《瘋狂英語閱讀版》精選-英文22頁

1、瘋狂英語閱讀版精選英語原文1101The Right Foot 古惑仔凱文Years ago, one of the girls in a group I used to 1)pal around with met a boy. He was new in town and seemed quite pleasant, had a 2)pixie-like smile and was fun to be around. We welcomed him into our circle. Donna and Kevin became an item. Before long, Donna noti

2、ced a few things missing, but she was a woman in love and excused them away without telling anyone.In the meantime, her new love rented a room from another member of our gang, a local deputy 3)sheriff. The deputy noticed something missing too, but he didnt excuse it. He confronted Kevin about some m

3、issing money.Kevin admitted he took it but said he thought he could put it back before it was missed, he was desperate and no one was there to ask. He said he knows it was wrong and he felt terrible about it, and said that if he would forgive him hed 4)put the right foot forward. The deputy forgave

4、him.A few weeks later, Donna caught Kevin on a date with another woman. She was really hurt, but Kevin said he just wanted one last date to be sure he was in love because he wanted to ask her to marry him. He said if shed marry him hed be the happiest man in the world and hed put the right foot forw

5、ard from now on. Donna bought into that line too.A few days later Kevin disappeared, along with over $2,000 of Donnas money and the deputys checkbook. He was caught 2 weeks later writing stolen checks. Donnas money was gone.When he came to trial, Kevin told the judge how sorry he was, and that he wa

6、s anxious to make 5)restitution. He said he wanted to put the right foot forward and turn his life around. He was sentenced to time served, 6)probation, community service, and ordered to make restitution and undergo counseling.A few months later Kevin attempted to rob a bank. There was a high-speed

7、chase and he lost control of his car. He survived a crash into a stone wall guarding a 7)cemetery.Kevin was fond of saying he wanted to put the right foot forward when he was in trouble. Hed been saying it all his life. Kevin lost his left leg in that car crash. Now, the right foot is all he has to

8、put forward.1204. If Only I had Known 假如我知道Thomas Carlyle lived from 1795 until 1881. He was a Scot essayist and historian. During his lifetime he became one of the worlds greatest writers. But he was a human and humans make mistakes.On October 17, 1826, Carlyle married his secretary Jane Welsh. She

9、 was an intelligent, attractive and somewhat temperamental daughter of a well-to-do doctor. They had their quarrels and misunderstandings, but still loved each other dearly.After their marriage, Jane continued to serve as his secretary. But, after several years of marriage, Jane became ill. Being a

10、hard worker, Carlyle became so absorbed in his writings that he let Jane continue working for several weeks after she became ill. She had cancer, and though it was one of the slow growing kind, she finally became confined to her bed. Although Carlyle loved her dearly, he very seldom found time to st

11、ay with her long. He was busy with his work.When Jane died they carried her to the cemetery for the service. The day was a miserable day. It was raining hard and the mud was deep. Following the funeral Carlyle went back to his home. He was taking it pretty hard. He went up the stairs to Janes room a

12、nd sat down in the chair next to her bed. He sat there thinking about how little time he had spent with her and wishing so much he had a chance to do it differently. Noticing her diary on a table beside the bed, he picked it up and began to read it. Suddenly he seemed shocked. He saw it. There, on o

13、ne page, she had written a single line. Yesterday he spent an hour with me and it was like heaven; I love him so.Something dawned on him that he had not noticed before. He had been too busy to notice that he meant so much to her. He thought of all the times he had gone about his work without thinkin

14、g about and noticing her. Then Carlyle turned the page in the diary. There he noticed she had written some words that broke his heart. I have listened all day to hear his steps in the hall, but now it is late and I guess he wont come today.Carlyle read a little more in the book. Then he threw it dow

15、n and ran out of the house. Some of his friends found him at the grave, his face buried in the mud. His eyes were red from weeping. Tears continued to roll down his cheeks. He kept repeating over and over again, If I had only known, if I had only known. But it was too late for Carlyle. She was dead.

16、After Janes death, Carlyle made little attempt to write again. The historians say he lived another 15 years, weary, bored and a partial recluse. I share the story with in the hope that you will not make the same mistake. While our loved ones must have the money we make to live, it is the love we hav

17、e that they really want. Give it now before it is too late.1307. Adrift 漂流者箴言In 1982 Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the shipping 1)lanes and floating in a life raft, alone. His supplies were few. His chances were small

18、. Yet when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later (the longest anyone has survived a shipwreck on a life raft alone), he was alive-much skinnier than he was when he started, but alive.His account of how he survived is fascinating. How he 2)ingeniously managed to catch fish, how he fixed hi

19、s solar 3)still, which 4)evaporates seawater to make fresh water, is very interesting.But the thing that caught my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no point in continuing the struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his life raft was 5)pu

