翼城县第二小学小学英语 英语故事儿童故事The Wise Old Lady

The Wise Old Lady
A long time ago, there was a young man who wanted to be a writer. He wanted to get married and to live writing compositions, but he couldn't discover what he had to write. He couldn't come up with any good stories, and it seemed that everything was already written.
"The men who were born one thousand years ago are very lucky. Even the men who were born one hundred years ago are much luckier than me. Up to then, there were still good subject matters to write about. It is natural that there are no more good subject matters." The young man said complaining.
He became ill because he studied so hard and thought a lot about being a writer. None of the great doctors could cure him, but there was one person who might be able to cure him - a wise old lady.
The Wise Old Lady worked as a gatekeeper unbolting the gate for carriages and horses of a ranch. She also had comprehensive knowledge of many subjects. The young man decided to go and visit her.
Even though there were no trees or flowers around the wise old lady's house, there was a beehive right next to the doors, a small garden where potatoes were growing, and the fence was surrounded by hawthorn. 'How dreary this is!' He thought to himself. But here were the treasures he was searching for.
"Write what you think. Even if they are crumbs of bread, they are still bread. I know why you came here. You want to be a writer, but you can not come up with a great story, can you?" "Yes, everything was already written as stories. Nowadays is different from the old days." The young man answered.
"You're right. A long time ago, people burned wise women like me at the stake, and poets were poor. But nowadays is better than any time. You just
can't see those things, because you have such narrow insight. I even doubt whether you can hear. If you have the ability to write, there are endless good subject matters. First, stop thinking about yourself, and try to understand a ray of sunlight."
The young man put on the wise old lady's glasses and hearing aid, and he received and held one of the potatoes that the wise old lady gave to him from the potato patch. After a while, the potato started to talk about itself. After he heard the potato talking, the wise old lady let the young man look at the hawthorn.
The hawthorn also told him a romantic story. The young man was impressed. But the wise old lady seemed to know already, and she took him to a place where there was a beehive. When the young man looked into the hive, it was full of vigor, the bees were all busy.
To freshen the air of their own big factory, bees were flying in a row in every passageway, fanning their wings, working bees were carrying a lot of pollen from outside, and some were maiking honey and beeswax.
"Now let's go to a road and see some travelers." The wise old lady said
to the young man tapping his shoulder. "There are too many people here. It is very hard to write the stories of all of them. We'd better go back." He said to her.
"No, go straight into the middle of the crowd, look at them and try to understand what they say with your whole heart and soul. Then, you'll find tremendous things to write about. Oh, and give me back my glasses and hearing aid." The wise old lady told the young man.
"Now, I can't see or hear anything!" The young man took off the glasses and hearing aid and said. "Then, you can never be a writer." The wise old lady shook her head. "Can't I ever be a writer?" "Imagination is not something you can learn and acquire. You should live in another way instead."
The young man was sad about the fact that he could never be a writer, so the wise old lady gave him some advice. "Buy a mask and frown in front of poets. Even if you are impressed by the poem, try to frown. Then, you can make money." He became the one who severely criticizes poets following the wise old lady's advice. Even though he could not be a writer, he could live being involved in the literary world.
Tantalus
tantalus was the rich and mighty king of lydia．sonofzeus by a f airy maiden，he was GREatly favored bythe gods．he was invited to share wine and food withthem at their banquets，and he was let into theirsecrets ．but ever the latter end of joy is woe ．eitherbecause he had stolen wine orgave away the secrets of zeus，or because he had become so proud as to testthe gods by serving up the flesh of his son pelopstothem，he incurred the wrath of zeus and was hurleddown to the everlasting darkness of tartarus ．there hewas made tostand up to his chin in a little lake，with clusters of luscious fruits hanging over andaround his head．he strove eternally to drink the ever-
evading water and to clutch at the deliciousfruits which were ever t ossed out of his reach by blasts of wind．thus he was doomed to en dureendless burning thirst and bitter hunger in the world of the sha des．the whole occurrence has givenrise to the expression“tantalizing”，meaning somethng inplain view but unattainable ．
坦塔罗斯
坦塔罗斯是罗底亚富有而又强大的国王。

他是宙斯和一位仙女的儿子，深受众神喜爱。

众神请他参加宴会，与他们共享美酒与美食，并且还让他了解他们的秘密。

然而乐极生悲。

或许是他偷了美酒、或者泄露了宙斯的秘密、或许是他太骄傲以至于献上自己儿子珀罗普斯的肉来检验神的智慧，他招致了宙斯的愤怒，被打入了永远黑暗的地狱中。

在那里他被迫站定于一小湖中，水没至下颌，无数甜美的水果悬于头顶和四周。

他从不间歇地努力喝水，但水总是从嘴边流走；他试图抓住那些美味的水果，但总是被阵阵来风吹离，使他无法得到。

因而他注定要在阴间遭受炙渴和难以忍受的饥饿。

“tantalizing”一词即由此而来，意思是在眼前却无法得到的某个东西。

小学写作技巧：英文增加文采窍门（英语作文写作技巧）
如果说第一、二步是对文章的构思，第三、四步骤则是真正地“写”了，用词是否贴切，文法是否正确，句式是否多变，文采是否有生气，关系到写作者的语言功底和水平，但也有些窍门，以下这几点可以供你参考：
1．在整篇文章中，避免只是用一两个句式，要灵活运用各种句式。

如倒装句、强调句、省略句、主从复合句、对比句、分词短语、介词短语等。

2．使用不同长度的句子，通过分句和合句，增强句子的连贯性和表现力。

3．改变句子的开头方式，不要一味以主、谓、宾、状的次序。

可以把状语置于句首，或用分词短语等。

4．学会使用过渡词。

如：
1）递进：further more,moreover,besides,in addition,then etc.
2）转折：however,but,nevertheless,after all etc.
3）总结：finally,at last,in brief,to conclude
4）强调：really,indeed,certainly,surely,above all etc.
5）对比：in the same way,just as,on the other hand,etc.
5．避免重复使用同一单词或词组。

6．注意运用固定词组、习语、谚语来代替一些词表达意思，以增加文采。

英语广告句法特征：巧用分离句
分离句是利用标点符号将句子切割成板块式的独立语义单位，是英语广告中特有的现象。

广告正文往往在应当使用逗号或不用任何标点符号的地方加上句点，把句子分割成更多的信息结构单位；被分割出来的部分可以加强所宣传商品的特征，形成信息焦点。

（14）This year， when you give a Parker pen，you could get something that，until now，you could only wish for. Like a one-carat diamond ring.
① A Norwegian blue fox coat.
② A Rolex watch.
③ oreven a new Corvette.
④（PARKER）
（15）You'll find a Dodge wagon comfortable. Comfortable to drive. With standard features like power steering and power front disc brakes. And comfortable to ride in. with luxury options like plush command chairs，front and rear air conditioning and heat on most models and an outstanding AM stereo/FM stereo system with cassette.
（Buckle）
例（14）中末尾标上①②③④的短语虽然以句号结尾，但并非是完整的句子而是something的同位语，被句点分割成片断，虽然顺序不变，词语一样，但突出了信息焦点，瞩目成分增多，增强了广告语言的感染力。

例（15）这则别克汽车广告中冗长的复合句被分割成几个片断，因此在阅读的时候，读者不会感觉到费力，而且每一部分意义都得以突出，形容词comfortable 的重复使用更加深了
受众对此广告的印象。