精美英文欣赏:老师的魅力(上)

The difference a teacher can make- anonymous¹

老师的魅力- 匿名

Steve, a twelve-year-old boy with alcoholic² parents, was about to be lost forever, by the U.S. education system. Remarkably³, he could read, yet, in spite of his reading skills, Steve was failing. He had been failing since first grade, as he was passed on from grade to grade.

史蒂夫已经12岁了，他的父母都是酒鬼，他就要彻底脱离自己的学校生活了。然而很明显，他能够阅读，但他总不及格。从一年级开始，一年一年过去了，他依然不及格。

Steve was a big boy, looking more like a teenager than a twelve year old, yet, Steve went unnoticed... until Miss White.

史蒂夫长得很健壮，看上去比12岁的孩子要大。但他一直都被人忽略，直到有一天怀特小姐的到来。

Miss White was a smiling, young, beautiful redhead, and Steve was in love!

怀特小姐总是笑容可掬，年轻，而且有一头迷人的红头发。她是史蒂夫喜欢的类型。

For the first time in his young life, he couldn’t take his eyes off his teacher; yet, still he failed. He never did his homework, and he was always in trouble with Miss White.

这是他平生第一次，无法把眼睛从老师身上移开，然而，他还是不及格。他没有做作业，他总是找怀特小姐的茬。

His heart would break under her sharp words, and when he was punished for failing to turn in his homework, he felt just miserable⁴! Still, he did not study.

每次她说出尖刻的话时，他都感到自己的心已经碎了。每次完不成作业被罚的时候，他都感到非常痛苦。但他依然不学习。

In the middle of the first semester of school, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills.

在第一学期的期中，整个七年级要进行基础技能测验。

Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things, as the day wore on.

史蒂夫匆匆完成了自己的测验，并继续一天天地幻想其他的事情。

His heart was not in school, but in the woods, where he often escaped alone, trying to shut out the sights, sounds and smells of his alcoholic home.

他的心并不在学校，而在他经常独自躲藏的树林，在那里，他试图摆脱酒鬼之家的声响和气味。没有人关心他到底安不安全。

No one checked on him to see if he was safe. No one knew he was gone, because no one was sober enough to care. Oddly, Steve never missed a day of school.

也没有人知道他已经走了，因为所有的人都兴奋地没有精力顾及其他。不过奇怪地是，史蒂夫从没有旷过一次课。

One day, Miss White’s impatient voice broke into his daydreams⁵.

一天，怀特小姐急躁的声音打破了他的白日梦。

"Steve!!" Startled, he turned to look at her.

“史蒂夫！”他感到很吃惊，转过头去看着她。

"Pay attention!"

“注意力要集中！”

Steve locked his gaze on Miss White with adolescent adoration⁶, as she began to go over the test results for the seventh grade.

她宣布七年级测验结果的时候，史蒂夫用那种青春期特有的崇敬盯着怀特小姐。

“You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, pinning Steve to his seat with a sharp stare, her eyes searching his face.

她对全班说：“你们都考得很好。除了一个男生。告诉你们这个真让我感到伤心。但是……”她停顿了一下，眼光转向史蒂夫的座位，用犀利的目光在他的脸上搜寻着什么。

"...The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!"

“我们七年级最聪明的孩子，我的科目竟然不及格！”

She just stared at Steve, as the class spun⁷ around for a good look. Steve dropped his eyes and carefully examined his fingertips.

她盯着史蒂夫，全班同学都转过头来看着他。史蒂夫低下头，盯着自己的指尖。

1 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

2 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

3 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

4 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

5 daydreams   

n.白日梦( daydream的名词复数 )v.想入非非，空想( daydream的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Often they gave themselves up to daydreams of escape. 他们常沉溺进这种逃避现实的白日梦。 来自英汉文学
• I would become disgusted with my futile daydreams. 我就讨厌自己那种虚无的梦想。 来自辞典例句

6 adoration   

n.爱慕，崇拜

参考例句：

• He gazed at her with pure adoration.他一往情深地注视着她。
• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。

7 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。