For whatever reason, none of his students would tell me what they really think of him. Truth is Jim O’Connor can be a bit tough. But the 70-year-old Vietnam vet (老兵) says he’s not here to entertain his students. For years, the kids thought that’s all there was to him – until last November, when Pat learned they didn’t know the half of him.
Pat was in charge of a student blood drive and had just come to Children’s Hospital for a meeting. He says it was weird: whenever he told someone he went to St. Francis High School, they all said, “Oh, you must know Jim O’Connor. Isn’t he wonderful” Pat says, “It was disbelief, really. It was like finding someone I totally don’t know.”
Inside the blood donor center, Pat found a board listing all the top blood donors at the hospital, including the record holder, Jim O’Connor. Then he learned something even more unbelievable. Whenever O’Connor isn’t torturing kids with calculus (微积分), he’s taking care of sick babies.
Three days a week for the past 20 years, Jim has volunteered at the hospital, stepping in when parents can’t, to hold, feed and comfort their children. “I like them and relate to them somehow,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor has never been married; he has no kids of his own. But he has fallen hard for these babies, “I don’t want to see them alone,” he said. He’s not a tough guy at all.
Sometimes you think you know someone, but you don’t have the slightest. Sometimes you think you’re learning calculus, but the real lesson is life.
12. What’s the closest in meaning to the underlined word “weird”
 A. Strange      B. Impressive      C. Delightful        D. Colorful
13. What can be inferred from the third paragraph
 A. Pat made a list of blood donors.
 B. Jim O’Connor didn’t teach calculus any more.
 C. Pat did something unbelievable in Children’s Hospital.
 D. Jim O’Connor ranks first on the list of the top blood donors.
14. Which of the following words can describe Jim best
 A. Kind-hearted but tough.           B. Soft-hearted but strict.
 C. Gentle but indifferent.             D. Polite but cold-blooded.
15. What message does the author most want to give us
 A. Where there is a will, there is a way.
 B. No pains, no gains.
 C. Never judge a book by its cover.
 D. God helps those who help themselves.

 
12-15 ADAC