外研版（2019）选择性必修第二册 Unit 3 time changes！单元测评卷（含答案无听力题）

Unit 3 基础夯实
本试卷满分120分,考试时间100分钟。
第一部分 阅读（共两节,满分50分）
（共15小题;每小题2.5分,满分37.5分）
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A,B,C,D四个选项中选出最佳选项。
A
5 of the Most Interesting Customs in the World
Switzerland-Honesty shopping
There are little shops in the middle of the Swiss Alps that allow you to buy your fresh cheese, milk, bread, honey, and butter without anyone to watch you. In fact, no one watches these shops because they are owned by farmers who are out taking care of the animals.
South Korea-NOT tipping
Tipping is in the blood for someone who is raised in the United States along with many other European countries. But in South Korea, employees in the food service industry are given fair wages and take pride in their work, and it is insulting(侮辱人的)to attempt to tip them.
Iceland-Christmas Eve books giving
People puzzle over the eternal(永恒的) question of Christmas gifts. Iceland has solved this problem with the Christmas Eve tradition of giving a book. After everyone unwraps the books, they spend the evening reading together.
Japan-Pushers on the subway
Japan's subway is crowded during rush hours. But instead of settling for the inefficiency that personal space demands, Japan has "pushers". They are exactly what they sound like-employees whose only job during rush hour is to push more people onto the train.
Russia-Offering vodka
It is the custom to welcome new friends with shots of vodka. What better way to break the ice than with some stomach-warming shots of this Russian tradition That's something we can all toast to, or, as they say in Russia, "Na zdorovye!"
1.In which of countries is it a tradition to give books as a Christmas gift
A.Japan. B.South Korea. C.Russia. D.Iceland.
2.What can we learn from the text
A.It is a tradition for Swiss to welcome guests with vodka.
B.No one watches you shop in Switzerland because people are busy.
C."Pushers" in Japan help you get off the train faster.
D.Tipping is in the blood for people in South Korea.
3.Who might be the target readers
A.Those who intend to travel in their home country.
B.Those who want to study abroad.
C.Those who are interested in diverse customs around the globe.
D.Those who are fond of natural sceneries.
B
Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientist at the robot company Jibo.
While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.
The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn't just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.
Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.
Fellow Robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company's "Oshbot" robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product’s location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.
The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. "We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us," said Breazeal.
1. How are social robots different from household robots
A. They can control their emotions.
B. They are more like humans.
C. They do the normal housework.
D. They respond to users more slowly.
2. What can a Jibo robot do according to Paragraph 3
A. Communicate with you and perform operations.
B. Answer your questions and make requests.
C. Take your family pictures and deliver milk.
D. Obey your orders and remind you to take pills.
3. What can Oshbot work as
A. A language teacher.
B. A tour guide.
C. A shop assistant.
D. A private nurse.
4. We can learn from the last paragraph that social robots will ______.
A. train employees
B. be our workmates
C. improve technologies
D. take the place of workers
5. What does the passage mainly present
A. A new design idea of household robots.
B. Marketing strategies for social robots.
C. Information on household robots.
D. An introduction to social robots.
C
Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years, but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going. When the world was still populated by hunter-gatherers, small, tightly knit(联系) groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other. Some language experts believe that 10, 000 years ago, when the world had just five to ten million people, they spoke perhaps 12,000 languages between them.
Soon afterwards, many of those people started settling down to become farmers, and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number. In recent centuries, trade, industrialisation, the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education, especially globalisation and better communications in the past few decades, all have caused many languages to disappear, and dominant languages such as English, Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over.
At present, the world has about 6, 800 languages. The distribution of these languages is hugely uneven. The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages, often spoken by many people, while hot, wet zones have lots, often spoken by small numbers. Europe has only around 200 languages; the Americas about 1,000; Africa 2,400; and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3,200, of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800. The median number(中位数) of speakers is a mere 6,000, which means that half the world's languages are spoken by fewer people than that.
