Family ceremonies

河南固始慈濟高中 李德修

精彩導讀

學生進入高中后大多在外讀書，從此之后也是經常與家人朋友相隔兩地，本文介紹了一些保持聯系的方法。

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We senior students are usually apart from our family and friends.But there are many ways to stay connected.Aside fromspeaking and seeing each other on the phone,we can create simple ceremonies using nature and our own thoughts to connect our hearts across the miles.

The first step in creating your ceremony is look to nature for similarities in the different surroundings.The second step isagree uponsomething that is meaningful to all involved.If your mother loves birds,then perhaps each time you hear a bird sing,you can think of her and mentally send love.You may choose the sight of a butterfly,the feel of a slight wind or raindrops,or the smell of flowers toremindyouofa special someone.The pink glow of sunset might be your favorite time to send love,or perhaps the warming orange of sunrise.We can all see the sun,the moon,and the twinkling（閃爍的）stars when we look to the skies.The monthly full moon may be your time to connect with your loved ones,or the first star you see each night,knowing that they,too,aregazing intothe night sky and sending love.You could choose a day that you would usually celebrate together,such as a holiday or a solstice （夏/冬至日）.If you once shared Sunday brunches（早午餐）in the garden,you can eachseek outa garden to connect by heart and mind at exactly the same moment.

With practice,we may learn to recognize the feeling that comes when a loved one sends energy to us,and the feeling of soul-to-soul communication.In this case,distance may indeed make our connections stronger.There is certainly much to make us think of our close friends and loved ones often,but when wedecide upona reminder together,we create a simple ceremony of connection with a reminder together.

Reading check

Fill in each blank with only one word according to the text.

Away from family,1.____________and our own thoughts can be used through simple 2._______________to connect our hearts across the miles.The first step is to look to nature for 3._______________in the different surroundings.The second step is 4.________________upon something that is 5.________________to all 6._____________.Of course,we should also choose a day that we would usually 7.____________together.With 8._______________,distance may indeed make our connections 9.___________.Deciding upon a reminder together,we create a simple ceremony of connection with 10.______________together.

Language study

Vocabulary

aside from除了

agree upon在……達成一致

think of想到；想起

remind of提醒；使想起

gaze into凝視

seek out找出；挑選出

with practice通過練習

decide upon決定

Difficult sentence

each time引導的狀語從句

If your mother loves birds,then perhaps each time you hear a bird sing,you can think of her and mentally send love.

翻譯：_____________________________________________

【點石成金】名詞短語any time意為 “隨時”,each time意為“每次”,every time意為“每次,(the)first time意為“第一次”,(the)last time意為“上次”,(the)next time意為“下次”都可用作連詞，用來引導狀語從句。