2013年北京中考英语试题答案公布(4)

　 　I sang in the choir all of my school career and was a pretty good tenor. At my old school I was in the top concert choir, but when my family was transferred I learned that the new school's choir was all filled up. It was such a disappointment. I felt like that was the one thing that I could really do well - and I could do it without stuttering. Somehow Mrs. Claussen pulled some strings, rearranged my whole schedule, and got me in the choir. I felt like she really cared about me as a person, not just a speech student.

　　During my last two years of school I couldn't really say that my speech got much better - except in therapy. She explained that my increased fluency in therapy was because I was so relaxed, and I knew that she didn't care if I stuttered. I remember saying that I wished the whole world was a big therapy session. We laughed!

　　Mrs. Claussen told me that when I left high school and went off to college that my speech would probably get worse for a while. She was sure right. Things got considerably worse. I wondered if I would ever be able to communicate. It was a very depressing time, and I often felt alone.

　　One day when I was feeling particularly sorry for myself, I recalled something that Mrs. Claussen had told me over and over. She said that if I really wanted to change my speech and become more fluent that I could, but that it was all up to me. I remembered she said not to strive for perfect speech, just better speech. She was right about that, too. I eventually looked for and found another speech therapist. I began to work very hard and over the next couple of years improved my speech considerably.

　　A few time, when I was at home for a break from college, I tried to get in touch with her, but I never did. In fact, I never saw or talked with her after I left high school. Many years have passed since then, and I think of her from time to time, wondering if she had as much impact on her other students as she had on me. I like to think that she did. I'll never forget her. Her name was Mrs. Claussen . . . and she cared.

　　(Dr. Lee Reeves is veterinarian who operated his own clinic in Plano, Texas. His city honored him by naming him Businessman of the Year. Besides giving of his personal time to visit with children who stutter, he also works on behalf of women and children who are victims of abuse. He founded the Dallas Chapter of the National Stuttering Project in 1981, and is still active in that group). (The above article first appeared in The Staff, October 1992, and appears here with permission of Lee Reeves - JAK)

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