短视频社交助力孤独症关注

山东 王利霞

姐姐通过TikTok打开患孤独症的弟弟的心扉，这不仅增进了姐弟亲情，同时还让更多的人了解了孤独症。

?主题语境：社会 篇幅：345词 建议用时：6分钟

Brittany McGuire never expected TikTok to have such a life-changing influence on her life, but with 3.4 million followers and the kind of relationship she's always wanted with her brother, that's exactly what happened.

When she was a child, it was difficult for Brittany to relate to her autistic (患孤独症的) brother, Ryan. “Growing up, I didn't understand how to relate to him,” Brittany said. “He loves sports—he is a walking encyclopedia of sports. I would try to talk about sports, but I knew so little and he knew so much. At times, I felt like a bad sister because I couldn't connect to him.”

When Brittany first joined TikTok, she didn't have any plans to include Ryan in her videos. Then, a single video changed everything. One day, Brittany decided to put on a skincare face mask, leaving her with a pink unusual looking complexion that Ryan didn't like. She found his reaction amusing, so she decided to share it, thinking that others would agree... and she was right! The video went viral!

As fun as it was for Brittany to see everyone appreciating Ryan's reaction, it also sparked conversations around autism. “Many people ask what's wrong with Ryan and my reaction is to say that nothing is wrong with him,” she said. “I think most people are curious about Ryan and autism. So we help them gain a better understanding by posting videos.”

One important message that Ryan hopes people remember is that autism is a disorder, not an illness. He said, “Autism is how the brain functions.” In other words, his brain just works differently, which doesn't make him less valuable than anyone else. In sharing these moments with Ryan, whether they're serious and educational or fun and silly, Brittany herself has come to better understand her brother.

“Through TikTok, Ryan shares his story with the world and helps others better understand autistic people,” Brittany said. “But for me, having something we do together that helps us bond and spend time together is priceless and what I always hoped we'd share.”

Reading Check

1. Why did Brittany think of herself as a bad sister?

A. She suffered from autism.

B. She knew nothing about sports.

C. It was sad for her to have a silly brother.

D. It was difficult for her to communicate with Ryan.

2. What brought change to Brittany and Ryan's life?

A. A video shared on TikTok.

B. The invention of TikTok.

C. Ryan's funny reaction.

D. A skincare face mask.

3. What did Brittany think of people's question in paragraph 4?

A. Annoying.

B. Regretful.

C. Understandable.

D. Disappointing.

4. What can be inferred from paragraph 5?

A. Autism is a serious disease.

B. People with autism look silly.

C. Brittany loves her brother more after he got illness.

D. Brittany and Ryan make people learn more about autism.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

But for me, having something we do together that helps us bond and spend time together is priceless and what I always hoped we'd share. 但对我来说，我们一起做一些有助于我们建立联系和共度时光的事情是无价的，也是我一直希望我们能分享的。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句，having something...time together是动名词短语作主语，that helps us bond and spend time together是定语从句，修饰先行词something；what I always hoped we'd share是表语从句，与前面的priceless同作is的表语。

Ⅱ. Text-centered chunks

have an influence on 对……有影响

relate to 与……有关；有关联；了解

at times 有时；间或

feel like 感觉就像

put on 穿上；戴；涂

go viral 走红

in other words 换言之；换句话说；也就是说