简短英语短文

简短英语短文篇一：英语励志小短文(1)

英语励志短文

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

无论是60岁还是16岁，你需要保持永不衰竭的好奇心、永不熄灭的孩提般求知的渴望和追求事业成功的欢乐与热情。在你我的心底，有一座无线电台，它能在多长时间里接收到人间万物传递来的美好、希望、欢乐、鼓舞和力量的信息，你就会年轻多长时间。

An individual human existence should be like a river—small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.

人的生命应当像河流，开始是涓涓细流，受两岸的而十分狭窄，尔后奔腾咆哮，翻过危岩，飞越瀑布，河面渐渐开阔，河岸也随之向两边隐去，最后水流平缓，森森无际，汇入大海之中，个人就这样毫无痛苦地消失了。

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over

timidity,of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty.Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.We grow old by deserting our ideals.

青春意味着战胜懦弱的那股大丈夫气概和摈弃安逸的那种冒险精神。往往一个60岁的老者比一个20岁的青年更多一点这种劲头。人老不仅仅是岁月流逝所致，更主要的是不思进取的结果。

Years may wrinkle the skin,but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. 光阴可以在颜面上留下印记，而热情之火的熄灭则在心灵上刻下皱纹。烦恼、恐惧、缺乏自信会扭曲人的灵魂，并将青春化为灰烬。

学习英语的重要性

English is the most popular language in the world, and it is also most widely spoken of all the language. It is mother tongue in many important countries, such as the USA,England, Australia and so on. In India, Though it is not the mother tongue, it ‘sthe important official

The 2008 Olympics will be hosted in Beijing. Many foreigners will come to China. We should try our best to serve the Olympics. For example, we can help the foreign visitors if we learn English well.

Examination(考试)

Someone says examination can help us go over our lessons in time and after the examination we can find how we are getting on

with our studies. But we are always having too many examinations and they are also too difficult for us to get through.I find some of us have lost interest in learning lessons. Besides,it is harmful to our health as we hardly have any time to go in for sports. I think the present system of measurement should be improved.

Water

Water is very important to living things. Without water there can be no life on the earth. All animals and plants need water. Man also needs water. We need water to drink, to cook our food and to clean ourselves. Water is needed in offices,factories, schools and hospitals.

From space the earth looks like a huge water-covered globe.Water covers about seventy percent of the earth's surface. There is water in oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. Even in the driest part of the world, there is some water in the air. Water is found almost everywhere.

1.Life is not fair, get used to it. 生活是不公平的；要去适应它。

a mothers love never changes. 母爱永恒。

a bad beginning makes a bad ending. 不善始者不善终。

1.希望和信任是蜥蜴的尾巴，即使被切断，但它们还会再长出来。

1.Hope and trust is the tail of a lizard, which can reproduce even after being cut off.

2.宁可失败在你喜欢的事情上，也不要成功在你所憎恶的事情上。

2.To lost in something you love is better than to win in something you hate.

3.一个人总要走陌生的路，看陌生的风景，听陌生的歌，然后在某个不经意的瞬间，你会发现，原本是费尽心机想要忘记的事情真的就那么忘记了。

3. One is always on a strange road, watching strange scenery and listening to strange music. Then one day, you will find that the things you try hard to forget are already gone.

4.幸福，不是长生不老，不是大鱼大肉，不是权倾朝野。幸福敲恳桓鑫⑿〉纳?钤竿?锍伞５蹦阆氤缘氖焙蛴械贸裕?氡话?氖焙蛴腥死窗?恪?/P>

4. Happiness is not about being immortal nor having food or rights in one's hand. It’s about having each tiny wish come true, or having something to eat when you are hungry or having someone's love when you need love.

5.爱情是灯，友情是影子，当灯灭了，你会发现你的周围都是影子。朋友，是在最后可以给你力量的人。

5. Love is a lamp, while friendship is the shadow. When the lamp is off, you will find the shadow everywhere. Friend is who can give you strength at last.

6.我爱你不是因为你是谁，而是我在你面前可以是谁。

6.I love you not for who you are, but for who I am before you.

7.爱情，要么让人成熟，要么让人堕落。

7.Love makes man grow up or sink down.

