初中英语--美文阅读

Andy s Hobbies Andy is always watching animal programs on TV When he was a child his favorite books were Gerald Durrel s animal books He also wrote down something about animals when he heard them especially the ones that were about loving animals He has always had pets His first animal friends were pigs And then he tried his best to persuade his parents to get a dog For some reasons they did not seem to believe Andy would walk the dog three times a day no matter how Andy promised he d do it He did his best to persuade them he was good at drawing and left drawings of dogs all over the place He ran to the library borrowed all the dog books he could find and left them lying around as well His parents were quite used to his books lying around everywhere Then Andy s mother was told a friend s cat had kittens and they could go and get one At first Andy was a little disappointed As time went by he learned to love the cat so much he has had cats ever since Cats let us know when it is time to change the sofa Either when the fabric starts to look like Einstein s hair that has been combed with cat paws thanks to the generous donation of cat hair 安迪的爱好 安迪总是看电视节目上的动物频道 当他还是个孩子的时候 他最喜欢的书就是杰拉尔 德 达雷尔写的有关动物的书籍 每当他听到一些关于动物的事情 尤其是那些有关爱护动 物的故事 他都会记录下来 他一直爱养宠物 他的第一个动物朋友是猪 后来他尽自己的最大努力去说服他父母为 他买一只狗 由于某些原因 无论安迪怎样承诺 他们似乎并不相信安迪会每天出去遛狗三 次 他尽自己的最大努力说服他们 他擅长画画 到处都放着狗的素描 他跑到图书馆去借 他能找到的所有关于狗的书籍 也把它们丢得到处都是 他的父母已经习惯他把书丢得到处 都是了 后来安迪的母亲得知一个朋友家的猫生了小猫 他们可以去抱一只回家 起初安迪感到 有点失望 但自从有了猫之后 随着时间的推移他学会给猫很多爱护 猫让我们知道什么时候该换沙发了 也就是当沙发织物开始看起来像用猫爪梳理过的爱 因斯坦的头发时 这其实多亏有了慷慨捐赠的猫毛 Larry Schwarz s Hobbies Larry Schwarz has played with toys all his life As a child he often pulled his toys apart and then glued them back together He made toy rockets cars and buildings out of boxes Although he put his toys away long enough to become a lawyer he never lost his childhood passion for toys Schwarz dreamed up many toys while in school Instead of taking notes in class he filled 26 notebooks with toy sketches Still he managed to get his lawyer degree Today instead of working in a courtroom Schwarz skateboards around his Rumpus s headquarters in New York City In 1997 he started the Rumpus Toy company and invented all kind of crazy toys like Gus Gutz a doll with 12 spongy organs and Sy Klops a one eyed doll Even the boxes are playful Printed instructions on Rumpus toy boxes allow kids to turn them into club houses buses or airplanes He loves to ride around in his Rumpus Road Rocket a multi colored school bus He visits hospitals and schools bringing toys happiness and advice Says Schwarz If you believe in something strongly enough and think you can do it you really should give it a try 拉里 施瓦茨的爱好 拉里 施瓦茨这一生都在玩玩具 他小时候就经常把玩具拆开 然后再用胶水重新拼合 他用盒子制造玩具火箭 汽车和楼房 尽管为了成为一名律师 他不得不长时间把玩具放在 一边 但他从未丧失童年时对玩具的那种热情 上学时施瓦茨梦想拥有很多玩具 他上课不 做笔记 反而在 26 个笔记本上画满玩具草图 不过 他还是设法取得了法律专业学位 现在 施瓦茨不在法庭工作 而是滑着滑板在他位于纽约的拉姆普斯公司总部转悠 1997 年 他创办了拉姆普斯玩具公司 发明了各种各样的疯狂玩具 比如有 12 个海绵器 官的玩偶格丝 古茨 独眼玩偶赛 克洛普斯 甚至连包装盒都可以玩 玩具盒上印着的说 明书可指导孩子们把盒子变成俱乐部会所 公共汽车或飞机 他喜欢乘坐一辆名为 拉姆普 斯公路火箭 的彩色校车四处跑 他参观医院和学校 给大家带去玩具 快乐和忠告 施瓦 茨说 如果你特别相信某件事 而且觉得自己可以做好的话 你真的应该试一试 Molly Makes a Change about Her Business Molly Boylan is one of the most successful businesswomen in Canada after setting up her cosmetic company Blazes in 1992 Though she is very successful she says that she finds it harder every year in balance her business with her family life She sometimes feels that her two children know more about their baby sitter than they do about her Molly employs around eighty people in her factory and warehouse and ten others in her two new fashion stores but her newest