A Boy and His Tree
A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.
Time went by…The little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree.
One day, the boy came back to the tree and looked sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy.
“I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.” “Sorry, but I don’t have money…but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy didn’t come back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.
One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. “Come and play with me.” The tree said. “I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry, but I don’t have a house. But you can cut off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.
The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn’t appear since then. The tree was again lonely and sad. One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said.
“I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” “Use my trunk to build the boat. You can sail and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and did not show up for a long time.
Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you.” the tree said. “ I don’t have teeth to bite.” The boy replied. “ No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now.” the boy said. “I really want to give you something…the only thing left is my dying roots.” The tree said with tears. “I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.” The boy replied. “Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest. Come here, please sit down with me and have a rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…
This is a story of everyone. The tree is our parent. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad… When we grow up, we leave them, and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy. You may think that the boy is cruel to the tree but that's how all of us are treating our parents.
很久以前有一棵苹果树。一个小男孩每天都喜欢来到树旁玩耍。他爬到树顶,吃苹果,在树荫里打盹……他爱这棵树,树也爱和他一起玩。
随着时间的流逝,小男孩长大了。他不再到树旁玩耍了。
一天,男孩回到树旁,看起来很悲伤。“来和我玩吧!”树说。
“我不再是小孩了,我不会再到树下玩耍了。”男孩答到,“我想要玩具,我需要钱来买。”
“很遗憾,我没有钱……但是你可以采摘我的所有苹果拿去卖。这样你就有钱了。”男孩很兴奋。他摘掉树上所有的苹果,然后高兴地离开了。自从那以后男孩没有回来。树很伤心。
一天,男孩回来了,树非常兴奋。“来和我玩吧。”树说。“我没有时间玩。我得为我的家庭工作。我们需要一个房子来遮风挡雨,你能帮我吗?”很遗憾,我没有房子。但是,你可以砍下我的树枝来建房。“因此,男孩砍下所有的树枝,高高兴兴地离开了。
看到他高兴,树也很高兴。但是,自从那时起男孩没再出现,树有孤独,伤心起来。
突然,在一个夏日,男孩回到树旁,树很高兴。“来和我玩吧!”树说。
“我很伤心,我开始老了。我想去航海放松自己。你能不能给我一条船?” “用我的树干去造一条船,你就能航海了,你会高兴的。”于是,男孩砍倒树干去造船。他航海去了,很长一段时间未露面。
许多年后男孩终于回来了。“很遗憾,我的孩子,我再也没有任何东西可以给你了。没有苹果给你……”树说。“我没有牙齿啃。” 男孩答到。“没有树干供你爬。”“现在我老了,爬不上去了。” 男孩说。“我真的想把一切都给你……我唯一剩下的东西是快要死去的树墩。” 树含着眼泪说。“现在,我不需要什么东西,只需要一个地方来休息。经过了这些年我太累了。”男孩答到。 “太好了!老树墩就是倚着休息的最好地方。过来,和我一起坐下休息吧。” 男孩坐下了,树很高兴,含泪而笑……
这是一个发生在每一个人身上的故事。那棵树就像我们的父母。我们小的时候,喜欢和爸爸妈妈玩……长大后,便离开他们,只有在我们需要父母亲,或是遇到了困难的时候,才会回去找他们。尽管如此,父母却总是有求必应,为了我们的幸福,无私地奉献自己的一切。你也许觉得那个男孩很残忍,但我们何尝不是这样呢?
英语学习方法秘诀
句子比单词重要
中国人学英语,最常用的方法是背单词,甚至有人以能背出一本词典为荣,但是词典上的解释是死的,语言的运用却是活的,机械的理解会造成很大的误解。词典不是最重要的,关键在于语境。可以说,单词没有多少实际运用的价值,机械记忆的单词量再大,也不会真正提高你的外语水平。要养成背诵句子的好习惯,因为句子中既包含了发音规则,又有语法内容,还能表明某个词在具体语言环境中的特定含义。
不要学“古董英语”。任何语言都是活的,每天都会发展,学习陈旧的语言毫无新鲜感,而且基本无处可用。不鲜活、不入时、不风趣幽默的语言不是我们要学的语言,多读外文报纸、多看原版影视作品才会有助于补充新词汇。
很多人以为,把单词拆成一个个字母背熟就可以正确地拼写出来,其实,科学的方法是把读音、拼写和用法融为一体,同步进行,眼口手脑并用,并把它应用到句子里面去理解。
听不懂也要听
练习听力时,许多人抱怨听不懂,因而丧失了听的乐趣,往往半途而废。其实,即使听不懂也是一种学习,只不过你自己觉察不到而已。虽然暂时听不懂,但你的耳膜已经开始尝试着适应一种新的语言发音,你的大脑在调整频率,准备接受一种新的信息代码,这本身就是一次飞跃。
所以切记:听不懂时,你也在进步。
练习听力,要充分利用心理学上的无意注意,只要一有时间,就要打开录音机播放外语磁带,使自己处于外语的语言环境中,也许你没听清楚说些什么,这不要紧,你可以随便做其他事情,不用去有意听,只要你的周围有外语环境的发音,你的听力就会提高。
敢于开口
学英语很重要的一点是用来和他人交流,但开口难也是中国人学英语的一大特点。
问题出在以下几点:
一是有些人把是否看懂当成学习的标准。拿到一本口语教材,翻开几页一看,都看懂了,就认为太简单了,对自己不合适。其实,练习口语的教材,内容肯定不会难,否则没法操练。看懂不等于会说,把这些你已经学会的东西流利地表达出来,才是口语教材最主要的目标。
二是千万不要用汉字来记英语发音。学习一门外语如果发音不过关,始终不会真正掌握一门外语,而且最大的害处是不利于培养对外语的兴趣,影响下一步学习。现在有人把用汉语发音标注英语,比如把“goodbye”记作“古得拜”,甚至把这种做法作为成果出版,这样做肯定后患无穷。
不敢开口的第三点是怕语法有错。没有具体问题,一般不要去读语法书。超前学习语法,会使你如坠云里雾里,丧失学习外语的乐趣和信心。
而且,语法好比游泳理论,对于没有下过水的人来说,游泳理论是用处不大的。同样,对于语言实践不够丰富的初学者,直接学习语法的用处不是很大。所以,一定要结合语言实践来理解语法,语法是学会语言后的一种理论思考。学语言不存在对错,只要能说出来,意思让人家明白就可以了,不用费尽心机考虑用什么句型,只要能选准一个单词就行。
学口语最好的办法,不是做习题,不是背诵,也不是看语法书,而是反复高声朗读课文,这种做法的目的是培养自己的语感,只有具备了语感,才能在做习题时不假思索、下意识地写出正确答案。而且,当你熟练朗读几十篇课文后,很多常用句子会不自觉地脱口而出,所谓的“用外语思维阶段”就会悄然而至。
“盯住”一套教材
现在市场上学英语的材料铺天盖地,这给了大家更多的选择余地,但处理不好也会带来不良后果———今天用这个教材、明天换另一种,学习便失去了系统性。正确的做法是选中一套教材,以它为主,其余材料都作为补充。
还有,目前市面上不少考试材料都以“真题”为卖点,不少考生把希望寄托于做“真题”上,以为这样就能通过考试。其实,很多正规的考试取材十分广泛,经过了严格的难度论证,使用过的材料绝不可能二度使用。
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