8.举得起放得下的叫举重，举得起放不下的叫负重。可惜，大多数人的爱情，都是负重的。

8. If you can hold something up and put it down, it is called weight-lifting; if you can hold something up but can never put it down, it's called burden-bearing. Pitifully, most of people are bearing heavy burdens when they are in love.

9.许多人向往水晶般的爱情——晶莹剔透没有一点瑕疵。更多人拥有的却是玻璃般的爱情——同样透明但容易破碎。

9.Most of people are looking forward the crystal-like love—pure without any defect. However the truth is most people are having the glass-like love-same transparent but easily broken.

10．我们每个人都生活在各自的过去中，人们会用一分钟的时间去认识一个人，用一小时的时间去喜欢一个人，再用一天的时间去爱上一个人，到最后呢，却要用一辈子的时间去忘记一个人。

10. We all live in the past. We take a minute to know someone, one hour to like

someone, and one day to love someone, but the whole life to forget someone.

11．一个人一生可以爱上很多的人，等你获得真正属于你的幸福之后，你就会明白一起的伤痛其实是一种财富，它让你学会更好地去把握和珍惜你爱的人。

11. One may fall in love with many people during the lifetime. When you finally get your own happiness, you will understand the previous sadness is kind of treasure, which makes you better to hold and cherish the people you love.

12．人的一生，有两种遗憾最折磨人：一是得不到你心爱的人；二是心爱的人得不到幸福。

12.During the whole life, you will regret for two things: one is that you don’t get the one you love and the other is the one you love is not happy.

13．生活在没有的你的世界，比任何一种惩罚都要痛苦，你知道吗，对我而言，你是任何人都无法取代的。

13. To live in a world without you is more painful than any punishment. Do you know that no one can replace you in my heart?

14．你的诞生带给我希望，而我希望带给你幸福。

14.Your birth gives me hope and I hope to give you happiness.

15．我将暴风般的爱情藏在心底，那是为了不给对方任何心理压力，我的爱情越是珍贵，相对地，也越珍惜别人的爱情。

15. I hide my storm-like love in my heart just n(转 载于:wWw.zhAoQT.neT 蒲公 英文摘:简短英语短文)ot to give you any pressure. The more precious my love is, the more I cherish the love from others.

My oath 我的誓言

Today I truly believe

This unique journey will completely change my life! Today I truly believe

That all my efforts will produce generous returns. Today I truly believe

English will be a powerful weapon in my life!Today I truly believe

My dream of speaking beautiful English will come alive! Therefore,

I must devote all my energy and time to learning English with courage, passion, enthusiasm, and vigor! I must enjoy losing face!

I must pour all my efforts into learning English!I must be absolutely responsible for myself!I must be 100 percent dedicated to my goal! I must be totally crazy about speaking English! I must not waste one minute, or even one second! I must challenge my limits and then surpass them! I must conquer English and charge toward success! I will speak good English!

I will because I think I will!

Right here! Right Now! Action!

今天我坚信

这段特殊的旅程将彻底改变我的一生！

今天我坚信

我所有的付出终将得到丰厚的回报！

今天我坚信

英语一定会成为我人生奋斗的强有力的武器！ 今天我坚信

讲一口漂亮英语的理想一定会美梦成真！

所以在今天，

我一定要精神饱满、热情高涨、热爱丢脸、疯狂投入！ 百分之百地负责任！

我必须对我的目标百分之百地专注！

我必须百分之百地疯狂说英语！

在今天的每一分每一秒，全力以赴！

挑战极限，超越自我！

征服英文，迈向成功！

我一定能讲一口最漂亮的英文！

我一定行，因为我认为我行！

就在这里！就在此刻！马上行动！

简短英语短文篇二：英语小短文

一、Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is the most important festival for Chinese people all over the world. It is also called the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year. The exact date of the Spring Festival on the Western calendar changes from year to year. However, Chinese New Year takes place between January 1 and February 19.

On the Chinese calendar every year has an animal's name. These animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. A Chinese legend says that these twelve animals had a race. The first year was named after the rat, the winner. The other eleven years were named according to the order in which the animals arrived in the race. The clever rat jumped onto the ox's back, and then at the end jumped over the ox's head to arrive first!

