 41 The Mean Chef 小气的大厨 Once there was a chef, who was mean to his cooks. He was mean to the people who came in to eat. He charged too much for meals. Many people were not able to afford the cheapest bean dish. When his metal oven broke, he did not have it fixed. So everything baked in it burned. The only light was from candles, and the whole place was a mess. Sometimes, he didn't pay his waiters. Since they had no funds, they had many debts. 曾经有一个对手下很吝啬的厨师长，他对前来就餐的客人都很小气。他把价格标的很高，很少有人能吃得起一份最便宜的豆类菜品。就连金属烤箱坏了，他也没有去修，以致于烘焙的所有食品都烧着了。店里唯一的照明是几根蜡烛，整个后厨乱成一团。他有时不给服务员发工资，以致于他们欠下了很多债务。 The chef behaved this way all the time. He monitored the cooks and yelled if they did not do things his way. 这个厨师一直以来都是这样。如果手下的厨师不按他的方式去做他就会大喊大叫。 One day, the cooks decided that they were tired of the abuse and that they would not be passive anymore. Everyone opposed the chef. At first, they thought about suing him. Instead, they tied up the chef with rope. Now, they controlled the restaurant! They decreased the price of food. They used the best ingredients and made large quantities of food. They turned on the lights. The restaurant was converted into a happy place. For the first time, many people came to eat. 某天，手底下的厨师终于决定不再忍受这种虐待，不再沉默。所有人都开始反抗。起初，大家都想着起诉他，但最后却用绳子把他绑了起来。然后大家控制了餐厅！他们开始降价，并使用最好的原材料做菜，而且菜量也增加很多。大家把灯打开，餐厅瞬间变成一片乐土。有史以来的第一次，人们纷纷前来就餐。 The chef realized that the restaurant's problems were his fault. The chef learned an important lesson. The new, generous chef insisted on giving the customers a free meal. 厨师长意识到餐厅具有的问题都是自己的过错导致，他吸取了一次重要的教训。厨师长改头换面，慷慨的请客人们免费吃了一顿饭。 单词表 abuse v.虐待 afford v.买得起 bake v.烤 bean n.豆 candle n.蜡烛 convert v.转换，转变 debt n.债务 decrease v.减少 fault n.过失 fund n.资金 generous adj.大方的 ingredient n.成分 insist v.坚持，强调 mess n.混乱 metal n.金属 monitor v.监视 oppose v.反对 passive adj.消极的 quantity n.数量 sue v.控告 42 The Cat and the Fox 猫与狐狸 One day, a cat hiked on a mountain. When he reached the peak, he met a fox. They began talking about how they get away from their enemies. 某天，一只去山里远足的猫在登顶的时候遇见了一只狐狸。两者开始谈论自己逃脱敌人追捕的方法。 'I am very smart. I have billions of ideas. I can carve a tiny hole in a tree, and then climb in, the fox said. He added, 'I have a lot of friends. If I am in trouble, I can call them to lend their help. I can escape an entire army if I have to!' “我很聪明，我点子很多。我可以在树上打洞然后钻进去。”狐狸说。它接着补充说：“我有很多朋友，如果我有难，我可以找他们帮忙。如果必要的话，就算来一只军队都抓不住我。” Then, the fox asked, 'What are your potential plans?' The cat said, 'I have only one plan.' The fox said, 'I hope you have good fortune, then! Do you want me to be your tutor? I can teach you many things.' The cat said, 'I guarantee that my plan works every time. We can quit talking about it.' 然后，狐狸问道：“你有什么计划？”猫说道：“我只有一个计划。”狐狸回答说：“那我希望你运气别那么差！你想拜我为师吗？我可以教你很多东西。”猫答道：“我的计划保证每都能奏效，我们别再说这个了。” Soon, they saw a group of wolves. It was an emergency. The cat quickly used her plan. She ran up a tree. The fox could not decide which plan to use. 'What should my initial move be? Should I consult my friends?' The fox felt intense anxiety. All he could do was spin in a circle. The wolves caught the fox. The cat was full of pride. This is proof that having a good plan is better than having many bad plans. 不久，它们遇见了一群狼。事出突然，猫很快反应过来，一溜烟爬上了树。狐狸却一时决定不了改用哪个计划逃生。“我应该先做什么？我要不要问问我的朋友们？”狐狸感到强烈不安。它只能在原地转圈，最终被狼群抓住了。猫为自己感到自豪。这就说明，有一个好计划比有许多个烂计划靠谱。 单词表 anxiety n.焦虑 army n.军队 billion n.十亿 carve v.雕刻，切开 consult v.请教 emergency n.