Already well over 400 of the total of 6, 800 languages are close to extinction(消亡), with only a few elderly speakers left. Pick, at random, Busuu in Cameroon (eight remaining speakers), Chiapaneco in Mexico (150), Lipan Apache in the United States (two or three) or Wadjigu in Australia (one, with a question-mark): none of these seems to have much chance of survival.
1. What can we infer about languages in hunter-gatherer times
A. They developed very fast. B. They were large in number.
C. They had similar patterns D. They were closely connected.
2. Which of the following best explains “dominant” underlined in Paragraph 2
A. Complex B. Advanced. C. Powerful D. Modern.
3. How many languages are spoken by less than 6,000 people at present
A. About 6,800 B. About 3,400 C. About 2,400 D. About 1,200
4. What is the main idea of the text
A. New languages will be created.
B. People's lifestyles are reflected in languages.
C. Human development results in fewer languages.
D. Geography determines language evolution.
D
"People are ruder today because they are rushed and more 'time poor' than ever before, "says Patsy Rowe." Manners have fallen off the radar (雷达)." Due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder more people don't wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with a complaint (抱怨)about the noise. Here are some examples of rudeness.
Some people prefer to do almost everything over the Internet. To them, dealing with an actual human is like an evolutionary step backward. It feels very slow because humans don't work at 4G speeds. When you have dinner with friends, you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone. We have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings life-changing news, so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with. What is worse, some people even tend to send anonymous(匿名的) rude messages by email.
However, rudeness is never acceptable. Don't assume it is OK to be rude if the person you're in touch with won't recognize you. If you have something awful to say, have the courage to face the person and say it, write a letter or email and sign it, or forget it. Upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.
We shouldn't blame technology for our shortcomings. Technology is here to help us, but we should not allow it to take over our lives. An important step is acknowledging our shortcomings. People spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more helpful if we'd publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.
1. What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1
A. People can tell good from bad behavior.
B. Radar is able to observe human behavior.
C. People care little about their behavior.
D. Radar can be used to predict human behavior.
2. Some people are less willing to deal with humans because _____.
A. they are becoming less patient
B. they are growing too independent
C. they have to handle many important messages
D. they have to follow an evolutionary step backward
3. The author thinks sending unsigned awful messages is _____.
A. ridiculous
B. disgusting
C. acceptable
D. reasonable
4. What can we learn from the last paragraph
A. We should applaud good behavior.
B. Technology can never be blamed.
C. We should keep pointing out mistakes.
D. Technology will take over our lives one day.
第二节 （共5小题;每小题2.5分,满分12.5分）
Why Do We Get Angry
Anger seems simple when we are feeling it, but the causes of anger are various. Knowing these causes can make us examine our behavior, and correct bad habits. The main reasons we get angry are triggering(触发) events, personality traits(特征), and our assessment of situations. ①_____
Triggering events for anger are so many that to describe them all would take hundreds of pages. However, here are some examples: being cut off in traffic, a deadline approaching, experiencing physical pain, and much more. ②_____ The reason why someone is triggered by something and others are not is often due to one's personal history and psychological traits.
Each person, no matter who they are, has psychological imbalances. People who have personality traits that connect with competitiveness and low upset tolerance are much more likely to get angry. ③_____Also, sometimes pre-anger does not have to do with a lasting condition, but rather a temporary state before a triggering event has occurred.
④_____ Sometimes even routine occurrences become sources of pre-anger, or anger itself. Sometimes ignorance and negative(消极的) outlooks on situations can create anger.
⑤_____ However, anger can easily turn violent, and it is best to know the reasons for anger to appear in order to prevent its presence. With these main reasons in mind, we can evaluate our level of anger throughout the day and prevent cases of outbursts by comprehending the reasons for our feelings.
