2018高中英语课外阅读材料集锦(阅读+单词学习)

2018高考英语课外阅读材料

【每两天一篇一阅读+单词学习】

UnitOne:HowtoImproveYourStudyHabits

TEXT

Wanttoknowhowtoimproveyourgradeswithouthavingtospendmoretimestudying?Sounds

toogoodtobetrue?Well,readon...

HowtoImproveYourStudyHabits

Perhapsyouareanaveragestudentwithaverageintelligence.Youdowellenoughinschool,but

youprobablythinkyouwillneverbeatopstudent.Thisisnotnecessarilythecase,however.You

canreceivebettergradesifyouwantto.Yes,evenstudentsofaverageintelligencecanbetop

studentswithoutadditionalwork.Here'show:

1.Planyourtimecarefully.Makealistofyourweeklytasks.Thenmakeascheduleorchartof

yourtime.Fillincommittedtimesuchaseating,sleeping,meetings,classes,etc.Thendecideon

good,regulartimesforstudying.Besuretosetasideenoughtimetocompleteyournormalreading

andworkassignments.Ofcourse,studyingshouldn'toccupyallofthefreetimeontheschedule.Its

importanttosetasidetimeforrelaxation,hobbies,andentertainmentaswell.Thisweeklyschedule

maynotsolveallofyourproblems,butitwillmakeyoumoreawareofhowyouspendyourtime.

Furthermore,itwillenableyoutoplanyouractivitiessothatyouhaveadequatetimeforbothwork

andplay.

2.Findagoodplacetostudy.Chooseoneplaceforyourstudyarea.Itmaybeadeskorachairat

homeorintheschoollibrary,butitshouldbecomfortable,anditshouldnothavedistractions.

Whenyoubegintowork,youshouldbeabletoconcentrateonthesubject.

3.Skimbeforeyouread.Thismeanslookingoverapassagequicklybeforeyoubegintoreadit

morecarefully.Asyoupreviewthematerial,yougetsomeideaofthecontentandhowitis

organized.Laterwhenyoubegintoreadyouwillrecognizelessimportantmaterialandyoumay

skipsomeoftheseportions.Skimminghelpsdoubleyourreadingspeedandimprovesyour

comprehensionaswell.

4.Makegooduseofyourtimeinclass.Listeningtowhattheteachersaysinclassmeansless

worklater.Sitwhereyoucanseeandhearwell.Takenotestohelpyourememberwhattheteacher

says.

5.Studyregularly.Gooveryournotesassoonasyoucanafterclass.Reviewimportantpoints

mentionedinclassaswellaspointsyouremainconfusedabout.Readaboutthesepointsinyour

textbook.Ifyouknowwhattheteacherwilldiscussthenextday,skimandreadthatmaterialtoo.

Thiswillhelpyouunderstandthenextclass.Ifyoureviewyournotesandtextbookregularly,the

materialwillbecomemoremeaningfulandyouwillrememberitlonger.Regularreviewleadsto

improvedperformanceontest.

6.Developagoodattitudeabouttests.Thepurposeofatestistoshowwhatyouhavelearned

aboutasubject.Theworldwon*tendifyoudon'tpassatest,sodon*tworryexcessivelyabouta

singletest.Testsprovidegrades,buttheyalsoletyouknowwhatyouneedtospendmoretime

studying,andtheyhelpmakeyourknowledgepermanent.

Thereareothertechniquesthatmighthelpyouwithyourstudying.Onlyafewhavebeen

mentionedhere.Youwillprobablydiscovermanyothersafteryouhavetriedthese.Talkwithyour

classmatesabouttheirstudytechniques.Sharewiththemsomeofthetechniquesyouhavefoundto

behelpful.Improvingyourstudyhabitswillimproveyourgrades.