紧急情况 fortune n.运气 guarantee 保证 hike v.远足 initial adj.最初的 intense adj.强烈的 lend v.出借 peak n.山峰 potential adj.潜在的 pride n.自豪 proof n.证据 quit v.放弃 spin v.旋转 tiny adj.微小的 tutor n.导师 43 The Good Student 好学生 Sue left her dormitory early that morning. She had even washed her uniform the night before. She wanted to look nice for the day. 休一大早就出了宿舍。她昨晚就把校服洗好了，只是想今天看起来好一些。 Sue was committed to learning, and she had a talent for getting good grades. In fact, Sue didn't sleep much. She composed a paper and found the perfect thesis about the importance of greenhouses. She also studied for her physics test. Sue was already tired. 休喜爱学习，而且很聪明，总是能考高分。实际上，她睡眠时间很少。她写了一篇论文，而且找到了关于温室重要性的完美论点。她也为物理考试努力准备。她已经很疲惫了。 During the test, she calculated her answers. Soon, she felt sick. Her face got hot, and her vision began to blur. She was blind for a moment. The teacher saw Sue's apparent sickness. He wanted to send her to the nurse. But she wouldn't go. Sue still had a portion of the test to finish. 考试中，她在算着答案。不一会，她就觉得恶心，脸上发热，视觉模糊。她感到瞬间失明了一会。老师看出来她的不对劲，想把她送去医院，但她拒绝了，她还有一部分题目没有做完。 After that, Sue went to the nurse. After seeing the secretary, she waited. A few minutes later, the nurse came in with a glass of juice and told Sue they needed to chat. 'It is obvious that you have exhausted yourself,' the nurse said. 'If you keep working so hard, it could have severe results.' 考完试后，她去看了医生。和秘书预约后，她就在等待护士的到来。几分钟后，护士带着一杯果汁过来了，她告诉休有话要对她说。“很显然，你已经把自己累垮了，”护士说，“如果你还这样高强度学习，后果很严重。” My parents tell me that all the time. I guess I shouldn't ignore them, Sue said. “我父母一直告诫我要努力学习，我不该不听话。”休说。 You have to remind yourself it is OK to rest, the nurse said. “你要告诉自己适当的休息是可以的，”护士说道。 When Sue got back to her room, she went right to bed. She made sure she got enough rest every night after that. 休回到宿舍后，立马就躺在床上歇息。从那以后，她保证自己每天晚上都能得到充足的睡眠。 单词表 apparent adj.显然的 blind adj.瞎的 calculate v.计算 chat v.交谈 commit v.承认 compose v.构成 dormitory n.宿舍 exhaust v.使精疲力竭 greenhouse n.温室 ignore v.忽视 obvious adj.明显的 physics n.物理 portion n.部分 remind v.提醒 secretary n.秘书 severe adj.严峻的 talent n.才能 thesis n.论文，论点 uniform n.制服 vision n.视力 44 The Lucky Knife 幸运匕首 I've devoted my life to studying past generations. Last year, I had a unique chance to work with my uncle. Our job was to find old treasures for a school's history foundation. He also hired a crew of students. They signed a contract to work with him. He was the boss. The place was strange, though. I dined on many things that I had never tasted before. They had an unusual flavor. 我用尽毕生精力去研究我们的先辈。去年，我获得了一个独一无二记得机会，那就是和叔叔一起去工作。我们的工作是去一所学校的遗址寻找古老的宝藏。叔叔还雇了一帮学生，大家签订了工作合同，跟着我叔叔一起工作。虽然那是一个很奇怪的地方，但我在那里尝到了很多以前没吃过的东西，而且口味都很不错。 We had been there about a month and hadn't found anything. One day, I began to dig in the soil. The ground's layers got wetter. Soon I was digging in the mud. My shovel began to get very heavy. It felt like it had doubled in weight because the ground had absorbed a lot of water. 我们在那待了一个月，一无所获。有一天，我开始挖土，我发现泥土湿度越来越大，不久就挖到了泥巴。我的铁锹开始变得很重。因为上面沾满了泥巴，所以比原来要重上两倍。 Finally, I saw something in the mud. It was an old knife! The handle felt smooth in my hand. I elevated it so I could see it better. There was writing on it. 终于，我在泥巴里发现了一些东西。那是一把古老的匕首！它的把手很光滑，我把它拿出来以便能更好地看看。匕首上面还刻着字。 It says it will bring good luck, my uncle said with a smile. 'Why don't you keep it?' “上面写着这把匕首会带来好运，”我叔叔笑着说。