簡短英語短文篇一：英語勵志小短文(1)

英語勵志短文

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

無論是60歲還是16歲，你需要保持永不衰竭的好奇心、永不熄滅的孩提般求知的渴望和追求事業(yè)成功的歡樂與熱情。在你我的心底，有一座無線電臺，它能在多長時間里接收到人間萬物傳遞來的美好、希望、歡樂、鼓舞和力量的信息，你就會年輕多長時間。

An individual human existence should be like a river—small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.

人的生命應(yīng)當(dāng)像河流，開始是涓涓細流，受兩岸的而十分狹窄，爾后奔騰咆哮，翻過危巖，飛越瀑布，河面漸漸開闊，河岸也隨之向兩邊隱去，最后水流平緩，森森無際，匯入大海之中，個人就這樣毫無痛苦地消失了。

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over

timidity,of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty.Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.We grow old by deserting our ideals.

青春意味著戰(zhàn)勝懦弱的那股大丈夫氣概和擯棄安逸的那種冒險精神。往往一個60歲的老者比一個20歲的青年更多一點這種勁頭。人老不僅僅是歲月流逝所致，更主要的是不思進取的結(jié)果。

Years may wrinkle the skin,but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. 光陰可以在顏面上留下印記，而熱情之火的熄滅則在心靈上刻下皺紋。煩惱、恐懼、缺乏自信會扭曲人的靈魂，并將青春化為灰燼。

學(xué)習(xí)英語的重要性

English is the most popular language in the world, and it is also most widely spoken of all the language. It is mother tongue in many important countries, such as the USA,England, Australia and so on. In India, Though it is not the mother tongue, it ‘sthe important official

The 2008 Olympics will be hosted in Beijing. Many foreigners will come to China. We should try our best to serve the Olympics. For example, we can help the foreign visitors if we learn English well.

Examination(考試)

Someone says examination can help us go over our lessons in time and after the examination we can find how we are getting on

with our studies. But we are always having too many examinations and they are also too difficult for us to get through.I find some of us have lost interest in learning lessons. Besides,it is harmful to our health as we hardly have any time to go in for sports. I think the present system of measurement should be improved.

Water

Water is very important to living things. Without water there can be no life on the earth. All animals and plants need water. Man also needs water. We need water to drink, to cook our food and to clean ourselves. Water is needed in offices,factories, schools and hospitals.

From space the earth looks like a huge water-covered globe.Water covers about seventy percent of the earth's surface. There is water in oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. Even in the driest part of the world, there is some water in the air. Water is found almost everywhere.

1.Life is not fair, get used to it. 生活是不公平的；要去適應(yīng)它。

a mothers love never changes. 母愛永恒。

a bad beginning makes a bad ending. 不善始者不善終。

1.希望和信任是蜥蜴的尾巴，即使被切斷，但它們還會再長出來。

1.Hope and trust is the tail of a lizard, which can reproduce even after being cut off.

2.寧可失敗在你喜歡的事情上，也不要成功在你所憎惡的事情上。

2.To lost in something you love is better than to win in something you hate.

3.一個人總要走陌生的路，看陌生的風(fēng)景，聽陌生的歌，然后在某個不經(jīng)意的瞬間，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，原本是費盡心機想要忘記的事情真的就那么忘記了。

3. One is always on a strange road, watching strange scenery and listening to strange music. Then one day, you will find that the things you try hard to forget are already gone.

4.幸福，不是長生不老，不是大魚大肉，不是權(quán)傾朝野。幸福敲懇桓鑫⑿〉納?鈐竿?锍傘５蹦閬氤緣氖焙蠐械貿(mào)裕?氡話?氖焙蠐腥死窗?恪?/P>

4. Happiness is not about being immortal nor having food or rights in one's hand. It’s about having each tiny wish come true, or having something to eat when you are hungry or having someone's love when you need love.