第1页共60页

NEWWORDS

averagen.ordinary普通的；中等的

intelligencen.abilitytolearnandunderstand智力

necessarilyad.inevitably必定

casen.whathasreallyhappened;actualcondition实情

additionala.added附加的，额外的n.addition

weeklya.doneorhappeningeveryweek每周的；——周——次的

schedulen.timetable时间表

chartn.(sheetofpaperwith)informationwrittenordrawnintheformofapicture图(表)

commitvt.指定・・・用于

asidead.totheside在旁边；至lj(向)一边

etc(Latin,shortenedformforetcetera)andotherthings等等

normala.usual正常的

readingn.theactorpracticeofreading阅读

assignmentn.sth.givenoutasatask(布置的)作业

occupyn.takeup占用

relaxationn.(sth.donefor)restandamusement休息、，娱乐relaxv.

hobbyn.whatonelikestodoinone'sfreetime业余爱好

entertainmentn.show,party,etc.thatpeopleenjoy娱乐entertainvt.

solvevt.findananswerto(aproblem)解决(问题)

awarea.havingknowledgeorunderstanding矢口道的；意识至lj的

furthermoread.moreover;inaddition而且；止匕夕卜

enablevt.make(sb.)able(todosth.)使(某人)能(做某事)

activityn.sth.(tobe)done活动

adequatea.asmuchasoneneeds;enough充分的；足够的

distractionn.sth.thatdrawsawaythemindorattention分心(或分散注意力)的事物

concentrate(onorupon)vi.paycloseattention(to)全神贯注(于)

skimvt.readquicklytogetthemainideas(of)略读

previewvt.haveageneralviewof(sth.)beforehand预习

contentn.whatiswritteninabook,etc.内容

organizevt.formintoawhole组织

laterad.后来；以后

skipvt.passover略过

portionn.part;share一部分；一份

doublev.makeorbecometwiceasgreatorasmany(使)增力口——倍

comprehensionn.theactofunderstandingorabilitytounderstand理解(力)

mentionvt.speakorwriteabout(sth.)inafewwords提及

confuseda.mixedupinone'smind迷惑的，混淆的confusevt.

textbookn.astandardbookforthestudyofasubject教科书；课本

performancen.achievement成绩

meaningfula.havingimportantmeaningorvalue富有意义的

attituden.whatonethinksaboutsth.态度，看法

purposen.aim目的，意图

excessivelyad.toomuch过多土也,过分士也excessivea.

permanenta.lastingfbralongtime;neverchanging持久的；永久的

techniquen.wayofdoingsth.技巧,方法

第2页共60页

helpfula.useful;providinghelporwilingtohelp有益的；给予帮助的，肯帮忙的

PHRASES&EXPRSSIONS

fillinwritein填写，填充

decideonmakeachoiceordecisionabout选定，决定

setasidesaveforaspecialpurpose留出

aswellalso;too;inaddition也，还；同样

beaware(of)know(sth.);know(whatishappening)矢口道，意识至U

concentrateondirectone'sattention,efforts,etc.to全神贯注于

lookoverexamine(quickly)把...看一遍，过目

gooverreview复习

leadtoresultin导致

UnitTwo:SailingRoundtheWorld

TEXT

Atsixty-fiveFrancisChichestersetouttosailsingle-handedroundtheworld.Thisisthestoryof

thatadventure.

SailingRoundtheWorld

Beforehesailedroundtheworldsingle-handed,FrancisChichesterhadalreadysurprisedhis

friendsseveraltimes.Hehadtriedtoflyroundtheworldbutfailed.Thatwasin1931.

Theyearspassed.Hegaveupflyingandbegansailing.Heenjoyeditgreatly.Chichesterwas

already58yearsoldwhenhewonthefirstsolotransatlanticsailingrace.Hisolddreamofgoing

roundtheworldcameback,butthistimehewouldsail.Hisfriendsanddoctorsdidnotthinkhe

coulddoit,ashehadlungcancer.ButChichesterwasdeterminedtocarryouthisplan.InAugust,

1963,attheageofnearlysixty-five,anagewhenmanymenretire,hebeganthegreatestvoyageof

hislife.Soon,hewasawayinthisnew16-metreboat,GipsyMoth.

Chichesterfollowedtherouteofthegreatnineteenthcenturyclipperships.Buttheclippershad

hadplentyofcrew.Chicheaterdiditallbyhimself,evenafterthemainsteeringdevicehadbeen

damagedbygales.Chichestercovered14,100milesbeforestoppinginSydney,Australia.Thiswas

morethantwicethedistanceanyonehadpreviouslysailedalone.

HearrivedinAustraliaon12December,just107daysoutfromEngland.Hereceivedawarm

welcomefromtheAustraliansandfromhisfamilywhohadflowntheretomeethim.Onshore,

Chichestercouldnotwalkwithouthelp.Everybodysaidthesamething:hehaddoneenough;he

mustnotgoanyfurther.Buthedidnotlisten.

