I believe that it is important to be brought up with a
firm belief in the good. I was fortunate in this respect. My parents not only
gave me a happy home, but they had me study half a dozen foreign languages and
made it possible for me to travel in other countries. This made me more
tolerant and helped me to bridge many difficulties in later life.
Soon after I got married, my husband and I left our
native Czechoslovakia and went to live in Shanghai, China. Here was a really
international city. People of all races and beliefs lived and worked together.
In Shanghai, in 1941, when I was only twenty years old,
the doctors discovered that I had diabetes. It was a terrible shock, because
diabetes is incurable. But it can be controlled by insulin (胰島素). Although this drug was not
manufactured in China, there were enough stocks of imported insulin available.
This enabled me to continue a normal, happy life.
Then bombs fell on Pearl Harbor and the Japanese
occupied Shanghai. The import of insulin was cut off. Before long, there was
not enough for the diabetics. I was on a starvation diet to keep my insulin
requirements as low as possible. Many diabetics had already died, and the
situation became desperate. In spite of all this, I never stopped believing
that with the help of my husband’s love and care, I would survive.
I continued to teach in Chinese schools. My faith
and my husband’s never-ending efforts to get the manufacture of insulin started
gave me courage. In his small laboratory the production of insulin was attempted.
I served as the human guinea pig(實(shí)驗(yàn)品)on which it was tested. I’ll never forget the day when
my husband gave me the first injection of the new insulin, which had worked on
rabbits. It helped! Can you imagine our happiness and relief?
I received the greatest strength from the deep love and
complete understanding between my husband and me. And next to that was the
kindness and help of many, many friends of many nationalities. To me, the
experience of living in Shanghai during the special times was unforgettable.
After the Second World War, my husband and I sailed to
the Untied States, which is also known as a melt pot. Wherever we live, I
believe, with faith and love, love between families and friends from different
nationalities, we can make it our cherished home.
1.What can we know about the author?
A. She visited China before twenty.
B. She was given an unhappy home.
C. She got married in Czechoslovakia.
D. She could hardly tolerate her parents.
2.As a diabetic, the author could still
live normally in 1941 because .
A. she was able to buy enough
insulin
B. she received good medical
treatment
C. she was looked after by her
husband
D. she was helped by people of
different races
3.The underlined word “it” in Paragraph
5 refers to .
A. a small rabbit B.
an ever lasting effort
C. the new insulin D.
the human guinea pig
4.How does the author feel about her stay
in China?
A. Unbearable. B.
Unbelievable.
C. Unfortunate. D.
Unforgettable.
5.We can infer from the text that the
author’s husband was .
A. a doctor B.
a researcher
C. a teacher D.
a sailor