Oseola McCarty

LATE ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON in September 1999, Oseola McCarty, an elderly cleaning lady passed away in the little wooden frame house where she had lived and worked most of her life.  It may seem like an ordinary end to a humble life,  but there was something quite exceptional about this woman. ¹

In the summer of 1995, McCarty gave $150,000, most of the money she had saved throughout her life, to the UniversityofSouthern Mississippiin her hometown.  The money was tohelp other African Americans through university. She had started her savings habit as a young child when she would return from school to clean and iron for money which she would then save.

    She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs. ² Her bank also advised her on investing her hard-earned savings.

    When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limited means the opportunity to go to university. ³ She had wanted to become a nurse, but had to leave school to look after ill relatives and work.  When asked why she had given her life savings away, she replied, "I"m giving it away so that children won"t have to work so hard, like I did.” After news of her donation hit the media, over 600 donations were made to the scholarship fund.  One was given by media executive, Ted Turner, who reputedly gave a billion dollars.

    She didn"t want any fuss made over her gift, but the news got out and she was invited all over theUnited Statesto talk to people. Wherever she went, people would come up to her to say a few words or to just touch her.  She met the ordinary and the famous, President Clinton included.  In the last few years of her life, before she died of cancer, McCarty was given over 300 awards: she was honoured by the United Nations and received the Presidential Citizen"s Medal. Despite having noreal education, she found herself with two honorary doctorates: one from theUniversityofSouthern Mississippiand the other fromHarvardUniversity. Her generosity was clearly an inspiration to many and proof that true selflessness does exist.

 

词汇:

frugal /"fru:gəl/ adj. 节约的，俭朴的，花钱少 的，物质的，廉价的 fuss /fʌs / n. 慌乱，小题大做，抱怨争吵 V. 忙

donation /dəv’neifə n/ n. 捐赠，捐款，捐赠的 乱，(为小事)烦恼抱怨

 

注释：

1. It mayseem like an ordinary end to a humble life, but there was something quite exceptionalabout this woman.这位老妇人看似平凡的一生却有着非同寻常的意义。

2.  She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs.她一生过着简单、节俭的生活，除了生活必需品外她从不在其他事情上花钱。

3. When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limitedmeans the opportunity" to go to university.当她退休的时候，她决定用钱给那些条件有限的孩子提供上大学的机会。

She managed to save so much money because____.

A:she had ironed and washed clothes all her life B:she had worked hard, sed hard and invested carefully C:she had opened a good bank account D:she knew how to make money

Oseola McCarty

LATE ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON in September 1999, Oseola McCarty, an elderly cleaning lady passed away in the little wooden frame house where she had lived and worked most of her life.  It may seem like an ordinary end to a humble life,  but there was something quite exceptional about this woman. ¹

In the summer of 1995, McCarty gave $150,000, most of the money she had saved throughout her life, to the UniversityofSouthern Mississippiin her hometown.  The money was tohelp other African Americans through university. She had started her savings habit as a young child when she would return from school to clean and iron for money which she would then save.

    She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs. ² Her bank also advised her on investing her hard-earned savings.

    When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limited means the opportunity to go to university. ³ She had wanted to become a nurse, but had to leave school to look after ill relatives and work.  When asked why she had given her life savings away, she replied, "I"m giving it away so that children won"t have to work so hard, like I did.” After news of her donation hit the media, over 600 donations were made to the scholarship fund.  One was given by media executive, Ted Turner, who reputedly gave a billion dollars.

    She didn"t want any fuss made over her gift, but the news got out and she was invited all over theUnited Statesto talk to people. Wherever she went, people would come up to her to say a few words or to just touch her.  She met the ordinary and the famous, President Clinton included.  In the last few years of her life, before she died of cancer, McCarty was given over 300 awards: she was honoured by the United Nations and received the Presidential Citizen"s Medal. Despite having noreal education, she found herself with two honorary doctorates: one from theUniversityofSouthern Mississippiand the other fromHarvardUniversity. Her generosity was clearly an inspiration to many and proof that true selflessness does exist.

 

词汇:

frugal /"fru:gəl/ adj. 节约的，俭朴的，花钱少 的，物质的，廉价的 fuss /fʌs / n. 慌乱，小题大做，抱怨争吵 V. 忙

donation /dəv’neifə n/ n. 捐赠，捐款，捐赠的 乱，(为小事)烦恼抱怨

 

注释：

1. It mayseem like an ordinary end to a humble life, but there was something quite exceptionalabout this woman.这位老妇人看似平凡的一生却有着非同寻常的意义。

2.  She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs.她一生过着简单、节俭的生活，除了生活必需品外她从不在其他事情上花钱。

3. When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limitedmeans the opportunity" to go to university.当她退休的时候，她决定用钱给那些条件有限的孩子提供上大学的机会。

She gave her money away because____.

A:she wanted to help the university B:she wanted others to have the chance to become nurses C:she wanted others to have the opportunity to escape a hard life D:she want to be remembered after her death

Passage Two
I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was an eccentric(怪僻的) farmer. I had never met him before although I had heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then all I could make out was that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I hadn’t the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. "She meant more to me than anyone... even my own wife!" he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal(__). I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn(厩)"I wouldn’t leave here out in the cold!" he said.
Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. "She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone but a doctor touch her!" he said, and burst into tears again.