The Chinese believe that a person born in a particular year has some of the characteristics of that animal.

lunar 月(亮)的 exact 确切的 calendar 日历 rat 鼠 ox 公 牛 rabbit 兔子

ram 公羊 rooster 公鸡 legend 传说 name after 按....命名

particular 特殊的 characteristic 特征

春 节

对于全世界的华人来说，中国的新年是最重要的节日。人们也称它为春节或农历新年。 公历春节的确切日期每年都在变化。但是春节一般都在 1 月 1 日 到 2 月 19 日 之间。 在农历中，每年都有一个生肖。这些生肖是鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗和猪。据传说，这十二个动物举行了一次赛跑，第一年就以获胜者鼠命名，其他十一年就根据动物们到达终点的顺序命名。聪明的鼠跳在牛背上，在最后时刻跳过牛的头顶第一个到达终点！

中国人相信在某一年出生的人具有这一年生肖的一些特征。

二、The Toad and the Frog

A toad saw a frog near the road. He was a fat old frog. He sat and moaned and groaned.

The toad said, “Do not moan and groan, Mr. Frog. Hop like me. Hop down the road.”

So the frog and the toad went down the road to a big oak tree.

“I am home,” said the toad. “Come in and I will make tea.”

But Mr. Frog said, in a deep croak, “I must not roam far from home. I will be off to my home near the pond.”

toad 蟾蜍,癞蛤蟆moan 呻吟hop 跳跃oak 橡树croak 一种低而嘶哑的声音

癞蛤蟆和青蛙

一只癞蛤蟆在路边看到一只青蛙。那是只又胖又老的青蛙。他坐在那里呻吟叹息着。 癞蛤蟆说：“青蛙先生，不要呻吟叹息了。像我一样跳吧。沿着这条路跳。”

所以青蛙和癞蛤蟆一起沿着小路跳到一棵大橡树下。

“我到家了，”癞蛤蟆说，“进来吧，我来泡茶。”

但青蛙用低沉的声音说：“我不能在离家远的地方闲逛，我要回我在池塘边上的家。”

三、Brothers and Sisters

My sister is a year older than me and we've been sharing a room since I was 3 years old. We are very close, but we also fight all the time. Our fights are never serious. I can't remember the cause of our fights now, but they were always over small things. Sometimes it was just over a particular word I used or maybe just because my sister gave my teddy bear a hug and I was unhappy about it. We don't take our fights very seriously as if all the fights are a game. I think it's perfectly okay for kids to fight with their brothers or sisters. Now I'm a teenager, and I even think that they're sweet memories!

share 分享serious 认真的 cause 原因 fight 打架 particular 特别的，特殊的

teddy bear 玩具熊 teenage 青少年 perfectly 完全

兄 弟 姐 妹

我的姐姐比我大一岁，从我三岁起我们就一直合用一个房间。我们非常亲密，但是我们也时常打架。我们打架从来不是认真的。我现在都记不起我们打架的原因，但肯定是因为一些小事。有时候，仅仅是因为我用的某个词，或者是因为姐姐抱了我的玩具熊，而我对此感到生气。我们从来不把打架当真，就好像这只是场游戏。我觉得小孩子和兄弟姐妹们打打闹闹没有什么。现在我已经十几岁了，但我觉得那都是我美好的回忆！

四、Two Dumplings

A young man had a small business. He worked very hard, and he made a lot of money. One day, he had dinner with a businessman. He wanted the man to become his business partner. When they finished the dinner, there were two dumplings left.

The young man told the waitress: "Please pack them in a doggy bag and I'd like to take them home.Soon the businessman decided to work together with the young man. He said, "The young man is great. He has lots of money but he won't waste it.

dumpling 饺子 partner 伙伴 waitress 女服务员 pack 包

doggy bag （饭店里客人将吃剩食物打包带走时用的）纸包

两个饺子

一个年轻人做了点小生意。他工作很努力，所以他赚到了许多钱。一天，他和一个商人吃饭。他希望那个人成为他的生意伙伴。当他们吃完饭后，还剩下两个饺子。

年轻人告诉服务员小姐：“请把这两个饺子打包，我要带回家去。”很快，这个商人就决定和这个年轻人一起做生意了。他说：“这个年轻人很好。他有很多钱但他不浪费。”

五、What is Time? （Nursery Rhyme）

Time is grain for peasants.

