Furnishing hope

湖南 何高倫

漢娜·萊澤斯基離生孩子還有幾周時間，她的公寓里唯一的家具是一個帶洞的床墊。 而接下來發生的一切，讓她對生活又充滿了希望……

Hannah Leszyeski was weeks away from having a baby, and the only furniture she had in her Cleveland, Ohio, apartment was a mattress （床墊） with a hole in it. One year before, at age 18, she had aged out of foster （代養） care, having been in the system since she was four when her single mother was no longer able to care for her.

Then she learned about Chairity, a nonprofit formed by 23-year-old Maria Paparella. The organization provides furniture and household goods for young adults who have left foster care. When Leszyeski reached out to Chairity, Paparella asked what she needed. “Everything,” she replied.

Leszyeski wasn't home when the furniture arrived—her brother let the movers in. But when she walked into her apartment with her two-day-old baby boy, she took a deep breath. In the once-empty apartment stood a full kitchen set, a bed, a dresser, two tables, a desk, and an armchair with a footstool for nursing. “They gave me all of this. It relieved me of a lot stress,” Leszyeski recalls.

Leszyeski's story isn't unusual. There are about 424,000 children in foster care in the United States. Every year, around 20,000 young adults (at age 18 or 21, depending on the state) age out of the system, often without the support of a trusted adult to turn to for life advice.

“Watching the recipients' faces when they receive a bed, a couch—whatever—is a happy thing,”Paparella says. She remembers delivering a gold lamp to a woman and watching her polish it lovingly,getting rid of dirty marks and fingerprints.

So far, Chairity has given furniture to nearly 200 young adults in homes across six Ohio counties.As word has gotten out, Paparella has received donations from people who have bought new furniture and want to get rid of their old pieces, people who are moving, people who have heard of her work on social networking sites.She's convinced that these contributions give the recipients hope and confidence.

Leszyeski agrees. “It makes me feel like I'm no different than other parents. My whole life, I've felt abnormal,” she says. “Now, I feel normal.”

Reading Check

1. The first paragraph mainly focuses on ________.

A. the function of a good bed

B. an introduction to Hannah Leszyeski

C. living conditions in Ohio

D. the difficulty of having a baby

2. What can we know about Chairity?

A. It was formed to raise homeless kids.

B. It is a highly profitable organization.

C. It was set up by a foster child.

D. It offers help to young adults who leave foster care.

3. How did Leszyeski feel when seeing the furniture from Chairity?

A. Proud. B. Confident. C. Relieved. D. Interested.

4. What does Paparella think of the donations of furniture?

A. They will attract much public attention.

B. They will make the recipients feel abnormal.

C. They will be helpful for environmental protection.

D. They will have positive influences on the recipients.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

She's convinced that these contributions give the recipients hope and confidence. 她堅信這些捐贈物資會給受助者帶來希望和信心。

【信息提取】be convinced that...意為“堅信……”。

【句式仿寫】我堅信她是無辜的。 （無辜的innocent）