【正文】 to si t around feeli ng sory for m ysel f. As wel as goi ng to the m ovi es and footbal l m atches with m y friends, I spend a l ot of tim e wi th my pets. I have two rabbi ts, a parrot, a tank ful of fi sh and a tortoi se. To l ook after m y pets properl y takes a l ot of tim e but I fi nd i t worthwhi l e. I al so have to do a lot of work, especi al y i f I have been away for a whil e. In m any ways m y di sabi li ty has helped m e grow stronger psychologi cal y and be e more i ndependent. I have to work hard to l i ve a norm al l i fe but it has been worth it. If I had a chance to say one thi ngs to heal thy chi l dren, i t woul d be thi s: havi ng a di sabi li ty does not m ean your l i fe i s not satisfyi ng. So don’t feel sorry for the di sabl ed or m ake fun of them , and don’t i gnore them either. Just acept them for who they are, and gi ve them encouragem ent to li ve as ri ch and ful l a l ife as you do. Thank you for readi ng my story. A LETTER TO AN ARCH ITECT Ms L Sanders Al i ce Major Chi ef archi tect 64 Cam bri dge Street Ci nem a Desi gns Bankstown 44 Hi l Stret Bankstown 24 Septem ber, 200— Dear Ms Sanders, I read i n the newspaper today that you are to be the archi tect for the new Bankstown ci nem a. I hope you wil l not mi nd m e writi ng to ask i f you have thought about the needs of di sabled custom ers. In parti cul ar I wonder i f you have consi dered the fol owi ng thi ngs: 1 Adequate acces for wheel chai rs. It woul d be handy to have li fts to al parts of the ci nem a. The buttons i n the l i fts shoul d be easy for a person i n a wheel chai r to reach, and the doors be wi de enough to enter. In som e ci nem as, the l ifts are at the back of the ci nem a in col d, unatracti ve places. As di sabl ed peopl e have to use the li fts, thi s m akes them feel they are not as i mportant as other custom ers. 2 Earphones for peopl e who have troubl e heari ng. It woul d hel p to fi t sets of earphones to al l seats, not just to som e of them. Thi s woul d al ow heari ngi m pai red custom ers to enjoy the pany of thei r heari ng fri ends rather than havi ng to si t i n a speci al area. 3 Raised seati ng. Peopl e who are short canot al ways see the screen. So I’d l i ke to suggest that the seats at the back be pl aced hi gher than those at the front so that everyone can see the screen easi l y. Perhaps there coul d be a space at the end of each row for peopl e i n wheel chai rs to sit next to thei r fri ends. 4 Toi l ets. For di sabl ed custom ers i t woul d be m ore conveni ent to pl ace the toil ets near the entrance to the ci nem a. It can be di ffi cult i f the onl y di sabl ed toil et is i n 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 happy. 5 Car parki ng. O f course, there are usual l y spaces speci al ly reserved for di sabl ed and el derl y drivers. If they are close to the ci nem a entrance and /or exit, i t is easi er for disabl ed peopl e to get to the fi lm i n fort. Thank you for readi ng m y l etter. I hope m y suggesti ons wil l meet wi th your approval. Di sabled peopl e shoul d have the sam e opportuniti es as ablebodied peopl e to enjoy the ci nem a and to do so with di gnity. I am sure m any peopl e wi l prai se your ci nem a i f you desi gn it wi th good acess for di sabl ed peopl e. It wil l al so m ake the ci nem a owners happy if m ore peopl e go as they wil l make hi gher profi ts! Yours si ncerely, Ali ce Major Uni t 2 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Larry Belm ont worked for a pany that made robots. Recentl y it had begun experim enti ng wi th a househol d robot. It was goi ng to be tested out by Larry’s wi fe, Cl aire. Cl ai re di dn’t want the robot in her house, especi al y as her husband woul d be absent for three weeks, but Lary persuaded her that the robot woul dn’t harm her or al ow her to be harm ed. It woul d be a bonus. H owever, when she first saw the robot, she felt al arm ed. H is nam e was Tony and he seem ed m ore l i ke a hum an than a m achine. He was tal l and handsom e wi th sm ooth hair and a deep voi ce al though his faci al expressi on never changed. O n the second m orni ng Tony, weari ng an apron, brought her breakfast and then asked her whether she needed hel p dressi ng. She fel t em barassed and quickl y tol d him to go. It was disturbi ng and fri ghteni ng that he l oked so hum an. O ne day, Cl aire m enti oned that she di dn’t thi nk she was cl ever. Tony sai d that she m ust feel very unhappy to say that. Cl ai re thought i t was ri di cul ous to be offered sym pathy by a robot. But she began to trust hi m. She tol d him how she was overweight and thi s m ade her feel unhappy. Al so she fel t her home wasn’t elegant enough for som eone li ke Larry who wanted to i mprove hi s soci al posi ti on. She wasn’t l ike Gl adys Cl afern, one of the ri chest and m ost powerful wom en around. As a favor Tony promi sed to hel p Cl ai re m ake hersel f sm arter and her hom e more el egant. So Cl ai re borrowed a pi l e of books from the l i brary for him to read, or rather, scan. She l oked 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 hi s fi ngernail s and the softness and warmth of hi s ski n. H ow absurd, she thought. H e was just a m achi ne. Tony gave Clai re a new hai rcut and changed the m akeup she wore. As he was not al l owed to ac pany her to the shops, he wrote out a l ist of i tem s for her. Cl ai re went i nto the city and bought curtai ns, cushi ons, a carpet and beddi ng. Then she went i nto a jewel ry shop to buy a neckl ace. When the cl erk at the counter was rude to her, she rang Tony up and tol d the cl erk