我們是海龜

朱子曜

海龜是一種動作緩慢、智力平平的動物。但2018年5月，中國留學生朱子曜關于“We are the turtles”的分享，卻顛覆了我們對海龜的認知。這段輕松幽默而又勵志的分享讓我們重新認識了海龜精神：堅定、抗壓、持之以恒，并最終到達終點。

愿心有目標、勇往直前的你，同樣也具備這種精神，最終能達成心中所愿。

?文章詞數 8分鐘473 難度 ★★★ 建議用時

1Good afternoon,ladies and gentlemen.Our dean,faculty and staff,proud parents and above all,students of class 2018,congratulations!This is your day!

2I always have random（隨意的）questions in my mind,but there was another question I had the first day I learned about UMD(University of Maryland):Why our mascot（吉祥物）is a turtle?Many other schools pick fierce animals or figures:Princeton has a tiger,University of Chicago has a phoenix,and Duke has the “blue devil”.This question was not solved until I came to UMD and met the people here.

3My first several months in Maryland were a nightmare.I had no friends here.I didn't know how to drive.So I could only lock myself in my room.I started to have a hair loss issue due to academic pressure since I had to spend 3 hours figuring out the most basic concept!Worst of all,I attached this label to myself:a slow learner and an underachiever,just like a slow and foolish turtle.

4It was Professor Zhang at the Smith School who helped me realize that the way to success is never easy.Under unimaginable pressure during her PhD life in Harvard,she had to get up at 4 every morning and every single day she doubted her ability,her choice and her future.Eventually she became the wonder woman in the field of statistics and inspires hundreds of students like me.Just like a turtle with a tough shell,bearing all the pressure and hardships,she still moves forward.

5Then I learned more from my classmates.Despite all difficulties,none of them raised the white flag easily.Now,many of them earned excellent grades and have already found satisfying jobs.Just like turtles,when the chaos of life surrounds them,they still know their directions.

6This experience made me realize what we are all made of.We are all turtles.Life is not a sprint（沖刺）or even a marathon.Life is a triathlon（鐵人三項賽）.We might be not as super talented as the lucky ones,but we don't belittle ourselves.We might start things slow and be constantly discouraged by setbacks,but we know we choose to do things not because they are easy,but because they are hard.We might not be the first ones crossing the finishing line,but we are surely the ones knowing where we are going and why.

7This is the turtle spirit,which could be explained by these 3 amazing letters that I will never forget:UMD,that is U Must be Determined.

8The steps you are taking today might seem small,but some day you will see the big picture,as long as you are moving forward fearlessly,be it fast or slow.And please remember,UMD will always be there for you.

Ⅰ.Choose the best answers according to the text.

Genre 1.What is the type of this article?

A.A letter. B.A lecture. C.A narration. D.An argumentation.

Detail 2.Which can best describe the author's first several months in Maryland?

A.Exciting. B.Pleasant. C.Frustrating. D.Embarrassing.

Inference 3.What kept the author moving on according to Para.4 and Para.5?

A.The expectation of parents. B.The pursuit of good grades.

C.The power of good examples. D.The encouragement of turtles.

Inference 4.What played a key role in the author's success according to the text?

A.Good luck. B.Intelligence.

C.Smart choices. D.Determination.

Ⅱ.Discussion

As a high school student,what should you do to pursue success apart from the spirit of turtles?

Ⅰ.Discover useful structures in the text

as long as...只要 be it...不管

The steps you are taking today might seem small,but some day you will see the big picture,as long as you are moving forward fearlessly,be it fast or slow.你今天邁出的步伐可能看起來很小，但總

