【正文】 to si t around feeling sorry for mysel f. As wel as going to the m ovies and footbal matches wi th my friends, I spend a l ot of time wi th my pets. I have two rabbits, a parot, a tank ful of fi sh and a tortoi se. To look after my pets properly takes a l ot of time but I find it worthwhile. I also have to do a lot of work, especial y if I have been away for a whi le. In many ways my di sabil ty has helped m e grow stronger psychologicaly and bee more independent. I have to work hard to l ive a normal ife but i t has been worth it. If I had a chance to say one things to healthy chil dren, i t would be this: having a disabi lity does not mean your life is not satisfyi ng. So don’t feel sory for the disabl ed or make fun of them, and don’t ignore them ei ther. Just accept them for who they are, and gi ve them encouragement to l ive as ri ch and ful l a life as you do. Thank you for reading my story. A LETTER TO AN ARCH ITECT Ms L Sanders Al ice Major Chief architect 64 Cam bri dge Stret Cinem a Desi gns Bankstown 44 H il Stret Bankstown 24 Septem ber, 200— Dear Ms Sanders, I read i n the newspaper today that you are to be the architect for the new Bankstown ci nem a. I hope you wil not mi nd m e wri ti ng to ask if you have thought about the needs of di sabl ed customers. In parti cul ar I wonder i f you have consi dered the fol lowing thi ngs: 1 Adequate aces for wheelchai rs. It would be handy to have li fts to al l parts of the ci nema. The butons i n the l ifts shoul d be easy for a person in a wheel chair to reach, and the doors be wi de enough to enter. In some cinem as, the li fts are at the back of the ci nema i n col d, unattractive pl aces. As di sabled people have to use the li fts, thi s m akes them feel they are not as important as other customers. 2 Earphones for peopl e who have troubl e heari ng. It woul d hel p to fi t sets of earphones to al seats, not just to som e of them. This woul d al l ow heari ngim pai red custom ers to enjoy the pany of thei r hearing fri ends rather than havi ng to si t i n a special area. 3 Rai sed seati ng. Peopl e who are short canot al ways se the screen. So I’d li ke to sugest that the seats at the back be pl aced hi gher than those at the front so that everyone can se the screen easi ly. Perhaps there could be a space at the end of each row for people i n whelchai rs to sit next to thei r friends. 4 Toi l ets. For di sabled custom ers it woul d be more convenient to place the toi l ets near the entrance to the ci nema. It can be di fi cult i f the onl y disabl ed toil et i s in the basem ent a l ong way from where the fi lm i s showing. And i f the doors coul d be opened outwards, di sabl ed custom ers woul d be very hapy. 5 Car parki ng. Of course, there are usual y spaces speci al y reserved for di sabl ed and el derly dri vers. If they are cl ose to the ci nem a entrance and /or exit, it i s easier for disabl ed peopl e to get to the film i n fort. Thank you for readi ng m y letter. I hope m y suggesti ons wi l m eet wi th your approval . Di sabled peopl e shoul d have the sam e opportuni ti es as abl ebodied peopl e to enjoy the ci nema and to do so with digni ty. I am sure m any people wil l praise your cinem a i f you design it wi th good acces for di sabled people. It wi l al so m ake the ci nema owners hapy i f m ore people go as they wil l m ake higher profi ts! Yours si ncerel y, Ali ce Major Uni t 2 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Larry Belmont worked for a pany that m ade robots. Recentl y it had begun experim enting wi th a househol d robot. It was going to be tested out by Larry’s wi fe, Cl ai re. Claire didn’t want the robot i n her house, especi al ly as her husband woul d be absent for three weks, but Larry persuaded her that the robot woul dn’t harm her or al ow her to be harmed. It woul d be a bonus. However, when she fi rst saw the robot, she felt alarm ed. H is nam e was Tony and he seemed more l i ke a hum an than a m achine. H e was tal l and handsom e wi th sm oth hai r and a deep voice al though hi s facial expressi on never changed. O n the second m orning Tony, weari ng an apron, brought her breakfast and then asked her whether she needed help dresing. She fel t em barrassed and qui ckly tol d him to go. It was disturbi ng and fri ghteni ng that he l ooked so human. O ne day, Claire menti oned that she di dn’t think she was clever. Tony sai d that she m ust feel very unhappy to say that. Cl ai re thought i t was ridicul ous to be offered sym pathy by a robot. But she began to trust him. She tol d him how she was overwei ght and thi s m ade her feel unhappy. Al so she fel t her hom e wasn’t el egant enough for som eone li ke Larry who wanted to im prove hi s social position. She wasn’t l ike Gladys Cl affern, one of the richest and m ost powerful wom en around. As a favor Tony promi sed to hel p Claire make hersel f smarter and her home more el egant. So Claire borowed a pil e of boks from the li brary for him to read, or rather, scan. She l ooked at hi s fi ngers wi th wonder as they turned each page and suddenl y reached for hi s hand. She was am azed by his fingernai ls and the softness and warm th of hi s ski n. H ow absurd, she thought. He was just a m achi ne. Tony gave Claire a new hai rcut and changed the makeup she wore. As he was not al owed to ac pany her to the shops, he wrote out a l ist of item s for her. Claire went i nto the ci ty and bought curtains, cushi ons, a carpet and beddi ng. Then she went i nto a jewel ry shop to buy a necklace. When the cl erk at the counter was rude to her, she rang Tony up and told the cl erk to speak to him . The cl erk imm ediatel y changed hi s atti tude. Cl ai re thanked Tony, teli ng him that he was a “dear”. As she turned around, there stood Gl adys Claffern