Life with the hero arm

伊莎貝拉的夢想簡單到超乎我們的想象：彎曲手指，拿起東西。幸運的是，她收到的一份禮物讓她夢想成真了。

題材 體裁 篇幅 建議用時生活 記敘文435詞 8分鐘

難詞探意

1.bionic/ba???n?k/adj.仿生的

2.nub/n?b/n.小腫塊

3.residual/r??z?dju?l/adj.殘余的；殘留的

4.tremendously/tr??mend?sli/adv.極大地

It was Isabella Tadlock's dream to be able to bend her fingers and pick things up.But she was born with a disability that made that challenging.So when the 11-year-old Star Wars fan asked for a R2-D2bionicarm,she thought it was going to be the best gift ever.Then came the call from a familiar voice.

Mark Hamill,known to most as the man who played Luke Skywalker,Skyped Isabella when he found out that her new arm had been delivered.She showed him her new R2-D2 arm and after the two had a 30-minute conversation,he sent her passes to Disney World.

Isabella was born with a nub on the end of her left arm and no fingers on her right hand.After multiple surgeries,she now has three fingers and a thumb on her right hand.So when Isabella saw a video of a little boy who had a bionic arm at her home in Tallahassee,Florida,in July,her family started fund-raising for it.Thanks to her supporters,she raised almost$14,000—with Hamill's help along the way.Three months after that,on February 20,they met. “I heard you're a Star Wars fan.But I have to tell you I'm a big fan of yours.I'm so proud of you,”Hamill said in the video.“They call it a hero arm because you are really a hero.”

The makers of the hero arm,Open Bionics,created it for that exact reason.They wanted to give children with limb differences an empowering arm.“Welcome to the future,where disabilities are superpowers,”they said on their website.They're made to pick up signals from muscles in theresiduallimb.

When it came time for Isabella to choose what kind she wanted,she asked for one that resembled R2-D2.It's only just two weeks since she got the new arm,but she said these had been the best days of her young life.“I am so excited.I will be able to ride my bike,swing on the monkey bars,create in the kitchen and behave like my friends,”Isabella said. “It's helpingtremendouslywith her self esteem and confidence,”her mom said.“Just last night for the first time she was able to dry her hair by herself.”

The strong willed Star Wars fan has faced several obstacles in her young life,but her family has been there every step of the way.And her six siblings have treated her no differently.And now she has a new dream:to be a bionic arm model.

Reading Check

1.When did Isabella's family start fund-raising for a bionic arm?

A.After Isabella's first surgery.

B.After Open Bionics created the first bionic arm.

C.After Isabella's conversation with Mark Hamill.

D.After Isabella saw a video about the boy with a bionic arm.

2.Why did Open Bionics create the hero arm?

A.To make a big fortune.

B.To discover superpowers.

C.To help those disabled adults.

D.To help limb-disabled children.

3.Which of the following can best describe the bionic arm?

A.Strange.

B.Beneficial.

C.Ordinary.

D.Good-looking.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

Isabella was born with a nub on the end of her left arm and no fingers on her right hand.伊莎貝拉出生時左臂末端有個瘤，右手也沒有手指。

【信息提取】be born with...意為“天生……”。

【句式仿寫】她天生記憶力好。