初中英语课外阅读小故事

初中英语课外阅读小故事

你来决定

There was once a wise old woman who lived back in the hills. All the

children used to come back and ask her questions. She always gave the right

answers.

There was a naughty little boy among the children. One day he caught a

tiny bird and held it in his cupped hands. Then he gathered his friends around.

He said, “Let’s trick the old woman. I’ll ask her what I’m holding in my

hands. Of course, she’ll ans

wer that I have a bird. Then I will ask her if

the bird is living or dead. If she says the bird is dead, I’ll open my hands

and let the bird fly away. If she says the bird is alive, I’ll quickly crush

it and show her the dead bird. Either way, she’ll be wrong.”

The children agreed that this was a clever plan. Up the hill they went to

the old woman’s hut.

“Granny, we have a question for you,” they all shouted.

“What’s in my hands?” asked the little boy.

“Well, it must be a bird,” replied the

old woman.

“But is it living or dead?” demanded the excited boy.

The old woman thought for a moment and then replied, “It is as you will,

my child.”

从前，有一位博学的老妇人，她住在后山。过去所有的 孩子都经常来找她问问题。她

总是有求必应。

其中有一个调皮的小男孩。有一天，他抓到一只小鸟， 双手捧住，然后把伙伴们叫到

身边，说：

“咱们去哄一下那个老太太。我要问她我手里握着什么 东西。她肯定会回答说我握的

是小鸟。然后，我问她小鸟是活的还是死的。如果她说鸟是 死的，我就张开手让小鸟飞走。

如果她说小鸟是活的，我就马上用劲一捏，让她看到那只 死鸟。不管用什么方法，她都说

不对。”

孩子们都异口同声的说这是一个聪明的计划。他们爬上 山，来到了老妇人的小屋。

“奶奶，我们要问您一个问题。”他们都大声说道。

“我手里是什么东西?”那个小男孩问道。

“噢，肯定是一只小鸟，”老妇人回答说。

“可是活的还是死的呢?”小男孩兴奋的问到。

老妇人想了一会儿，然后回答说：“孩子，这由你来决定。”

惧怕成长冒险会被生活吞没

Risking

Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile spring soil.

The first seed said, I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the

soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the e

arth's crust above me…. I

want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring…

I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the

morning dew on my petals!

And so she grew.

The second seed said, I am afraid. If I send my roots into the ground

below, I don't know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way

through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts…. what if I

let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my

blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for

me to wait until it is safe.

And so she waited.

A yard hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the

waiting seed and promptly ate it.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Those of us who refuse to risk and grow get swallowed

up by life.

中文：

两颗种子并排躺在春天肥沃的土壤里。

第一颗种子说：“我要成长。我要把根深深扎入土壤< /p>

;

我要用芽顶穿坚硬的地壳… 我

要伸展柔嫩的蓓蕾，像旗帜一样宣告春天的到来… 我要感受太阳照在脸上的温暖，接受

花瓣上晨露的祝福!”

于是，第一颗种子不断成长着。

第二颗种子说：“我很害怕。如果我把根深扎入土壤，不知道黑暗之中会遇到什么

;

如果我冲破坚硬的土地，那脆弱的芽可能会受损伤… 如果我舒展花 蕾，蜗牛要吃掉它们

可怎么办呢

?

如果 我绽放花朵，小孩儿可能会把我拔起。不，我还是等安全了再那么做比

较好。”

于是，第二颗种子就等啊等啊。

一只母鸡正在院子里刨着早春的泥土找食吃，发现了正等在那儿的第二颗种子，一下

子就把她吞了下去。

The Terrible Head

There is none may taste of the golden fruit Till the golden new time come

Many a tree shall spring from shoot, Many a blossom be withered at root, Many

a song be dumb; Broken and still shall be many a lute Or ever the new times

come!

Round and round the tree of gold, Round and round dance we, So doth the

great world spin from of old, Summer and winter, and fire and cold, Song that

is sung, and tale that is told, Even as we dance, that fold and unfold Round

the stem of the fairy tree!

These grave dancing fairies were very unlike the Grey Women, and they were

glad to see the boy, and treated him kindly. Then they asked him why he had

come; and he told them how he was sent to find the Sword of Sharpness and the

Cap of Darkness. And the fairies gave him these, and a wallet, and a shield,

and belted the sword, which had a diamond blade, round his waist, and the cap

they set on his head, and told him that now even they could not see him though

they were fairies. Then he took it off, and they each kissed him and wished

him good fortune, and then they began again their eternal dance round the

golden tree, for it is their business to guard it till the new times come, or

till the world's ending. So the boy put the cap on his head, and hung the

wallet round his waist, and the shining shield on his shoulders, and flew

beyond the great river that lies coiled like a serpent round the whole world.

And by the banks of that river, there he found the three Terrible Women all

asleep beneath a poplar tree, and the dead poplar leaves lay all about them.

Their golden wings were folded and their brass claws were crossed, and two of

them slept with their hideous heads beneath their wings like birds, and the

serpents in their hair writhed out from under the feathers of gold. But the

youngest slept between her two sisters, and she lay on her back, with her