employee is the most important one for her After years of worrying about her business more than her family she has decided to make Sally Pamonte new general manager in her company Molly will still be involved in decision making and she s going to stay in touch with the people who work for her but Sally is going to look after day to day running of the business so that Molly can spend more time with the kids The new arrangement is going to start on Monday and both of them are already excited about it Sally says I m very nervous actually but I m sure Molly will help me a lot in the early days even though I hope she feels she can trust me not to make too many mistakes Molly on the other hand seems quite relaxed about the whole thing I know that Sally s going to be a very nice manager she says She s only been here a couple of days and she s already shown me how to work out a few problems we were having The best thing though is that I feel a hundred times happier than I ve been in years I mean I honestly can t remember the last time I felt as relaxed as this and my kids are really excited about my being at home more To be honest I wish I had made this decision years ago 莫莉改变了公司的业务安排 1992 年莫莉 博伊兰创办了她的 Blazes 化妆品公司 自此她便成了加拿大最成功的 女企业家之一 虽然她很成功 但她说她发现每年在事业与家庭之间很难取得平衡 有时她 感到她自己的两个孩子对保姆的了解比对她了解的还要多 莫莉为她的工厂和仓库雇用了大约八十人 为两个新时装店雇用了十人 但她最新的员 工对她最为重要 她多年为家庭操心 为生意更操心之后 决定任命萨莉 帕蒙特为公司的 新总经理 莫莉仍参与决策 并与为她工作的人保持联系 但是萨莉要照料公司业务的日常 运行 这样莫莉能有更多的时间跟孩子们在一起 新的工作安排将于星期一开始运作 他们俩都已经很兴奋 萨莉说 我真的很紧张 但我确信在早期阶段莫莉将会给我很多帮助 尽管我希望她可以相信我不会犯太多错误 另一方面 莫莉对整个事件似乎很轻松 我知道萨莉将成为一个非常好的经理 她说 她来这里只有几天时间 她已经向我展示了如何解决我们遇到的一些问题 最棒的是 我 觉得我比以前幸福了一百倍 我的意思是 我真的不记得上次我感到像这次这样的轻松是什 么时候了 我的孩子们对我有更多的时候待在家里真的感到格外兴奋 老实说 我希望我在 多年前就应该这做出这样的决定 Jon s Working Situation Dull Axe Jon likes his job and he used to be quite good at it In fact ten years ago when he began working at IT he was considered one of the best in the company However over the past few years Jon s performance at work has been slipping Jon got more and more frustrated as his friends progressed and he didn t Finally one day Jon asked a friend for some advice I don t understand I try so hard but I can t get up in the company His friend looked serious and asked When was the last time you sharpened your axe Jon looked at his friend as though he was crazy and said What are you talking about His friend replied When was the last time you took courses to upgrade your skills You work in a competitive industry If you don t update your skills you will fall behind Jon felt silly and laughed I have spent all of my time trying to cut trees with a dull axe All I needed to do was sharpen it 乔恩的工作现状 钝了的斧头 乔恩热爱工作 他曾经是这一行的高手 事实上 十年前他开始在 IT 行业工作时 他 被认为是公司里的顶尖高手 可是几年过去了 乔恩的工作表现往下滑落 看着朋友突飞猛 进 而他自己一点长进也没有 乔恩越来越感到沮丧 有一天乔恩终于向一位朋友寻求忠告 我不明白 我在公司里如此努力 却无法升职 他的朋友表情严肃 问道 你上次磨利你的斧头是什么时候的事 乔恩看着朋友 好像他的朋友有点疯了并说 你在说什么 朋友回答 你上次什么时候去上课提高你的技术 你在极具竞争性的行业里工作 如 果不更新你的技术 你就会落后的 乔恩觉得自己很蠢 大笑 原来我一直在拿一把钝了的斧头在砍树 却忘了需要磨利 它 The Meanest Mother I had the meanest mother in the whole world While other kids ate candy for breakfast I had to have porridge eggs or toast When others had Cokes and candy for lunch I had to eat a sandwich But at least I wasn t alone when I was sad My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did My mother preferred to know where we were all the time She had to know who our friends were and where we were going We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days We could not lie in bed sick in order to miss school The worst is yet to come We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning We couldn t sleep till noon like our friends So