无臂少女无畏前行激励世人

江苏 马秀艳

美国佛罗里达州的18岁少女多纳维亚·沃克患有一种罕见疾病，这导致她出生时便没有双臂。 但她学会了用脚做一切事情，她努力奋斗，永不放弃。

Donavia Walker of Winter Haven, Florida,doesn't have arms, but she's spent her entire life proving she doesn't need them! The 18-year-old girl was born with Bilateral Amelia, a rare birth defect. People assumed the condition would hold her back, but it hasn't one bit!

Growing up, Donavia heard the words “you can't” many times, but she didn't listen because she knew she could do whatever she wanted, just in a different way. So she learned how to do everything with her feet, from getting dressed to brushing her teeth and even driving later on! “I was like, ‘I can get it with my feet. I will find a way,’” she said.

While her mom, Tisa Jones, said she was scared when she first saw Donavia as a newborn. She couldn't be prouder of all her daughter's accomplishments. In school, Donavia played soccer, joined the cheerleading squad (啦啦队), and became a role model to her peers.

At 16, she stepped into a leadership role as the squad commander of the Junior Reserve Officers'Training Corps—one of her proudest achievements. Her army instructor, Sgt. Major Rudy Carter, has been constantly amazed by her resilience and determination. In fact, he said she inspired him to stay positive after being diagnosed with cancer. “It's people like Donavia that make my job worth getting up in the morning,” Carter said. “Can't feel sorry for yourself when you have a student who doesn't find any reason to give up.”

This year, Donavia reached another milestone when she graduated from high school! As for the future, the sky has the limit as far as she's concerned. As long as she believes in herself, she knows she'll succeed. “I would say to anyone with a physical condition that you should love yourself and find people who make you feel comfortable with yourself,” she added.

Reading Check

1. What did people assume Donavia according to the first paragraph?

A. She could do things well without arms.

B. There was no need for her to have arms.

C. She would be greatly affected by her physical disability.

D. She could overcome her physical problems with great efforts.

2. What do you think of Donavia Walker?

A. She is smart.

B. She is determined.

C. She is warm-hearted.

D. She is generous.

3. What did Carter think of Donavia?

A. She deserved the title of the squad commander.

B. She set a good example to other disabled people.

C. She was his proudest student in his training career.

D. She gave him the courage and power to stay positive.

4. What can we learn from Donavia's story?

A. If you smile at life, life will smile at you.

B. Success will be close to you if you strive for it.

C. Everyone needs goals and pursuits to go further.

D. Physical disability doesn't mean being limited in action.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

Growing up, Donavia heard the words “you can't” many times, but she didn't listen because she knew she could do whatever she wanted, just in a different way. 在成长过程中， 多纳维亚听过很多次“你不能”这句话，但她不听信。 她知道她可以做任何她想做的事，只是方式不同而已。

【点石成金】本句总体上是一个并列句。 Growing up是动词-ing形式构成的短语作时间状语，Donavia heard...和she didn't listen是由but连接的并列句，because引导的是原因状语从句，she could do是knew的宾语，whatever she wanted是do的宾语，just in a different way作方式状语。