高中英语推荐课外阅读文章10篇

高中英语推荐课外阅读文章10篇
A lifetime friendship
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison met in 1776. Could it have been any other year? They worked together starting then to further American Revolution and later to shape the new scheme of government. From the work sprang a friendship perhaps incomparable in intimacy1 and the trustfulness of collaboration and induration. It lasted 50 years. It included pleasure and utility but over and above them, there were shared purpose, a common end and an enduring goodness on both sides. Four and a half months before he died, when he was ailing, debt-ridden, and worried about his impoverished family, Jefferson wrote to his longtime friend. His words and Madison's reply remind us that friends are friends until death. They also remind us that sometimes a friendship has a bearing on things larger than the friendship itself, for has there ever been a friendship of greater public consequence than this one?
"The friendship which has subsisted between us now half a century, the harmony of our po1itical principles and pursuits have been sources of constant happiness to me through that long period. If ever the earth has beheld6 a system of administration conducted with a single and steadfast eye to the general interest and happiness of those committed to it, one which, protected by truth, can never known reproach, it is that to which our lives have been devoted. To myself you have been a pillar of support throughout life. Take care of me when dead and be assured that I should leave with you my last affections."
A week later Madison replied-
"You cannot look back to the long period of our private friendship and political harmony with more affecting recollections than I do. If they are a source of pleasure to you, what aren’t they not to be to me? We cannot be deprived of the happy consciousness of the pure devotion to the public good with Which we discharge the trust committed to us and I indulge a confidence that sufficient evidence will find in its way to another generation to ensure, after we are gone, whatever of justice may be withheld9 whilst we are here. "
推荐词汇：
1. intimacy n. 熟悉；亲近
2. collaboration n. 合作
3. impoverished adj. 穷困的；无力的
4. beheld v. 注视着（原形为behold）
5. devoted adj. 忠诚的；献身的
6. withheld v. 克制；隐瞒（原形是withhold）
God Had to Be Fair
We always knew our daughter Kendall was going be a performer of some sort. She entertained people in our small town by putting on shows on our front porch when she was only three or four. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and beautiful, she sang like a little angel and mesmerized everyone.
When Kendall was five, we began to notice that she was blinking a lot and clearing her throat frequently. We had her tested for allergies, but the doctor said she wasn't allergic to anything at all. After the problem worsened, we took her to our local children's hospital where she was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome.
It was pretty devastating because other children constantly made fun of her, and sadly, even a teacher teased her. When the tics were especially bad, Kendall had to wear a neck brace. She only had one or two friends, but that was okay because they were -- and continue to be -- real, the kind who stick by her, no matter what. Through all this, Kendall continued to sing and entertain. Remarkably, her tics disappeared when she sang.
We took our daughter from doctor to doctor, but all they did was give her medication that just made it worse, so we decided to go the natural route. Through chiropractic therapy, changes in her diet, and other natural treatments, the tics gradually lessened.
In 2005 when Kendall was sixteen, we thought she was pretty much out of the woods -- or at least heading in that direction. However, as if Tourette's Syndrome wasn't enough for a beautiful young girl to deal with, a freak accident happened.
At a birthday party, Kendall hopped on a friend for a piggyback ride. He bent lower than she expected, and she jumped higher than he expected. Kendall flew over his back and landed on the cement floor -- on her neck. An ambulance rushed her to the hospital where she spent the next week, paralyzed from the neck down. Ironically, her biggest concern wasn't whether she would walk again, but whether she would be able to audition for American Idol.
Doctors said Kendall had central cord syndrome. The pain was excruciating and required morphine to
control it. Sometimes it was so unbearable she had to bite down on a toothbrush to take her mind off it. As the days dragged on, feeling returned to her left side, but she was still paralyzed on the right. We didn't know for sure how much of her movement would ever come back.
I believe Kendall wanted the American Idol audition so much that she willed herself to move again. One of her friends brought a microphone to the hospital and put it on her bed. Every day, Kendall tried hard to pick it up with her right hand. It was more important for her to pick up that mic than a spoon or fork.