AfterrestinginSydneyforafewweeks,Chichestersetoffoncemoreinspiteofhisfriends1

attemptstodissuadehim.Thesecondhalfofhisvoyagewasbyfarthemoredangerouspart,during

whichhesailedroundthetreacherousCapeHorn.

On29JanuaryheleftAustralia.Thenextnight,theblackesthehadeverknown,theseabecame

soroughthattheboatalmostturnedover.Food,clothes,andbrokenglasswereallmixedtogether.

Fortunately,bedandwenttosleep.Whenhewokeup,theseahadbecomecalmthenearestperson

hecouldcontactbyradio,unlesstherewasashipnearby,Wildbeonanisland885milesaway.

AftersucceedinginsailingroundCapeHorn,Chichestersentthefollowingradiomessageto

London:01feelasifIhadwakenedfromanightmare.WildhorsescouldnotdragmedowntoCape

HornandthatsinisterSouthernOceanagain."

Justbefore9o'clockonSundayevening28May,1967,hearrivedbackinEngland,wherea

quarterofamillionpeoplewerewaitingtowelcomehim.QueenElizabethIIknightedhimwiththe

veryswordthatQueenElizabethIhadsailedroundtheworldforthefirsttime.Thewholevoyage

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fromEnglandandbackhadcovered28,500miles.Ithadtakenhimninemonths,ofwhichthe

sailingtimewas226days.Hehaddonewhathewantedtoaccomplish.

Likemanyotheradventurers,Chichesterhadexperiencedfearandconqueredit.Indoingso,he

hadundoubtedlylearntsomethingabouthimself.Moreover,inthemodemagewhenhumanbeings

dependsomuchonmachines,hehadgivenmenthroughouttheworldnewpride.

NEWWORDS

single-handeda&ad.(done)byonepersonalone单独的(地)

adventuren.冒险(活动)

soloa.single-handed单独的

transatlantica.crossingtheAtlanticOcean横度大西洋

lungn.partofthebodywithwhichonebreathes肺

cancern.癌

determineda.withone'smindfirmlymadeup下定了决心的determinev.determinationn.

retirevi.stopworkingatone*sjob(becauseofage)退休

voyagen.seajourney航海；航行

routen.wayfromoneplacetoanother路线

clippern.快速帆船

crewn.groupofpeoplewhoworktogetheronashiporaeroplane全体船员；全体乘务员

steervt.make(esp.aboatorroadvehicle)goinaparticulardirection为...撑舵

devicen.apieceofequipment设备；装置

steeringdevicen.操舵装置

damagevt.causeharmorinjuryto损坏

galen.verystrongwind大风

(acertaindistance)彳亍过(——段总巨离)

previouslyad.before以前previousa.

attemptn.try试图，尝试

dissuadevt.prevent(sb.)fromdoingsth.byreasoning劝阻

treacherousa.moredangerousthanitseems暗藏危险的；奸诈的

capen,海角

rougha.(ofweatherorthesea)stormy;notcalm(气候)有暴风雨的；(海)波涛汹涌的

fortunatelyad.luckily幸运地；幸亏fortunatea.

contactvt.getintouchwith联系，接触

nearbyad.closeby在附近

followinga.next;tobementionedimmediately接着的；下歹ll的

wakenv.(causeto)wake唤醒；醒来

nightmaren.terribledream恶梦

dragvt.pullalongwithgreateffort拖，拉

sinistera.凶恶的，邪恶的knight

n.爵士vt.封…为爵士

swordn.剑，刀

accomplishvt.finishsuccessfully完成

conquervt.overcome征月艮

undoubtedlyad.certainly无疑地

moreoverad.inaddition止匕夕卜，而且

humana.oforconcerningpeople人们

beingn.alivingthing,esp.aperson生物；人

第4页共60页

PHRASES&EXPRESSIOMS

setoutbeginacourseifaction着手，开始

giveupatopdoing放弃

bedeterminedto（do）haveastrongwillto（do）决心（做）

（all）byoneself（completely）alone

inspiteofnottakingnoticeof;notcaringabout尽管；虽然

byfarbyalargeamountordegree…得多

turnover（causeto）fallover,upset（使）翻到，（使）倾覆

cannothelpcannotkeeponeselffrom禁不住

NAMES

FrancisChichester弗朗西斯.奇切斯特

GipsyMoth吉普赛.莫斯

Sydney悉尼（澳大利亚城市）

CapeHorn合恩角（智利）

London伦敦

Elizabeth伊丽莎白（女子名）

Drake德雷克（姓氏）

UNITthree:ThePresent

TEXT

Theysaythatbloodisthickerthanwater,thatourrelativesaremoreimportanttousthanothers.

