Lesson 12

Text A What a Mess!

Bill Lane has just touched some wet paint.
Bill Lane刚去碰了没干的油漆。

Mr. Field: You mustn't touch the wet paint, Bill.
Mr. Field：你不可以碰这些还没干的油漆，Bill。

Bill: I'm sorry. I won't do it again.
Bill：对不起，我不会再碰它了。

Mr. Field: Try to be more careful in future.
Mr. Field：以后要小心点。

Bill: I shall. I wasn't as careless as John Sampson. He walked across that wet cement over there.
Bill：我不可能跟John Sampson一样不小心的。他刚刚从湿水泥上面走过去了。

Mr. Field: The workmen oughtn't to leave it without a notice.
Mr. Field：那些工人不应该连张告示都不留就离开。

Bill: The headmaster asked them not to do so.
Bill：校长让他们不要这么做的。

Mr. Field: Then why isn't there a notice?
Mr. Field：那怎么会仍然没有布告在那里呢？

Bill: They went to their stores to get one. Here they come with it now!
Bill：他们去商店买了，现在他们带着告示回来了！

Mr. Field: But look at them! They've forgotten about the wet cement and they're walking across it to put up the notice!
Mr. Field：但你看他们！他们忘记水泥还湿着就直接从那走过来贴告示了！

Text B A Tall and Slim Girl

At five feet six inches, Rosa was taller than every other student in the sixth grade. She worried about this all the time, in school and at home. Her mother told her to stand up straight and be proud that she was so tall and slim. “Someday,” her mother said, “you'11 be happy that you're tall.”
Rosa 有五英尺六英寸那么高（换算了下是1米67多一点），比其他六年级的学生都要高。她无论是在学校还是在家里都一直很担心这个问题。她妈妈告诉她要站得直直的并且为自己能够那么高有苗条而骄傲。“会有一天，”她妈妈说，“你会为自己的高度而开心。”

This made Rosa happier, but she was still afraid her classmates were making fun of her behind her back. One day, all this changed when Mr. Ransom, the coach from the youth club, asked Rosa to play center on their basketball team. He said that Rosa was a good ball player and her height would make her valuable as center. Now, she really was proud to be tall. She was someone special.
这让Rosa开心了很多，但她仍然担心她的同学会在背后取消她。直到有一天这一切都改变了，当Mr. Ransom，那位青年俱乐部的教练，请Rosa去他的篮球队打中锋。他告诉Rosa她是一个很好的球员，她的高度很让她作为中锋更有价值。现在，她真的很为自己的身高而自豪。她是一个特别的人。

• Read the following passage once. Underline the key words while reading and retell the story to your partner.

Better Be a Stupid Man.

It was a beautiful spring morning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun was warm but not too hot. So Mr. Andrews was surprised when saw an old gentleman at the bus-stop with a big, strong black umbrella in his hand.

Mr. Andrews said to him, "Are we going to have rain today, do you think?"

"No," said the old gentleman, "I don't think so."

"Then are you carrying the umbrella to keep the sun off you?"

"No, the sun is not very hot in spring."

Mr. Andrews looked at the big umbrella again, and the gentleman said, "I am an old man, and my legs are not very strong, so I really need a walking stick. But when I carry a walking stick, people say, 'Look at that poor old man', and I don't like that. When I carry an umbrella in fine weather, people only say, 'Look at that stupid man'."

常用口语：

1. What a mess! 真是一团糟！

2. walk across...穿过，横穿