What do we know about Milly from the story（）

A:She was seriously ill. B:She was hidden somewhere. C:She had met with an accident. D:She had caused a scandal.

Passage Two
I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was an eccentric(怪僻的) farmer. I had never met him before although I had heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then all I could make out was that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I hadn’t the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. "She meant more to me than anyone... even my own wife!" he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place ,a possible scandal(__). I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn (厩) "I wouldn’t leave here out in the cold !" he said.
Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. "She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone but a doctor touch her!" he said, and burst into tears again.

What do we know about Milly from the story（）

A:She was seriously ill. B:She was hidden somewhere. C:She had met with an accident. D:She had caused a scandal.

Passage Two
I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was an eccentric(怪僻的) farmer. I had never met him before although I had heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then all I could make out was that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I hadn’t the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. "She meant more to me than anyone... even my own wife!" he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal(__). I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn(厩)"I wouldn’t leave here out in the cold!" he said.
Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. "She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone but a doctor touch her!" he said, and burst into tears again.

What do we know about Milly from the story（）

A:She was seriously ill. B:She was hidden somewhere. C:She had met with an accident. D:She had caused a scandal.

I had been working in the trauma unit at a local hospital for about a year. You get used to families thinking that a "coma" patient is moving their hand or doing something that they were asked to do. "Following commands" is what we call it. Often it’s "wishful thinking" on the Families’ Nurses can easily become callous to it.
On this particular night during visiting hours, my patient’s wife came in. I had taken care of him for several nights. I was very familiar with his care and what he was able to do. Actually, he didn’t do anything. He barely moved at all, even when something would obviously hurt him, such as suctioning.
His wife was very short, about 5 feet tall. She had to stand on a stool to lean over him, so that she could see his face and talk to him. She climbed up on the stool. I spoke to her for a few minutes, and then stepped out to tend to see my other patients. A few minutes later, she came running out of the room. In an excited voice, she said, "Donna, he’s moving his hand!"
I immediately thought that it was probably her imagination, and that he had not actually done it on purpose. He had been there about a month at the time and had never made any movements on purpose. I asked her what had happened and she said, "I asked him to squeeze my hand and he did !"
This led me to another train of questioning. "But, did he let go when you asked him to" She said yes, that he had done exactly what she asked.
I went into the room with her, not really believing that I would see anything different than I had always seen. But I decided that it would be better to pacify her than to make her think I didn’t believe her or that she was somehow mistaken.
She asked him to squeeze her hand, which he did. I said, "Well, ask him to let go." He continued to squeeze for a moment, so that when he finally did let go, I really still didn’t believe that he had done it on purpose. So, I said, "Ask him to hold up one finger." He did as asked.
Well, hmm, this was starting to get my attention. I looked at him, his face still somewhat swollen and his eyes still closed. "Stick out your tongue!" I said. He did it. I almost fell on the floor. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone "wake up".
The author "almost fell on the floor" because ______.

A:she could hardly believe her eyes B:she had been working too hard C:she had been deceived D:she had been tripped

I had been working in the trauma unit at a local hospital for about a year. You get used to families thinking that a "coma" patient is moving their hand or doing something that they were asked to do. "Following commands" is what we call it. Often it’s "wishful thinking" on the Families’ part. Nurses can easily become callous to it.
On this particular night during visiting hours, my patient’s wife came in. I had taken care of him for several nights. I was very familiar with his care and what he was able to do. Actually, he didn’t do anything. He barely moved at all, even when something would obviously hurt him, such as suctioning.
His wife was very short, about 5 feet tall. She had to stand on a stool to lean over him, so that she could see his face and talk to him. She climbed up on the stool. I spoke to her for a few minutes, and then stepped out to tend to my other patient. A few minutes later, she came running out of the room. In an excited voice, she said, "Donna, he’s moving his hand!"
I immediately thought that it was probably her imagination, and that he had not actually done it on purpose. He had been there about a month at the time and had never made any movements on purpose. I asked her what had happened and she said, "I asked him to squeeze my hand and he did !"
This led me to another train of questioning. "But, did he let go when you asked him to" She said yes, that he had done exactly what she asked.
I went into the room with her, not really believing that I would see anything different than I had always seen. But I decided that it would be better to pacify her than to make her think I didn’t believe her or that she was somehow mistaken.
She asked him to squeeze her hand, which he did. I said, "Well, ask him to let go." He continued to squeeze for a moment, so that when he finally did let go, I really still didn’t believe that he had done it on purpose. So, I said, "Ask him to hold up one finger." He did as asked.
Well, hmm, this was starting to get my attention. I looked at him, his face still somewhat swollen and his eyes still closed. "Stick out your tongue!" I said. He did it. I almost fell on the floor. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone "wake up./
The author "almost fell on the floor" because______.

A:she could hardly believe her eyes B:she had been working too hard C:she had been deceived D:she had been tripped