5.愛情是燈，友情是影子，當(dāng)燈滅了，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)你的周圍都是影子。朋友，是在最后可以給你力量的人。

5. Love is a lamp, while friendship is the shadow. When the lamp is off, you will find the shadow everywhere. Friend is who can give you strength at last.

6.我愛你不是因為你是誰，而是我在你面前可以是誰。

6.I love you not for who you are, but for who I am before you.

7.愛情，要么讓人成熟，要么讓人墮落。

7.Love makes man grow up or sink down.

8.舉得起放得下的叫舉重，舉得起放不下的叫負重�？上�，大多數(shù)人的愛情，都是負重的。

8. If you can hold something up and put it down, it is called weight-lifting; if you can hold something up but can never put it down, it's called burden-bearing. Pitifully, most of people are bearing heavy burdens when they are in love.

9.許多人向往水晶般的愛情——晶瑩剔透沒有一點瑕疵。更多人擁有的卻是玻璃般的愛情——同樣透明但容易破碎。

9.Most of people are looking forward the crystal-like love—pure without any defect. However the truth is most people are having the glass-like love-same transparent but easily broken.

10．我們每個人都生活在各自的過去中，人們會用一分鐘的時間去認識一個人，用一小時的時間去喜歡一個人，再用一天的時間去愛上一個人，到最后呢，卻要用一輩子的時間去忘記一個人。

10. We all live in the past. We take a minute to know someone, one hour to like

someone, and one day to love someone, but the whole life to forget someone.

11．一個人一生可以愛上很多的人，等你獲得真正屬于你的幸福之后，你就會明白一起的傷痛其實是一種財富，它讓你學(xué)會更好地去把握和珍惜你愛的人。

11. One may fall in love with many people during the lifetime. When you finally get your own happiness, you will understand the previous sadness is kind of treasure, which makes you better to hold and cherish the people you love.

12．人的一生，有兩種遺憾最折磨人：一是得不到你心愛的人；二是心愛的人得不到幸福。

12.During the whole life, you will regret for two things: one is that you don’t get the one you love and the other is the one you love is not happy.

13．生活在沒有的你的世界，比任何一種懲罰都要痛苦，你知道嗎，對我而言，你是任何人都無法取代的。

13. To live in a world without you is more painful than any punishment. Do you know that no one can replace you in my heart?

14．你的誕生帶給我希望，而我希望帶給你幸福。

14.Your birth gives me hope and I hope to give you happiness.

15．我將暴風(fēng)般的愛情藏在心底，那是為了不給對方任何心理壓力，我的愛情越是珍貴，相對地，也越珍惜別人的愛情。

15. I hide my storm-like love in my heart just n(轉(zhuǎn) 載于:m.91mayou.com 蒲公 英文摘:簡短英語短文)ot to give you any pressure. The more precious my love is, the more I cherish the love from others.

My oath 我的誓言

Today I truly believe

This unique journey will completely change my life! Today I truly believe

That all my efforts will produce generous returns. Today I truly believe

English will be a powerful weapon in my life!Today I truly believe

My dream of speaking beautiful English will come alive! Therefore,

I must devote all my energy and time to learning English with courage, passion, enthusiasm, and vigor! I must enjoy losing face!

I must pour all my efforts into learning English!I must be absolutely responsible for myself!I must be 100 percent dedicated to my goal! I must be totally crazy about speaking English! I must not waste one minute, or even one second! I must challenge my limits and then surpass them! I must conquer English and charge toward success! I will speak good English!

I will because I think I will!

Right here! Right Now! Action!