A. Our attitude and viewpoint on situations can create anger within us as well.
B. But some types of situations can help us to get rid of the occurrence of anger.
C. Anger is rarely looked upon as a beneficial character trait, and is usually advised to reduce it.
D. Anger is a particularly strong feeling and maybe people think that they have reasons to feel angry.
E. Having these personality traits implies the pre-anger state, where anger is in the background of your mind.
F. Understanding these reasons will control our own anger if we are willing to evaluate ourselves with a critical eye.
G. Not everyone acts the same in response to events, and that is why what triggers one person may or may not trigger another.
第二部分 语言运用（共两节,满分30分）
第一节 （共15小题;每小题1分,满分15分）
Molai grew up in a tiny village in India. The village lay near some wetlands which became his second 1 . He learned the value and beauty of 2 there from a very young age.
When he was 16, Molai began to notice something 3 happening around his home. A flood had hit the area earlier that year and the 4 it caused had driven away a number of birds. 5 , the number of snakes had declined as well. He 6 that it was because there weren't enough trees to protect them from the 7 . The solution, of course, was to plant trees so the animals could seek 8 during the daytime. He turned to the 9 department for help but was told that nothing would grow there. However, Molai went looking on his own and 10 a nearby island where he began to plant trees.
11 young plants in the dry season was 12 for a lone boy. Molai built at the 13 of each sapling(幼树) a bamboo platform, where he placed earthen pots with small holes to 14 rainwater. The water would then drip(滴落) on the plants below.
Molai 15 to plant trees for the next 37 years. His efforts have resulted in 1,360 acres of naturally-grown land that has become home to many plants and animals.
1. A. dream B. job C. home D. choice
2. A. nature B. youth C. culture D. knowledge
3. A. precious B. interesting C. disturbing D. awkward
4. A. waste B. tension C. pain D. damage
5. A. Besides B. However C. Therefore D. Otherwise
6. A. agreed B. realized C. remembered D. predicted
7. A. noise B. heat C. disease D. dust
8. A. directions B. partners C. help D. shelter
9. A. labor B. police C. forest D. finance
10. A. rebuilt B. discovered C. left D. managed
11. A. Decorating B. Observing C. Watering D. Guarding
12. A. tough B. illegal C. fantastic D. beneficial
13. A. back B. top C. foot D. side
14. A. cool down B. keep off C. purify D. collect
15. A. returned B. learned C. failed D. continued
第二节 （共10小题;每小题1.5分,满分15分）
A 90-year-old has been awarded "Woman Of The Year" for ①________(be) Britain's oldest full-time employee — still working 40 hours a week. Now Irene Astbury works from 9 am to 5 pm daily at the pet shop in Macclesfield, ②________ she opened with her late husband Les. Her years of hard work have ③________ (final) been acknowledged after a customer nominated (提名) her to be Cheshire's Woman Of The Year.
Picking up her "Lifetime Achievement" award, proud Irene ④________ (declare) she had no plans ⑤________ (retire) from her 36-year-old business. Irene said, "I don't see any reason to give up work. I love coming here and seeing my family and all the friends I ⑥________ (make)over the years. I work not because I have to, ⑦________ because I want to."
Granddaughter Gayle Parks, 31 — who works alongside her in the family business — said it remained unknown as to who nominated Irene for the award. She said, "We don't have any idea who put grandma forward. When we got a call ⑧________ (say) she was short listed, we thought it was ⑨________ joke. But then we got an official letter and we were blown away. We are so proud of her. It's ⑩________ ( wonder)."
第三部分 写作（共两节,满分40分）
(满分15分)
假设你是红星中学高二的学生李华,你的英国朋友Peter想了解中国近40年来发生的变化以及人们对中国未来发展的期待。请你给他回封邮件, 内容包括:
1.居住环境的变化;
2.出行方式的变化;
3.对中国未来发展的期待。
注意:1.词数80左右;
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3.开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
（满分25分）
阅读下列材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。
阅读下面材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写词数应为150左右。
It was the first day of our new grade. Everyone in the classroom was chatting happily, excited to see each other again after the long holiday. When the door slid open, all of us stopped talking and turned to look. In came our teacher Ms. Sullivan, followed by an ordinary-looking boy.
