英语博客：After school.

　　One part of my daily routine¹ during the week is to pick up the kids from school. I'm sure that a lot of you listening now probably do the same thing. Thankfully, I live very close to the school where three of my children go. It's literally² a three minute drive from my house. My kids used to catch the bus home, but, interestingly enough, it would take them an hour to get home. We decided³ that it was a bit of a waste of time sitting on a bus for an hour, when they could be at home relaxing or doing homework. So, now you can find me sitting in the line of cars, waiting for my little ones to come running out. I watch the school buses pull up to the sidewalk, just in front of the kindergarten block. The children who take the bus have to line up outside a little earlier than the rest of the kids; they wouldn't want to miss the bus. Some of the students live far away, so it's a good job that the buses are available. Other children live quite close to the school, so they can simply walk home. There is an interesting system of road safety to get the kids safely across the various roads on the way to and from school. The oldest students in the school, the fifth graders, put a bright green vest on, bring out green plastic models of children that stand on the road near the cross walks, and they help the younger children cross the roads in a safe manner. Cars are supposed to stop at a cross walk anyway, if there are people there. So, that is the system. I sit in my car and wait for the bell. I love to see how the masses of children pour out of the building; they spill⁴ out like different colored beads⁵, going everywhere, and of course, making lots of noise. The parents put their magazines away, or put their cell⁶ phones down, start up the cars, and get ready for the kids. It's time to hand out some snacks, and to hear the stories about how the day went.
Grammar notes.
The use of 'enough' + adverbs to express surprize or contrast⁷: strangely enough, oddly⁸ enough, interestingly enough.
1. The new hotel was finished in May, but strangely enough, it wasn't open for clients⁹ until a year later.
2. She is very loud and opinionated, but oddly enough, in a group she acts very shy.
3. He is hard of hearing, but interestingly enough, he is a great piano player.

1 routine   

n.例行公事，惯例；adj.例行的，常规的

参考例句：

• It is everyday routine.这是每天的例行公事。
• She found the hospital routine slightly dull.她感到医院的工作有点枯燥乏味。

2 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 spill   

n.溢出，溅出，涌出，摔下，暴跌，溢出量，木片，小塞子；vt.使溢出，使散落，洒

参考例句：

• The coffee is so full that it might spill over.咖啡太满可能会溢出来。
• He took a spill when he rode the horse.他骑马时从马上跌了下来。

5 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

6 cell   

n.区，细胞，血球；小室，牢房；电池，光电管；基层组织

参考例句：

• Soap destroys the cell walls of bacteria.肥皂破坏细菌的细胞壁。
• They have locked the prisoners up in their cell.他们已把犯人监禁在小牢房里。

7 contrast   

vt.使与…对比，使与…对照；vi. 与…形成对照；n.对比，对照，差异

参考例句：

• In contrast with her sister,she is very tall.与姐姐相比，她个子很高。
• Black hair is a sharp contrast to the white skin.黑发白肤形成鲜明的对照。

8 oddly   

adv.奇怪地，古怪地；奇妙地；额外地，附加地；零碎地，单数地oddly enough的变体

参考例句：

• She's been behaving very oddly lately. 她最近行为极其反常。
• His Indian robes contrasted oddly with his fluent English. 他的印度长袍与他流利的英语形成奇特的对照。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 clients   

n.顾客( client的名词复数 )；当事人；诉讼委托人；[计算机]客户端

参考例句：

• a lawyer with many famous clients 拥有许多著名委托人的律师
• She understood the importance of establishing a close rapport with clients. 她懂得与客户建立密切和谐的关系的重要性。