今天我堅信

這段特殊的旅程將徹底改變我的一生！

今天我堅信

我所有的付出終將得到豐厚的回報！

今天我堅信

英語一定會成為我人生奮斗的強有力的武器！ 今天我堅信

講一口漂亮英語的理想一定會美夢成真！

所以在今天，

我一定要精神飽滿、熱情高漲、熱愛丟臉、瘋狂投入！ 百分之百地負責(zé)任！

我必須對我的目標(biāo)百分之百地專注！

我必須百分之百地瘋狂說英語！

在今天的每一分每一秒，全力以赴！

挑戰(zhàn)極限，超越自我！

征服英文，邁向成功！

我一定能講一口最漂亮的英文！

我一定行，因為我認為我行！

就在這里！就在此刻！馬上行動！

簡短英語短文篇二：英語小短文

一、Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is the most important festival for Chinese people all over the world. It is also called the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year. The exact date of the Spring Festival on the Western calendar changes from year to year. However, Chinese New Year takes place between January 1 and February 19.

On the Chinese calendar every year has an animal's name. These animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. A Chinese legend says that these twelve animals had a race. The first year was named after the rat, the winner. The other eleven years were named according to the order in which the animals arrived in the race. The clever rat jumped onto the ox's back, and then at the end jumped over the ox's head to arrive first!

The Chinese believe that a person born in a particular year has some of the characteristics of that animal.

lunar 月(亮)的 exact 確切的 calendar 日歷 rat 鼠 ox 公 牛 rabbit 兔子

ram 公羊 rooster 公雞 legend 傳說 name after 按....命名

particular 特殊的 characteristic 特征

春 節(jié)

對于全世界的華人來說，中國的新年是最重要的節(jié)日。人們也稱它為春節(jié)或農(nóng)歷新年。 公歷春節(jié)的確切日期每年都在變化。但是春節(jié)一般都在 1 月 1 日 到 2 月 19 日 之間。 在農(nóng)歷中，每年都有一個生肖。這些生肖是鼠、牛、虎、兔、龍、蛇、馬、羊、猴、雞、狗和豬。據(jù)傳說，這十二個動物舉行了一次賽跑，第一年就以獲勝者鼠命名，其他十一年就根據(jù)動物們到達終點的順序命名。聰明的鼠跳在牛背上，在最后時刻跳過牛的頭頂?shù)谝粋�到達終點！

中國人相信在某一年出生的人具有這一年生肖的一些特征。

二、The Toad and the Frog

A toad saw a frog near the road. He was a fat old frog. He sat and moaned and groaned.

The toad said, “Do not moan and groan, Mr. Frog. Hop like me. Hop down the road.”

So the frog and the toad went down the road to a big oak tree.

“I am home,” said the toad. “Come in and I will make tea.”

But Mr. Frog said, in a deep croak, “I must not roam far from home. I will be off to my home near the pond.”

toad 蟾蜍,癩蛤蟆moan 呻吟hop 跳躍oak 橡樹croak 一種低而嘶啞的聲音

癩蛤蟆和青蛙

一只癩蛤蟆在路邊看到一只青蛙。那是只又胖又老的青蛙。他坐在那里呻吟嘆息著。 癩蛤蟆說：“青蛙先生，不要呻吟嘆息了。像我一樣跳吧。沿著這條路跳�！�

所以青蛙和癩蛤蟆一起沿著小路跳到一棵大橡樹下。

“我到家了，”癩蛤蟆說，“進來吧，我來泡茶�！�

但青蛙用低沉的聲音說：“我不能在離家遠的地方閑逛，我要回我在池塘邊上的家�！�

三、Brothers and Sisters

My sister is a year older than me and we've been sharing a room since I was 3 years old. We are very close, but we also fight all the time. Our fights are never serious. I can't remember the cause of our fights now, but they were always over small things. Sometimes it was just over a particular word I used or maybe just because my sister gave my teddy bear a hug and I was unhappy about it. We don't take our fights very seriously as if all the fights are a game. I think it's perfectly okay for kids to fight with their brothers or sisters. Now I'm a teenager, and I even think that they're sweet memories!

