美国的英语小短文

美国的英语小短文篇一：英语小短文

2）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!"

中文翻译

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！

（3）http://comic.5617.com/html/show21971.html

（4） Not long after an old Chinese woman came back to China from her visit to her daughter in the States, she went to a city bank to deposit the US dollars her daughter gave her. At the bank counter, the clerk checked each note carefully to see if the money was real. It made the old lady out of patience.

At last she could not hold any more, uttering. "Trust me, Sir, and trust the money. They are real US dollars. They are directly from America."

它们是从美国直接带来的

一位中国老妇人在美国看望女儿回来不久，到一家市银行存女儿送给她的美元。在银行柜台，银行职员认真检查了每一张钞票，看是否有假。

这种做法让老妇人很不耐烦，最后实在忍耐不住说：“相信我，先生，也请你相信这些钞票。这都是真正的美元，它们是从美国直接带来的。”

（5）http://ruoyenglish.bokee.com/viewdiary.15386288.html

（6）She kindled a third match. Again shot up the flame； and now she was sitting under a most beautiful Christmas tree ,far larger, and far more prettily decked out, than the one she had seen last Christmas eve through the glass doors of the rich merchant's house. Hundreds of wax-tapers lighted up the green branches, and tiny painted figures, such as she had seen in the

shop-windows, looked down from the tree upon her. The child stretched out her hands towards them in delight, and in that moment the lights of the match warm quenched； still, however, the Christmas candles burned higher and higher， she beheld them beaming like stars in heaven； one of them fell, the lights streaming behind it like a long, fiery tail.

“Now some one is dying,” said the little girl, softly, for she had been told by her old grandmother， the only person who had ever been kind to her, and who was now dead that whenever a star falls an immortal spirit returns to the God who gave it.

She struck yet another match against the wall； it flamed up, and surrounded by its light, appeared before her that same dear grandmother, gentle and loving as always, but bright and happy as she had never looked during her lifetime.

她擦着了第三根火柴，又冒出了火焰。现在她觉得正坐在非常美丽的圣诞树下面，比上次圣诞节透过那富商家的玻璃门看到的那株还要大、还要美。这株树的绿枝上点燃着许许多多的蜡烛，颜色瑰丽的图画，就象橱窗里挂着的那些一样漂亮，仿佛在向她眨眼。小姑娘把两只手伸过去，火柴又熄灭了。然而圣诞树上的烛光越升越高。她看到它们变成了明亮的星星，有一颗落下来，在天上划出一道长长的火丝。

“现在又有一个什么人死了。”小姑娘说。因为她的老祖母——一个唯一待她好的人，现在已经死了，曾经告诉过她，天上落下一颗星，地上就有一个灵魂回到曾赋于他生命的上帝那里去。

她在墙上又擦了一根火柴，火光把四周照亮了。在亮光里，亲爱的和生前一样的祖母出现了。她依然是那么的慈爱和温和，然而那快活和幸福的样子却是她生前从未有过的

（7）But the teacher cried

The six-year-old John was terribly spoiled . His father knew it, but his grandma doted on him. He hardly left her side. And when he wanted anything, he either cried or threw a temper tantrum. Then came his first day of school, his first day away from his grandmother's loving arms.

When he came home from school his grandma met him at the door.

"Was school all right?" she asked, "Did you get along all right? did you cry?"

"Cry?" John asked. "No, I didn't cry, but the teacher did!"

可是老师哭了

六岁的约翰娇生惯养。他的父亲知道这一点，可他的祖父母仍然宠着他。这孩子几乎寸步不离他的祖母。他想要什么不是哭，就是闹。他第一天上学才离开祖母的怀抱。

约翰放学了，他奶奶在门口接他并问道：“学校怎么样？你过的好吗？哭了没有？”

“哭？”约翰问，“不，我没哭，可老师哭了。”

（8）A Bet

Two pals are sitting in a pub watching the eleven-'clock news.A reporter comes on about a man threatening to jump from the 20th floor of a downtown

building.One friend turns to the other and says,'I'll bet you ten bucks the guy doesn't jump.'