"This boy's name is Rafael," Ms. Sullivan announced. "He's a transfer student(转校生), and he's going to be in our class starting from today. Make sure all of you welcome him warmly."
The class clapped. But I didn't want to have a second look at the newcomer, for he had no outstanding qualities considering his small figure and casual T-shirt.
:Oh, I forgot to mention one thing," Ms. Sullivan spoke up. "Rafael actually has hearing problems. Normally he would have hearing aids on, but his old ones have just been broken. His doctor suggested that he stay at home until he got his new ones. However, Rafael insisted on attending his first day of school. So if you want to communicate with him, you have to write it on a piece of paper."
This single speech sent the whole class into an uproar(嘈杂). Some students looked at each other with expressions of surprise. Others voiced cries of concern out of pity.
Ms. Sullivan calmed everyone down. "I'd like someone to personally help him out throughout the day. Do I have any volunteers "
"How can a disabled person be intelligent " I thought to myself. I refused to raise my hand, expecting someone else would. But nobody did or said anything. Dead silence spread across the classroom.
It was by total bad luck that my eyes happened to meet Ms. Sullivan's.
"How about you, James " She asked me. "Is it okay for you to take care of Rafael just for today "
It is difficult to refuse a request by someone, especially if that person is a teacher. I sighed and nodded slightly. Ms. Sullivan gestured for Rafael to sit beside me and then asked us to share our holiday stories with the class.
Paragraph 1:
Immediately, the class became excited.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Then Rafael rose and walked onto the platform.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
答案以及解析
第一部分 阅读
第一节
A.答案：1.D; 2.B; 3.C
解析：1.细节理解题。通过题干信息确定定位词 "Christmas gift” "books”等核心信息找到小标题 "Iceland Christmas Eve books giving”,故选D
2.细节理解题。A选项张冠李戴,应把Swiss改为Russians;B选项正确,busy指 "they are owned by farmers who are out taking care of the animals”;C选项偷换概念,应把“get off"改为“get on";D选项正话反说,应把改为isn’t。故选B
3.推理判断题。根据文体及标题判断本文的读者对象为对不同文化传统感兴趣的读者。故选C
B.答案：1-5BDCBD
解析：1.细节理解题。根据第一段第二句和第二段第一句可知社交机器人与家用机器人的区别。故选B项。
2.细节理解题。根据第三段后三句可知, Jibo机器人会听从你的指令,也会提醒你吃药。故选D项。
3.细节理解题。根据第五段第二句可知, Oshbot机器人主要作为购物助手出现。故选C项。
4.推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句可知,社交机器人将会是我们的同事。故选B项。
5.主旨大意题。文章主要介绍了社交机器人能做的事情,主要是对社交机器人的介绍。故选D项。
C.答案：1-4BCBC
解析：1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的"when the world had just five to ten million people, they spoke perhaps 12,000 languages between them"可知,当世界上的人口数量不到一千万时,语言种类达到了12000种。由此推知,当时的语言种类很多。故选B项。