share 分享serious 認真的 cause 原因 fight 打架 particular 特別的，特殊的

teddy bear 玩具熊 teenage 青少年 perfectly 完全

兄 弟 姐 妹

我的姐姐比我大一歲，從我三歲起我們就一直合用一個房間。我們非常親密，但是我們也時常打架。我們打架從來不是認真的。我現(xiàn)在都記不起我們打架的原因，但肯定是因為一些小事。有時候，僅僅是因為我用的某個詞，或者是因為姐姐抱了我的玩具熊，而我對此感到生氣。我們從來不把打架當(dāng)真，就好像這只是場游戲。我覺得小孩子和兄弟姐妹們打打鬧鬧沒有什么�，F(xiàn)在我已經(jīng)十幾歲了，但我覺得那都是我美好的回憶！

四、Two Dumplings

A young man had a small business. He worked very hard, and he made a lot of money. One day, he had dinner with a businessman. He wanted the man to become his business partner. When they finished the dinner, there were two dumplings left.

The young man told the waitress: "Please pack them in a doggy bag and I'd like to take them home.Soon the businessman decided to work together with the young man. He said, "The young man is great. He has lots of money but he won't waste it.

dumpling 餃子 partner 伙伴 waitress 女服務(wù)員 pack 包

doggy bag （飯店里客人將吃剩食物打包帶走時用的）紙包

兩個餃子

一個年輕人做了點小生意。他工作很努力，所以他賺到了許多錢。一天，他和一個商人吃飯。他希望那個人成為他的生意伙伴。當(dāng)他們吃完飯后，還剩下兩個餃子。

年輕人告訴服務(wù)員小姐：“請把這兩個餃子打包，我要帶回家去�！焙芸欤�這個商人就決定和這個年輕人一起做生意了。他說：“這個年輕人很好。他有很多錢但他不浪費�！�

五、What is Time? （Nursery Rhyme）

Time is grain for peasants.

Time is wealth for workers.

Time is life for doctors.

Time is victory for soldiers.

Time is knowledge for students.

Time is speed for scientists.

Time is money for businessmen.

Time is everything for all of us.

Therefore, seize the time of today!

grain 糧食wealth 財富 victory 勝利 seize 抓住，把握

時間是什么（童謠一首）

對農(nóng)民來說，時間就是糧食。對工人來說，時間就是財富。對醫(yī)生來說，時間就是生命。 對士兵來說，時間就是勝利。對學(xué)生來說，時間就是知識。對科學(xué)家來說，時間就是速度。 對企業(yè)家來說，時間就是金錢。對我們大家來說，時間就是一切。因此，把握今天!

六、BUYING A HAT

A lady went to a hat shop to buy a hat. As she was very fussy, it took her a long time to pick on one. Already at the end of his patience the salesman was afraid that she might change her mind again so he tried to flatter her: "An excellent choice, madam. You look at least ten years younger with this hat on!" To his dismay, the lady took off her hat at once and said: "I don't want a hat that makes me look ten years older as soon as I take it off. Show me some more hats!"

買帽子

一位婦女到一家帽子店買帽子。她很挑剔，用了很長時間才選好了一頂。已經(jīng)忍耐到極限的售貨員害怕她再改變主意，便恭維她："你做了極好的選擇，夫人。你戴上這頂帽子看上去起碼年輕十歲！"但令他沮喪的是，這位女士馬上摘下了她的帽子說："我不想要一頂摘下來便使我立刻顯得老十歲的帽子。多拿一些帽子給我看看！

七、英語短文數(shù)則

1。Today and friends of foreign travel, outside air is very good, people feel very comfortable. We all appreciate the fine girls bicycles. We enjoyed the beautiful nature brought. We happily spent a happy day. 今天和朋友一起出外交游，外面的空氣很好，人感覺很舒服。我們騎著自行車一路欣賞鳥語花香。享受著大自然帶給我們的無限美好。大家開開心心地度過了愉快的一天。

2。Today Mailehaoduo clothes, and parents take to the streets is happy, the parents have to pay to buy things. Unlike in their street to buy things they like to take a long time but saw the price, Ha-ha, is really very happy. I love my parents, I too thank them for the care and love. `` 今天買了

