The Tale of a Kite

Jon Lentz

精彩導讀

怯弱的風箏在戰勝恐懼后終于翱翔于藍天，體驗到飛翔的極度快樂。每個人都會害怕，但勇敢面對恐懼，就可以把我們的一些恐懼嚇跑。想要讓新的嘗試成功，你必須愿意成長。那就意味著不退縮，意味著放手一搏。

文章詞數 6 5 8 建議用時 1 2′ 難度系數 ★★★

After the long,boring winter,kites everywherecouldn’t wait togo dancing in the air， to tumble(翻筋斗)freely and to run after the sun.Every kite was excited.Well,all kites but one.

In the back of a closet,a kite looked depressed and thin.He was a nervous and lonely kite that preferred to stay in.He didn’t like flying.Well,that isn’t quite right—It wasnotthe flyingso much asthe height.

You see,the higher the flight,the further the fall.It was that which scared the kite most of all.The kite,would tumble on the hard ground behind.At that very moment,as his thought was complete,the closet door opened.The kite shrunk in defeat.

在度過漫長又百無聊賴的冬天后，各處的風箏都迫不及待地在空中翩翩起舞，要自由自在地翻筋斗，去追逐太陽。每只風箏都很興奮。哦，只有一只例外。

在一個柜子深處，有一只孤零零的風箏看起來有點沮喪且瘦削，他無比焦慮，寧愿留在柜子里。這只風箏不喜歡飛行。哦，這么說也不全對——比起飛這件事，困擾他更多的是高度的問題。

你看，飛得越高，摔得就越遠。就是這一點最讓這只風箏感到害怕。風箏會在男孩身后硬邦邦的地上翻滾。就在他剛剛想完這些的那一瞬間，柜門打開了。風箏毫無斗志，蜷縮起身體。

It was a perfect kite day.The boy and the kite headed outside to play.As they came to the park there were kids everywhere flying kites that sailed gracefully high in the air.The boy pointed up,“Look,flying is easy!” With fear the kite looked,it made him feel uneasy,although the spring breezes were heartily blowing.

The boy started running to get the kite going.He ran all through the park while other kids stared at his kite that dragged...and tumbled...and scraped (擦).He heard a boy laugh and another one joke,“That kite must either be stupid or broken.”The boy hung his head and went back to his kite.Kneeling （跪下）,he thoughtfully asked,“You alright?” The kite seemed to be no worse for the wear.

“Why don’t you fly?” The boy’s tone was calm.“Don’t you know how?” he asked,“Are you afraid?”With all of his pride,the kite tried to contest it,but the look in his eyes told the boy he had guessed it.

They satin silencefor a moment,the boy and the kite.Then with a kind smile,the boy said, “It’s alright.Everyone gets frightened.Dad says that’s okay.And by facing fears boldly we can scare some away.That’s how it was with me and my bike.Maybe biking and flying are a little alike.”The glimmer(微光)of hope that shone in the boy’s eyes made the kite decide togiveitanother try.

The boy started running to give the kite lift.The wind on the kite was at once brisk and swift.Instead of fighting the wind，he gave himself to it.As it carried him upward,he knew he could do it.

今天是放風箏的好日子。男孩帶著風箏出去玩了。等他們到了公園，那里已經到處是放風箏的孩子，他們的風箏都優雅地在空中飛得很高。男孩指著天空：“看，飛起來一點都不難！”風箏害怕地向上看去，他覺得很不舒服，盡管春風吹得很起勁兒。

男孩開始跑起來，好讓風箏做好起飛的準備。他跑著穿越整個公園，其他孩子目瞪口呆地看著他的風箏被拖著……翻滾……在地上蹭來蹭去。他聽到一個男孩大笑，另一個男孩開玩笑說：“那個風箏肯定不是傻的就是壞的。”男孩垂下頭，走回到他的風箏旁，跪在地上，關切地問道：“你還好嗎？”風箏看起來沒有受到什么損傷。

“你為什么不飛起來呢？”男孩的語氣很平靜。“你不知道怎么飛嗎？”他問，“你是害怕嗎？”風箏帶著自己所有的驕傲想要反駁男孩，但他的眼神告訴男孩，男孩猜對了。

男孩和風箏安靜地坐了一會兒，然后男孩帶著親切的笑容說：“沒關系，每個人都會害怕。爸爸說這沒什么。勇敢面對恐懼可以嚇跑我們的一些恐懼，我和我的自行車就是這樣。也許騎自行車和飛也有那么一點相像。”男孩眼睛里閃爍的一絲希望的光芒讓風箏決定再試著飛一下。

