发布时间 : 星期六 文章自考《英语二》2012版-课程代码00015-课文英汉对照更新完毕开始阅读
What words do you use a lot that disempower you? Make a list of words you commonly use and then write next to them some alternatives you can use. Make these alternatives words that make you feel fabulous, not only about yourself, but about life and what you are doing!
你使用过哪些让你失去力量的词?列出你常用的这类词，然后在旁边写出它们的替代词。让这些替代词不仅使你对自己感觉良好，而且使你对生活、对正在做的事情感觉无限美好吧!
Unit 2 Mistakes to Success
Text A
Pre-reading Questions
1. Did you make any mistakes on your way to success? Give some examples.
2. Do you believe that making mistakes is a necessary ingredient for success? Explain.
Spilt milk
Have you heard of the story about spilt milk? Will, we all know there is no use crying over spilt milk. But this story is different. I would hope all parents would respond in this manner.
打翻
的牛奶
你是否听过打翻的牛奶的故事?我们都知道为已经打翻的牛奶哭泣是没有用的。不过这次的故事不同。我希望所有父母都能作出如此回应。
I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he was so much more creative than the average person; what set him so far apart from others?
最近我听到一个故事，故事的主角是一个在医学领域取得多项重大突破的知名科学家。在一次报社记者对他的采访中，记者问他为什么他比普通人更富有创造力，是什么让他如此与众不同。
He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor – a veritable sea of milk!
他回答道，在他看来，这全部源于他两岁时和妈妈的一次共同的经历。他试图从冰箱里取出一瓶牛奶，却没有
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抓住光滑的瓶子，瓶子掉了，牛奶洒得厨房满地都是——白花花的一片。
When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, “Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”
他妈妈走进厨房时，没有对他大吼大叫，没有训斥他或惩罚他，而是对他说：“罗伯特，瞧你把地板弄得，多么的壮观啊!我几乎从未见过这么大的一摊牛奶。噢，既然损失已经造成了，你要不要下来玩一会牛奶我们再打扫?”
Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?” he chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilt milk.
他真的在一地的牛奶上玩了一会儿。几分钟后，妈妈又说：“罗伯特，你要知道，每次像这样搞得一团糟，最终还是要收拾干净，让一切恢复原位。所以，你看该怎么打扫好呢?我们可以使用一块海绵、一条毛巾或者一个拖把。你喜欢用哪一个呢?”他选择了海绵，并和妈妈一起把地板上的牛奶打扫干净。
His mother then said, “You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!
他妈妈接着对他说：“你知道，今天我们实际上做了个实验——如何用两只小手稳妥地端一个大的牛奶瓶，可惜我们的实验失败了。那我们去后院继续做实验吧，给瓶子里装上水，看看你能不能发现用什么方法端这个瓶子它不会掉。”于是这个小男孩学会了用双手抓住瓶子上面靠近瓶盖的位置，这样端的时候瓶子就不会掉。多么美妙的一堂课!
The renowned scientist remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn’t work,” we usually learn something valuable from it.
这位著名的科学家谈论道，正是在那一刻他明白了无需害怕犯错误。相反，他认识到错误正是学习新东西的机会，毕竟任何科学实验都是如此。’即使实验“行不通”，我们往往也能从中得到一些宝贵的经验。
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Wouldn’t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert’s mother responded to him?
如果所有家长都像罗伯特的妈妈那样对待孩子该有多好啊。
Text B
Pre-reading Questions
1. Have you ever been wrongly blamed by your parents? How did you feel at that moment? 2. What suggestions would you give to the parents who are blinded to their children’s merits?.
The Cake
Cindy glanced nervously at the clock on the kitchen wall. Five minutes before midnight.
“They should be home any time now,” she thought as she put the finishing touches(最后润色；收尾工作) on the chocolate cake she was frosting. It was the first time in her 12 years she had tried to make a cake from scratch, and to be honest, it wasn’t exactly an aesthetic triumph. The cake was … well, lumpy, And the frosting was bitter, as if she had run out of sugar or something, which, of course, she had.