2.词义猜测题。根据第二段中的"dominant languages such as English, Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over"可知,英语、西班牙语和汉语逐渐占主导地位。由此推知dominant意为"占支配地位的"。故选C项。
3.细节理解题。根据第三段第一句和最后一句可知,目前世界上大约有6800种语言,但是讲的人数少于6000 的占一半,即3400。故选B项。
4.主旨大意题。根据第一段中的主题句"Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years, but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going."可知, 语言的产生和消失进行了几千年, 但最近语言产生的少, 消失的太多。故选C项。
D.答案：1-4CABA
解析：1.句意理解题。根据第一段中的"People are ruder today because they are rushed and more 'time poor' than ever before"可知,“现在的人变得更加没有礼貌”,而画线句是对该句进行补充说明的,意思是“现在的人不注意自己的行为举止 (用雷达都探测不到礼貌行为)”,故选C项。
2.推理判断题。根据题干中"less willing to deal with humans"定位到文章第二段第二、三句内容。由此可知,有些人不愿意跟人打交道是嫌人太慢,达不到4G速度。也就是说,这些人变得缺乏耐心。故选A项。
3.细节理解题。根据题干中"unsigned awful messages"定位到第三段最后一句内容。由此可知,发一些不署名的恶俗信息很令人厌烦。故选B项。
4.推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句可知,作者认为,我们应该为那些礼貌行为喝彩。故选A项。
第二节
答案：①-⑤FGEAD
解析：①上一句提到导致人们生气的三个主要原因: triggering events, personality traits, our assessment of situations,下面的几段具体分析了这三个原因与生气的关系。故该空应该起承上启下的作用,故F选项(如果我们愿意用批判性的目光来评估自己的话,那么了解这些原因将会控制我们的愤怒)符合语境,故选F项。
②该空前面两句提到引发愤怒的事件有很多,例如: 堵车,截止日期临近,身体疼痛等。下一句提到:某件事会激发一个人的怒气,但其他人却不会为此而生气,原因是由于个人的历史和心理特征。该空承上启下,故G选项(不是每个人对事情的反应都是一样的,这就是为什么使一个人生气的事情可能会让另一个人生气,也可能不会让另一个人生气)符合语境,故选G项。
③上两句提到:每个人都会遇到自己的心理不平衡的情况。那些比较好强,气量比较小的人更容易生气。下一句提到:而且,有时候,愤怒的前奏并不一定是一种持久的状态,而是一种触发事件发生前的暂时状态。该空承上启下,故 E选项(拥有这些个性特征意味着你处于愤怒之前的状态,在这种状态下,愤怒就在你的思想背景中)符合语境,故选E项。
④下一句提到:有时候,甚至常规性的事件也会变成愤怒的前奏或恼怒的来源。有时候对这些情况的无知和负面观点会产生愤怒。该空位于段首,引出下文,故A选项(我们的对情况的态度和看法也会在我们内心产生愤怒)是本段的主题句,概括全段内容,故选A项。
⑤下一句提到:但是生气很容易转变为暴力,所以最好了解一下愤怒的原因从而来阻止它的存在。该空和下一句之间是转折关系,故D选项(愤怒是一种特别强烈的感情,或许人们认为他们有理由生气)符合语境,故选D项。
第二部分 语言运用
第一节
答案：1-5.CACDA; 6-10.BBDCB; 11-15.CABDD
解析：1.根据空前的second可知,他出生的村庄是他的家,村庄附近的一些湿地成为了他的第二个“家”。故选C。
2.句意:他从小就在那里了解到了大自然的价值和美丽。湿地展现了大自然的价值和美。nature自然;youth青春,年轻;culture文化;knowledge知识。故选A。
3.该段后半部分提到:洪水侵袭,很多鸟儿离开,蛇的数量减少。这些情况都不正常,令人不安。precious宝贵的;interesting有趣的;disturbing令人不安的;awkward尴尬的,笨拙的。故选C。
4.洪水侵袭这个地区,造成的伤害是使得这些鸟儿们离开。waste废物;tension紧张;pain疼痛,痛苦;damage损害,伤害。故选D。
5.根据"as well"可知,洪水不仅导致很多鸟儿离开,而且它还导致蛇的数量减少。besides此外;however然而;therefore因此;otherwise否则。故选A。
6.Molai意识到鸟儿离开、蛇类减少是因为没有足够的树木。agree 同意;realize意识到;remember记住;predict预测。故选B。
7.根据常识可知,树木可以提供阴凉,从而保护鸟类和蛇类免受炎热的影响。noise噪音;heat热;disease疾病;dust尘土。故选B。
8.句意:当然,解决的办法是种树,这样动物们就可以在白天寻找栖身之处。树木可以给动物们提供遮蔽。direction方向;partner伙伴;help帮助;shelter遮蔽,庇护,遮蔽物。故选D。
9.根据前一句中的"The solution, of course, was to plant trees"可知,Molai想要种树,所以他应该向森林部门求助。labor劳动;police警察;forest森林;finance财政,金融。故选C。
10.根据前面的"looking on his own"可知,他自己去看,那么接下来就应该是他发现了一个小岛。rebuild重建;discover发现;leave离开;manage设法做成。故选B。
11.该段后半部分叙述的是Molai想尽办法收集水。再结合该句中的"the dry season"可知,在早季给幼苗浇水很难。decorate装饰;observe观察到;water浇水;guard守卫。故选C。