20、nctured and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to fix it, it was still leaking air and 6)wearing him out to keep pumping it up. He was starved. He was desperately 7)dehydrated. He was thoroughly exhausted. Giving up would have seemed the only 8)sane option.When people survive these

21、 kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in similarly desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the 9)guts to carry on in spite of overwhelming odds. I tell mysel

22、f I can handle it, wrote Callahan in his narrative. Compared to what others have been through, Im fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over, building up 10)fortitude. I wrote that down after I read it. It struck me as something important. And Ive told myself the same thing when my own goal

23、s seemed far off or when my problems seemed too overwhelming. And every time Ive said it, I have always come back to my senses. The truth is, our circumstances are only bad compared to something better. But others have been through much worse. Ive read enough history to know you and I are lucky to b

24、e where we are, when we are, no matter how bad it seems to us compared to our fantasies. Its a sane thought and worth thinking.So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of survival, are words that can give us strength. Whatever youre going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Compared to what

25、 others have been through, youre fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the rough spots with a little more fortitude.1601. You! 生命掌握在你的手里超越卓越的你Consider YOU. In all time before now and in all time to come, there has never been and will never be anyone just li

26、ke you. You are unique in the entire history and future of the universe. Wow! Stop and think about that. Youre better than one in a million, or a billion, or a 1)gazillion You are the only one like you in a sea of 2)infinity!Youre amazing! Youre awesome! And by the way, TAG, youre it. As amazing and

27、 awesome as you already are, you can be even more so. Beautiful young people are the 3)whimsey of nature, but beautiful old people are true works of art. But you dont become beautiful just 4)by virtue of the aging process. Real beauty comes from learning, growing, and loving in the ways of life. Tha

28、t is the Art of Life. You can learn slowly, and sometimes painfully, by just waiting for life to happen to you. Or you can choose to accelerate your growth and intentionally 5)devour life and all it offers. You are the artist that paints your future with the brush of today. Paint a Masterpiece. God

29、gives every bird its food, but he doesnt throw it into its nest. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, its truly up to you.1602. What Time is It? 時(shí)間觀念談Before meeting with my friend Leticia from Honduras, Central America, I would ask her if she was arriving according to North American tim

30、e or Latin American time. Smiling, she would answer, A la hora Latina, of course. This meant that she would be late. The concept of time is very different for Latin Americans than for North Americans. Life in the United States is fast-paced. There are fast food restaurants, overnight delivery servic

31、es, shuttle services, instant cash machines, fast weight loss plans, and even instant minute rice. 1)Avidly following such sayings as, The early bird gets the worm, and, First come, first served, North Americans even have their meals in an efficient manner. Microwaves help nuke their early breakfast

32、s, noon lunches, and five-oclock dinners.Time is money for big businesses. Everyone follows set agendas. Minutes are taken at meetings that are precisely scheduled. North Americans take pride in 2)juggling busy work schedules and still finding time to spend with family and friends.Latin Americans st

33、roll leisurely through life. They 3)amble past open-air restaurants, across shaded 4)patios tucked behind walls of 5)Bougainvillea. In the cafes, the service is slow but 6)courteous. Outside on the streets, people walk by, not for weight purposes, but to get somewhere. Buses arrive and depart on the

34、ir own schedule, sometimes sooner or later than their printed times. And if you miss the bus, wait. One will come along eventually. Mid-morning breakfasts are homemade. Lunch is around three in the afternoon and dinner could be anytime after the arranged time. No one follows a set agenda, but busine

35、ss is accomplished at a 7)gradual and comfortable pace. Watches are not followed precisely, and one barely ever hears the question, What time is it?This cultural difference has proven to be a problem for many North Americans visiting Latin American countries and vice versa. For example, this problem

36、 has 8)escalated on the issue of adoption. While in Honduras the summer of 1989, I translated for couples from the United States who were looking for children to adopt from Central America. All legal procedures were transacted between a lawyer from the U.S. and a Honduran lawyer. Legal matters on th

37、e North American end were handled almost immediately. The Honduran lawyer, however, was considerably slower with field work and paper work and was unable to give definite dates or times for the completion of the adoption. This created a cultural barrier and added to the confusion of the situation.Wi

38、thout understanding these cultural differences, one could eventually feel offended. Having lived for five years in the Dominican Republic, I am able to understand the two concepts of time but am torn between them. People in the United States, while accomplishing much, need to live less by the clock

39、and stroll through more of their days. Although Latin America can sometimes be very frustrating and remind us that, indeed, patience is a virtue, one should slow down long enough to enjoy lifes simple pleasure. So whenever I am asked, Why are you late? I simply reply, According to whose time?1603. G

