Invisible smile

2020-06-20陈华

疯狂英语·新悦读 2020年5期

Step 1 感知·阅读导航

话题导入

这是一篇叙述父子亲情故事的文章。故事围绕一位父亲和儿子的亲子棒球活动而展开。父亲得了贝尔氏神经麻痹症后因为旁人异样的目光，中断了外出陪儿子打球的亲子活动。父亲积极参与复健，但是成效缓慢。他尽量不出门，不再与儿子去公园打棒球，而是在家中完成自己的工作，减少与外界的接触。父亲其实是一个幽默的人，尽管自己笑容不再，但他用画笔在脸上画出笑容，自嘲般地应对疾病。儿子与父亲感情很好，他感同身受，发誓在父亲能再展笑颜前，不再露笑颜。儿子正在上四年级，他的“冷脸”让他经历了很多误解，但他还是选择坚守誓言。在老师与父亲沟通后，父亲意识到了问题，为了儿子他毅然走出自己营造的舒适区，勇敢地去微笑，重拾与儿子的亲子打球时光。

父与子的深厚情感与相互付出让人动容，人世间最美好的莫过于此。全文693词，建议用时14分钟。

阅读目标

1. 利用思维导图，梳理父亲和儿子各个阶段的情感变化和相应的行为；

2. 通过对整个故事的理解，寻找父亲笑容存在的意义；

3. 感悟父亲面对疾病的勇气，弘扬直面问题的精神，惊叹儿子对父亲的共情，珍视现实生活中与自己父母相互扶持的情感。

阅读扫障

1. stroller /΄strəʊlə(r)/ n. 折叠式童车；幼儿推车

2. slur /slзː(r)/ v. 含糊地说话（通常因醉酒或疲劳）

3. droopy /΄druːpi/ adj. 下垂的；无精打采的

4. slump /slʌmp/ v. 重重地坐下

5. solemn /΄sɒləm/ adj. 庄严的；严正的

6. impersonation /ɪmˌpзːsə΄neɪʃn/ n. 扮演

7. abstain /æb΄steɪn/ v. 戒除

Dad and I loved baseball and hated sleep.One midsummer dawn when I was nine, we drove to the local park with our baseballs,gloves, and Yankees caps.

“If you thought night baseball was a thrill,just wait,” Dad told me. “Morning air carries the ball like you've never seen.”

He was right. Our fastballs charged faster and landed more lightly. The echoes of our catches popped as the sun rose over the dewsprinkled fields.

The park was all ours for about two hours.Then a young mother pushed herstrollertoward us. When she neared, Dad politely leaned over the stroller, waved, and gave the baby his best smile.

The mother stared at him for a second, and then rushed away.

Dad covered his mouth with his hand and walked to the car. “Let's go, bud,” he said. “I'm not feeling well.”

A month earlier, Bell's palsy (贝尔氏神经麻痹症) had struck Dad, paralyzing the right side of his face. It left himslurringwords and with adroopyeyelid. He could hardly drink from a cup without spilling onto his shirt. And his smile, which once eased the pain of playground cuts and burst forth at the mention of Mick Jagger, Woody Allen, or his very own Yankees,was gone.

As Islumpedin the car, I began suspecting that our sunrise park visit wasn't about watching daylight lift around us. This was his effort to avoid stares.

It was asolemndrive home.

After that day, Dad spent more time indoors. He left the shopping, driving, and Little League games to Mom. As a freelance editor, he turned our dining room into his office and buried himself in manuscripts. He no longer wanted to play catch.

At physical therapy, Dad obeyed the doctor：“Now smile as wide as you can. Now lift your right cheek with your hand. Now try to whistle.”

Only the sound of blowing air came out. My earliest memories were Dad's whistling to Frank Sinatra or Bobby McFerrin. He always whistled.He had taught me to whistle too.

Of the roughly 40,000 Americans suffering Bell's palsy every year, most recover in several weeks. Other cases take a few months to heal.But after nine weeks of therapy, the doctor confessed she couldn't help Dad.

“I've never seen anything like this,” she told him after his final session. Then she handed him the bill.

Dad coped through humor. He occasionally grabbed erasable markers and drew an evensided wide smile across his face. Other times, he practiced his Elvisimpersonation, joking that his curled lips allowed him to perfect his performance of Hound Dog.

By the time I entered fourth grade that September, Dad could blink his right eye and speak clearly again. But his smile still hadn't returned. So I made a secret vow： I wouldabstainfrom smiles of any kind.

Nothing about fourth grade made this easy.Classmates were both old enough to laugh about pop culture and young enough to appreciate fart jokes. Kids called me Frowny the Dwarf. I was three feet ten inches. Teachers accompanied me into hallways, asking what was wrong. Breaking the promise I had made myself was tempting,but I couldn't let Dad not smile alone.

When I asked my PE coach, “What's so great about smiling?” He made me do push-ups while the rest of the class played Wiffle ball.Then he called Dad.

I never learned what they discussed. But when I got off the school bus that afternoon, I saw Dad waiting for me, holding our gloves and ball. For the first time in months, we got in the family car and went to the park for a catch.

“It's been too long,” he said.

Roughly a half-dozen fathers and sons lined the field with gloved arms in the air.Dad couldn't smile, but he beamed, and so did I. Sundown came quickly. The field's white lights glowed,and everyone else left. But Dad and I threw everything from curve balls to folly floaters into the night. We had catching-up to do.

Step 2 理解·文本解读

目标呈现

Ⅰ. Grasp the main content.

What is the text mainly about?

A. Making a hidden secret. B. Losing my father's smile.

C. Recovering from a face illness. D. Playing baseball in the morning.

Ⅱ. Understand the plot.

Complete the form with the help of the following chart and understand the changes and love between the father and the son.

Ⅲ. Appreciate the details.

After reading the story, how do you understand the underlined part “Breaking the promise I had made myself was tempting”?

Step 3 运用·读写整合

角色体验

Suppose you are discussing with the son and the dad over “the meaning of smile”, reveal different understandings.

研读构新

Step 4 提升·素养建构

写作技巧

How to finish a continuous writing?

●Read the given story.

●Combine the plot.

●Explore the theme.

●Infer the development.

●Create the reasonable continuation.

读后续写

通过对作品主题的赏析，我们看到父亲与儿子的感情深厚：面对疾病，父亲选择避免与外界接触，并在家中乐观自嘲；儿子在校与同学相处，却因父亲不能微笑，发誓从此也不再微笑；为了让儿子能够与其他青少年一样享受青春，父亲最终直面自己的疾病，与儿子重拾亲子时光。通过知识和方法的迁移，我们收集了续写所需的作品信息。如果你跃跃欲试，那就构建属于自己的续写吧！

请参考已完成的材料收集，写一段100词左右的续写，要点包括：

1. 人物；

2. 场景；

3. 情节；

4. 情感升华。

When I went to the school the following day, I smiled to everybody I met in the hallway.