蛋糕
辛迪紧张地瞥了一眼挂在厨房墙壁上的时钟，还有5分钟就到午夜了“现在，他们随时都会回来。”她一边想着，一边在巧克力蛋糕上抹上最后一些糖霜。这是她从小到大12年来第一次尝试制作蛋糕，完全是从头学起。不过说实话，蛋糕至少从审美角度说不算成功。这块蛋糕……嗯，看起来凹凸不平。糖霜是苦的，好像她把糖或者别的什么东西都用光了。当然，糖的确是用光了。
And then there was the way the kitchen looked. Imagine a huge blender filled with all the fixings for chocolate cake – including the requisite bowls, pans and utensils. Now imagine that the blender is turned on. High speed. With the lid off. Do you get the idea?
再看看她把厨房搞成什么样了。想象一个巨大的搅拌机，里面盛着制作蛋糕的全部原料——包括必备的锅、碗及其他器皿。再想象一下这个搅拌机开动了，高速运转，盖子是打开着的。你能想象出这是什么样的场景吗?
But Cindy wasn’t thinking about the mess. She had created something, a veritable phoenix of flour and sugar rising out of the kitchen clutter. She was anxious for her parents to return home from their date so she could present her anniversary gift to them. She turned off the kitchen lights and waited excitedly in the darkness. When at last she saw the flash of the car headlights, she positioned herself in the kitchen doorway. By the time she heard the key sliding into the front door, she was THIS CLOSE to exploding.
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但辛迪没有考虑这些混乱。她创造了某件东西，一只用面粉和糖做成的十足的凤凰正从厨房的一片狼藉中升起。她焦急地等待着父母约会后回来，以便她能将自己的周年纪念礼物送给他们。她关掉厨房的灯，在黑暗中兴奋地等待着。终于，她看见汽车头灯在闪烁，她在厨房门口站定。当她听到钥匙插进前门锁孔的声音时，她的心激动得几乎要蹦出来了!
Her parents tried to slip in quietly, but Cindy would have none of that. She flipped on the lights dramatically and trumpeted: “Ta-daaa!” She gestured grandly toward the kitchen table, where a slightly off-balance two-layer chocolate cake awaited their inspection.
父母尽量放轻脚步，悄悄地走进门来，但辛迪可不管那些。她激动地用手指按下电灯开关，大声叫道：“看!”她庄严地向厨房的餐桌打了个手势，一个稍微有点不平衡的双层蛋糕正在等待着他们的检阅。
But her mother’s eyes never made it all the way to the table. “Just look at this mess! “ How many times have I talked to you about cleaning up after yourself?” “But Mom, I was only …”
但是母亲的眼睛压根儿就没有向餐桌那边看去。“看看你搞得什么啊!”母亲埋怨道，“我给你说了多少次吃完饭要随手收拾干净?”
“可是妈妈，我只是……”
“I should make you clean this up right now, but I’m too tired to stay up with you to make sure you get it done right,” her mother said. “So you’ll do it first thing in the morning.”
“我现在就想让你立刻收拾干净，但是今天太累了，没法熬夜监督你干活，”母亲说，“你明早起床第一件事就是收拾厨房。”
“Honey,” Cindy’s father interjected gently, “take a look at the table.”
“亲爱的”，辛迪的父亲小声提醒道，“看看餐桌。”
“I know – it’s a mess,” his wife said coldly. “The whole kitchen is a disaster. I can’t stand to look at it.” She stormed up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.
“我知道——餐桌上一团糟”，母亲冷冷地说，“整个厨房简直就是一场灾难。我实在是看不下去。”她气冲冲地上了楼梯，进了房间，砰的一声把门关上。
For a few moments Cindy and her father stood silently, neither one knowing what to say. At last she looked up at him, her eyes moist and red.” She never saw the cake,” she said.
辛迪和父亲静立片刻，两人都不知该说什么。最后辛迪抬头看着父亲，发红的眼睛里含着泪水。“她根本没看到蛋糕”，她说。
Unfortunately, Cindy’s mother isn’t the only parent who suffers from Situational Timbercular Glaucoma(青光眼)- the occasional inability to see the forest for the trees. From time to time we all allow
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