好多衣服，和父母上街就是愉快，買東西有父母幫付錢。不像平時自己上街買東西碰到喜歡的但看了價錢都要考慮好久，呵呵，真的是很開心。我愛我的父母，太感謝他們對我的關(guān)心和愛戴了。

A farmer has five sons.They are Ted,Bob,Tom,John and Bill. John has no elder brother. He was four years older when his first younger brother was born. The number of Tom's elder brothers is equal to his younger brothers. Bill will be twenty-one years old next year, and he is five years older than Bob. Bob is two years younger than Tom. Ted was sad because he has no younger brother. There are twelve years between him and John.

一個農(nóng)民有5個兒子。他們是Ted,Bob,Tom,John 和 Bill。John沒有比他大的哥哥，他比第一個出生的比他小的那個弟弟大4歲，Tom哥哥的數(shù)量和他的弟弟的數(shù)量是一樣的（就是他是老三）Bill 明年就21歲了，他比Bob大5歲，比Tom小2歲，Ted因為沒有弟弟而難過 Ted 和John之間差了12歲

3。I work for 7up"! 我可是在七喜公司工作呀

Four best friends met at the hospital since their wives were giving births to their babies. The nurse comes up to the first man and says, "Congratulations, you got twins." The man said "How strange, I'm the manager of Minnesota Twins." After awhile the nurse comes up to the second man and says, "Congratulations, you got triplets." Man was like "Hmmm, strange I worked as a director for the "3 musketeers." Finally, the nurse comes up to the third man and says

"Congratulations, you got twins x2." Man is happy and says, "Ironic, I work for the hotel "4 Seasons." All three of them are happy until they see their last buddy jumping all over the place, cursing God and banging his head on the wall. They asked him what's wrong and he answered, "What's wrong? I work for 7up"!

四個好朋友在醫(yī)院里碰面了,他們的妻子正在生產(chǎn).護士過來對第一個男人說:"恭喜,你得了雙胞胎."男人說:"多奇怪呀,我是明尼蘇達雙子隊的經(jīng)理."過了一會兒,護士過來對第二個男人說:"恭喜,你得了三胞胎."男人很喜歡:"嗯,又巧了.我是3M公司的董事."最后,護士跑來對第三個男人說: "恭喜,你得了2對雙胞胎."男人很開心地說:"真令人啼笑皆非,我為四季賓館工作."他們?nèi)齻�都很高興,但第四個伙伴急得像熱鍋上的螞蟻,咒罵上帝并用頭撞墻.他們問他有什么不對勁,他回答道:"什么不對勁?我可是在七喜公司工作呀!"

4。Five Hundred Times

In the traffic court of a large mid-western city, a young lady was brought before the judge to answer a ticket given her for driving through a red light. She explained to his honor that she was a school teacher and requested an immediate disposal of her case in order that she might hasten on to her classes. A wild gleam came into the judge's eye. "You are a school teacher, eh?" said he. "Madam, I shall realize my lifelong ambition. Sit down at that table and write 'I went through a red light' five hundred times."

五百遍

在中西部一個大城市的交通法庭里，一位年輕女士被帶到法官面前，她由于開車闖紅燈被開了罰單。女士向法官解釋，她是一名學(xué)校老師，請求法官馬上處理她的案子，以便可以趕回去上課。法官眼中閃過一絲狡黠，說道：“你是學(xué)校的老師，對嗎？女士，我馬上要實現(xiàn)我畢生的愿望了。在那張桌子旁坐下，寫?我開車闖了紅燈?500遍�！�

5。 Second language

A mother mouse was out for a stroll with her babies when she spotted a cat crouched behind a bush. She watched the cat, and the cat watched the mice.

Mother mouse barked fiercely, "Woof, woof, woof!" The cat was so terrified that it ran for it's life. Mother mouse turned to her babies and said, "Now, do you understand the value of a second language?"