“要不你留着吧？” I put it in my tent. The next day, we found many more things. There were pots, jewelry and weapons. My uncle donated all of the things to a special committee. Many newspapers wrote stories about it. It seemed the knife really did bring good luck! 我把匕首放在帐篷里。第二天，我们找到了更多的东西，有壶，有珠宝，还有武器。我叔叔把这些所有的东西都捐赠给了一个特别的委员会。许多报纸纷纷报道此事。看来那把匕首确实带来了好运！ 单词表 absorb v.吸收 boss n.老板 committee n.委员会 contract n.合同 crew n.队 devote v.致力于 dig v.挖掘 dine v.进餐 donate v.捐赠 double adj.两倍的 elevate v.举起 flavor n.味道 foundation n.基金会 generation n.一代人 handle n.把手 layer n.层 mud n.泥巴 smooth a.平滑的 soil n.土壤 unique adj.独特的 45 Prince Sam 山姆王子 Sam's mother cooked at the royal palace. One day, he went to work with her. She emphasized that he should stay in the kitchen. But Sam was bored. Thus, he decided to look around. 山姆的妈妈是皇宫里的御厨。有一天，他跟着妈妈进宫去工作。妈妈告诫他只能待在厨房，但是山姆感到很无聊，决定出去周边逛逛。 He went around a corner. It shocked him to see a boy who had a strong likeness to him. Sam soon recovered. The other boy stared at him. Then he spoke. 'Come with me.' 他来到一个角落，看到一个和自己长得很像的男孩，他因此大吃一惊。很快，他回过神来。那个男孩正在盯着他看，然后说：“跟我来。” He needed to be rational. But he couldn't deny that he wanted to go. So he followed the boy to a chamber. 'I am Prince Bertram,' the boy said. 他需要冷静下来，但又想跟着那个男孩走。男孩把它带到了一个房间，然后说道：“我是伯特伦王子”。 Sam felt shy talking to a prince. 'I'm Sam.' 和王子讲话，山姆有些拘谨：“我叫山姆。” “Trade places with me.” The prince said. “我们把身份换一下。”王子说。 We can't. My mother will kill me. Moreover, I don't know anything about being a prince. “不行，我妈会杀了我的。而且，我对当王子一窍不通。” No one will find out, the prince interrupted. 'We look the same, and even our gestures are the same. It will only last for a week.' “没有人会知道的，”王子打断他。“我们长得一模一样，甚至连手势都一样。就换过来几个星期而已。” Sam said OK. Soon, Sam's perspective on being a prince changed. He spent most of his day signing royal documents. At night, the prince's chamber was cold. He thought he was going to freeze or get sick with a fever or the flu. He was happy when the week ended. So was the prince. 山姆同意了。很快，山姆就厌烦了当王子的生活。他每天大部分时间都在批阅文件。到了晚上，王子的房间很冷，他感到自己就要被冻僵了，也有可能会因此感冒发烧。一周结束后，他变得很开心。伯特伦王子也和他一样开心。 I didn't know how to do anything, the prince said. 'I've always relied on my servants to do everything for me.' “我啥也不会做”，王子说道。“我所有事情都依赖仆人去做。” I think I like being a regular person, Sam said. 'Being a prince isn't fun.' So, they both returned to their normal positions and enjoyed their lives more than before. “我想我还是喜欢做一个普通人，”山姆说。“当王子一点也不好玩。”所以，他们换回了各自的身份，比以前更加享受自己的生活。 单词表 chamber n.房间 deny v.否认 document n.文件 emphasize v.强调 fever n.发烧 flu n.流感 freeze v.冻住 gesture n.手势 interrupt if.打断 last v.持续 likeness n.相似 moreover adv.而且 perspective n.观点 rational adj.合理的 recover v.恢复 rely v.依靠 shock v.使震惊 shy adj.害羞的 stare v.盯着看 thus adv.因此 46Failing to Pass an Exam名落孙山 47An Amazing Singing一鸣惊人1. manage：管理 2. state affairs：国务，国事 3. minister：大臣 4. puzzle：迷惑 5. in order to：为了 6. situation：情况，形势 7. abolish：废除 8. unreasonable：不合理的 9. dismiss：罢免，开除 10. incompetent：无能力的，不胜任的 11. learned：有学问的 12. ask for help：寻求帮助 48Sun Quan persuaded to learn49Becoming Young故事梗概： 相传，刘安自年轻时代起，就喜好求仙之道。封淮南王以后，更是潜心钻研，四处派人打听却老之术，访寻长生不老之药。有一天，忽然有八位白发银须的老汉求见，说是他们有返老还童之术，并愿把长生不老药献给淮南王。刘安一听，知是仙人求见，真是大喜过望，急忙开门迎见，但一见那八个老翁，却不禁哑然失笑。原来八个老汉一个个白发银须，虽然精神矍铄，但毕竟是老了呀！哪会有什么防老之术呢？ “你们自己都那样老了，我又怎么可以相信，你们有防老之法术呢？这分明是骗人！”说完，叫守门人把他们撵走。 八个老汉互相望了一眼，哈哈笑道：“淮南王嫌我们年老吗？好吧！那么，再让他仔细地看看我们吧！” 说着，八个老翁一眨眼工夫，忽然全变成儿童了。 重点词汇 youth：青年 50Blinders1-40点击下方红字标题即可免费收听  |
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