Sometimes we all cried because of the pain we witnessed. But on the day Kendall walked into the stadium to audition for American Idol -- a mere three months after her accident -- we cried tears of joy. And our tears turned into shouts when she was given a golden ticket to Hollywood.
As a parent, you always think your child is the best ever -- that's just what parents do. But after seeing Kendall perform, I know she's one of the best, even though she didn't make it into the Top 24.
Kendall is eighteen now, living every day to its fullest. She's recorded a CD with some of John Mellencamp's band members. She's also on CMT's Music City Madness for an original song and video, and is having some good success. I'm absolutely sure she's going to make it big some day. Kendall just puts it all in God's hands.
When she was a little girl trying hard to be strong, she looked up at me, her big eyes brimming with tears, and asked me why she had to have Tourette's Syndrome. My heart ached to make the world right for my
child. But I looked right back at her and told her the truth as I see it.
"Kendall, God gave you a pure heart, an angelic voice, a strong mind, and a beautiful presence. With all of that, he had to make it fair for everyone else."
推荐词汇：
1. mesmerize v. 使……着迷
2. allergy n. 过敏
3. allergic adj. 过敏的（用法：be allergic to 对……过敏）
4. devastating adj. 毁灭性的；令人震惊的
5. brace n. 支架；括号v. 撑住
6. remarkable adj. 不同寻常的
7. lessened adj. 减少的
8. hop v.跳
9. idol n.偶像；红人
10. mere adj. 仅仅的
The Doll and the White Rose
I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kind of wished that I could just sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of
all these toys, and wondered if the grandkids would even play whit4 them. I found myself in the doll aisle5. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll.
He kept touching6 her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and said, "Are you sure I don't have enough money?" She replied a bit impatiently, "You know that you don't have enough money for it." The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere that she had to go and get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll.
After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, "It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it. "I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said, "No, Santa can't go where my sister is.... I have to give the doll to my Mama to take to her. "I asked him where his sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, "She was gone to be with Jesus. My Daddy says that Mamma is going to have to go be with her."
My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, "I told my Daddy to tell my Mama not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store." Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I'd love to. He pulled out some picture he'd had taken at the front of the store. He said, "I want my Mama to take this with her so the doesn't ever forget me. I love my Mama so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me. But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister."
I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so quiet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, "Shall we count that money one more time?" He grew excited and said, "Yes, I just know it has to be enough." So I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it. Of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, "Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money." Then the boy said, "I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll so Mama can take it with her to give my sister. And he heard my prayer. I wanted to ask him give for enough to buy my Mama a white rose, but I didn't ask him, but he gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Mama. She loves white rose so much. "In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away.
I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl and the Mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life support. Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story.
Two days later I read in the paper where the family had disconnected the life support and the young woman had died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home where the young woman was. And there she was holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store. I left there in tears, their life changed forever. The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in a split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to pieces.
推荐词汇
1. grab v.抓住；理解
2. grumble v. 抱怨；嘟囔
3. mumble v.嘟囔；含糊的说
4. whit n.一点；丝毫
5. touching adj.令人感动的
6. split v 劈开；adj.分开的
7. rip v. 撕开
8. ripped adj. 喝醉的；吸毒的（美国俚语）
A Plate of Peas
My grandfather died when I was a small boy, and my grandmother started staying with us for about six months every year. She lived in a room that doubled as my father's office, which we referred to as "the back room." She carried with her a powerful aroma. I don't know what kind of perfume she used, but it was the double-barreled, ninety-proof, knockdown, render-the-victim-unconscious, moose-killing variety. She kept it in a huge atomizer and applied it frequently and liberally. It was almost impossible to go into her room and remain breathing for any length of time. When she would leave the house to go spend six months with my Aunt Lillian, my mother and sisters would throw open all the windows, strip the bed, and take out the curtains and rugs. Then they would spend several days washing and airing things out, trying frantically to make the pungent odor go away.
