【明報專訊】Sesame Street, a long-running children's TV series, is to welcome a new character. Julia, who has autism (自閉症), will join Cookie Monster, Elmo and others to teach kids about acceptance.

The orange-haired Julia first appeared in a Sesame Street digital storybook released in 2015. Christine Ferraro, a writer of the series, said that, to discover the best way of informing children about autism, the team had done extensive research and consulted educators, child psychologists and autism organisations.

In Julia's first episode, Big Bird wants to shake hands with her but she does not respond. Later, when a group of children decide to play hide-and-seek, Julia becomes so excited that she starts jumping up and down. The other children then jump with her. Ferraro suggested that it was an easy way to show young viewers that they can, with a little accommodation, get along with their autistic friends.

Julia's puppeteer, Stacey Gordon, happens to have an autistic child. She thinks it is important for kids without autism to learn more about the disorder. "Had my son's friends been exposed to his behaviours through something that they had seen on TV before they experienced them in the classroom, they might not have been frightened."

(sources: Ming Pao, Daily Mail, The New York Times)

■Photo Story

Julia is about to join Sesame Street to let children learn about autism.

■English highway﹕Type 3 conditional

The type 3 conditional refers to an impossible condition in the past. The main verb in the "if" clause is in past perfect, and that in the main clause is in perfect conditional.

e.g. If you had not lied to her before, she would have trusted you.

e.g. Had I worked harder, I might have passed the exam. (Had I worked... = If I had worked...)

■Quiz

Answer the following questions.

(Answers on next text)

1. How did the Sesame Street production team do research on autism?

　_______________________________________

2. Find in paragraph two a word that is similar in meaning to "find out".

　_______________________________________

3. Which of the following is/are correct description(s) of Julia?

a. Her hair is yellow.

b. She is excited about playing hide-and-seek.

c. She is responsive to Big Bird's greeting.

d. All of the above

4. Is the following sentence true or false?

Stacey Gordon's son does not have autism. (True / False)

■Glossary

acceptance (n) 接受

extensive (adj) 廣泛的

consult (v) 諮詢

puppeteer (n) 演木偶／布偶戲的人

[Smarties' Power English Vol 183]