一只母老鼠帶著孩子出來散步，突然她看見一只貓正在灌木叢中虎視耽耽。

母老鼠向著貓叫道：“汪，汪，汪”，貓聽了非常害怕，拼命跑走了。

母老鼠回過頭洋洋自得的對孩子說：“現(xiàn)在你知道外語的重要性了吧。”

.6。It is half past five,School is over.Vicky comes back.His mother is not at home and the door is closed.His brother Jim likes sports.He is playing football in the school.His sister Becky likes music and she is singing with her friends.

Mrs Hyde comes back with a basket on her arm.Vicky sees his mother and runs to help her carry it.They come in and the girl finds there are three cakes in a bag. They are her favorite food and she wants to eat them.

"The other two are for Jim and Becky,"says his mother. "You can have one." "But I am hungry now,Mum."says the girl,"May I have two?" "Yes,you can ."Says the mother,"Go and cut yours in half."

現(xiàn)在是5:30,放學(xué)了.Vicky回來了.他的媽媽不在家而且門是關(guān)著的.他的哥哥Jim喜歡做運動.他正在學(xué)校踢足球.他的姐姐Becky喜歡音樂,她正在和她的朋友一起唱歌.

Hyde太太回來時拿著一個籃子.Vicky看見了他的媽媽然后跑過去幫她拿籃子.他們進來,這個女孩發(fā)現(xiàn)包里有3個蛋糕.這是她最喜歡的食物,她想吃.

"另外兩個是給Jim和Becky的."她媽媽說."你可以吃一個.""但是我現(xiàn)在餓了媽媽."這個女孩說."我能吃兩個么?""是的你可以."媽媽說."去把你的切成兩半."

7。A Supermarket

Near our school there is a supermarket. There are a lot of things in it. You can buy school things, like exercise books, rulers, pens, color pencils, erasers, maps and so on. You can buy drinks, vegetables, fruits, and other kinds of food. Some of them are cheap while some are expensive. On the second floor is the clothing section and there you can find different kinds of clothes.

The supermarket is open twelve hours a day : from 9:00 a. m. to 9:00 p.m. The workers in the supermarket are very friendly and they can help you find what you want.

On Saturdays and Sundays, the market is full of people

一家超市

我們學(xué)校附近有一家超市。里面有好多東西。你可以買到學(xué)習(xí)用品，比如練習(xí)本、尺子、鋼筆、彩色鉛筆、橡皮和地圖等等。你可以買飲料、蔬菜、水果和各種食品。有一些商品很便宜，而有一些卻很貴。超市的二樓是服裝區(qū)。在那兒，你可以見到各種各樣的服裝。

這家超市每天營業(yè)12小時，從上午9：00到晚上9：00。里面的工作人員狠熱情，他們可以幫助你找到你要買的東西。

每到星期六和星期天，這里就擠滿了顧客。

八、My family

簡短英語短文篇三：英語簡單中英文章閱讀

Language

Many animals use some kind of language.

They use signals which have meanings.

For example, when a bee has found some food, it goes back to its home.

It is impossible for a bee to tell the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it can do a little dancing.

This tells the bees where the food is and how far away it is.

Some animals show how they feel by making sounds.

It is not difficult to tell if a dog is angry because it barks.

Birds make several different sounds and each has its own meaning.

Sometimes we humans make sounds in the same way.

We make sounds like. "Oh!" or "Ouch!" to show how we feel about something or when we drop something on our toes!

But we have something that no animal has: a large number of words which have the meaning of things, action, feelings or ideas.

We are able to give each other information, to tell other people what is in our mind, or how we feel.

By writing down words we can remember what has happened or send messages to people far away.

It is impossible for animals to do this.

Some birds, like the parrot, can be taught to say words, but they do not know what they mean .

They cannot use the words.

No one knows how man learned to make words.

Perhaps he began by imitating animals.