'It's a bet,' agrees his buddy.

A few minutes later, the man on the ledge jumps,so the loser hands his pal a $10 bill.'I can't take your money,'his friend admits.'I saw him jump earlier on the six-o'clock news.'

'Me,too,'says the other buddy.'But I didn't think he'd do it again.

打赌

两个好朋友正坐在一家小酒馆内观看十一点的电视新闻。一则新闻报道说，有个男人威胁要从商业区一座大楼的二十层跳下去。一位朋友转身对另一位说道：“我敢赌十块钱，那家伙不会往下跳。”

“赌就赌，”他的朋友欣然同意。

几分钟后，站在墙檐上的男人跳了下去，因而赌输的那位交给他的朋友一张十元的钞票。“我不能拿你的钱，”他的朋友承认道，“早在六点的新闻里，我就已见他跳下去了。”

“我也是，”另一位说，“可我想他不会再跳了！”

（9）Julie was saying her bedtime prayers. "Please God," she said, "make Naples the capital of Italy. Make Naples the capital of Italy."

Her mother interrupted and said. "Julie, why do you want God to make Naples the capital of Italy?"

And Julie replied, "Because that's what I put in my geography exam!"

---------

朱莉叶在做睡前祷告。“上帝，求求你，”她说，“让那不勒斯成为意大利的首都吧。”

妈妈打断她的话说：“朱莉叶，为什么求上帝让那不勒斯成为意大利的首都呢？”

朱莉叶回答道：“因为我在地理考卷上是这样写的。”

（10)Nest and Hair

My sister, a primary school teacher, was informed by one of her pupils that a bird had built its nest in the tree outside the classroom.

"What kind of bird?" my sister asked.

"I didn't see the bird, ma' am, only the nest," replied the child.

"Then, can you give us a description of the nest?" my sister encouraged her . "Well, ma'am, it just resembles your hair. "

Notes:

1 inform v.告诉

2 nest n.窝；巢

3 description n.描述

4 encourage v.鼓励

5 resemble v. 相似；类似

鸟窝与头发

我姐姐是一位小学老师。一次一个学生告诉她说一只鸟儿在教室外 的树上垒了个窝。

“是什么鸟呢？”我姐姐问她。

“我没看到鸟儿，老师，只看到鸟窝。”那孩子回答说。

“那么，你能给我们描述一下这个鸟巢吗？”我姐姐鼓励她道。

“哦，老师，就像你的头发一样。”

(11)I've Just Bitten My Tongue

"Are we poisonous?" the young snake asked his mother.

"Yes, dear," she replied - "Why do you ask?"

美国的英语小短文篇二：【小东教育】美国听力小短文

小东教育托福听力

TOEFL listening lecture1

Narrator

Listen to part of a lecture in biologyclass.

小东教育托福听力

Prof:

near the hive, say, oh, about 50 or 60 meters away, the scout flies in a round pattern, like a

circle. This tells the location, but not the direction, of the food site. If the site is farther away,

the scout does what's called a waggle dance. It flies in a pattern of ovals and vertical lines.

The speed of the waggle dance tells other bees how far away the food site is. The slower the

dance, the farther away the food. If the scout flies in a vertical line up the side of the beehive,

it's telling the foragers to fly directly toward the sun. If the scout flies vertically down the hive,

it's saying, "fly away from the sun." Up is toward, down is away. If the scout flies at an angle

to the hive, it's telling the foragers to fly neither toward nor away from the sun, but in

between. The bees have a special internal mechanism to know which angle they should fly,

based on the sun, the hive and the food site. They can also measure the distance they fly by

recording the motion of things they see as they flypast.

