Juniper came into the world 16 weeks ahead of schedule. As a result, she was the size of a newborn kitten when she was born. Doctors performed tests and worked around the clock to keep her alive. Despite their best attempts, the situation seemed grim▼. Her father, Tom, had a somewhat unusual response to the situation. Every day, he would visit her in the hospital and read to her from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer▼'s Stone. Tom dreamed that one day his daughter would live to hear the end of the series. Of course, at that time Juniper did not understand one word of the story. Yet for some reason, the words had an effect on her. When she heard Tom reading, Juniper would breathe calmly and her temperature▼ would stabilize▼. Whenever he would stop, her condition would worsen. Against all odds, Juniper survived. Five years later, she was attending kindergarten and doing well. One day, she came home and found a package▼ sent from Edinburgh, Scotland. It was a gift from J.K. Rowling. The legendary author had heard Juniper's story on a podcast▼ and was deeply moved. On this podcast, Juniper's mother talked about how Rowling's books were sacred▼ texts▼ to their family. Rowling's stories taught them about love and bravery, and guided them through the darkest period of their lives. When they opened the package, they found a complete set of Harry Potter books. Rowling even signed one, "To Juniper, The Girl Who Lived!" A few months later, Juniper and her family were able to return the favor. They sent Rowling an autographed▼ copy of their book about Juniper's life and thanked her for the magical words, which had helped Juniper survive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. What is this article mainly about? (A) A young girl who learns how to read. (B) A baby that survived being born prematurely▼. (C) A father who dreamed of becoming a writer. (D) A mother who took her daughter to see a Harry Potter film. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. What happened to Juniper when she heard Rowling's stories as a baby? (A) She would feel too excited. (B) They didn't have any effect on her. (C) Her condition would improve. (D) She would get sick. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. What statement is NOT true? (A) Rowling sent Juniper a gift in the mail. (B) Rowling named a character in her book after Juniper. (C) Juniper's parents wrote a book about her life. (D) Rowling gave Juniper her autograph. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. What does the phrase "Against all odds" in the second paragraph mean? (A) Striving for the best. (B) Seemingly weird. (C) With great chances. (D) Despite very low probability▼. |