The boy at the track

浙江杭州富陽區新登中學 胡君祥

作者在賽馬場遇到的小男孩雖然接不到客人，但從不氣餒，這深深觸動了作者……

題材 體裁 文章詞數 建議用時生活 記敘文 約420 8分鐘

難詞探意

1. aggressive /?'ɡres?v/ adj. 好斗的；有進取心的

2. quarter /'kw??t?(r)/ n.（美國和加拿大的）25分硬幣

3. scramble /'skr?mbl/ v. 攀登；爬；爭奪；搶占

Many years ago I drove a taxi for extra money. I primarily worked in the east end of Toronto. It was back in the days when the Greenwood Racetrack was in operation. The track was a pretty lively place. Crowds of people were always streaming in and out. I did a lot of business down there, dropping off fares and picking them up. When I think of those days, I remember one particular summer about 30 years ago.

Each time a taxi drove up to the front of the track, a group of local kids would rush to the passenger door. One lucky kid, or to be more accurate, the mostaggressivekid, would open the passenger door and say “Good luck at the track, Mister!” People coming out of taxis always say thank you and throw coins to the kids.It was a routine.Sometimes the police would drive these kids away but they always came back a couple of hours later.

Throughout the summer, one kid caught my eye. He was bigger than most of them but he was even pushed away by the smallest of all the other kids. He never pushed back. In fact he would even step aside when others pushed forward. He was actually very polite among those aggressive children.Each time my cab drove up, it was a chance for the boy to open the door and say “Good luck, Mister! ” and then,he may get a quarter.This kid never stopped trying, although he never made it. He always got pushed aside. But he never gave up.

Then one day his chance arrived. As I was pulling up to the sidewalk, all the kids werescramblingfor a cab that had arrived just ahead of mine.They didn't notice me pulling up.The boy saw me and walked toward my cab.As I pulled up, I made sure to position the passenger door right beside him. He opened the passenger door and said to the man getting out,“Good luck at the track, Mister! ” But the man who got out of my cab did not say thanks. He did not throw a quarter to him. He said, “Get out of my way, kid! ” and then pushed him aside so hard that the boy fell on the sidewalk and I knew it hurt him seriously.

I was out of the cab in less than 10 seconds but I knew I would never find the man that pushed this boy down. He was gone in the crowd.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult words in sentences

1. Good luck at thetrack, Mister!

譯文：祝你在賽道上好運，先生！

分析：本句中，track意為“賽道”，指賽馬場里的賽道。

2. It was aroutine.

譯文：這是慣例。

分析：本句的關鍵詞是“routine”, 意為“慣例；例行程序”。

Ⅱ. Useful sentence patterns

1. Each time my cab drove up,it was a chance for the boy to open the door and say “Good luck,Mister! ”and then he may get a quarter.

分析：本句中，each time是連詞短語，意為“每次”，引導時間狀語從句。

2. They didn't notice me pulling up.

分析：本句中，notice后接復合賓語，me是賓語，pulling up是賓語補足語，意為“停車”。

Reading Check

閱讀上面的文章，根據所給情節進行續寫，使之構成一個完整的故事。注意：

1. 續寫短文的詞數應為150左右；

2. 續寫部分分為兩段，每段的開頭語已為你寫好。

Paragraph 1：

So I looked for the kid._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2：

The kid was walking the opposite way.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

寫作導引

一、分析語篇，理清要素

要想續寫內容與所給材料內容連貫、銜接緊密，就必須充分了解所給材料的大意。 本文是一篇記敘文，文章分析如下：

二、閱讀續寫開頭語，展開合理想象

基于原文和續寫段落首句提供的信息，我們可以構思要續寫的故事情節。 這一構思可分為四步：

第一步，根據已給出的內容判斷文章的立意。

根據本文第三段的 “This kid never stopped trying, although he never made it. He always got pushed aside. But he never gave up.” 可推斷出本文很可能是要告訴我們： 遇到挫折時要坦然面對，不要氣餒。

第二步，圍繞續寫第一段所給出的段首句進行提問構思：

（1）Why did the author look for the kid?

（2）How did the author look for the kid?

（3）Did the author find the kid in the end?

（4）What would happen when the author finally found the kid?

第三步，根據續寫第二段所給出的段首句倒推續寫第一段一定要寫什么。

分析第二段所給出的段首句“The kid was walking the opposite way.”可知：續寫第一段肯定要寫作者尋找小男孩無果而終。 如此構思能確保續寫的兩段是能互相銜接上的。

第四步，圍繞續寫第二段所給出的段首句進行提問構思：

（1）What does it mean that the kid was walking the opposite way?

（2）How would the author feel while the boy was walking the opposite way?

三、潤色成篇

在續寫的過程中要注意銜接的問題，做到情節連貫，語言風格一致。按銜接的部位來分有三種：

（1）兩段的續寫與所給短文的銜接。

（2）每段的續寫與續寫段落首句之間的銜接。

（3）續寫的兩段之間的銜接。

同時要注意語法、句型，以及所用詞的準確性。