英雄手臂

王世成

伊莎贝拉的梦想简单到超乎我们的想象：弯曲手指，拿起东西。幸运的是，她收到的一份礼物让她梦想成真了。

It was Isabella Tadlocks dream to be able to bend her fingers and pick things up. But she was born with a disability that made that challenging. So when the 11yearold Star Wars fan asked for a R2D2 bionic arm， she thought it was going to be the best gift ever. Then came the call from a familiar voice.

Mark Hamill， known to most as the man who played Luke Skywalker， Skyped Isabella when he found out that her new arm had been delivered. She showed him her new R2D2 arm and after the two had a 30minute conversation， he sent her passes to Disney World.

Isabella was born with a nub on the end of her left arm and no fingers on her right hand. After multiple surgeries， she now has three fingers and a thumb on her right hand. So when Isabella saw a video of a little boy who had a bionic arm at her home in Tallahassee， Florida， in July， her family started fundraising for it. Thanks to her supporters， she raised almost $14，000—with Hamills help along the way. Three months after that， on February 20， they met. “I heard youre a Star Wars fan. But I have to tell you Im a big fan of yours. Im so proud of you，” Hamill said in the video. “They call it a hero arm because you are really a hero.”

The makers of the hero arm， Open Bionics， created it for that exact reason. They wanted to give children with limb differences an empowering arm. “Welcome to the future， where disabilities are superpowers，” they said on their website. Theyre made to pick up signals from muscles in the residual limb.

When it came time for Isabella to choose what kind she wanted， she asked for one that resembled R2D2. Its only just two weeks since she got the new arm， but she said these had been the best days of her young life. “I am so excited. I will be able to ride my bike， swing on the monkey bars， create in the kitchen and behave like my friends，” Isabella said. “Its helping tremendously with her self esteem and confidence，” her mom said. “Just last night for the first time she was able to dry her hair by herself.”

The strong willed Star Wars fan has faced several obstacles in her young life， but her family has been there every step of the way. And her six siblings have treated her no differently. And now she has a new dream： to be a bionic arm model.

Reading Check

1. When did Isabellas family start fundraising for a bionic arm？

A. After Isabellas first surgery.

B. After Open Bionics created the first bionic arm.

C. After Isabellas conversation with Mark Hamill.

D. After Isabella saw a video about the boy with a bionic arm.

2. Why did Open Bionics create the hero arm？

A. To make a big fortune.

B. To discover superpowers.

C. To help those disabled adults.

D. To help limbdisabled children.

3. Which of the following can best describe the bionic arm？

A. Strange. B. Beneficial. C. Ordinary. D. Goodlooking.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

Isabella was born with a nub on the end of her left arm and no fingers on her right hand. 伊莎貝拉出生时左臂末端有个瘤，右手也没有手指。

【信息提取】be born with...意为“天生……”。

【句式仿写】她天生记忆力好。