Time is wealth for workers.

Time is life for doctors.

Time is victory for soldiers.

Time is knowledge for students.

Time is speed for scientists.

Time is money for businessmen.

Time is everything for all of us.

Therefore, seize the time of today!

grain 粮食wealth 财富 victory 胜利 seize 抓住，把握

时间是什么（童谣一首）

对农民来说，时间就是粮食。对工人来说，时间就是财富。对医生来说，时间就是生命。 对士兵来说，时间就是胜利。对学生来说，时间就是知识。对科学家来说，时间就是速度。 对企业家来说，时间就是金钱。对我们大家来说，时间就是一切。因此，把握今天!

六、BUYING A HAT

A lady went to a hat shop to buy a hat. As she was very fussy, it took her a long time to pick on one. Already at the end of his patience the salesman was afraid that she might change her mind again so he tried to flatter her: "An excellent choice, madam. You look at least ten years younger with this hat on!" To his dismay, the lady took off her hat at once and said: "I don't want a hat that makes me look ten years older as soon as I take it off. Show me some more hats!"

买帽子

一位妇女到一家帽子店买帽子。她很挑剔，用了很长时间才选好了一顶。已经忍耐到极限的售货员害怕她再改变主意，便恭维她："你做了极好的选择，夫人。你戴上这顶帽子看上去起码年轻十岁！"但令他沮丧的是，这位女士马上摘下了她的帽子说："我不想要一顶摘下来便使我立刻显得老十岁的帽子。多拿一些帽子给我看看！

七、英语短文数则

1。Today and friends of foreign travel, outside air is very good, people feel very comfortable. We all appreciate the fine girls bicycles. We enjoyed the beautiful nature brought. We happily spent a happy day. 今天和朋友一起出外交游，外面的空气很好，人感觉很舒服。我们骑着自行车一路欣赏鸟语花香。享受着大自然带给我们的无限美好。大家开开心心地度过了愉快的一天。

2。Today Mailehaoduo clothes, and parents take to the streets is happy, the parents have to pay to buy things. Unlike in their street to buy things they like to take a long time but saw the price, Ha-ha, is really very happy. I love my parents, I too thank them for the care and love. `` 今天买了

好多衣服，和父母上街就是愉快，买东西有父母帮付钱。不像平时自己上街买东西碰到喜欢的但看了价钱都要考虑好久，呵呵，真的是很开心。我爱我的父母，太感谢他们对我的关心和爱戴了。

A farmer has five sons.They are Ted,Bob,Tom,John and Bill. John has no elder brother. He was four years older when his first younger brother was born. The number of Tom's elder brothers is equal to his younger brothers. Bill will be twenty-one years old next year, and he is five years older than Bob. Bob is two years younger than Tom. Ted was sad because he has no younger brother. There are twelve years between him and John.

一个农民有5个儿子。他们是Ted,Bob,Tom,John 和 Bill。John没有比他大的哥哥，他比第一个出生的比他小的那个弟弟大4岁，Tom哥哥的数量和他的弟弟的数量是一样的（就是他是老三）Bill 明年就21岁了，他比Bob大5岁，比Tom小2岁，Ted因为没有弟弟而难过 Ted 和John之间差了12岁

3。I work for 7up"! 我可是在七喜公司工作呀

Four best friends met at the hospital since their wives were giving births to their babies. The nurse comes up to the first man and says, "Congratulations, you got twins." The man said "How strange, I'm the manager of Minnesota Twins." After awhile the nurse comes up to the second man and says, "Congratulations, you got triplets." Man was like "Hmmm, strange I worked as a director for the "3 musketeers." Finally, the nurse comes up to the third man and says

"Congratulations, you got twins x2." Man is happy and says, "Ironic, I work for the hotel "4 Seasons." All three of them are happy until they see their last buddy jumping all over the place, cursing God and banging his head on the wall. They asked him what's wrong and he answered, "What's wrong? I work for 7up"!