This, then, was my grandmother at the time of the infamous pea incident.
It took place at the Biltmore Hotel, which, to my eight-year-old mind, was just about the fancies place to eat in all of Providence. My grandmother, my mother, and I were having lunch after a morning spent shopping.
I grandly ordered a salisbury steak, confident in the knowledge that beneath that fancy name was a good old hamburger with gravy. When brought to the table, it was accompanied by a plate of peas. I do not like peas now. I did not like peas then. I have always hated peas. It is a complete mystery to me why anyone would voluntarily eat peas. I did not eat them at home. I did not eat them at restaurants. And I certainly was not about to eat them now. "Eat your peas," my grandmother said.
"Mother," said my mother in her warning voice. "He doesn't like peas. Leave him alone."
My grandmother did not reply, but there was a glint in her eye and a grim set to her jaw that signaled she was not going to be thwarted. She leaned in my direction, looked me in the eye, and uttered the fateful words that changed my life: "I'll pay you five dollars if you eat those peas."
I had absolutely no idea of the impending doom. I only knew that five dollars was an enormous, nearly unimaginable amount of money, and as awful as peas were, only one plate of them stood between me and the possession of that five dollars. I began to force the wretched things down my throat.
My mother was livid. My grandmother had that self-satisfied look of someone who has thrown down an unbeatable trump card. "I can do what I want, Ellen, and you can't stop me." My mother glared at her mother. She glared at me. No one can glare like my mother. If there were a glaring Olympics, she would
undoubtedly win the gold medal.
I, of course, kept shoving peas down my throat. The glares made me nervous, and every single pea made me want to throw up, but the magical image of that five dollars floated before me, and I finally gagged down every last one of them. My grandmother handed me the five dollars with a flourish. My mother continued to glare in silence. And the episode ended. Or so I thought.
My grandmother left for Aunt Lillian's a few weeks later. That night, at dinner, my mother served two of my all-time favorite foods, meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Along with them came a big, steaming bowl of peas. She offered me some peas, and I, in the very last moments of my innocent youth, declined. My mother fixed me with a cold eye as she heaped a huge pile of peas onto my plate. Then came the words that were to haunt me for years.
"You ate them for money," she said. "You can eat them for love."
Oh, despair! Oh, devastation! Now, too late, came the dawning realization that I had unwittingly damned myself to a hell from which there was no escape.
"You ate them for money. You can eat them for love."
What possible argument could I muster against that? There was none. Did I eat the peas? You bet I did. I ate them that day and every other time they were served thereafter. The five dollars were quickly spent. My
grandmother passed away a few years later. But the legacy of the peas lived on, as it lives on to this day. If I so much as curl my lip when they are served (because, after all, I still hate the horrid little things), my mother repeats the dreaded words one more time: "You ate them for money," she says. "You can eat them for love."
推荐词汇
1. aroma n.香气
2. apply v.运用；申请
3. frantically adv.坦诚地
4. pungent adj. 刺激性的；刺鼻的
5. infamous adj.声名狼藉的
6. providence n. 深谋远虑；节俭
7. jaw n.下巴
8. impending adj. 即将到来的
9. doom n 厄运v.注定要发生的
An Angel Among Us
I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important.
My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.
Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for
free.
Today I can fell sad that I don't have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.
Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.
Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.
Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.
Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.
Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.
Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor6 who gets to do the shaping.
What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!
推荐词汇
1. fulfill v. 实现；履行
2. lament n.悲哀；v.哀悼
3. embark v.上船；开始做
4. murmur v./n. 低声说；耳语
5. sculptor n. 雕塑家
11 Benefits to be Single
1. SINGLE PEOPLE EXERCISE MORE…
If you're single, there's a good chance you're hitting the gym more often than your married peers: A 2011 study found that men and women who have never been married exercised more than people in any other marital1 category (including currently married men and women, as well as divorcees and widowers).
2. …AND MAINTAIN A HEALTHIER WEIGHT.