Now, um, one problem with von Frisch's theory had been this: It seems to take the forager bees a long time to reach the food site. That's why ... [false start] That's why scientists thought that perhaps it wasn't the waggle dance that led them there. For many years, scientists couldn't follow the foragers after they left the hive,. because they didn't have the technology. Just a few years ago, though,

TOEFL? based listening exercises (lectures) – Answerkeys

the British scientists solved this problem using a new type of radar. They were able to attach a, uh, small radio transmitter to forager bees -- I don't know how, but they did. This enabled them to follow the forager bees' flight after they left the hive. The radar showed that foragers, do, in fact, fly straight to the area of the food site. They don't follow the scout bee back to the site, because the scout goes into the hive after it finishes dancing. Well then, if the waggle dance does lead the foragers directly tothe

food site, why does it take so long for them to find the actual food? The answer is that the waggle dance leads the

foragers only to the general area of the food. It doesn't tell them the exact location of the flowers or plants that have the food. So the foragers have to spend a while flying around the area before they find the exact location of what they're looking for.

小东教育托福听力

These answer keys refer to the audio fileTOEFL_1_lecture.mp3

1. Which aspect of bee behavior does the professor mainlydiscuss?

(A) Reproduction

(B) Hibernation

(C) Organization

(D) Communication

2. Why does the professor mentioadar?

(A)

(B) (C)

(D)

(A) (B)

(C)

(D)

verticalline?

(A) toward thewest

(B) between sun andmoon

(C) toward thesun

(D) away from thesun

Narrator: Listen again to part of the passage and answer the following question(s).

(audio fileTOEFL_1_lecture_excerpt1.mp3)

Prof: Just a few years ago, though, the British scientists solved this problem using a new

type of radar. They were able to attach a, uh, small radio transmitter to forager bees -- I don't

know how, but theydid.

5. What does the professor imply when he says this: I don't know how, but theydid.

Photocopiable 2

(A) The scientists should have been morecareful.

(B) It is difficult to put transmitters onbees.

(C) It is not a good idea to use radar withbees.

TOEFL? based listening exercises (lectures) – Answerkeys

(D) He does not know how transmitterswork.

小东教育托福听力

6. What can be inferred about how forager bees findfood?

(A) They rely solely on the information from the waggledance.

(B) They rely completely upon their senses of sight andsmell.

(C) They use the waggle dance to reach the area of thefood.

(D) They use their senses to find the exact location offood.

3

TOEFL? based listening exercises (lectures) – Answerkeys TOEFL listening lecture2

Narrator

Listen to part of a lecture in social scienceclass.

Prof: Today we're going to begin with a short quiz. No, no, you don't need pencil and paper, just listen. It's only one question. Ready? OK. What do blogs, Pokemon, tattoos, Cabbage Patch Kids, pet rocks, and hula hoop

s have in common?Anybody?

S1: They're all stupid.[laughter]

S2: I know, Professor Morgan. They're allfads.

Prof: trend, forexample.

become atrend.

Ahem [clears throat or coughs] Here's a third difference between fads and trends: how well industries accept them. Fads are often promoted by smaller companies. They need the quick money that fads provide. Large companies don't accept fads right away. They can't afford to be wrong. If someone [false start] If a company is known as a trend-setter, and it promotes a fad, its reputation will be damaged. Large companies buy products in huge numbers. They don't want unsold products sitting on their shelves. So they wait to see if a fad becomes a trend. Then they will accept it in their stores. Now...yes?

S2: How long does a fad have to last before it becomes a trend? I mean, there are all these energy drinks now. There used to be only a couple, but now there's like, a hundred. Are they still a fad? Exercise is a trend, so wouldn't energy drinks be part of the exercisetrend?

Prof: That's an excellent question! When exactly does a fad become a trend? Youknow,

Photocopiable 4

美国的英语小短文篇三：关于美国人的时间观念的英语短文

关于美国人的时间观念的英语短文

What is time? Is it a thing to be saved or spent or wasted, like money? Or is it something we have no control over, like the weather? Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe that‘s why they are fond of the expression, "Time is money."

The early American hero Benjamin Franklin expressed this view best: "Do you love life? Then do not waste time, for that is the stuff life is made of."

American lifestyles show how much people respect the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it takes almost an emergency to change it.

Even Americans would admit that no one can master time. Time-like money-slips all too easily through our fingers. And time-like the weather-is very hard to predict. Nevertheless, time is one of life‘s most precious gifts. And unwrapping it is half the fun.