四个好朋友在医院里碰面了,他们的妻子正在生产.护士过来对第一个男人说:"恭喜,你得了双胞胎."男人说:"多奇怪呀,我是明尼苏达双子队的经理."过了一会儿,护士过来对第二个男人说:"恭喜,你得了三胞胎."男人很喜欢:"嗯,又巧了.我是3M公司的董事."最后,护士跑来对第三个男人说: "恭喜,你得了2对双胞胎."男人很开心地说:"真令人啼笑皆非,我为四季宾馆工作."他们三个都很高兴,但第四个伙伴急得像热锅上的蚂蚁,咒骂上帝并用头撞墙.他们问他有什么不对劲,他回答道:"什么不对劲?我可是在七喜公司工作呀!"

4。Five Hundred Times

In the traffic court of a large mid-western city, a young lady was brought before the judge to answer a ticket given her for driving through a red light. She explained to his honor that she was a school teacher and requested an immediate disposal of her case in order that she might hasten on to her classes. A wild gleam came into the judge's eye. "You are a school teacher, eh?" said he. "Madam, I shall realize my lifelong ambition. Sit down at that table and write 'I went through a red light' five hundred times."

五百遍

在中西部一个大城市的交通法庭里，一位年轻女士被带到法官面前，她由于开车闯红灯被开了罚单。女士向法官解释，她是一名学校老师，请求法官马上处理她的案子，以便可以赶回去上课。法官眼中闪过一丝狡黠，说道：“你是学校的老师，对吗？女士，我马上要实现我毕生的愿望了。在那张桌子旁坐下，写?我开车闯了红灯?500遍。”

5。 Second language

A mother mouse was out for a stroll with her babies when she spotted a cat crouched behind a bush. She watched the cat, and the cat watched the mice.

Mother mouse barked fiercely, "Woof, woof, woof!" The cat was so terrified that it ran for it's life. Mother mouse turned to her babies and said, "Now, do you understand the value of a second language?"

一只母老鼠带着孩子出来散步，突然她看见一只猫正在灌木丛中虎视耽耽。

母老鼠向着猫叫道：“汪，汪，汪”，猫听了非常害怕，拼命跑走了。

母老鼠回过头洋洋自得的对孩子说：“现在你知道外语的重要性了吧。”

.6。It is half past five,School is over.Vicky comes back.His mother is not at home and the door is closed.His brother Jim likes sports.He is playing football in the school.His sister Becky likes music and she is singing with her friends.

Mrs Hyde comes back with a basket on her arm.Vicky sees his mother and runs to help her carry it.They come in and the girl finds there are three cakes in a bag. They are her favorite food and she wants to eat them.

"The other two are for Jim and Becky,"says his mother. "You can have one." "But I am hungry now,Mum."says the girl,"May I have two?" "Yes,you can ."Says the mother,"Go and cut yours in half."

现在是5:30,放学了.Vicky回来了.他的妈妈不在家而且门是关着的.他的哥哥Jim喜欢做运动.他正在学校踢足球.他的姐姐Becky喜欢音乐,她正在和她的朋友一起唱歌.

Hyde太太回来时拿着一个篮子.Vicky看见了他的妈妈然后跑过去帮她拿篮子.他们进来,这个女孩发现包里有3个蛋糕.这是她最喜欢的食物,她想吃.

"另外两个是给Jim和Becky的."她妈妈说."你可以吃一个.""但是我现在饿了妈妈."这个女孩说."我能吃两个么?""是的你可以."妈妈说."去把你的切成两半."

7。A Supermarket

Near our school there is a supermarket. There are a lot of things in it. You can buy school things, like exercise books, rulers, pens, color pencils, erasers, maps and so on. You can buy drinks, vegetables, fruits, and other kinds of food. Some of them are cheap while some are expensive. On the second floor is the clothing section and there you can find different kinds of clothes.

The supermarket is open twelve hours a day : from 9:00 a. m. to 9:00 p.m. The workers in the supermarket are very friendly and they can help you find what you want.

On Saturdays and Sundays, the market is full of people

一家超市

我们学校附近有一家超市。里面有好多东西。你可以买到学习用品，比如练习本、尺子、钢笔、彩色铅笔、橡皮和地图等等。你可以买饮料、蔬菜、水果和各种食品。有一些商品很便宜，而有一些却很贵。超市的二楼是服装区。在那儿，你可以见到各种各样的服装。

这家超市每天营业12小时，从上午9：00到晚上9：00。里面的工作人员狠热情，他们可以帮助你找到你要买的东西。

每到星期六和星期天，这里就挤满了顾客。

八、My family

简短英语短文篇三：英语简单中英文章阅读

Language

Many animals use some kind of language.