You're also more likely to maintain a healthy weight. Multiple studies have found that men and women tend to pack on the pounds after they get married. One study found that married men are more likely to be overweight than their single peers, while another found that women who lost weight in preparation for their weddings had a tendency to gain weight in the six months following the ceremony.
3. THEY SLEEP BETTER.
It should come as little surprise that sharing a bed with another human being can affect how much sleep you get. After all, having someone tossing and turning, snoring, and talking in their sleep beside you can affect even the deepest sleepers. Being single cuts down on nighttime disruptions and can help you get a
more peaceful night's sleep.
4. THEY DO LESS HOUSEWORK.
If you hate doing chores, single life might be right for you. A 2008 study found that single men and women spend fewer hours a week doing basic housework than their married counterparts.
5. THEY'RE CLOSER TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
Single people are the glue that keeps families together. According to one study, single siblings are more likely to keep in touch with, and reach out to, their siblings than those who are married. Another study found that single people also spend more time with friends than those in long-term relationships.
6. THEY HAVE LESS DEBT.
Being single doesn't just benefit your waistline and social life: It also benefits your wallet. Researchers have found that married people have more credit card debt than single people, and people who are married with children have the most debt of all.
7. THEY'RE LESS STRESSED.
Staying single can help you prevent certain kinds of stress and depression. One 2014 study found that marital stress may make couples more prone to depression, while couples who experience severe, ongoing5 marital stress were less able to enjoy positive experiences.
8. THEY'RE LESS LIKELY TO GET DIVORCED DOWN THE ROAD.
Staying single now can benefit your romantic relationships in the future. In general, people who wait longer to get married have lower rates of divorce.
9. THEY CAN AVOID CONFLICTS.
For people who truly hate conflicts, staying single can have real psychological benefits. According to a 2015 study, people who are conflict-averse (those for whom relationship fights and arguments can cause severe stress) may experience less anxiety when they're single.
10. THERE ARE SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFITS TO SINGLEDOM.
A wide range of studies have looked at the impact marriage and singledom can have on health. While being single isn't necessarily healthier across the board, there are plenty of situations where being single seems to be beneficial. Single men, for instance, were found to experience less heart disease, while single women are less likely to take sick days and visited the doctor less frequently than married women. Being single can even help your chances of keeping off weight after surgery: One study found that unmarried men and women were 2.7 times more likely to keep to diet and exercise goals after weight loss surgery.
11. ALONE TIME IS GOOD FOR YOU.
Being alone doesn't necessarily mean being lonely. Spending time on your own gives you time to clear your mind, identify your own goals and priorities, and participate in activities that interest you. Research has even found that a bit of alone time can help us become more empathetic, foster creativity, and even improve our relationships.
推荐词汇
1. marital adj. 婚姻的；夫妻的
2. sleepers n. 卧铺（经常用复数）
3. siblings n. 兄弟姐妹（表亲或堂亲）
4. prone adj. 有倾向的（用法为be prone to）
5. ongoing adj. 持续的；进行中的
Free to Soar
One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds darting and dancing. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check.
Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining string and the cumbersome tail kept them in tow, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and kept them in tow, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say," Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!" they soared beautifully even as they fought the restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose. "Free at last," it seemed to say. "Free to fly with the wind."
Yet freedom from restraint simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic breeze. It fluttered ungracefully to the ground and landed in a tangled mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. "Free at last", free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to lodge lifeless against the first
obstruction.
How much like kites we sometimes are. The heaven gives us adversity and restrictions, rules to follow from which we can grow and gain strength. Restraint is a necessary counterpart to the winds of opposition. Some of us tug at the rules so hard that we never soar to reach the heights we might have obtained. We keep part of the commandment and never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.
Let us each rise to the great heights, recognizing that some of the restraints that we may chafe under are actually the steadying force that helps us ascend and achieve.
