1、The three wishes 三个愿望A couple wishes for good luck. A fairy comes to them and says,”You may have three wishes.” The wife is very happy. She doesnt think much and says, “I wish I had a delicious sausage.” So she has it.“Silly!” shouts the husband. “How can you just wish for a sausage?” I wish it were
2、 on your nose!” After that, the sausage grows on the wifes nose.“How stupid you are! What can we do now?” cries the wife. “We have only one wish.” The husband is also very sad, and says, “We must wish this sausage off.” So the sausage goes away. They have three wishes, but they get nothing in the en
3、d.Stir/美st / the grass and startle the snake 打草惊蛇Long long ago, a county magistrate named Wang Lu worked in present Anhui Province , east China . Wang Lu was very greedy and took many bribes. One of his secretaries was equally corrupt, and often schemed for Wang Lus deeds.One day a man went to the m
4、agistrate to lodge a complaint against the secretary. The secretarys crimes were almost the same as the crimes the magistrate himself committed. Wang Lu was so frightened that he forgot his proper role in handling the case. Instead of issuing a judgment, he couldnt help writing these words concernin
5、g the complaint: “By stirring the grass, you have startled me who am like a snake under the grass!“The above story provided the idiom “Stir the grass and startle the snake“. The original meaning is that punishment for someone can serve as a warning to others. But people now use the idiom to indicate
6、 that premature actions which put the enemy on guard.月亮和妈妈 The moon and her motherThe Moon once begged her Mother to make her a gown. “How can I?“ replied she; “theres no fitting your figure. At one time youre a New Moon, and at another youre a Full Moon; and between whiles youre neither one nor the
7、 other.“The shy turtle/t:rtl/害羞的乌龟Tilly is a shy trutle. She hao no friends. If anyone came by to talk or play, she would duck in her shell and wait until they went away.Then one day,Freddy the frog came swimming by.“Tilly,dont hide in your shell. I just want to play. But Tilly was too shy.“No. No.
8、Just go away.“Freddy the frog had many friends.He knew all the fish,he liked the dragonflies.He joked with the ladybugs,and he hung out with the bees,but his best friend was Betty the Butterfly.“Hi,Betty. How are you?“ “Hi,Freddy,Im fine. How are you?“I dont think Tilly the turtle likes me. Whenever
9、 I ask her to come out and play, she hides in her shell and wont come out until I go away.“Betty says,“ I think Tilly likes you,but she is very shy. and she is very lonely. I think you should keep asking her to come out and play. One day she will come out of her shell.“Freddy liked Betty best becaus
10、e Betty was smart, and Freddy kept asking Tilly to come out and play.One day when he was just swimming by,he said to Tilly,“You cant have any friends if you hide in your shell.I think you should come on out and give it a try.“Tilly was lonely and she knew that Freddy was She had no friends because s
11、he always hid in her shell.So,Tilly poked her head out and looked all around, and she was amazed at how many new friends she found.THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN 北风与太阳A dispute arose between the North Wind and the Sun, each claiming that he was stronger than the other. At last they agreed to try their p
12、owers upon a traveller, to see which could soonest strip him of hiscloak. The North Wind had the first try; and, gathering up all his force for the attack, he came whirling furiously down upon the man, and caught up his cloak as though he would wrest it from him by onesingle effort: but the harder h
13、e blew, the more closely the man wrapped it round himself. Then came the turn of the Sun. At first he beamed gently upon the traveller, who soon unclasped his cloak andwalked on with it hanging loosely about his shoulders: then he shone forth in his full strength, and the man, before he had gone man
14、y steps, was glad to throw his cloak right off and complete his journeymore lightly clad.我爱你, 儿子 love you, sonAs a young man, Al was a skilled artist, a potter with a wife and two fine sons. One night, his older son developed a severe stomachache. Thinking it was only some common intestinal (肠道) dis
15、order, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously . But the boy died suddenly that night.Knowing the death could have been avoided if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, he always felt he was guilty. To make matters worse, his wife left him a short time later, leavi
16、ng him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were more than Al could stand, and he turned to alcohol for help. In time Al became an alcoholic.As the alcoholism progressed, AL began to lose everything he possessed-his land, house, etc. Finally Al died alone