Everyonewassokindtotheoldladyonherbirthday.Surelyherdaughterwouldmakeaneven

biggerefforttopleasehe?

ThePresent

Itwastheoldlady'sbirthday.

Shegotupearlytobereadyforthepost.Fromthesecondfloorflatshecouldseethepostmanwhen

hecamedownthestreet,andthelittleboyfromthegroundfloorbroughtupherlettersontherare

occasionswhenanythingcame.

Todayshewassurethewouldbesomething.Myrawouldn'tforgethermother'sbirthday,evenif

sheseldomwroteatothertimes.OfcourseMyrawasbusy.HerhusbandhadbeenmadeMayor,and

Myraherselfhadgotamedalforherworktheaged.

TheoldladywasproudofMyra,butEnidwasthedaughtersheloved.Enidhadnevermarried,

buthadseemedcontenttolivewithhermother,andteachinaprimaryschoolroundthecomer.

Oneevening,however,Enidsaid,"I'vearrangedforMrs.Morrisontolookafteryouforafewdays,

Mother.TomorrowIhavetogointohospital—justaminoroperation,1*11soonbehome.”

Inthemorningshewent,butnevercameback-shediedontheoperatingtable.Myracametothe

funeral,andinherefficientwayarrangedforMrs.Morrisontocomeinandlightthefireandgive

theoldladyherbreakfast.

Twoyearsagothatwas,andsincethenMyrahadbeentoseehermotherthreetimes,buther

husbandnever.

Theoldladywaseighttoday.Shehadputonherbestdress.Perhaps—perhapsMyramightcome.

Afterall,eightywasaspecialbirthday,anotherdecadelinedorenduredjustasyouchosetolookat

it.

EvenifMyradidnotcome,shewouldsendapresent.Theoldladywassureofthat.Twospotsof

colourbrightenedhercheeks.Shewasexcited-likeachild.Shewouldenjoyherday.

YesterdayMrs.Morrisonhadgiventheflatanextraclean,andtodayshehadbroughtacardand

第5页共60页

abunchofmarigoldswhenshecametodothebreakfast.Mrs.Grantdownstairshadmadeacake,

andintheafternoonshewasgoingdowntheretotea.Thelittleboy,Johnnie,hadbeenupwitha

packetofmints,andsaidhewouldn'tgoouttoplayuntiltheposthadcome.

"Iguessyou*llgetlotsandlotsofpresents,"hesaid,"IdidlastwerewhenIwassix."

Whatwouldshelike?Apairofslippersperhaps.Oranewcardigan.Acardiganwouldbelovely.

Blue'ssuchaprettycolour.Jimhadalwayslikedherinblue.Oratablelamp.Orabook,atravel

book,withpictures,oralittleclock,withclearblacknumbers.Somanylovelythings.

Shestoodbythewindow,watching.Thepostmanturnedroundthecorneronhisbicycle.Her

heartbeatfast.Johnniehadseenhimtooandrantothegate.

Thenclatter,clatterupthestairs.Johnnieknockedatherdoor.

"Granny,granny,nheshouted,"I'vegotyourpost."

Hegaveherfourenvelopes.Threewereunsealedcardsfromoldfriends.Thefourthwassealed,

inMyra'swriting.Theoldladyfeltapangofdisappointment.

"Noparcel,Johnnie?0

"No,granny.',

Maybetheparcelwastoolargetocomebyletterpost.Thatwasit.Itwouldcomelaterbyparcel

post.Shemustbepatient.

Almostreluctantlyshetoretheenvelopeopen.Foldedinthecardwasapieceofpaper.Written

onthecardwasamessageundertheprintedHappyBirthday—Buyyourselfsomethingnicewith

thecheque,MyraandHarold.

Thechequeflutteredtothefloorlikeabirdwithabrokenwing.Slowlytheoldladystoopedto

pickitup.Herpresent,herlovelypresent.Withtremblingfingersshetoreitintolittlebits.