推荐词汇
1. restriction n. 限制
2. tangle v. 纠缠
3. lodge n. 临时住宿；躲避n. 传达室；小旅馆
4. obstruction n. 阻塞；障碍
5. opposition n. 反对
6. cumbersome adj. 笨重的；不便携带的
7. tug v. 拖；拉n. 苦力
8. ascend v.上升
Mom's Smile
It's an old photograph with bad composition and lousy color. The edges are curled up and brown. But none of that matters. The photo is laced with poignant memories so vivid that when my gaze slides across it, tears prick at the backs of my eyes. I am immediately transported to a place where only good and beautiful images can be found, a place where life revolves around lazy afternoons spent on the beach. In this magical place mothers share secrets with daughters, and grandchildren glean immeasurable bits of wisdom from the cadence of the waves and the soft tones of the women they love.
A mere moment of our lives, tucked neatly into a small rectangle and preserved forever - years before anything bad came calling.
In the photo, the beach spreads out on either side, a fishing dock to the left, one of Calcite's great limestone boats far out on the horizon, and on the right, miles and miles of undisturbed beach. The photo is alive with children and women: mothers, sisters, sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, grandchildren. The lone man in the photo is my father. His shadow stretches long and lean across the restless blue waters of Lake Huron. With immense patience, he casts his line, again and again. My toddler son, his blond curls bleached white, peers across the endless stretch of sand. Mesmerized by his grandfather, he jets down the wet beach as fast as his chubby legs can carry him. His sisters give chase.
A million dancing whitecaps become myriad diamonds, straining to outshine one another. The glimmering trail sparkles on the vast and seemingly endless body of water that starts at my feet and disappears into the sky, where seagulls dip and swirl, calling to one another as an anxious mother calls to a wayward child.
A chaise lounge dominates the photo. In it a woman - my mother - reclines. Mom is spread out in the chair like thick, sweet frosting on a cake. Languid, her arms raised above her head, her legs splayed, pant legs rolled up to expose a goodly length of pale skin. Her arms are bare, the undersides pasty in comparison to the tops. Her smile in repose is tender, sweet, unassuming, and peaceful.
To my knowledge, Mom never owned a bathing suit. I don't recall ever seeing her step into the lake, and never before had she sunbathed17. That day, however, was different. It was as if all her cares had floated out to deep waters like the unattended beach ball had done just minutes before.
We are a large family. When my siblings and I were young, Dad was the one who took us to the beach. He sat in the car and watched as we frolicked in the shallows. Mom stayed home to ensure we had a hot meal when we returned. Perhaps Mom was happy for the few moments of alone time at home in the kitchen, as was Dad, alone in the car.
On this day, their grown children, with children of our own, treat them to dinner on the beach. Dad fishes off the dock, never swaying from his pleasantries. And, for once, Mom forgets about making dinner.
It is a day of memories, a day never to be forgotten.
My three children are in the photo, and Dad is in the background, as are two of my sisters and their children, but everyone who gazes at the poorly developed photo is drawn inexplicably to Mom's smile. In the photo, her face is raised up to the sky. To the sun or to our Creator, she alone knows. Her eyes are closed.
I remember how warm it was that day and how she had squinted up at me, shielding her eyes with both hands.
"Are my legs getting red?" she'd asked.
My eyes brim with unshed tears as I remember the feel of her skin on the palm of my hand. Hot. The scalding tears run down my face. How I wish I could touch her one more time.
"No, Mom," I replied. "But better put some sunscreen on before you get a burn." Reluctantly, she'd sat up, the peaceful smile disappearing, and rolled her pant legs down, again.
"Save it for the kids," she said, her eyes scanning the group of children splashing in and out of the water. The whisper of a smile touched her lips as she watched for a long, wistful moment. With a sigh, she rose from the chair and moved toward the car where the coolers awaited.
"Maybe we should get lunch going," she said as she opened the first cooler.
Now it is my turn to smile. Mom was not ready to relinquish dinner duties, after all. On a whim, I turn my face heavenward and close my eyes. I draw a deep breath and search for the special place Mom found that afternoon. It comes to me easily. Without pomp or ceremony, there she is, smiling again. Tears squeeze from beneath my closed lids, and I fervently pray that anyone who might come upon me at this。