They use signals which have meanings.

For example, when a bee has found some food, it goes back to its home.

It is impossible for a bee to tell the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it can do a little dancing.

This tells the bees where the food is and how far away it is.

Some animals show how they feel by making sounds.

It is not difficult to tell if a dog is angry because it barks.

Birds make several different sounds and each has its own meaning.

Sometimes we humans make sounds in the same way.

We make sounds like. "Oh!" or "Ouch!" to show how we feel about something or when we drop something on our toes!

But we have something that no animal has: a large number of words which have the meaning of things, action, feelings or ideas.

We are able to give each other information, to tell other people what is in our mind, or how we feel.

By writing down words we can remember what has happened or send messages to people far away.

It is impossible for animals to do this.

Some birds, like the parrot, can be taught to say words, but they do not know what they mean .

They cannot use the words.

No one knows how man learned to make words.

Perhaps he began by imitating animals.

Perhaps he imitated sounds he heard all around him: water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground.

In some way he learned to make words.

As the centuries went by , he made more and more words.

This is what we mean by language.

The words we know are called our vocabulary.

We should try to make our vocabulary bigger.

We should read as many books as we can .

There are plenty of books written in English for us to read.

Of course , there are new words in them.

When we find a new word, we can look it up in our dictionary.

Our dictionary is our most useful book.

许多动物使用某种语言。

它们使用具有意义的信号。

例如，当一只蜜蜂找到食物时，它就回家去。

蜜蜂不可能跟其他的蜜蜂说话，来告诉它们食物在那里，但是它能做一点飞舞的动作。

这就告诉那些蜜蜂食物在那里以及食物有多远。

有些动物藉由发出声音，来表示它们的感受如何。

要知道狗是否生气并不难，因为它会叫。

鸟发出几种不同的声音，而且每一种都有它本身的意义。

有时我们人类也用同样的方式发出声音。

我们发出像“喔！＂或“哎唷！＂的声音来表示我们的感受或表示我们掉了东西砸到脚趾头。

但是我们拥有动物所没有的东西：(那就是有)很多的文字具有表达事物、行为、感情或观念的意义。

我们能够互相提供消息，能够告诉别人我们的想法，或我们的感受。 用文字记下，我们可以记住所发生的事情，或者传送信息给远方的人。 这是动物所不可能做到的。

有些鸟，像鹦鹉，能够教会说话，但它们不知道那些话的意思。

它们不会使用那些话。

没有人知道人类如何学会造字。

也许人类藉由模仿动物而开始的。

也许他模仿他周围所听到的一切的声音：水的飞溅声、蜜蜂的嗡嗡声、石头的落地声。

用某种方式人类学会了造字。

随著几世纪的过去，人类造了越来越多的字。

这就是我们所谓的语言。

我们所认识的字称为我们的字汇。

我们应该设法使我们的字汇扩大。

我们应该尽可能多阅读书籍。

有很多用英文写的书可以供我们阅读。

当然，书里面有生字。

当我们发现生字的时候，我们可以查字典。

字典是我们最有用的书。

What Is It?

It has two wheels, but no engine.

It is usually built for one person.

It is powered by human legs.

It does not go very fast, but it costs almost nothing to operate.

In some countries, it is used only for sport and recreation.

In other countries, it is used for basic transportation.

What is it?

It is found everywhere, in homes, offices, and stores.

In public places, it can be operated by a coin or token.

Years ago an operator had to make the connection.

Today, you simply dial the correct numbers.

The connection is made by machines.

In seconds , your voice is heard in Tokyo, New York, Manila, Taipei, or Rome. This is made possible by Mr. Bell's marvelous machine.

What is it?

They are bought by accountants and bookkeepers, storekeepers and students. Some are designed to do very complicated work.

They are sold at high prices.

Others are much simpler and cheaper.

Some have to be plugged into an electrical outlet.

Others are powered by batteries.

