Imagine that you are in school, giving a speech to your class. Now think what it feels like when stammering (口吃) makes it a struggle to communicate your thoughts and feelings to other people.
The King’s Speech, which won the best picture at the Academy Awards in March, 2011, focuses on stammering along with other speech-related problems. The movie tells the story of Britain’s King George VI, who became king after his brother Edward VIII gave up the crown to marry an American woman.
As a result of British actor Colin Firth’s performance, people are starting to realize that stammering can damage a person’s self-confidence and cause him or her to escape from life.
“The serious problem is unseen and unheard,” said Norbert Lieckfeldt, an expert at the British Stammering Association, in an interview with a news reporter.
“Stammering masks your ability,” he said. “It's a serious disability.”
Most stammerers face bullying (欺負) in school, something that is “usually carried over into the workplace”.
George VI’s stammer took away his confidence as a speaker. But Samantha Mesango, a speech coach based in the UK, believes that speech problems are more common than most people realize. “Some simply don’t like the sound of their own voice; others are scared of speaking in public,” she said.
Travis Treats from St.Louis University praised
The King’s Speech. He said it shows that “how one’s speech does not mean what one is inside”. He also added that people who stammer need to be heard and our society should recognize that they have a lot to give to the world.
小題1:The author writes the first 3 paragraphs to
.
A.show how harmful stammer is for common people |
B.introduce a famous movie winning great awards |
C.tell the story of the king who suffers from stammer |
D.draw readers’ attention to the problem of stammer |
小題2:We learn from the passage that
.
A.stammerers face bullying in school but not in the workplace |
B.Edward VIII gave up his crown because he was a stammerer |
C.stammerers should be understood and can contribute to the world |
D.the sufferings caused by stammer haven’t been found yet |
小題3:According to Norbert Lieckfeldt,
.
A.the voice of stammering people cannot be heard |
B.people who stammer do better in work than school |
C.there are a lot of things that stammering people can give to us |
D.the serious problem of stammering remains unseen and unheard |
小題4:The paragraph that follows the last will probably talk about
.
A.the success the king made by overcoming stammer |
B.the medical treatments given to the stammerers |
C.doctors’ opinions upon the serious stammer problem |
D.how popular the movie The King’s Speech will become |