fifth grade class hanging on the wall of my office, encouraging other teachers to reach out to their students.
【小題1】 What does the underlined phrase “amount to much” mean in Paragraph l?

    The picture show eighteen – year- old Katy Ross in Nepal, small country in north India. Katy1  school 8 months ago and soon she will go to university. She loves traveling and decided to visit Asia  2  she goes to university.

    Katy is living with a family in the capital of Nepal. She has  3  a lot about the country since she arrived 4 months ago. The family has two children but many uncles and cousins live with  4  in their big house. They have taken Katy to many parties.

    Katy teaches for four hours a day at small  5  . All the classes are in English and the pupils have spoken English since the  6  of six. The older children speak English very  7  . Katy has taught writing, grammar and art, all in English. She enjoys art the most. And she thinks the children like the lessons best, too.

    Katy has not a lot of time to  8   Nepal, but soon she will stop teaching and travel around Nepal   9  a friend. “After that” Katy says, “we will visit more countries in Asia. We’re not 10  which ones yet.”

1. A. left                    B. found                       C. visited                      D. reached

2. before                     B. when                       C. after                        D. while

3. A. used                   B. taught                      C. made                       D. learnt

4. A. us                      B. him                          C. her                          D. them

5. A. shop                   B. cinema                     C. school                      D. factory

6. A. life                     B. age                          C. number                    D. amount

7. A. had                    B. good                        C. fine                          D. well

8. A. see                            B. hear                         C. look                         D. smell

9. A. of                      B. on                            C. with                         D. in

10. A. tired                   B. sure                         C. afraid                       D. happy