Sometimes Struggles Are Exactly What We Need In Our Life

本文主要講述一個人幫助蝴蝶破繭而出，結果蝴蝶的身體很重，翅膀很小，導致終身不能飛翔，他好心卻做了錯事。文章告訴我們有時候奮斗正是我們生活中所需要的，不經風雨難見彩虹！

One day a man found a cocoon （繭） of a butterfly in the forest. He sat there for several hours and watched the butterfly. Suddenly a small opening appeared， and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the butterfly could come out easily. But to his surprise， the butterfly got a heavy body and very small wings when it came out of the cocoon.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that the body would grow smaller at any moment and the wings would become larger and be able to fly. But neither happened！ In fact， the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling （爬） around with a heavy body and small wings. It was never able to fly.

The man was in his kindness， but he did not understand the nature rules. Before the butterfly came out of the cocoon， fluid （流體） from its body must be forced into its wings， and then it would be ready for flying. It must have a hard struggle （拼搏） to get through the small opening to get its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we go through our life without any difficulties， it would make us fail. We would not be as strong as we could have been， we could never fly.

跟蹤練習：

1. What was the butterfly doing at the beginning of the story？

A. It was trying to make a cocoon for itself.

B. It was struggling to get out of its cocoon.

C. It was flying among the trees in the forest.

D. It was crawling around quietly on the ground.

2. The man cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon __________.

A. to take the butterfly home

B. to stop the butterfly growing bigger

C. to kill the butterfly

D. to help the butterfly come out easily

3. What does the last paragraph tell us？

A. Struggles are sometimes necessary in our life.

B. Nothing is difficult if we put our heart into it.

C. Every good deed will come back with good result.

D. The greatest happiness in the world is to help others.

4. What do you think of the man？

A. Patient but cruel.

B. Careful and wise.

C. Kind but unwise.

D. Active and funny.

5. What is the best title for the story except the given one？

A. The Love for the Cocoon

B. The Joy of Helping Each Other

C. The Lesson of the Cocoon

D. The Expectation for the Butterfly

疑難解讀：

1. Suddenly a small opening appeared， and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole.突然，一個小洞出現了，蝴蝶竭盡全力要從那個小洞里鉆出來。

effort n.努力；盡力；試圖；艱難的嘗試；費力的事

make efforts / make an effort / make every effort后面常接動詞不定式，表示“努力做某事”。如：

The workers are making efforts to finish this year’s plan.

工人們正在努力完成今年的生產計劃。

Everyone makes an effort to keep the classroom clean.

每個人都努力保持教室清潔。

Of course， "I will make every effort to do so.

當然我會盡全力去做的。

effort固定搭配：appreciate sb.’s effort 感謝某人的努力； attempt efforts 作努力；

continue one’s efforts 繼續努力，再接再厲；lend one’s effort 作出努力。

2. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further. 它似乎已經盡了最大努力，再也掙扎不出來了。

3. We would not be as strong as we could have been， we could never fly. 如果我們不盡可能變得強大，我們可能會永遠無法飛翔。

2、3句中都出現了一個“as...as one can / could”結構，相當于“as...as possible”， 意為“盡可能……”。如：I can ran as fast as I can. 我盡可能快地跑步。

as...as中間要用形容詞或副詞的原級形式。又如：We will get your order to you as soon as possible. 我們將會把您的訂貨盡早送達。

答案解析：

1.細節理解題。由第一段“Suddenly a small opening appeared， and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole.”可知，這只蝴蝶正在努力破繭而出。故選B。

2.細節理解題。由第二段“He cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the butterfly could come out easily.”可知，他把繭的剩余部分剪掉，這樣蝴蝶就可以很容易地出來了。故選D。

3.主旨大意題。由最后一段“Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.”可知，本段主要講有時奮斗正是我們生活中所需要的。故選A。

4.推理判斷題。由第四段“The man was in his kindness， but he did not understand the nature rules.”可知，這個人善良但不明智。故選C。

5.標題判斷題。本文主要講述了一個人幫助蝴蝶破繭而出，結果蝴蝶的身體很重，翅膀很小，不能飛，他好心做了錯事。文章告訴我們有時候奮斗正是我們生活中所需要的。故選C。

（作者單位：山東省臨沂市臨沂第34中學）