Difficult problems used to take hours of work with pencil and paper.

Now they are solved in seconds.

Although they are a great help , some people worry about them.

They are afraid that students will depend on them.

Then they will never learn how to solve mathematics problems without them.

What are they?

Images are transmitted from one place.

They travel through the air for long distances.

Then they are received by this machine.

The images are projected on a small screen.

In the 1950's, these machines were owned by only a few people.

Today, it seems, everybody owns one.

What is it?

The basic design of this "machine" has not changed in thousands of years. It comes in various sizes and colors.

With reasonable care it will run for 70 or 80 years.

It walks, talks, thinks, and invents.

这是什么？

它有两个轮子，但没有引擎。

它通常为一个人使用而制造的。

它靠人的双腿为动力。

它跑得并不快，但操作起来几乎不花费什么钱。

在某些国家它只作运动和消遣之用。

在另外的一些国家它作为基本的运输工具。

这是什么？

它到处可以找得到，在家里、办公室、和商店。

在公共场所，它可用一枚硬币或代用硬币操作。

多年前必须有接线生来做接通的耕作，

今天你仅仅拨正确的号码。

连接的耕作由机器来作。

几秒钟的工夫，你的声音就在东京、纽约、马尼拉、台北或罗马被听到了。 这是由贝尔先生的奇妙机器所促成。

这是什么呢？

它们由会计员、簿记员、店主与学生所购买。

有些是被设计来做很复杂的耕作。

它们售价很高。

有些比较简单而且比较便宜。

有些必须插入电插座。

有些以电池为动力。

以往困难的问题总是需要用笔与纸耕作数小时。

现在这些问题在几秒钟内就解决了。

虽然它们是一大帮助，但是有些人却为它们而担心。

这些人恐怕学生会依赖它们。

没有它们，学生将无法学会如何解决数学问题。

它们是什么？

影像从一个地方传送出去。

它们经由空中传到远距离。

然后它们由这个机器接受。

影像投在一个小的萤光幕上。

在二十世纪五十年代，仅仅少数人才拥有这些机器。

今天似乎大家都拥有一部。

这是什么？

这部「机器」的基本设计在几千年当中都没有改变。

它的存在有种种大小和颜色。

如果有适当的照顾，它会运转七、八十年。

它会走路、讲话、思考、和发明。

Names And Nicknames

Chris: Father, I want to ask you something.

Mr.White: Yes? What's that?

Chris: I want to know the origin of "nickname", because it seems a funny word. Mr. White: Well then, listen carefully.

Do you know the meaning of the old English word "eke" e-k-e?

Chris: No. Never heard of it in my life.

Mr. White: Well, it means "also".

And if you say "an eke name" quickly, it sounds like "a nickname".

Chris: So it does.

So a nickname is another name, or an additional name?

Mr. White: You're right.

Now, at first people had only one name, Thomas, John, Richard, etc. and these names were very numerous in England.

So to tell one John from another, for instance, an additional name was necessary. Sometimes the other name was a place name.

John who lived by the church was called John Church; and John who lived on the hill was called John Hill.

That is how we get the common English names of Church, Hill, Field, Wood, etc. They are quite common in England and America.

Some men were given their fathers' names.

Thomas the son of Richard was called Thomas Richardson.

Many English family names end in "son".

Chris: What about the name Smith, which is by far the commonest of English names? Mr. White: Of course, Smith means a blacksmith, and blacksmiths were very numerous in old times, far more numerous than they are now.

Very often the second name was given according to the work or occupation of the person.

That's how we get the family names, such as Taylor, Farmer, and Clerk.

Sometimes a man was called after some characteristic.

For instance, the first John Long was certainly a tall man; just as the first Mr. Small was undoubtedly a short man.

Chris: But such names are not nicknames, they are family names.

Mr. White: You're quite right; but they were nicknames once.

Now the word has changed its meaning: it means a special name, not a real name, that is used by a person's friends and familiar acquaintances.

Many nicknames are shortened forms of the real names.

General Montgomery's soldiers always called him Monty.

Chris: Then that's why you generally call me Chris?

Mr. White: That's right.

Christopher is too big a word for everyday use.

But there is one peculiar class of nicknames that are generally given to men who have certain family names.

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