12.根据该段后半部分的叙述可知,Molai想尽办法收集雨水,由此推知,旱季缺水,给幼苗浇水很难。tough困难的;illegal非法的;fantastic极好的;beneficial有益的。故选A。
13.根据该段最后一句"The water would then drip on the plants below."可知,水滴在下面的植物上。由此推知,竹子平台应该在每棵树苗的顶端。故选B。
14.他将陶罐放到竹子平台上收集雨水。cool down冷却下来;keep off保持距离;purify净化,使纯净;collect收集。故选D。
15.根据空后的"to plant trees for the next 37 years"以及下文可知,在接下来的37年里,他继续种树。return返回;learn学会;fail失败;continue继续。故选D。
第二节
答案：being ; which ; finally ; declared ; to retire; have made ; but ; saying ; a; wonderful
解析：本文讲述了一位90岁的英国女士因每周仍然坚持工作而获得"年度女性奖"的事迹。
①考查非谓语动词。介词for后应该用动词-ing形式,故填being。
②考查关系代词。空处引导非限制性定语从句,先行词是the pet shop,关系词指代先行词且在定语从句中作宾语,故填which。
③考查词形转换。修饰动词应该用副词,故填finally。
④考查动词的时态。陈述过去发生的事需用一般过去时,故填declared。
⑤考查非谓语动词。不定式作名词plans的后置定语,故填to retire。
⑥考查动词的时态。根据定语从句中的时间状语over the years可知从句时态应为现在完成时,故填have made。
⑦考查并列连词。这是not...but...搭配,表达"不是……而是……"的意思。
⑧考查非谓语动词。此处该用动词-ing形式作后置定语,故填saying。
⑨考查冠词。此处表示"我们以为那是一个玩笑",为泛指,且joke的发音以辅音音素开头,故填a。
⑩考查词形转换。此处该用形容词作表语,故填wonderful。
第三部分 写作
第一节
答案：
Dear Peter,
In your last e-mail you said you wanted to learn about changes of Chinese people's life in the near 40 years. Since China opened its door to the world, life has become much more convenient.
Let's take living conditions and transportation as examples. 40 years ago, most people lived in small houses in China where winter is cold and long. Now, people live in large houses equipped with heating systems. Bicycles used to be the main transportation. Now private cars have become household items.
In the future, Chinese people will keep pace with the latest science and technology development. I hope you can come and see what China is like in person some day.
Yours,
Li Hua
第二节
答案：
Paragraph 1:
Immediately, the class became excited. Some could hardly wait to tell their seatmates about their holiday trips, eyes shining and faces glowing with joy. Those who hadn't been anywhere asked them with inquiring questions. Extremely large joy welled up in every corner of the classroom. Obviously confused at the sudden excitement around, Rafael turned to me for reasons in written words. Surprisingly, my explanation put a smile on his face. "Any volunteer to share your story " asked Ms. Sullivan, whose words I wrote down on paper for Rafael.
Paragraph 2:
Then Rafael rose and walked onto the platform. Greeting us with a confident smile, Rafael shared his story in a very attractive voice, which left me shocked. I felt more ashamed to learn that he ran a website to help children with hearing problems than guilty about stupidly thinking disabled people couldn't be intelligent. Then his voice was lost in a big round of applause. Feeling a lump in my throat, I clapped my hands even more loudly, determined never to judge a book by its cover.