有一天你會看到大局，只要你無畏地前進，不管是快還是慢。

Ⅱ.Memorize some text-centered chunks

above all首先；尤為重要的

academic pressure學業壓力

raise the white flag認輸；放棄

figure out理解；弄明白

bear all the pressure and hardships承受所有的壓力和艱辛

big pictures大圖景；大格局

主題應用·語庫構建

常用語料

Ⅰ.高頻表達

1.學習活動

discuss討論

practice練習；實踐

instruct v.指導；傳授

instruction n.教誨；教導；指示

instructive adj.有教育意義的

praise贊揚；表揚

lively活潑的；活躍的

analyze分析

assessment評估

assignment作業

attain/obtain/gain/acquire獲得

attend參加；出席

attention注意；專心；關心

comprehension理解

concentrate集中(注意力)；聚精會神

effect效果；作用

inspire啟發；鼓舞

improve提高；改進

presentation呈現；演示

revise/review復習

summarize概括；總結

2.學校人員

educator教育工作者；教育家

class-teacher班主任

instructor導師；教練；講師

junior低年級學生

senior高年級學生

president/headmaster/principal校長

schoolmate校友

roommate室友

classmate同學

3.課程設置

Chinese語文

maths數學

English英語

physics物理

chemistry化學

biology生物

politics政治

history歷史

geography地理

music音樂

PE體育

4.情緒表達

excited興奮的

eager迫切的

delighted高興的

hopeful滿懷希望的

worried擔心的

frustrated沮喪的

concerned憂慮的

depressed壓抑的

disappointed失望的

anxious焦慮的

nervous緊張的

upset難過的

5.正能量

be serious about對……嚴肅/認真

spare no effort to do sth不遺余力去做某事

have a good command/knowledge of精通……

make progress in在……方面取得進步

lay a good foundation in在……方面打下良好

的基礎

work hard at努力做……

do/try one's best盡力；盡最大的努力

make full use of/take advantage of充分利用

catch up with sb/keep up with sb趕上某人

get full marks得滿分

gain scholarship獲得獎學金

get good grades獲得好成績

speak highly of sb高度贊揚某人

praise sb for sth因某事表揚表人

achieve success獲得成功

beabsorbed/buried/occupied in全神貫注于……；

專心致志于……

be admitted to/into被……錄取

concentrate (oneself)on/focus (one's attention)

on全神貫注于……

keep it up(不斷練習)以保持某事物；堅持下去

live up to one's expectations達到某人的期望

make it通過；成功

on schedule按時

pass/get through an exam通過考試

pay off取得成功

take an active part in積極參加

take in理解；吸收

think for oneself獨立思考

team up with與……合作；與……協作

be in harmony with與……關系和諧

6.負能量

cheat in an exam考試作弊

fail the examination考試不及格

be late for/be absent from遲到/缺席

break the school rules and regulations違反學校

的規章制度

skip the class逃課

get into a bad habit染上壞習慣

drop out of school退學；輟學

fall behind落后

be blamed for因……被責備

be punished for因……而受懲罰

7.其他

social investigation社會調查

voluntary labor義務勞動

physical activities體育活動

have a picnic/barbecue去野餐/燒烤

hold a sports meeting舉行運動會

have an outing去郊游

compulsory course必修課

optional/selective course選修課

life skills生活技能

be strict with sb對某人要求嚴格

help sb overcome the difficulties幫助某人克服

困難

peer pressure同齡壓力

Ⅱ.美句背誦

1.I fully understand that parents wish their children to have competitive advantages,yet I don't believe it's a wise choice to cram in too many expensive classes.我完全理解父母希望他們的孩子有競爭優勢。然而，我不認為上太多昂貴的課程是明智的選擇。

2.Every time before an examination,I am so upset.I'm afraid I may fail the exam and can't live up to my teacher's expectations.每次考試前我都非常沮喪，害怕因考試不及格而辜負了老師的期望。

3.When facing difficulties,I have enough courage to get them over.當遇到困難的事情時，我有足夠的勇氣克服它們。

4.Only by reading widely can we gain more knowledge and broaden our horizons.只有博覽群書，我們才能增長知識、開闊視野。

5.Not only did the activity get us close to nature and give us relaxation from heavy school work,but also it promoted the friendship among us.這次活動不僅使我們接近大自然，從繁重的學習中得到放松，而且也促進我們之間的友誼。

6.Despite the fact that peer pressure is most commonly seen as a very negative issue,it can also be positive in some situations.Positive peer pressure from good friends and peers can help you reflect on your actions and amend your ways to become a better individual.盡管同齡壓力通常被視為一個非常消極的問題，但在某些情況下也可以是積極的。來自好朋友和同齡人的積極的同齡壓力可以幫助你反思你的行為，并修正你的處事方法，讓你成為一個更優秀的人。

7.Today's teens are less focused on physical activities and more concerned with learning how to balance work and school.現在的青少年不太關注體育活動，更關心如何平衡作業和學習。

8.The steps you are taking today might seem small,but some day you will see the big picture,as long as you are moving forward fearlessly,be it fast or slow.你今天邁出的步伐可能看起來很小，但只要你無畏地前進，不管是快還是慢，總有一天你會看到大局。

Ⅲ.主題寫作

假定你是李華，上周日你校舉辦了主題為“Know more about China”的英語演講比賽。請你為校英文報寫一篇報道。內容包括：

1.時間和地點；

2.比賽的過程；

3.比賽的意義。注意：

1.詞數80左右；

2.可以適當增加細節，以使行文連貫。

Ⅳ.主題測評

見P55～P59自測園地