Reading ''Leaving Her Mark''

Leaving Her Mark

A True Story

1 Wherever she goes, Molly leaves her mark. Without saying a word, she speaks to people
by looking at them with her beautiful eyes. Even when she walks away, she leaves a
mark. Molly’s mark is a smile. She draws it on the ground by the horseshoe* at the
bottom of her false leg*.
2 A few years ago, Molly, a pony*, was badly attacked by a dog. Molly’s owner, Kaye Harris, took her
to an animal hospital. Veterinarians there saved Molly’s life, but one of her legs was broken, and it
became very infected. The only way to save Molly’s life was to cut the leg.
3 At first, veterinarians thought it was necessary to put Molly to sleep (to kill Molly), but Molly changed
their decision. This pony learned to live with her broken leg. Doctors understood Molly was very
intelligent and she wanted to live.
4 Some veterinarians operated on Molly and removed (cut) her leg. A false leg was made for
her. Doctors gave her a special horseshoe at the bottom of her false leg. This horseshoe had
a smiling face (☺) under it.
5 After the operation, Molly walked around on all four legs like a healthy horse! Now, with
every step she makes, she draws a smiling face in the soil, but she leaves her mark in
other ways, too.
6 Kate Harris took Molly to a medical center for children once. In the center, there were children who
had false legs or false arms. They were shocked when they saw a horse with a false leg. Molly helped
them to smile and gave them happiness. Soon, Molly began to visit schools, nursing homes, army
bases and hospitals every month. Even a book was written about Molly.
7 Molly is a symbol of hope for people of all ages with false legs or false arms. Her story leaves a smile
on people’s faces, just as her horseshoe leaves a smiling face in the soil.
*a pony: a kind of small horse
A) What do the words in bold refer to?
1. her (par.2, line 1) : ____________________
2. there (par.2, line 2) : ____________________
3. They (par.6, line 2) : _____________________
B) Answer the questions according to the text. GIVE SHORT ANSWERS.
1. How does Molly speak to people although she doesn’t say a word?
__________________________________________________________________________.
2. Why did the veterinarians change their decision?
___________________________________________________________________________.

3. Why was a false leg made for Molly?
__________________________________________________________________________.
4. What was special about Molly’s horseshoe?
__________________________________________________________________________.
5. Which places did Molly regularly go after the operation? (WRITE TWO)
__________________________________________________________________________.
6. Who does Molly give hope to?
__________________________________________________________________________.
C) Fill in the blanks with ONE WORD ONLY.
SINGLE FATHERS' CLUB
Self-help groups, i.e. groups of people with common problems, are very popular in many countries. These
people (1)____________________ meetings and talk about their problems. They try to find answers for
their problems together. For example, there (2)____________________ hundreds of groups of men and
women who want to lose weight or give up drinking, who are single mothers or unmarried mothers. Now
groups for single fathers are also starting to appear. This (3)____________________ the story of a
group for single fathers.
It started when a radio announcer, John McCarthy, (4)____________________ reading an announcement
for a single mothers' group. (5)____________________ he read the announcement, he said, "I'm a single
father (6)____________________ two children. My wife died two years ago. I look
(7)____________________ my children on my own and I have a lot of problems. I'm sure there are a lot
of other men who have lost (8)____________________ wives. So we need a group, too". Two single
fathers, Henry Mason (9)____________________ Paul Singer, heard his message on the radio and
called him, and they decided (10)____________________ meet. These three men started the first single
fathers' group in the US (11)____________________ May 5th, 1988. Six months
(12)____________________, there were 30 fathers in the group called "Single Fathers' Club". Now, there
are doctors, students, mechanics, a bus-driver, a television producer, a few businessmen and several men
who are unemployed. They meet every Tuesday night.
They talk about problems, such as how to look after a child with a temperature, where to find milk at 6
a.m., how to help children who (13)____________________ sleep well at night, or what foods are best
for their children. The fathers feel these meetings help them. They say the difficult part for men is just
learning to talk to other men about anything really personal.
GOOD LUCK!!!