男孩開始奔跑，好給風箏一些起飛的助力，吹到風箏身上的風立刻變得又快又猛。這次風箏沒有再同這風對抗，而是任憑自己讓風擺布。隨著風把他向上抬起，他知道自己能做到。

開始時，他很小心地不向下看。但接著他鼓起了勇氣，他可以看到整個城鎮！他情緒高漲，覺得自己的心都在飛。于是他沖男孩大喊：“再放點線，拜托，多放點線！”他鼓足勇氣，繃緊下頜，在空中華麗地舞蹈。隨著風箏的頭升入云端，他感覺妙極了，直到他想起來自己還不知道怎么著陸。不過他沒有陷入恐慌，而是努力忘記恐懼。他深吸了一口氣，說：“好戲繼續！”然后再一次把自己全部交給風。他隨風滑翔，最后回到了公園。

At first he was careful not to look down.Then he got up his nerve.He could see the whole town!With excitement he felt his heart soar.So he yelled to the boy, “Give more string,please.More!”With courage,his jaw tight and square,he made a great dance in the air.Head in the clouds,the kite felt quite grand until remembering he still didn’t know how to land.But instead of locking in panic,helethis feargo.The kitetook a deep breath,and said,“On with the show!” Then giving himselfonce again to the wind.Surfing the breezes eventually brought him back to the park.

The kite felt peaceful and delightful and new.Without hesitation,he said, “Hold on tight!”The boy and the kitetook offtogether.They floated,they glided,and they hung in the sky.They waved at startled（震驚的）birds flying by.Higher than treetops and rooftops they flew,and the higher they went,the greater the view.Andevery so oftenthey were touched by the sight of a hopeful child dragging a scared,earthbound kite.When the boy and the kite landed they were met with wild cheers.

Their story became legend;it was told so many years.The legend ends with the lessons the kite learned that day that facing fears boldly can scare some away.To succeed at new things,you must be willing to grow.That means not holding back.It means letting go.

風箏覺得平靜、快樂，煥然一新，他毫不猶豫地大喊:“抓緊了！”男孩和風箏一起飛了起來。他們在空中懸停、漂浮，滑翔，向從他們身旁掠過的那些受到驚嚇的鳥兒揮手。他們越飛越高，超過了樹冠，越過了屋頂。他們飛得越高，看到的景色就越美。他們偶爾還會看到一個滿懷希望的孩子拖著一只滿心害怕怎么也不肯離開地面的風箏，這樣的畫面總是讓他們覺得感動。當男孩和風箏落地后，迎接他們的是熱烈的喝彩聲。

他們的故事變成了傳說，流傳了很多年。這個傳說的結尾是風箏在那天明白的道理——勇敢面對恐懼可以把我們的一些恐懼嚇跑。想要讓新的嘗試成功，你必須愿意成長。那就意味著不退縮，意味著放手一搏。

Reading check

1.Why did the kite in a closet feel nervous？

A.Because he had no companions to play with.

B.Because he would be deserted by his master.

C.Because he was worried about being in cold weather.

D.Because he was afraid to be taken out to fly high.

2.What can we infer from paragraph 5？

A.The boy lost confidence in the fear-filled kite.

B.The kite was very unwilling to take off at first.

C.The boy ran for a short distance to keep the kite flying.

D.All the other boys laughed at the kite for his performance.

3.What does the underlined word“contest”in paragraph 6 mean？

A.To compete for a prize.

B.To hide someone's inner emotions.

C.To raise a different opinion in a talk.

D.To attempt against a sudden difficulties.

4.How did the boy encourage the kite to face fear？

A.By riding a bicycle in front of the kite.

B.By citing the example told from his father.

C.By giving instructions on how to conquer fear.

D.By giving a description of the scenery he would see.

5.Which of following can best serve as the main idea of the text？

A.Determination is the key to success.

B.While there is life，there is hope.

C.Life is too short to spend time worrying.

D.The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Language study

Vocabulary

1.can not wait to do迫不及待……

2.not...so much as...與其說……不如說……

3.in silence沉默

4.give...another try再試一次

5.let go放手

6.take a deep breath深呼吸

7.without hesitation毫不猶豫地

8.take off起飛

9.every so often不時

Difficult sentence

You see,the higher the flight,the further the fall.你看，飛得越高，摔得就越遠。

本句為“The+比較級……，the+比較級……”句型，意為“越……越……”。

The harder you work，the more lucky you will be.越努力，越幸運。

Critical writing

閱讀文章，結合以下名句，按要求用英文寫作。

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terrorwhich paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

—Franklin Roosevelt,32nd US President

我們唯一需要害怕的是害怕本身——沒有名字、沒有道理、不合理的恐懼，它將癱瘓人們由撤退轉換為前進所需的氣力。

——富蘭克林·羅斯福（美國第32任總統）要求：

1.無須寫標題；

2.除詩歌外，文體不限；

3.內容必須結合你生活中的具體事例；

4.可以根據自己對文章的理解，從其他角度進行寫作；

5.詞數150詞左右，若引用名句，則不計入總詞數。

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