17、in a small bar. Hearing of Als death, I thought, “What a totally wasted life! What a complete failure! ”As time went by , I began to re-value my earlier rough judgement . I knew Als now adult son, Ernie. He is one of the kindest, most caring , most loving men I have ever known. I saw the love betwee
18、n Ernie and his children, thinking that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere .I hadnt heard Ernie talked much about his father. One day, I worked up my courage to ask him what on earth his father had done so that he became such a special person. Ernie said quietly, “As a child until I left
19、 home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, “love you, son.”Tears came to my eyes as I realized what I had been a fool to judge Al as a failure. He had not left any material possessions behind. But he had been a kind loving father, and left behind his best love.Five Peas
20、五颗豌豆There are five peas in a bean pod. When they are mature, a small boy picks it and opens it.The small boy puts the first one into an air gun.“Ping“ the pea is shot out. It says happily: I will fly to the sky!The small boy asks the second one: where do you want to go?The second pea says: I want to
21、 fly to the Sun.So, the second one is shot out, who says: I will fly to the sun!The third one and the forth one are afraid to be put into the air gun. They scoot away.The small boy gets out the fifth one and asks it: where do you want to go?The fifth one says: I want to go to a place where I can bri
22、ng happiness to others.The small boy puts it into the air gun and says: you are considerate! He pulls the trigger and the pea flies into a flower pot. The flower pots owner is poor. The mother has a sick daughter, who has been ill for years. The girl is very weak and looks miserable.One day, Mum goe
23、s out to work. The little girl lies by the flowers pots on the balcony in the sun. The bud stretches out its leaves, which seem to dance and it tells the little girl: you will get better!When Mum comes back, the little girl says: mum, I found a little shoot. Mum says: oh, it is a little pea shoot. H
24、ow do you feel today? I feel mush better! In the sun, I feel warm and comfortable. I will soon be well. Mum says happily: I hope my daughter will grow up as this little pea shoot! So, mum puts a bamboo stick there and ties a string so that the shoot can grow along it.From then on, the little girl li
25、es beside the little pea plant, talks with it and sings songs for it. The pea plant grows day by day. Little by little the girl also recovers.Finally, the pea plant blooms. It has a brilliant pink flower. The little girl kisses it. She smiles healthily and happily; her eyes shine; she thanks God for
26、 sending her the beautiful angelthe pea flower. Mum says: thank you, pea flower! You made my daughter happy and help her fight the sickness and get well!Then, the little boy passes by the window. The pea flower waves its branches, and seems to say: Look! I fulfilled my promise. I am such a happy flo
27、wer!The Real Princess 真正的公主There was once a Prince who wished to marry a Princess；but then she must be a real Princess. He travelled all over the world in hopes of finding such a lady；but there was always something wrong. Princesses he found in plenty; but whether they were real Princesses it was im
28、possible for him to decide, for now one thing, now another, seemed to him not quite right about the ladies. At last he returned to his palace quite cast down，because he wished so much to have a real Princess for his wife.One evening a fearful tempest arose, it thundered and lightened, and the rain p
29、oured down from the sky in torrents: besides, it was as dark as pitch. All at once there was heard a violent knocking at the door, and the old King，he Princes father, went out himself to open it.It was a Princess who was standing outside the door. What with the rain and the wind，she was in a sad con
30、dition: the water trickled down from her hair, and her clothes clung to her body. She said she was a real Princess.“Ah! we shall soon see that!“ thought the old Queen-mother; however, she said not a word of what she was going to do; but went quietly into the bedroom, took all the bed-clothes off the
31、 bed, and put three little peas on the bedstead. She then laid twenty mattresses one upon another over the three peas, and put twenty feather beds over the mattresses. Upon this bed the Princess was to pass the night.The next morning she was asked how she had slept. “Oh, very badly indeed!“ she repl
32、ied. “I have scarcely closed my eyes the whole night through. I do not know what was in my bed, but I had something hard under me, and am all over black and blue. It has hurt me so much!“Now it was plain that the lady must be a real Princess, since she had been able to feel the three little peas thr
33、ough the twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. None but a real Princess could have had such a delicate sense of feeling.The Prince accordingly made her his wife；being now convinced that he had found a real Princess. The three peas were however put into the cabinet of curiosities, where they are