NEWWORDS

relativen.亲属，亲戚

presentn.gift礼物，赠品

postmann.由B递员

rarea.nothappeningoften罕见的；不常发生的

occasionn.specialtime;timewhensth.happens时亥！J,时手L；场合

mayorn.chiefofficialofacityortown市长

medaln.奖章

ageda.old

contenta.satisfied;pleased满意的；高兴的

primarya.first;earliest首要的；最初的

arrangevi.makepreparations;plan作安排，筹戈ll

minora.notseriousorimportant较小的；次要的

operatevi.cutthebodyinordertosetrightorremoveadiseasedpart开刀，动手术

operatingtablen.aspecialtableinahospital,whereoperationsaredone手术台

funeraln.葬礼

efficienta.abletoplanandworkwell效率高的

decaden.tenyears

endurevt.bear(pain,suffering,etc.)忍受，忍耐

spotn.aroundareathatisdifferentfromthemainsurface点，斑点

brightenvt.makebrightorbrighter使发光；使发亮

cheekn.eithersideofthefacebelowtheeye面颊

extraa.additional额力口的，夕卜力口的

cleann.cleaning

第6页共60页

bunchn.thingsofthesamekindthataretiedtogether（一）束（一）串

marigoldn.万寿菊（花）

packetn.smallparcelbox小包（裹）

mintn.薄荷糖

slippern.拖鞋

cardigann.（羊毛）开衫

clattern.anumberofrapidshortknockingsounds咔嗒声

grannyn.（colloq.for）grandmother

envelopen.apapercoverfbraletter信封

unsealeda.未密封的sealvt.sealeda.密封的

writingn.handwriting书法；笔迹

pangn.sudden,sharppain剧痛

disappointmentn.sadnessbecauseonedoesnotgetwhatonehopesfor失望disappointvt.

parceln.包裹

reluctantlyad.unwillingly不情愿地，勉强地reluctanta.

foldvt.bendintotwoormoreparts折叠

chequen.支票

fluttervt.movequicklytoandfrointheair飘动

stoopvi.bendthebodyforwardsanddownwards弯腰

tremblevi.shakeuncontrollablywithquickshortmovements颤抖

PHRASES&EXPRESSIONS

atothertimesonotheroccasions在别的时候；平时

round/aroundthecornerverynearindistanceortime在附近；即》各来临

afterallinspiteofeverything;itmustberemembered毕竟；终究

besureof对…有把握，确信

pickuptakeholdofandliftupfromasurface拿起，捡起

PROPERNAMES

Myra迈拉（女子名）

Enid伊妮德（女子名）

Morrison莫里森（姓氏）

Grant格兰特（姓氏及男子名）

Johnnie约翰尼（John的昵称）

UnitFour:TurningoffTV：AQuietHour

TEXT

ManypeopleintheUnitedStatesspendmostoftheirfreetimewatchingtelevision.Certainly,there

aremanyworthwhileprogramsontelevision,includingnews,educationalprogramsforchildren,

programsoncurrentsocialproblems,plays,movies,concerts,andsoon.Nevertheless,perhaps

peopleshouldnotbespendingsomuchoftheirtimeinfrontoftheTV.MrMayerimagineswhat

wemightdoifwewereforcedtofindotheractivities.

TurningoffTV:aQuietHour

Iwouldliketoproposethatforsixtytoninetyminuteseachevening,rightaftertheearlyevening

news,alltelevisionbroadcastingintheUnitedStatesbeprohibitedbylaw.

Letustakeaserious,reasonablelookatwhattheresultsbeifsuchaproposalwereaccepted.

Familiesmightusethetimeforarealfamilyhour.WithoutthedistractionofTV,theymightsit

aroundtogetherafterdinnerandactuallytalktooneanother.Itiswellknownthatmanyofour

第7页共60页

problems--everything,infact,fromthegenerationgaptothehighdivorceratetosomeformsof

mentalillness—arecausedatleastinpartbyfailuretocommunicate.Wedonottelleachother

whatisdisturbingus.Theresultisemotionaldifficultyofonekindoranother.Byusingthequiet

familyhourtodiscussourproblems,wemightgettoknoweachotherbetter,andtolikeeachother

better.

Oneveningswhensuchtalkisunnecessary,familiescouldrediscovermoreactivepastimes.Freed

fromTV,forcedtofindtheirownactivities,theymighttakearidetogethertowatchthesunset.Or

theymighttakeawalktogether(rememberfeet?)andseetheneighborhoodwithfresh,neweyes.