-时间就是金钱(1)

本课您将学到：view（观点），in advance（事先），be fond of句型

东方人和西方人最大的区别，恐怕就在于时间观念。今天，我们就来聊聊美国人的时间观念。

What is time? Is it a thing to be saved or spent or wasted, like money? Or is it something we have no control over, like the weather? Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe that‘s why they are fond of the expression, "Time is money."

The early American hero Benjamin Franklin expressed this view best: "Do you love life? Then do not waste time, for that is the stuff（材料） life is made of."

American lifestyles（生活方式） show how much people respect（尊重） the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it takes almost an emergency（紧急情况） to change it.

Even Americans would admit that no one can master（掌控） time. Time-like money-slips（溜掉） all too easily through our fingers. And time-like the weather-is very hard to predict（预料）. Nevertheless, time is one of life‘s most precious gifts. And unwrapping（撕开） it is half the fun.

【世博读书笔记】

时间是什么？是一种像金钱一样可以节省、花用或浪费的东西吗？（Is it a thing to be saved or spent or wasted, like money?）或者它像天气那样，是一种我们无法掌握的东西？（is it something we have no control over）美国人视时间为一项重要的资源，（Americans see time as a valuable resource）也许这就是为什么他们喜欢说“时间就是金钱”的缘故。（that‘s why they are fond of the expression, "Time is money."）

早期的美国英雄班哲明·富兰克林将这种想法表达得最淋漓尽致（expressed this view best）：“你爱生命吗？如果爱就不要浪费时间，因为生命即是由时间组成的。”（for that is the stuff life is made of）

View这个词，可以指窗外的“风景”，比如：

There‘s a fine view of the lake from our hotel window.

从我们旅馆的窗口可以看到湖的美丽风光。

引申为对某件事的看法、观点，比如：

She tried writing out her views.

她试着把自己的想法写下来。

美国人的生活型态表现出他们对别人的时间有多尊重。当人们在计划一项活动时，通常会在几天或几个星期前把时间定好。（they often set the time days or weeks in advance）时间一旦决定，（the time is fixed）除非情况紧急，（an emergency）否则不会轻易改变。

短语in advance意思是“预先、事先”，举个例子：

I ought to have told you in advance.

我应该事先告诉你。

不过连美国人都承认，没有人能够完全掌握时间。（master time）时间就像金钱一样，很容易就从我们的指间溜走；（slips all too easily through our fingers）时间也像天气一样，是很难预测的。（is very hard to predict）然而，时间是生命中最宝贵的礼物之一，（time is one of life‘s most precious gifts）而拆开（这项难以掌握和预料的）礼物本身就已经是一种乐趣了。（unwrapping it is half the fun）

【世博句型留言板】

今天我们来说说一个常用句型be fond of ? 喜爱

造个句子描述一下我们的喜好，比如：My sister is fond of sweets. 我妹妹喜欢吃糖果。

Fond是个形容词，意思是“喜欢的、爱好的”，可如果要表达“我最喜欢打篮球”却不能说My fond sport is basketball. 用favorite才是正确的，因为 fond 不可做定语。（切记、切记）

be fond of相当于like，所以要说“我喜欢唱歌”除了说I like singing.之外还可以说I am fond of singing.（其实细究起来，be fond of还是比like的语气强烈一些，有like very much的意思，和另一个表示同类意思的词love相比，语气又弱一些。）

在使用be fond of时，需要注意的一点是，它指惯常的爱好，不指一时的爱好，比如，今晚你特别想去散步，就只能说I would like to take a walk this evening.而不能说I am fond of taking a walk this evening.

最后，给大家提供几个例子，参考一下这个句型的用法：

Jack and Helen are fond of skating in winter.

杰克和海伦喜欢在冬天滑冰。

My friend James is very fond of playing chess.

我的朋友詹姆士非常喜欢下棋。

我们都知道喜欢是like，不喜欢就是do not like，但be fond of 却不能用be not fond of来表达，而要说not care to do，来看两个例子：

I am fond of going there.

我喜欢去哪。

变成否定句，就是I don’t care to go there.

He was fond of meeting there people.

他愿意去见那些人。

变成否定句，就是He did not care to meet these people.

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