这篇文章比较简单，讲述了一个越南家庭在美国的故事：经过三代人的齐心协力，一家名不见经传的小餐馆变成了一个成功的大公司。从中我们可以感受到团结的力量。
When her five daughters were young, Helene An always told them that there was strength in unity. To show this, she held up one chopstick, representing one person. Then she easily broke it into two pieces. Next, she tied several chopsticks together, representing a family. She showed the girls it was hard to break the tied chopsticks. This lesson about family unity stayed with the daughters as they grew up.
to show this是动词不定式作目的状语；智慧的妈妈从小就用“一只筷子轻轻被折断；十支筷子牢牢抱成团”的事实向孩子们展示there was strength in unity“团结就是力量”；strength /strɛŋθ/ 是力量；优点，长处；unity /'junəti/ 团结；held /hold up举起；represent /ˌrɛprɪ'zɛnt/ 代表；broke /break折断，broke it into two pieces意思是将筷子折断成两截；tie作名词有领带的意思，此处作动词表示系、捆；as在此处表示“当...时；随着...”；辨析：as强调从句和主句的动作同时发生，while引导的时间状语从句的动词多表示持续性动作或状态，强调该动作和主句动作同时发生，可以和as互换；when引导的从句的动作和主句的动作可以同时发生或先于主句的动作。Helene An and her family own a large restaurant business in California. However, when Helene and her husband Danny left their home in Vietnam in 1975, they didn’t have much money. They moved their family to San Francisco. There they joined Danny’s mother, Diana, who owned a small Italian sandwich shop. Soon afterwards, Helene and Diana changed the sandwich shop into a small Vietnamese restaurant. The five daughters helped in the restaurant when they were young. However, Helene did not want her daughters to always work in the family business because she thought it was too hard.
Vietnam /ˌvjet'næm/ 越南；afterwards /'æftɚwɚdz/ 然后；后来；Vietnamese /ˈvjetnəˈmi:z/ 越南的。Eventually the girls all graduated from college and went away to work for themselves, but one by one, the daughters returned to work in the family business. They opened new restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Even though family members sometimes disagreed with each other, they worked together to make the business successful. Daughter Elizabeth explains, “Our mother taught us that to succeed we must have unity, and to have unity we must have peace. Without the strength of the family, there is no business.”
eventually /ɪ'ventʃʊəlɪ/ 最后；终于；graduate from college大学毕业；one by one陆续地；一个接一个地；even though尽管；disagree with不同意；each other相互；彼此。Their expanding business became a large corporation in 1996, with three generations of Ans working together. Now the Ans’ corporation makes more than $20 million each year. Although they began with a small restaurant, they had big dreams, and they worked together. Now they are a big success.
expanding /ɪk'spændɪŋ/ 扩大的；generation /dʒenə'reɪʃ(ə)n/ 代；辈；corporation /kɔːpə'reɪʃ(ə)n/ 公司；begin with从...开始。
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