40、raduation Speech 畢業(yè)典禮致辭Dear Dr. Stevens, teachers, tutors, classmates, and friends of the 1)ELI. First I want to give thanks for this award to the graduation committee, but especially I want to give thanks to my teachers and tutors. They are great! They are always very interested in helping to motiv

41、ate and encourage us. For example, every time that June says, Yes! or Good job!, that motivates me, because I know its a sincere comment. Or the contrary, if you do not do a good job, she will tell you: Guys, I will be honest with you (then you better be preparedbecause a bomb is about to fall down)

42、. It seems like they never get bored of teaching the same thing and they want you to 2)take advantage of this time. They are much more than teachers, they are friends like Leslie or Rika, tourist guides, like James Slater, they are also advisors and some times we see them like part of our families.I

43、 also want to thank my classmates and friends because I have learned a lot from them. I think everybody deserves 3)recognition because while we are here studying English we have to overcome many difficulties. I admire all the young people who came from countries that are very far away, and probably

44、it is their first time traveling alone to an unknown country. Like Joyce who came from Taiwan. Beside this, there are other people who are not used to do some chores like cleaning and cooking or doing the laundry. There are couples who are here with their children, like Enzo and Janet, from Venezuel

45、a, who have to take care of Daniel, or the contrary, people like Josephine from Brazil who is alone and misses her husband and children. There are also people that have to keep in touch with their jobs. I remember Cristina, from Italy, who graduated last 4)session. She was always worried about all t

46、he things that her boss told her to do via e-mail. And with all these responsibilities, they have done a great job. I have tried to follow the steps of my friends, like Meric, from Turkey, because he was always studying by himself doing exercises for the TOEFL; or the adapting to new cultures like R

47、adek the tall guy from Poland has. The first day of class he looked so serious, he was so 5)uptight, but you should see him now. If you ask him: Where are you from?, he will tell you in perfect Spanish, Yo soy de Colombia, and you also should see him dancing the 6)merengue. You can see that here you

48、 can learn many things besides English. I also admire Nestor, from Venezuela who always had his homework ready before the deadline, this encouraged me to hurry up with mine. If you are a new or continuing student, I want to tell you few things that helped me during this time to improve my English. T

49、he first recommendation is, dont feel afraid of making mistakes. I learned this from my mother, she does not speak English very well but she doesnt care, she talks to everybody and she knows how to be understood. You have to tell yourself, ok, I made a mistake, so what! If we knew how to speak Engli

50、sh, we would not be here. We have to accept that we are going to make mistakes, in this way we will be able to look at them and to learn from them. It is important to have confidence in ourselves, and that confidence grows with time and practice. To learn a language is not easy. Our teachers will gi

51、ve us the rules and tools for learning, and will help us during the process, but most of the work is from our side. It is not enough to go to class. It is necessary to practice what you have learned, to make sentences with the new words, to do pleasure reading, as Barbara Gillette would say. You hav

52、e to speak, to listen, to think, to dream in English all the time. In order to practice the language, we can take advantage of the facilities that the university offers to us. I am always reading the newspapers from the university, to practice English and to know what is going on. For example, one d

53、ay I read that there were some free computing courses at the university, and I told Nestor, to take an HTML course, because he has a very nice web page with all his pictures from the ELI. It was great, because we learned something new and we were in a class like regular students. I also went to a cl

54、ass as a listener and it was a good opportunity to participate in a class. Another good way to practice English is with a 7)language partner or a 8)host family, who want to meet people from other cultures. For us it is a great opportunity to talk to native speakers and to know more about the culture

55、 of this country. With my host family, the Gangemellas, I went on a picnic, to an ice cream festival, and I was glad to share with them Amys birthday, the oldest daughter, and in general to talk to them and to know more about their life. Another thing that I liked to do is to go on Tuesdays to the S

56、crounge coffee shop, to see the shows. Usually they have comedians and it is a very good listening and comprehension exercise, especially to understand slang and informal talking. And as a plus they give you free coffee in very nice mugs.There are opportunities to meet people and practice English ev

57、erywhere, at the bus stop, in a party, on the streets, at the library, or at the computer centers. I also recommend that you see movies, watch TV, listen to the radio. The radio is very good to improve your listening skills. I remember that when I came here in the summer, I wanted to listen to the w

58、eather forecast, and the first day I could only understand something about 93, but they talked very fast and it was hard to understand what they said. The next day I was surprised that the temperature was the same that the day before and then I realized that 93 .7 was the dial of the radio station.

59、It is incredible that I could not even notice that they have already finished the weather forecast. Now I am happy that I can listen the weather forecast while I am cooking, without paying too much attention to it. But dont overload yourself, there are other people who want to do so many things at the same time that then, they cant do anything wel