Perhaps he imitated sounds he heard all around him: water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground.

In some way he learned to make words.

As the centuries went by , he made more and more words.

This is what we mean by language.

The words we know are called our vocabulary.

We should try to make our vocabulary bigger.

We should read as many books as we can .

There are plenty of books written in English for us to read.

Of course , there are new words in them.

When we find a new word, we can look it up in our dictionary.

Our dictionary is our most useful book.

許多動物使用某種語言。

它們使用具有意義的信號。

例如，當(dāng)一只蜜蜂找到食物時，它就回家去。

蜜蜂不可能跟其他的蜜蜂說話，來告訴它們食物在那里，但是它能做一點飛舞的動作。

這就告訴那些蜜蜂食物在那里以及食物有多遠。

有些動物藉由發(fā)出聲音，來表示它們的感受如何。

要知道狗是否生氣并不難，因為它會叫。

鳥發(fā)出幾種不同的聲音，而且每一種都有它本身的意義。

有時我們?nèi)祟愐灿猛瑯拥姆绞桨l(fā)出聲音。

我們發(fā)出像“喔！＂或“哎�。。⒌穆曇魜肀硎疚覀兊母惺芑虮硎疚覀兊袅藮|西砸到腳趾頭。

但是我們擁有動物所沒有的東西：(那就是有)很多的文字具有表達事物、行為、感情或觀念的意義。

我們能夠互相提供消息，能夠告訴別人我們的想法，或我們的感受。 用文字記下，我們可以記住所發(fā)生的事情，或者傳送信息給遠方的人。 這是動物所不可能做到的。

有些鳥，像鸚鵡，能夠教會說話，但它們不知道那些話的意思。

它們不會使用那些話。

沒有人知道人類如何學(xué)會造字。

也許人類藉由模仿動物而開始的。

也許他模仿他周圍所聽到的一切的聲音：水的飛濺聲、蜜蜂的嗡嗡聲、石頭的落地聲。

用某種方式人類學(xué)會了造字。

隨著幾世紀(jì)的過去，人類造了越來越多的字。

這就是我們所謂的語言。

我們所認識的字稱為我們的字匯。

我們應(yīng)該設(shè)法使我們的字匯擴大。

我們應(yīng)該盡可能多閱讀書籍。

有很多用英文寫的書可以供我們閱讀。

當(dāng)然，書里面有生字。

當(dāng)我們發(fā)現(xiàn)生字的時候，我們可以查字典。

字典是我們最有用的書。

What Is It?

It has two wheels, but no engine.

It is usually built for one person.

It is powered by human legs.

It does not go very fast, but it costs almost nothing to operate.

In some countries, it is used only for sport and recreation.

In other countries, it is used for basic transportation.

What is it?

It is found everywhere, in homes, offices, and stores.

In public places, it can be operated by a coin or token.

Years ago an operator had to make the connection.

Today, you simply dial the correct numbers.

The connection is made by machines.

In seconds , your voice is heard in Tokyo, New York, Manila, Taipei, or Rome. This is made possible by Mr. Bell's marvelous machine.

What is it?

They are bought by accountants and bookkeepers, storekeepers and students. Some are designed to do very complicated work.

They are sold at high prices.

Others are much simpler and cheaper.

Some have to be plugged into an electrical outlet.

Others are powered by batteries.

Difficult problems used to take hours of work with pencil and paper.

Now they are solved in seconds.

Although they are a great help , some people worry about them.

They are afraid that students will depend on them.

Then they will never learn how to solve mathematics problems without them.

What are they?

Images are transmitted from one place.

They travel through the air for long distances.

Then they are received by this machine.

The images are projected on a small screen.

In the 1950's, these machines were owned by only a few people.

Today, it seems, everybody owns one.

What is it?

The basic design of this "machine" has not changed in thousands of years. It comes in various sizes and colors.

With reasonable care it will run for 70 or 80 years.

It walks, talks, thinks, and invents.