34、 still to be seen, provided they are not lost.The Loyal Dog 忠诚的小狗“What shall I do,“ said a very little dog one day to his mother, “to show my gratitude to our good master, and make myself of some value to him? I cannot draw or carry burdens like the horse; nor give him milk like the cow; nor lend hi
35、m my covering for his clothing like the sheep; nor produce him eggs like the poultry; nor catch mice and rats so well as the cat. I cannot divert him with singing like the canaries and linnets; nor can I defend him against robbers like our relation, Towzer; I should not be of use to him even if I we
36、re dead, a s the hogs are. I am a poor insignificant creature, not worth the cost of keeping; and I dont see that I can do a single thing to entitle me to his regard.“ So saying, the poor little dog hung down his head in silent despondency.“My dear child,“ replied his mother, “though your abilities
37、are but small, yet a hearty good-will is sufficient to supply all defects. Do but love him dearly, and prove your love by all the means in your power, and you will not fail to please him.“The little dog was comforted by this assurance; and, on his masters approach, ran to him, licked his feet, gambo
38、lled before him, and every now and then stopped, wagging his tail, and looking up to his master with expressions of the most humble and affectionate attachment. The master observed him. “Ah! little Fido,“ said he, “you are an honest, good-natured little fellow!“ and stooped down to pat his head . Po
39、or Fido was ready to go out of his wits for joy.The Lion and the Mouse 狮子和老鼠Lion was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face.Rising up in anger, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying: “If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repa
40、y your kindness.“ The Lion laughed and let him go.It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground.The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came up, and gnawed the rope with his teeth, and setting him free, exclaimed: “You ridiculed the ide
41、a of my ever being able to help you, not expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favour; but now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion.“Little friends may prove great friends.THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGGS 下金蛋的鹅A Man and his Wife had the good fort
42、une to possess a Goose which laid a Golden Egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it in order to secure the whole store of precious metal at once. But when they c
43、ut it open they found it was just like any other goose. Thus, they neither got rich all at once, as they had hoped, nor enjoyed any longer the daily addition to their wealth.Much wants more and loses all.The clever rabbit 聪明的兔子The wolf and the fox want to eat the rabbit, but it wasnt easy to catch h
44、im.One day the wolf says to the fox, “You go home and lie in bed. Ill tell the rabbit that you are dead. When he comes to look at you, you can jump up and catch him.“ Thats a good idea,“ says the fox.The fox goes home at once. The wolf goes to the rabbits house and knocked at the door. “Who is it?“
45、asks the rabbit. “Its the wolf. I come to tell you that the fox is dead.“ Then the wolf goes away.The rabbit goes to the foxs house. He looked in through the window and sees the fox lying in bed with his eyes closed. He thinks, “Is the fox really dead or is he pretending to be dead? If hes not dead,
46、 hell catch me when I go near him.“ so he said, “The wolf says that the fox is dead. But he doesnt look like a dead fox. The mouth of a dead fox is always open.“ When the fox hears this, he thinks, “Ill show him that Im dead.“ So he opened his mouth.The rabbit knows that the fox isnt dead, and he ra
47、ns away quickly.Lets Speak English 让我们说英语It was the first day of class. Two of her new ESL classmates wanted to know where Tara was from. They were both from Iraq. Because Tara looked Iraqi, one of the women asked Tara, in English, if she was from Iraq. Tara replied, “No, Im not.” Then the women too
48、k turns asking Tara if she was from Iran, or Syria, or Jordan. To each question, Tara responded with a simple no. Laughing, one woman said to the other, “Shes not from anywhere!” The two went to their desks, talking to each other in Arabic. The next day, the teacher divided the students into groups
49、of four. The students in each group asked introductory questions of each other. A student in Taras group asked her, “Where are you from?” Tara answered that she was from Iraq. The two women who had questioned Tara the day before were sitting only a few feet away. Both of them heard Taras response.“Aha!” they both exclaimed. “You ARE from Iraq!” Tara smiled and said yes. Then she apologized to both of them for lying the day before. She explained that she had not wanted to get into an Arabic conversation with them. It had
