Superhero
Part A Reading: Superhero
Before you start
1. Who do you know about Christopher Reeve? Look at the two pictures and answer the questions.
(1) What was his most famous film character?
(2) What terrible thing happened to him in real life?
(3) What did he do afterwards?
Christopher Reeve
1. Christopher Reeve was born in September, 1952. He was in his first school play when he was eight and he started to act in TV shows and films while he was still in college. He made many successful films and TV shows but he is most famous for his Superman films.
2. Unfortunately, disaster came in 1995 when he fell from his horse and broke his back. The doctors did not expect him to live. However, he made amazing progress. At first, he couldn’t breathe without a machine, but he learnt to breathe on his own. He would never walk again but he started a new life with great courage.
3. The second year after his accident, Christopher returned to film making. He also raised a lot of money to promote medical research into back injuries. He made speeches all over the USA about his experiences. This not only drew public attention to research into back injuries but also encouraged a lot of people living with all kinds of problems.
From their home, Christopher and his wife Dana spoke about their life after the accident.
4. Have you thought of giving up after the accident?
“No. Four days after the injury, I came to understand my situation. My wife Dana and I were in the hospital. The doctor said I was not going to pull through. Dana said: ‘But you’re still you, and I love you.’ And that saved my life. Since that moment I have never thought of giving up. Of course, I’ve had moments of feeling sorry for myself, but I’ve never had any thoughts of committing suicide.”
5. Did you think that your marriage was so strong?
“Yes, because Dana’s so wonderful. We have always got on really well. Our relationship has always been fantastic.”
6. How did your parents react to the accident?
“They divorced when I was four. They’ve got closer since the accident.”
7. How did you get involved with charity work?
“I know a lot of disabled people need my help. This is how I got involved with my charity work to improve the quality of life for all disabled people.”
8. “With the progress of new medical research, I’m confident that people like me would be able to walk again one day. So you can see, I’m far too busy with living to think of giving up!”
9. Christopher Reeve died on October 10, 2004. But people all over the world will always remember him as a superhero.
Read to learn
2. Match the topics with the parts of the article.
a) the riding accident b) his marriage
c) his feeling after the accident d) his death
e) his parents f) his belief
g) how he get involved with charity work h) his work
i) before the accident
voice your opinion
3. How would you describe Christopher Reeve?
4. Do you think he is a hero? Why？
5. Word out the meaning of these words from the text and use them to replace the underlined words in the sentences.
disaster, on his own, promote, injury, confident, get involved, divorced
(1) A really bad thing happened in 2003. Our school burnt down.
(2) We’re trying hard to help in the development of world peace.
(3) Don’t just sit here! Take part and help disabled people!
(4) He won’t be able to walk by himself ever again.
(5) She’s sure that her mother’s hurt will heal.
(6) Some people are no longer married these days.
6. Choose the correct meaning for the phrasal verbs.
(1) come to a) to visit b) to reach a state
(2) pull through a) to survive b) to walk
(3) think of a) to carefully consider b) to have an idea
(4) give up a) to be afraid b) to stop fighting
(5) get on a) to have a friendly relationship b) to escape
7. Use the phrasal verbs above to complete these sentences.
(1) Understanding his wife helps Christopher well with her.
(2) After the accident, doctors warned Christopher that he wasn’t going to and live.
(3) Talking with his family and friends helped Christopher terms with his disablities.
(4) Christopher says there is so much happening in his life right now that he is too busy to giving up and dying.
(5) After Dana told Christopher that he had her support and love, Chritopher decided not to .
spaceship n.太空船 manned spaceship载人宇宙飞船
province n.省 astronaut n.宇航员
flight n.飞行；航班 launch n.发射
gravity n.地心引力 rocket n.火箭
peacefully adv.和平地 the United Nations联合国
atmosphere n大气；气氛. parachute n.降落伞
helicopter n.直升机 million num.百万
unusual adj.不平常的 millions of数百万
champion n.冠军 bullet n.子弹
career n.职业，一生的事业 keen adj.强烈的；渴望的
event n.竞赛；事件 superhero n.超级英雄
afterwards adv.后来 superman n.超人
disaster n.灾难 on one’s own地
give up放弃 come to do sth.开始（认识、理解）
pull through 使从（受伤）中活下来；渡过难关 commit vt.犯（错误），干（坏事）
get involved with参加，参与 commit suicide 自杀
charity n.慈善，施舍 far too太，极为
calm adj.镇静的，沉着的 adv.
generous adj.慷慨的，大方的 adv.
violent adj.暴力的 n. adv.
character n.人物；性格 adj&n.
soar vi.升空，升腾 adj.
explore vt.探测；勘探 n. n.
reporter n.记者，通讯员 v. adj.
glow vi.发光 adj.
wave vi.挥手示意，致意 adj.
brilliant adj.卓越的 n.
skilful adj.灵巧的，熟练的 n. adj.
awful adj.糟糕的；极度的 adv.
useless adj.差劲的；无用的 adj. n.
compete vi.比赛，竞争 n. adj.
amazing adj.令人惊异的 adv. vt.&n. adj.
violence n.暴力，暴行 adj.
fortunately adv.幸运地 adj.&n. n.&v. adv.
athlete n.运动员 adj.
promote vt.促进，提升 n. adj.
injury n.伤害，损害 vt. n.
relationship n.关系 n. v. adj.
react vi.反应 n.
divorce vi.离婚 n.
involve vt.涉及，参与 n.
quality n.质量；品质 v. adj.
disabled adj.残疾的 n.
confident adj.自信的 n. 下载本文
