一名士兵的雙重身份

山西 張艷峰

一名士兵在完成執(zhí)勤任務(wù)的同時還堅持給學(xué)生們上音樂課， 教學(xué)生們演奏貝多芬的樂曲《歡樂頌》。 一起來看看他是如何做到的吧。

題材 體裁人物 記敘文 330 ★★★文章詞數(shù) 難度建議用時6分鐘

Jacob Kohut, 35, was one of the soldiers. He finally had some downtime （休息時間） during his 12-hour shift. He sat in the back of a Humvee (悍馬軍車), flute in hand, teaching students via his laptop how to play Beethoven's Ode to Joy. That meant he was on double duty, as an active soldier and as a dedicated school band teacher.

For the past five years, he's taught music at two Fairfax County, Virginia, schools—Canterbury Woods Elementary School in the morning and Frost Middle School in the afternoon. When he was on duty, Kohut's days began in the morning with teaching his elementary class remotely from the drill floor of the DC Armory, finishing the lesson mere minutes before his shift started at 10 am. Later in the day, during his break, he would go online to teach his middle school students from the back of a Humvee.

Diane Leipzig, the principal of Canterbury Woods Elementary School, assured Kohut she would find a substitute teacher to cover his classes while he was on duty, but he insisted on continuing to teach. She says, “He's an excellent example. He teaches our kids the importance of practice, determination, and resilience.”

Music has always been a driving force in Kohut's life. “My mom was a music teacher. That's why I do what I do, because she was such a good role model,” says Kohut.

Kohut insists he is not doing anything extraordinary. “We are here to do what's needed, and if that means standing outside for 18 hours straight in the freezing cold, we're ready to do that,” he says.

As the 11 instruments played by his virtual students synchronized （同步的） in song, the familiar melody of Ode to Joy rang through the Humvee. At that moment, Kohut realized there wasn't a timelier tune to teach his students. “It's a symbol of unity and peace,” he says. “And that's what the world needs right now.”

Reading Check

1. Which word can describe Kohut's daily life according to the text?

A. Frustrating. B. Happy.

C. Active. D. Busy.

2. How did Kohut manage to teach his students to play music?

A. By using the time after his shift.

B. By standing outside for 18 hours in the freezing cold.

C. By making the most of his free time to teach online.

D. By teaching from the back of a Humvee or the drill floor of the DC Armory.

3. Which word best describes Diane Leipzig's attitude to Kohut?

A. Positive. B. Tolerant. C. Skeptical. D. Negative.

4. What made Kohut determined to continue to teach?

A. His students' request.

B. His mother's great influence on him.

C. The two schools' insisting on him doing so.

D. Having a lot of free time and his love for music.

Language Study

Difficult sentence in the text

1. When he was on duty, Kohut's days began in the morning with teaching his elementary class remotely from the drill floor of the DC Armory, finishing the lesson mere minutes before his shift started at 10 am. 執(zhí)勤的時候， 科胡特的一天是以早上從軍械庫的訓(xùn)練場上遠(yuǎn)程教小學(xué)的課程開始，課程在上午十點他輪班之前幾分鐘結(jié)束。

【點石成金】句中When he was on duty是時間狀語從句，began是謂語動詞，teaching his elementary class remotely from the drill floor of the DC Armory是動名詞短語作介詞with的賓語，finishing the lesson mere minutes before his shift started at 10 am是現(xiàn)在分詞短語作結(jié)果狀語。

2. Diane Leipzig, the principal of Canterbury Woods Elementary School, assured Kohut she would find a substitute teacher to cover his classes while he was on duty, but he insisted on continuing to teach. 坎特伯雷森林小學(xué)的校長黛安娜·萊比錫向科胡特保證，在他執(zhí)勤時會找一位老師替他上課，但科胡特堅持繼續(xù)教學(xué)。

【點石成金】這句話是but連接了兩個并列句，第一個分句中the principal of Canterbury Woods Elementary是Diane Leipzig的同位語，she would find a substitute teacher to cover his classes while he was on duty是賓語從句，while he was on duty是時間狀語從句。