WithfreetimeandnoTV,childrenandadultsmightrediscoverreading.Thereismore

entertainmentinagoodbookthaninamonthoftypicalTVprogramming.Educatorsreportthatthe

generationgrowingupwithtelevisioncanbarelywriteanEnglishsentence,evenatthecollege

level.Writingisoftenlearnedfromreading.Amoreliteratenewgenerationcouldbeaproductof

thequiethour.

Adifferentformofreadingmightalsobedone,asitwasinthepast:readingaloud.Fewpastimes

bringafamilyclosertogetherthangatheringaroundandlisteningtomotherorfatherreadagood

story.Thequiethourcouldbecomethestoryhour.Whenthequiethourends,theTVnetworks

mightevenbeforcedtocomeupwithbettershowsinordertogetusbackfromournewly

discoveredactivities.

Atfirstglance,theideaofanhourwithoutTVseemsradical.Whatwillparentsdowithoutthe

electronicbaby-sitter?Howwillwespendthetime?Butitisnotradicalatall.Ithasbeenonly

twenty-fiveyearssincetelevisioncametocontrolAmericanfreetime.Thoseofusthirty-fiveand

oldercanrememberchildhoodswithouttelevision,spentpartlywithradio-whichatleastinvolved

thelistener'simagination--butalsowithreading,learning,talking,playinggames,inventingnew

activities.Itwasn'tthatdifficult.Honest.Thetruthiswehadaball.

NEWWORDS

worthwhilea.goodenoughforthetimeoreffortneeded;valuable值得花时间(或精力)的；

有价值的

program(me)n.performanceonradioortelevision节目

educationala.oforforeducation;providingeducationorinformation教育的；有教育意义的

currenta.ofthepresenttime当前的

sociala.oforinsociety社会的

movien.filmthatoneseesatacinema电影

neverthelessconj.but;however然而，不过

proposevt.suggest建议

broadcastingn.theactionofsendingoutsound(orimages)byradio(ortelevision)广'播

prohibitv&n,forbidbylaw禁止

proposalvt.suggestion提议，建议

actuallyn.inactualfact,really实际上

generationn.allthepeopleaboutthesameage(一)代

gapn.anemptyspacebetweentwothingsortwopartsofathing;awidedifferenceofopinion,

character,orthelike缺口，间隙；分歧，隔阂

divorcen.endofamarriagebylaw离婚

raten.率

mentala.ofthemind精神的；思想上的

communicatevi.shareorexchangeopinions,ideas,etc.交流意见，思想等

disturbvt.make(sb.)worried使烦恼

第8页共60页

emotionala.感情的

pastimen.anythingdonetopasstimepleasantly消遣，娱乐

sunsetn.thegoingdownofthesun;thetimewhenthesungoesdown日落（时分）

neighborhoodn.theareaaroundapointorplace邻近地区；土也段

adultn.成年人

typicala.典型的

educatorn.apersonwhoseprofessioniseducation教育家

barelyad.hardly仅仅，勉强；几乎没有

literatea.abletoreadandwrite能读写的；有文化的

productn.sth.madeorgrown产品

networkn.广播（或电视）联播公司；广播（或电视）网

glancen.quicklook一瞥；扫视radical

a.extreme;verydifferent激进的

electronica.电子的

electronn.

baby-sittern.someonewholooksafterachildwhentheparentsareawayforashorttime（代人

临时）照看婴儿

childhoodn.timewhenoneisachild童年

partlyad.notcompletely;insomedegree部分地；在一定程度上

involvevt.haveasapartorresult（必须）包括

imaginationn.theabilitytoimagine想像;Zj

learningn.thegainingofknowledgeorskillthroughstudying;knowledgeorskillgained

throughstudying学习；学问,知识

duce（sth.）forthefirsttime发明

PHRASES&EXPRESSIONS

generationgapfailureoftheyoungerandoldergenerationstocommunicateandunderstandone

another代沟

inpartinsomedegree;partly在一定程度上；部分地

growupchangefromachildtoamanorawoman成长，长大

bringtogethercausetomeet使相聚

comeupwiththinkof;produce想出；提出

atfirstglancewhenfirstseenorthoughtabout乍一看；最初考虑时

haveaball（si.）enjoyoneself,haveaverygoodtime玩得开心

PROPERNAMES

Mayer迈耶（姓氏）

theUnitedStates美国

UnitFive:AMiserable,MerryChristmas

TEXT

AmiserableandmerryChristmas?Howcoulditbe?