這是什么？

它有兩個輪子，但沒有引擎。

它通常為一個人使用而制造的。

它靠人的雙腿為動力。

它跑得并不快，但操作起來幾乎不花費什么錢。

在某些國家它只作運動和消遣之用。

在另外的一些國家它作為基本的運輸工具。

這是什么？

它到處可以找得到，在家里、辦公室、和商店。

在公共場所，它可用一枚硬幣或代用硬幣操作。

多年前必須有接線生來做接通的耕作，

今天你僅僅撥正確的號碼。

連接的耕作由機器來作。

幾秒鐘的工夫，你的聲音就在東京、紐約、馬尼拉、臺北或羅馬被聽到了。 這是由貝爾先生的奇妙機器所促成。

這是什么呢？

它們由會計員、簿記員、店主與學(xué)生所購買。

有些是被設(shè)計來做很復(fù)雜的耕作。

它們售價很高。

有些比較簡單而且比較便宜。

有些必須插入電插座。

有些以電池為動力。

以往困難的問題總是需要用筆與紙耕作數(shù)小時。

現(xiàn)在這些問題在幾秒鐘內(nèi)就解決了。

雖然它們是一大幫助，但是有些人卻為它們而擔(dān)心。

這些人恐怕學(xué)生會依賴它們。

沒有它們，學(xué)生將無法學(xué)會如何解決數(shù)學(xué)問題。

它們是什么？

影像從一個地方傳送出去。

它們經(jīng)由空中傳到遠距離。

然后它們由這個機器接受。

影像投在一個小的螢光幕上。

在二十世紀(jì)五十年代，僅僅少數(shù)人才擁有這些機器。

今天似乎大家都擁有一部。

這是什么？

這部「機器」的基本設(shè)計在幾千年當(dāng)中都沒有改變。

它的存在有種種大小和顏色。

如果有適當(dāng)?shù)恼疹�，它會運轉(zhuǎn)七、八十年。

它會走路、講話、思考、和發(fā)明。

Names And Nicknames

Chris: Father, I want to ask you something.

Mr.White: Yes? What's that?

Chris: I want to know the origin of "nickname", because it seems a funny word. Mr. White: Well then, listen carefully.

Do you know the meaning of the old English word "eke" e-k-e?

Chris: No. Never heard of it in my life.

Mr. White: Well, it means "also".

And if you say "an eke name" quickly, it sounds like "a nickname".

Chris: So it does.

So a nickname is another name, or an additional name?

Mr. White: You're right.

Now, at first people had only one name, Thomas, John, Richard, etc. and these names were very numerous in England.

So to tell one John from another, for instance, an additional name was necessary. Sometimes the other name was a place name.

John who lived by the church was called John Church; and John who lived on the hill was called John Hill.

That is how we get the common English names of Church, Hill, Field, Wood, etc. They are quite common in England and America.

Some men were given their fathers' names.

Thomas the son of Richard was called Thomas Richardson.

Many English family names end in "son".

Chris: What about the name Smith, which is by far the commonest of English names? Mr. White: Of course, Smith means a blacksmith, and blacksmiths were very numerous in old times, far more numerous than they are now.

Very often the second name was given according to the work or occupation of the person.

That's how we get the family names, such as Taylor, Farmer, and Clerk.

Sometimes a man was called after some characteristic.

For instance, the first John Long was certainly a tall man; just as the first Mr. Small was undoubtedly a short man.

Chris: But such names are not nicknames, they are family names.

Mr. White: You're quite right; but they were nicknames once.

Now the word has changed its meaning: it means a special name, not a real name, that is used by a person's friends and familiar acquaintances.

Many nicknames are shortened forms of the real names.

General Montgomery's soldiers always called him Monty.

Chris: Then that's why you generally call me Chris?

Mr. White: That's right.

Christopher is too big a word for everyday use.

But there is one peculiar class of nicknames that are generally given to men who have certain family names.

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