The Tale of a Kite

Jon Lentz

精彩导读

怯弱的风筝在战胜恐惧后终于翱翔于蓝天，体验到飞翔的极度快乐。每个人都会害怕，但勇敢面对恐惧，就可以把我们的一些恐惧吓跑。想要让新的尝试成功，你必须愿意成长。那就意味着不退缩，意味着放手一搏。

文章词数 6 5 8 建议用时 1 2′ 难度系数 ★★★

After the long,boring winter,kites everywherecouldn’t wait togo dancing in the air， to tumble(翻筋斗)freely and to run after the sun.Every kite was excited.Well,all kites but one.

In the back of a closet,a kite looked depressed and thin.He was a nervous and lonely kite that preferred to stay in.He didn’t like flying.Well,that isn’t quite right—It wasnotthe flyingso much asthe height.

You see,the higher the flight,the further the fall.It was that which scared the kite most of all.The kite,would tumble on the hard ground behind.At that very moment,as his thought was complete,the closet door opened.The kite shrunk in defeat.

在度过漫长又百无聊赖的冬天后，各处的风筝都迫不及待地在空中翩翩起舞，要自由自在地翻筋斗，去追逐太阳。每只风筝都很兴奋。哦，只有一只例外。

在一个柜子深处，有一只孤零零的风筝看起来有点沮丧且瘦削，他无比焦虑，宁愿留在柜子里。这只风筝不喜欢飞行。哦，这么说也不全对——比起飞这件事，困扰他更多的是高度的问题。

你看，飞得越高，摔得就越远。就是这一点最让这只风筝感到害怕。风筝会在男孩身后硬邦邦的地上翻滚。就在他刚刚想完这些的那一瞬间，柜门打开了。风筝毫无斗志，蜷缩起身体。

It was a perfect kite day.The boy and the kite headed outside to play.As they came to the park there were kids everywhere flying kites that sailed gracefully high in the air.The boy pointed up,“Look,flying is easy!” With fear the kite looked,it made him feel uneasy,although the spring breezes were heartily blowing.

The boy started running to get the kite going.He ran all through the park while other kids stared at his kite that dragged...and tumbled...and scraped (擦).He heard a boy laugh and another one joke,“That kite must either be stupid or broken.”The boy hung his head and went back to his kite.Kneeling （跪下）,he thoughtfully asked,“You alright?” The kite seemed to be no worse for the wear.

“Why don’t you fly?” The boy’s tone was calm.“Don’t you know how?” he asked,“Are you afraid?”With all of his pride,the kite tried to contest it,but the look in his eyes told the boy he had guessed it.

They satin silencefor a moment,the boy and the kite.Then with a kind smile,the boy said, “It’s alright.Everyone gets frightened.Dad says that’s okay.And by facing fears boldly we can scare some away.That’s how it was with me and my bike.Maybe biking and flying are a little alike.”The glimmer(微光)of hope that shone in the boy’s eyes made the kite decide togiveitanother try.

The boy started running to give the kite lift.The wind on the kite was at once brisk and swift.Instead of fighting the wind，he gave himself to it.As it carried him upward,he knew he could do it.

今天是放风筝的好日子。男孩带着风筝出去玩了。等他们到了公园，那里已经到处是放风筝的孩子，他们的风筝都优雅地在空中飞得很高。男孩指着天空：“看，飞起来一点都不难！”风筝害怕地向上看去，他觉得很不舒服，尽管春风吹得很起劲儿。

男孩开始跑起来，好让风筝做好起飞的准备。他跑着穿越整个公园，其他孩子目瞪口呆地看着他的风筝被拖着……翻滚……在地上蹭来蹭去。他听到一个男孩大笑，另一个男孩开玩笑说：“那个风筝肯定不是傻的就是坏的。”男孩垂下头，走回到他的风筝旁，跪在地上，关切地问道：“你还好吗？”风筝看起来没有受到什么损伤。

“你为什么不飞起来呢？”男孩的语气很平静。“你不知道怎么飞吗？”他问，“你是害怕吗？”风筝带着自己所有的骄傲想要反驳男孩，但他的眼神告诉男孩，男孩猜对了。

男孩和风筝安静地坐了一会儿，然后男孩带着亲切的笑容说：“没关系，每个人都会害怕。爸爸说这没什么。勇敢面对恐惧可以吓跑我们的一些恐惧，我和我的自行车就是这样。也许骑自行车和飞也有那么一点相像。”男孩眼睛里闪烁的一丝希望的光芒让风筝决定再试着飞一下。

