书城教材教辅用美国小学课本学英语
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第43章 Literature文学艺术(8)

“我不能卖,”那个穷人说,“它绝不能离开我的手。老人说过:‘如果你卖掉它或把它给了其他人,必将招来大祸。’他就是这么说的。”

于是,富兄弟把船开回家了。但是,在一个漆黑的夜晚,他又回来了,他悄悄地进了屋,偷走了神磨,带着它飞快地跑到了海边。他的小船正等在那里,然后,他驶向他的小岛。

这个坏兄弟很想让磨转起来。他等不及回到家,还在船里的时候,就迫不及待地要用。

“盐,”他说道,“我是卖盐的,盐就是我所想要的。”说着他开始转动磨盘,盐开始从磨里出来了,他高兴得大笑起来,唱起歌来。一堆一堆的盐出来了,船开始往下沉,他拼命把一些盐扔进海里,但是更多的盐从磨里出来了,一堆堆的。他不笑了,也不再唱了,接着,他开始害怕起来。

越来越多的盐从神磨里出来了,很快填满了整只船。这时,水进来了,淹没了船,船下沉了,连同这个贼和神磨一起,沉到了海底。

在海底,神磨仍然转动着,磨出越来越多的盐。

有些人说这就是为什么海水是咸的原因。

练习

谈谈你对这个故事的看法。

13 Peer Support 互助的意义

Anna really wanted to do something significant for her school before she went to college. But she couldn’t think of anything meaningful that would influence the lives of her schoolmates.

One day, Anna saw a girl sitting by the school pond crying. Anna went up to her and said, “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?” Anna found out that the girl was in her first year and was having trouble coping with her schoolwork. Then, Anna had an idea. She would start a tutoring group where seniors could help juniors who were struggling in their subjects.

Before long, many seniors volunteered to join Anna’s tutoring group. Soon, Anna also started other support groups like “I’m not Alone” which provided counseling for students whose parents had been divorced and “Crime Fighters” where students helped prevent theft. Anna was happy that she made a difference in her peers’ lives. She was showered with flowers of appreciation from her friends at her graduation!

Maybe you could start a peer support group too? Here’s a list of peer support groups that you can start: You can start a group that.

(1) Helps students quit smoking

(2) Helps students quit drinking and gambling

(3) Counsels students with health problems

(4) Helps new students adjust to school life

(5) Provides graduating students with information on further studies

(6) Helps students who have abusive parents

(7) Helps students who are emotionally unstable

(8) Helps students who come from low-income families

Vocabulary 词汇

significant [sig"nifik?nt] adj. 重大的,有意义的;

n. 有意义的事物,象征

pond [p?nd] vt. & vi. 筑成池塘;

n. 池塘

tutoring v. 辅导,教导(tutor["tju:t?] 的现在分词),当家庭教师;

n. 辅导

divorced [di"v?:st] adj. 离婚的

gambling ["ɡ?mbli?] n. 赌博,投机;

v. 赌博,打赌(gamble的ing形式)

Counsels ["kauns?l] n. 忠告,协商,考虑;

vt. 劝告,主张:

vi. 提出(或接受)忠告

abusive [?"bju:siv] adj. 辱骂的,滥用的,虐待的

unstable ["?n"steibl] adj. 不稳定的,动荡的,易变的

Practice

Make a list of the thing that you can do it to help others.

译文

安娜十分想在高中毕业前为母校做点贡献,但她想不出能做些什么有意义的事。

一天,安娜看见一个女孩坐在学校池塘边上哭。她便上前问道:“你还好吗?有什么我能帮你的?”安娜得知女孩上一年级,在学习上遇到些麻烦。安娜突然有了主意。她要创办一个辅导小组,让高年级学生有机会帮助学习有困难的低年级同学。

不久,许多高年级同学都自愿加入这个小组。很快地,安娜还开办了其他小组,比如为父母离异的学生提供心理辅导的“我不孤单”小组和防止犯罪的“罪恶克星”小组。能给大家的生活带来改变,安娜觉得十分高兴。在毕业典礼上,她收到许多朋友赠送的鲜花。

也许你也可以创建一个互助小组。你可以有以下几个选择:

1) 帮助同学戒烟

2) 帮助同学戒酒、戒赌

3) 提供健康咨询

4) 帮助新生适应学校生活

5) 为应届毕业生提供升学信息

6) 帮助遭遇家庭暴力的同学

7) 帮助受情绪困扰的同学

8) 帮助贫困生

练习

列个清单,看看你可以做些什么来帮助别人。

14 Beautiful Smile and Love 美丽的微笑与爱心

The poor are very wonderful people. One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition, and I told the sisters: You take care of the other three. I take care of this one who looked worse. So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said just the words “thank you” and she died. I could not help but examine my conscience before her and I asked what would I say if I was in her place. And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said I am hungry, that I am dying, I am cold, I am in pain, or something, but she gave me much more-she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. As did that man whom we picked up from the drain, half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home. “I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for.” And it was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that, who could die like that without blaming anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel—this is the greatness of our people. And that is why we believe what Jesus had said: I was hungry, I was naked, I was homeless, I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for, and you did it to me.

I believe that we are not real social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of the people, but we are really contemplatives in the heart of the world. For we are touching the body of Christ twenty-four hours…And I think that in our family we don’t need bombs and guns, to destroy, to bring peace, just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world.

And with this prize that I have received as a Prize of Peace, I am going to try to make the home for many people who have no home. Because I believe that love begins at home, and if we can create a home for the poor I think that more and more love will spread. And we will be able through this understanding love to bring peace be the good news to the poor. The poor in our own family first, in our country and in the world. To be able to do this, our Sisters, our lives have to be wove with prayer. They have to be woven with Christ to be able to understand, to be able to share. Because to be woven with Christ is to be able to understand, to be able to share. Because today there is so much suffering…When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person who is shut out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who has been thrown out from society-that poverty is so full of hurt and so unbearable…And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something.

Vocabulary 词汇

conscience ["k?n??ns] n. 道德心,良心

drain [drein] vi. 排水,流干;

vt. 耗尽,使流出;

n. 排水,下水道

naked ["neikid] adj. 裸体的,无装饰的,无证据的,直率的

contemplative [k?n"templ?tiv, "k?ntempleitiv] adj. 沉思的,冥想的,默想的

evil ["i:v?l] adj. 邪恶的,有害的,不幸的;

n. 罪恶,邪恶,不幸

wove [w?uv] adj. 布纹的;

n. 布纹纸;

v. 织布(weave的过去式)

unbearable ["?n"bε?r?bl] adj. 难以忍受的,承受不住的

Practice

Read the story about Mother Teresa.

译文