小小企业家利瓦伊·安德顿

2023-04-14河北胡金莹

疯狂英语·新读写 2023年3期

河北胡金莹

三年级时，老师给了11 岁的利瓦伊一把“阅读尺”，这把尺子对他理解句子起到了很大的作用。为了让其他孩子也能获得同样的帮助，利瓦伊决定出售这种尺子。

主题语境：人物篇幅：350词建议用时：7分钟

1Mini entrepreneur Levi Anderton's“superpower”has launched him into the business world.Levi, 11, has dyslexia, a condition that makes reading difficult because his brain has trouble processing letters and sounds.But now he's the boss of his own business and helping other kids just like him.

2The Queensland Year 5 student,who also has ADHD,has earned about＄7,500 since starting his My Dyslexia Shop business two years ago.Levi sells“reading rulers”,a reading tool that helped him a lot when his teacher gave him one to try in Year 3.“It helped me understand sentences and follow along,”he said.“I wanted to ensure that other kids can gain such benefits.”

3Since he added ruler cases inscribed(刻)with his motto“Dyslexia is my superpower”to his offerings, he's sold about 700 ruler packs plus 600 cases through his website and at markets.

4His business success has also caught the attention of financial expert Scott Pape.“I am just so thoroughly impressed with Levi and what he's been able to do,”Pape said.“He's really turned what he had struggled with into a way of helping others.”

5Levi's “reading rulers”can help people with dyslexia.They work a bit like a coloured highlighter to make letters stand out clearly when the transparent, coloured ruler is placed over them.

6With the help of his mum, Levi found a supplier online, placed his first order for 25 packs of“reading rulers”.“I just sold out on the first day and the next day 200 people bought them,”Levi said.“It feels amazing because so many people know me and my rulers now.”

7Half the money Levi makes goes back into his business.He devotes25percent of his earnings to giving rulers to a charity that supports people with learning difficulties while he keeps the remaining25percent for himself.Levi said starting his own business was“quite a big jump”because he had learnt a lot from his business venture and become more confident.

Reading Check

Detail 1.Why did Levi decide to sell“reading rulers”?

A.To help other kids.

B.To earn some profits.

C.To enlarge his business.

D.To improve his reading ability.

Detail 2.What can we learn about Levi's business on selling“reading rulers”?

A.It received a financial expert's support.

B.It was a great success at the first attempt.

C.It is widely known throughout the world.

D.It can help to get rid of reading disorder.

Inference 3.How can we describe Levi according to the text?

A.Wise and diligent.

B.Optimistic and brave.

C.Ambitious and caring.

D.Clever and humorous.

Inference 4.What does the author intend to tell us?

A.Trouble can turn into power.

B.A boy runs his dyslexia shop.

C.Reading is possible for anyone.

D.Small reading brings big effects.

Language Study

I.Difficult sentence in the text

He devotes 25 percent of his earnings to giving rulers to a charity that supports people with learning difficulties while he keeps the remaining 25 percent for himself.他将自己收入的25%用于给一家帮助有学习困难的人的慈善机构捐赠“阅读尺”，剩下的25%则留给了自己。

【点石成金】本句中，while 为连词，表示前后两个句子为对比关系；that supports people with learning difficulties 为that引导的定语从句。