男孩开始奔跑，好给风筝一些起飞的助力，吹到风筝身上的风立刻变得又快又猛。这次风筝没有再同这风对抗，而是任凭自己让风摆布。随着风把他向上抬起，他知道自己能做到。

开始时，他很小心地不向下看。但接着他鼓起了勇气，他可以看到整个城镇！他情绪高涨，觉得自己的心都在飞。于是他冲男孩大喊：“再放点线，拜托，多放点线！”他鼓足勇气，绷紧下颌，在空中华丽地舞蹈。随着风筝的头升入云端，他感觉妙极了，直到他想起来自己还不知道怎么着陆。不过他没有陷入恐慌，而是努力忘记恐惧。他深吸了一口气，说：“好戏继续！”然后再一次把自己全部交给风。他随风滑翔，最后回到了公园。

At first he was careful not to look down.Then he got up his nerve.He could see the whole town!With excitement he felt his heart soar.So he yelled to the boy, “Give more string,please.More!”With courage,his jaw tight and square,he made a great dance in the air.Head in the clouds,the kite felt quite grand until remembering he still didn’t know how to land.But instead of locking in panic,helethis feargo.The kitetook a deep breath,and said,“On with the show!” Then giving himselfonce again to the wind.Surfing the breezes eventually brought him back to the park.

The kite felt peaceful and delightful and new.Without hesitation,he said, “Hold on tight!”The boy and the kitetook offtogether.They floated,they glided,and they hung in the sky.They waved at startled（震惊的）birds flying by.Higher than treetops and rooftops they flew,and the higher they went,the greater the view.Andevery so oftenthey were touched by the sight of a hopeful child dragging a scared,earthbound kite.When the boy and the kite landed they were met with wild cheers.

Their story became legend;it was told so many years.The legend ends with the lessons the kite learned that day that facing fears boldly can scare some away.To succeed at new things,you must be willing to grow.That means not holding back.It means letting go.

风筝觉得平静、快乐，焕然一新，他毫不犹豫地大喊:“抓紧了！”男孩和风筝一起飞了起来。他们在空中悬停、漂浮，滑翔，向从他们身旁掠过的那些受到惊吓的鸟儿挥手。他们越飞越高，超过了树冠，越过了屋顶。他们飞得越高，看到的景色就越美。他们偶尔还会看到一个满怀希望的孩子拖着一只满心害怕怎么也不肯离开地面的风筝，这样的画面总是让他们觉得感动。当男孩和风筝落地后，迎接他们的是热烈的喝彩声。

他们的故事变成了传说，流传了很多年。这个传说的结尾是风筝在那天明白的道理——勇敢面对恐惧可以把我们的一些恐惧吓跑。想要让新的尝试成功，你必须愿意成长。那就意味着不退缩，意味着放手一搏。

Reading check

1.Why did the kite in a closet feel nervous？

A.Because he had no companions to play with.

B.Because he would be deserted by his master.

C.Because he was worried about being in cold weather.

D.Because he was afraid to be taken out to fly high.

2.What can we infer from paragraph 5？

A.The boy lost confidence in the fear-filled kite.

B.The kite was very unwilling to take off at first.

C.The boy ran for a short distance to keep the kite flying.

D.All the other boys laughed at the kite for his performance.

3.What does the underlined word“contest”in paragraph 6 mean？

A.To compete for a prize.

B.To hide someone's inner emotions.

C.To raise a different opinion in a talk.

D.To attempt against a sudden difficulties.

4.How did the boy encourage the kite to face fear？

A.By riding a bicycle in front of the kite.

B.By citing the example told from his father.

C.By giving instructions on how to conquer fear.

D.By giving a description of the scenery he would see.

5.Which of following can best serve as the main idea of the text？

A.Determination is the key to success.

B.While there is life，there is hope.

C.Life is too short to spend time worrying.

D.The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Language study

Vocabulary

1.can not wait to do迫不及待……

2.not...so much as...与其说……不如说……

3.in silence沉默

4.give...another try再试一次

5.let go放手

6.take a deep breath深呼吸

7.without hesitation毫不犹豫地

8.take off起飞

9.every so often不时

Difficult sentence

You see,the higher the flight,the further the fall.你看，飞得越高，摔得就越远。

本句为“The+比较级……，the+比较级……”句型，意为“越……越……”。

The harder you work，the more lucky you will be.越努力，越幸运。

Critical writing

阅读文章，结合以下名句，按要求用英文写作。

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terrorwhich paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

—Franklin Roosevelt,32nd US President

我们唯一需要害怕的是害怕本身——没有名字、没有道理、不合理的恐惧，它将瘫痪人们由撤退转换为前进所需的气力。

——富兰克林·罗斯福（美国第32任总统）要求：

1.无须写标题；

2.除诗歌外，文体不限；

3.内容必须结合你生活中的具体事例；

4.可以根据自己对文章的理解，从其他角度进行写作；

5.词数150词左右，若引用名句，则不计入总词数。

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