while they slept my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Law She made us work We had to wash dishes make beds and learn to cook and all sorts of things at home I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do My mother was a complete failure as a mother Two of her children received higher education None of us have ever been arrested taken away by the police or divorced She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults I am trying to raise my three children this way I am filled with pride when my children call me mean Why Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world 最无情的母亲 我有一个算得上世界上最无情的母亲 当其他小孩早餐可以吃糖的时候 我却只能吃麦 片 鸡蛋或烤面包 别的孩子午餐可以喝可乐吃糖 我却只能吃三明治 但至少并不是只有 我这样 我的姐姐 两个哥哥与我一样 都有同一个这样无情的母亲 我母亲一直喜欢了解我们的行踪 我们和哪些朋友在一起 要去哪里 我们每天都得穿 干净的衣服 而且每天必须洗澡 而其他孩子一件衣服能穿上好几天 我们不能躺在床上 生病 以逃避上学 最糟糕的事还在后头呢 每天晚上我们必须在 9 点之前睡觉 第二天早上 8 点必须起 床 我们不能像其他朋友那样睡到中午 当他们想睡到中午时 我母亲就会勇敢地违反童工 法 我母亲让我们干活 洗碗 整理床铺 做饭以及各种各样的家务事 我认为我母亲躺在 床上不睡觉 一直在想着要求我们去做的那些事情 作为母亲 我的母亲完全是一位不称职的母亲 但她的两个孩子接受了高等教育 我们 中没有一个人被警察逮捕或离婚 她迫使我们长成有教养的 诚实的成年人 我想用这种教 育方式培养我的三个孩子 我的孩子说我 无情 时我心中充满了自豪 为什么呢 因为现 在我每天都在感谢上帝给了我世界上最无情的母亲 My Faithful Father My father used to work in the city and seldom stayed at home But he would come back help to harvest rice every year One autumn he promised to help our neighbor who lost his arms in a traffic accident in 1999 to harvest his rice After Father harvested our own his little rice picker broke What s worse he had to return to work the next day because his partner was ill in hospital It meant that Father wouldn t be back in a few days It now seemed impossible to help out the neighbor Father told us that he wouldn t let the neighbor s rice rot in the field He decided to harvest it by hand without a machine If tonight s weather is clear I think I can do it added my father In fact he was rather tired after a day s harvest work After dinner Father had a short rest and made his way to the field A full moon was glowing in the sky and the weather was cold but clear He spent the whole night keeping his word I would never forget the image Father was cutting rice in the light of the harvest moon Behind him row after row of rice stocks stood at attention showing respect for a man who kept his word 信守诺言的爸爸 我的父亲过去在城里工作 很少待在家里 但每年都会回来帮助收割水稻 一个秋天 他答应帮我们的邻居收割水稻 邻居在 1999 年的一次交通事故中失去了双 臂 在爸爸收割完我们自己的水稻之后小割稻机坏了 更糟糕的是 爸爸第二天必须赶回去 上班 因为他的搭档生病住院了 这意味着爸爸在几天内不再回来 现在帮邻居收割水稻似 乎不可能了 爸爸告诉我们 他不能让邻居家的水稻烂在地里 他决定没有机器就手工收割水稻 他 又加上一句 如果今晚天气晴朗 我想我能做到 事实上 他在一天的收割工作之后已经 是相当累了 晚饭后 爸爸休息了片刻 然后就去了田地 天空一轮明月 天气寒冷却明亮 他用了 一整夜时间帮邻居收割水稻 实现了他的诺言 我永远不会忘记这样的画面 在满月的月光下爸爸正在割水稻 在他身后 一排排的水 稻秆立正站着 以示对一个信守承诺的人的尊重 Unit Two Daily Routines My Weekends I don t like staying at home all alone on the weekend I d like to go out even there s nothing special to do Yesterday was Sunday I went to the bank in the downtown and then met my friend It was already noon so we had lunch together and then we went to a KTV and sang songs There were just two of us And we sang all the time When we got bored we went to the shopping center and bought something she needed I felt tired I didn t have a nap I usually sleep for about 30 minutes or so on weekdays After I got back home at around 5 30 pm I started to think did I really enjoy myself in this way The answer should be NO So I think maybe next time I should stay at home do something I really enjoy like watching movies doing some reading or just doing cross stitching And I still could sleep at noon Just do the thing I like and can make me relaxed What about you Do you always spend weekends at home or you think like I thought before that we should