一名士兵的双重身份

山西 张艳峰

一名士兵在完成执勤任务的同时还坚持给学生们上音乐课， 教学生们演奏贝多芬的乐曲《欢乐颂》。 一起来看看他是如何做到的吧。

题材 体裁人物 记叙文 330 ★★★文章词数 难度建议用时6分钟

Jacob Kohut, 35, was one of the soldiers. He finally had some downtime （休息时间） during his 12-hour shift. He sat in the back of a Humvee (悍马军车), 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. 执勤的时候， 科胡特的一天是以早上从军械库的训练场上远程教小学的课程开始，课程在上午十点他轮班之前几分钟结束。

【点石成金】句中When he was on duty是时间状语从句，began是谓语动词，teaching his elementary class remotely from the drill floor of the DC Armory是动名词短语作介词with的宾语，finishing the lesson mere minutes before his shift started at 10 am是现在分词短语作结果状语。

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. 坎特伯雷森林小学的校长黛安娜·莱比锡向科胡特保证，在他执勤时会找一位老师替他上课，但科胡特坚持继续教学。

【点石成金】这句话是but连接了两个并列句，第一个分句中the principal of Canterbury Woods Elementary是Diane Leipzig的同位语，she would find a substitute teacher to cover his classes while he was on duty是宾语从句，while he was on duty是时间状语从句。