AMiserable,MerryChristmas

Christmaswascoming.Iwantedapony.Tomakesurethatmyparentsunderstood,IdeclaredthatI

wantednotingelse.

"Nothingbutapony?"myfatherasked.

"Nothing；*Isaid.

"Notevenapairofhighboots?"

第9页共60页

Thatwashard.Ididwantboots,butIstucktothepony."No,notevenboots.”

"Norcandy?Thereoughttobesomethingtofillyourstockingwith,andSantaClauscan'tputa

ponyintoastocking,n

Thatwastrue,andhecouldn'tleadaponydownthechimneyeither.Butno."AllIwantisaponyJ

Isaid.uIfIcan*thaveapony,givemenothing,nothing."

OnChristmasEveIhungupmystockingalongwithmysisters.

ThenextmorningmysistersandIwokeupatsix.Thenweraceddownstairstothefireplace.And

theretheywere,thegifts,allsortsofwonderfulthings,mixed-uppilesofpresents.Onlymy

stockingwasempty;ithunglimp;notathinginit;andunderandaroundit-nothing.Mysisters

hadkneltdown,eachbyherpileofgifts;theywerecryingwithdelight,tilltheylookedupandsaw

mestandingtherelookingsomiserable.Theycameovertomeandfeltmystocking:nothing.

Idon*trememberwhetherIcriedatthatmoment,butmysistersdid.Theyranwithmebacktomy

bed,andthereweallcriedtillIbecameindignant.Thathelpedsome.Igotup,dressed,anddriving

mysistersaway,Iwentoutaloneintothestable,andthere,allbymyself,Iwept.Mymothercame

outtomeandshetriedtocomfortme.ButIwantednocomfort.Sheleftmeandwentonintothe

housewithsharpwordsformyfather.

Mysisterscametome,andIwasrude.Iranawayfromthem.Iwentaroundtothefrontofthe

house,satdownonthesteps,and,thecryingover,Iached.Iwaswronged,Iwashurt.Andmy

fathermusthavebeenhurt,too,alittle.Isawhimlookingoutofthewindow.Hewaswatchingme

orsomethingforanhourortwo,drawingbackthecurtainsolittlelestIcatchhim,butIsawhis

face,andIthinkIcanseenowtheanxietyupononit,theworriedimpatience.

Afteranhourortwo,Icaughtsightofamanridingaponydownthestreet,aponyandabrand-new

saddle;themostbeautifulsaddleIeversaw,anditwasaboy'ssaddle.Andthepony!Ashedrew

near,Isawthattheponywasreallyasmallhorse,withablackmaneandtail,andonewhitefoot

andawhitestaronhisforehead.ForsuchahorseasthatIwouldhavegivenanything.

Butthemancamealong,readingthenumbersonthehouses,and,asmyhopes-myimpossible

hopes—rose,helookedatourdoorandpassedby,heandthepony,andthesaddle.Toomuch,Ifell

uponthestepsandbrokeintotears.SuddenlyIheardavoice.

"Say,kid,"itsaid,ndoyouknowaboynamedLennieSteffens?"

Ilookedup.Itwasthemanonthepony,backagain.

“Yes,”Isplutteredthroughmytears.'That'sme."

"WellJhesaid,"thenthisisyourhorse.I'vebeenlookingalloverforyouandyourhouse.Why

don'tyouputyournumberwhereitcanbeseen?"

"Getdown/11said,runningouttohim.Iwantedtoride.

Hewentonsayingsomethingabout"oughttohavegothereatseveno'clock,but—"

Ihardlyheard,Icouldscarcelywait.Iwassohappy,sothrilled.Irodeoffupthestreet.Sucha

beautifulpony.Andmine!AfterawhileIturnedandtrottedbacktothestable.Therewasthefamily,

father,mother,sisters,allworkingforme,allhappy.Theyhadbeenputtinginplacethetoolsofmy

newbusiness:currycomb,brush,pitchfork—everything,andtherewashayintheloft.

ButthatChristmas,whichmyfatherhadplannedsocarefully,wasitthebestortheworstIever

knew?Heoftenaskedm