spend the weekend outside our house I hope you enjoyed your last weekend For me I prefer to stay at home rather than going out with my friends You know compared with hanging out with others I really tend to stay at home and surf on the Internet Yes nowadays I have gotten interested in making money online through various kinds of ways For example I often spend much time on myLot on the weekend Even if for something such as shopping I will still choose to go shopping online 我的周末 周末我不喜欢独自一人待在家里 即使没有什么特别的事情 我也想外出 昨天是星期天 我去了市中心的银行 然后遇到了我的朋友 那时已经是中午了 所以 我们一起吃了午饭 然后就去 KTV 唱歌 歌厅里只有我们两个人 我们一直唱呀唱 当我 们唱得无聊了 就一起去购物中心买她需要的东西 我感到很疲倦 因为我没有午睡 平常 我通常会睡 30 分钟左右 下午 5 30 左右回到家 之后我就开始想 这样我过得真的快 乐吗 答案应该是 不 于是我想 下一次也许我应该待在家里做一些我真正喜欢的事情 像看电影 阅读或仅仅绣十字绣 而且我中午仍然可以睡觉 做我喜欢的事情 并让自己放 松一些 你呢 你总是待在家里过周末 还是像我之前想的那样 我们应该到外面去过周末 我倒希望你上个周末过得很开心 对我来说 我宁愿待在家里 也不想和我的朋友一起到外面去 你知道 比起和其他人 一起在外面闲逛 我真的更倾向于待在家里 在互联网上冲浪 是的 现在我开始对在网上 通过各种方式赚钱很感兴趣 例如 周末我经常花很多时间在 myLot 网站上 即使是做某 些事情 比如购物 我还是会选择在网上购物 A Day of Working with My Dad This Thursday across the US kids are skipping school and going to work with their parents They ll be making copies sending faxes and sweeping floors This is because April 28 is Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day all over the US This holiday shows kids what it means to be a grown up in the working world I still remember when this day started I was very happy Not only did I have the chance to miss school but I also got to sit in my dad s taxi all day long and we would go to a restaurant for lunch But after only 20 minutes of driving around the city I was very bored I couldn t read my book in the car as I would get carsick and my dad didn t like to turn on the radio I got hot and uncomfortable People wouldn t get into his taxi because they thought he already had a passenger me so nothing happened It seemed years before we went out for lunch I actually started to miss school While the point of the day is to give kids a chance to experience real life jobs and give them an idea of the possibilities for their futures I got something completely different from the day I learned to appreciate school Where else do you get to play with your friends do science experiments read great books and write stories all in one day Just as you ll have to learn to love your job later in life learn to love school now If you don t already try spending the day at work with your dad 同爸爸一起工作一天 这个周四 全美国的孩子们都不去上学 而是和父母一起去工作 他们将会去复印材料 发送传真以及扫地 这是因为 4 月 28 日是全美国的 带子女上班日 这个节日向孩子展 示 作为工作领域中的成年人意味着什么 我仍旧记得 当这一天开始的时候我是多么高兴 我不仅不用去上学 而且还可以一整 天坐在爸爸的出租车里 还能去餐馆吃午饭 但是 在开车绕城仅仅 20 分钟后我就感到厌烦了 我不能在车里看书 因为那样会晕 车 我爸爸又不喜欢打开收音机 我越来越热 也越来越不舒服 人们不愿上爸爸的车 因 为他们以为车里早已有了乘客 也就是我 所以没有什么生意 似乎过了很久很久我们才 去吃午饭 我真的开始想念学校生活了 尽管 带子女上班日 的目的是要给孩子们一个体验真实工作的机会 以及给他们一个 对未来的想法 我却从那一天得到了完全不同的体会 我学会了重视学校生活 你还可以在 其他什么地方能在一天内和朋友玩耍 做科学实验 读很棒的书以及写故事呢 正如在以后 的生活中你必须学会热爱工作一样 现在学会热爱学习吧 如果你还没有这么做 尝试和爸 爸一起工作一天吧 How to Make Children Do Housework It is difficult for the parents of every family to teach their children to be responsible for housework The Shatian School in Shanghai is making its students do housework for their parents The third graders must learn how to cook and clean the sixth graders do the laundry and the seventh and the eighth graders cook balanced meals with 15 yuan Many parents think it s a good way for children to try housework but they don t know how to do it at home With the following ideas you can really get your children to help at home If you want to make your children think that they can do everything quite well please don t always scold them but give them lots of praise at home Talk more about what he did right not about what he didn t do If your child finishes some difficult work give him or her a Sunday trip or a ball game with dad as a reward 如何让孩子做家务 对每个家庭的父母来说 教育孩子分担一些家务劳动是很困难的 上海沙田学校让该校的学生为父母做家务 三年级学生必须学会如何做饭和打扫卫生 六年级的学生必须学会洗衣服 七年级和八年级的学生必须学会用 15 元钱来做出营养均衡 的饭菜 许多父母认为试着让孩子做家务是一种很好的方式 但是他们不知道如何让他们在家做 家务 试试下面这些办法吧 你真的可以让你的孩子在家帮忙做家务 如果你们想要让你的孩子们觉得他们能做好每件事 请不要总批评他们 而要多表扬他 们 多谈论他们做过的正确的事情 不要谈论那些他们没有做过的事情 如果你的孩子完成 了一些困难的工作 给他 她一次周日旅行或者让他 她和爸爸一起看球赛作为奖励吧 The First Day of School It is school time again a new start of a new period You are probably feeling excited and a little sad that summer vacation is over Some kids feel nervous or a little scared on the first day of school because of the new things new teachers and maybe even a new school Luckily these new worries only stay for a little while On your first day most teachers start the school year by introducing themselves and talking about all the things you ll do that year Maybe you ll have a chance to tell something about yourselves to the others of the class The most important thing for you is to learn new rules and follow them After all rules can make the school life better Besides the most exciting thing for you is to meet more new friends in a new place The first day of school doesn t sound bad but there is some advice for you to make you a better person such as developing good learning habits making a good plan and taking your new schoolwork seriously The last but not the least is to have fun in your new school As the saying goes Good beginning is half done 开学第一天 又开学了 一个新学期的开始 你可能感到兴奋 并且有点儿难过 暑假结束了 在开学的第一天 有些孩子觉得紧张 或有点儿害怕 因为多是新事物 新老师 甚至可能是新学校 幸运的是 这些新的烦恼仅 仅是暂时的 在开学的第一天 大多数老师开始介绍自己 谈论你们在这一年里要做的所有事情 也 许你有机会向班里其他人讲述你的事情 对你来说 最重要的事就是学习新规则并且遵守它 们 这些规则毕竟能使学校生活更美好 除此之外 对你来说 最兴奋的事就是在一个新地 方遇见更多的新朋友 开学第一天似乎不错 但还有一些建议使你变得更好 例如 培养良 好的学习习惯 制定一个好计划 认真做好你的新功课 最后但同样重要的是 在你的新学 校里玩得很开心 正如谚语所说 良好的开端是成功的一半 School Lunches In the UK most children have their lunches at school but in some schools parents can choose what their children eat The children can have a school lunch a hot cooked meal or they can take a packed lunch with them which usually includes cold food like sandwiches Often parents know what their children want Cathy a mother of three children told us My children have packed lunches because they say they hate school lunches So I make three packed lunches every morning However another mother Susan made a different choice She said My daughters have always had school lunches I think they probably get healthier food at school than a few sandwiches I made for them But how healthy are school lunches Kaz a father thought poorly of them He said Fizzy drinks were offered and I think there were lots of chips Jamie Oliver spent a year working in a school kitchen He was worried about the unhealthy food which included burgers pizzas and chips So he tried to cook healthy food such as good stews and curries for the children instead So Jamie improved the school lunches and trained the lunch ladies to cook healthy food in that school Then he advised the government to improve school food across the country And it seems now that the changes have begun Anna a pupil told us We used to have a fast food window where you got chips and coke but they stopped that this year There s a salad restaurant which is good so it s healthier than it was 学校午餐 英国的大部分孩子都在学校里吃午餐 但在有些学校 父母能够选择让孩子们吃什么 孩子可以吃学校 食堂 里的午餐 热乎乎的熟食 他们也可以自带盒饭 其中一般会包括 三明治这样的冷食 父母通常知道他们的孩子们想吃什么 凯西是三个孩子的母亲 她对我们说 我的孩 子们自带午餐的原因是他们讨厌学校里的伙食 所以 我每天早上都会做三份盒饭 可是 另一位名叫苏珊的妈妈的选择不同 她说 我的女儿们总是吃学校食堂 我觉 得她们在学校吃的饭大概比我为她们做的那几个三明治更有营养 但是 学校里的午餐到底健康吗 一位名叫