在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.zig-zags 锯齿 2.frills 花边 原文 My Hobby Let's see. Today I might go fly a kite，or maybe go for a swim. It is hot outside，and I don't know what to do. My mom tells me that I should do something that I like doing on hot days. Since our house is nice and cool，I guess I'll stay inside and work on my hobby. My hobby is something that not a lot of people do. I make and collect bookmarks. To make my bookmarks，I use stickers and special art pencils to draw. I buy the stickers at a mall，usually in a card store. The art pencils are bought in an art store. Too make the bookmarks，I start with a piece of paper. I measure out how big I want the bookmarks to be with a ruler. I once made a bookmark so big，that it couldn't even be used in a very big book. After I measure it，I draw lines so that I can cut it straight. Sometimes，I use fancy scissors that cut zig-zags or frills. Then I start to decorate them. I like to draw cartoons or flowers on my bookmarks. Sometimes，I even put real flowers on them. A lot of time，I write little sayings on the bookmarks. I like to give my bookmarks to my friends and family. Sometimes，I even sell my bookmarks to people. I like my hobby. I can draw whatever I want on the bookmarks. Maybe sometimes in the future，I will be a famous bookmark maker and even have my own store.

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.conservation 保护 2.haunted 闹鬼的 3.chills 寒颤 4.cascading 倾泻 5.grind grain 研磨粮食 6.tan （皮肤）棕黄色 7.crafts 工艺品 原文 My Job I work at a conservation park called Ball's Falls. I've only work there for three weeks now. I am a tour guide，and I tell people the history of all the buildings there. Somebody told me that one of the houses I work in is haunted. Now I get chills every time I walk into that house. My boss told that the stories aren't real，but I have an active imagination. Ball's Falls is very beautiful. It has two different water falls，the Upper Falls and the Lower Falls. There used to be tons of water cascading over them，which turned a big water wheel to grind grain. However，through the years，the amount of water has lessened. I love working at Ball's Falls because I get to work outside a lot. I am getting a tan. In July and August，I will be working with kids there at a day camp. I am getting ready now，making different crafts and thinking up fun new games to play. I can't wait to start working with them. I think that will be the best part of the summer. I will be going to work tomorrow. I usually have to work from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. I also like the people I work with，they are very nice. Come to Ball's Falls，and I'll give you a tour.

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.hayloft 草垛 2.bales 捆 3.barn 谷仓 4.itchy 发痒的 原文 My First Trip Away From Home Today I am going to my good friend's house. Her name is Valerie. This is going to be my first trip away from home，without my parents. My dad is driving me to Valerie's house，and I'll be staying there for two weeks. Her mom will drive me back home. It takes 1/2 hours to get there. I have to pack enough clothes for play，work and church. I hope I'll pack the right things. Of course，I have to remember my toothbrush and hairbrush. Valeria lives on a farm. I'll be helping her dad with milking the cows-I think！ We'll play up in the hayloft after we have helped put the bales into the barn. We'll be all itchy when that job is done. There are a lot of things to do on a farm. Her mom is a good cook and will feed us well. There is a nice pond where we can go swimming. I mustn't forget my bathing suit. I wonder if the farm dog comes into the pond，too. That would be funny. My dad and mom are giving me money just in case we go shopping. I hope we do go shopping because I want to buy lots of candy. (I won't tell my mom that!). Oh，dear！I hear my dad yelling，“let's go！”. I haven't even finished packing my things yet. I guess I better stop writing this now and get busy fast！Bye！

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.credit 学分 2.diploma 文凭 3.tailor 裁缝 4.fabric 织物 5.tuxedos 燕尾服 原文 My First Job My first“real”job was during my last year of high school. I had taken classes in various business subjects. In that last year of high school，we could do a“co-op”. That meant we could work part of the time instead of going to school. It would count as credit towards our diploma. The place I got a job was at a men's tailor shop. The owners were a very nice older German couple. They had two other men working for them，too. One of the men had had brain surgery for cancer. He had a big，long scar all around the top of his head. He told me all about it. He was always happy and full of fun. I thought he was very brave！ The tailor shop made suits to order. One of the salesmen would measure the man，and the customer would choose a fabric and style he（or his wife）liked. The people in the back of the shop would then cut and sew the suit. The suits cost a lot of money. There were also suits already made that the customer could buy instead if they wished. They could also rent suits or tuxedos for weddings or parties. I worked at a little desk. I answered the phone，wrote the letters，filed the papers and did some bookkeeping. It was about a mile walk from my school to work. I passed many clothes shops. That wasn't good because I spent a lot of the money that I earned in those shops. I worked at the tailor shop for almost a year. It was a good experience and helped me to get next job with the United States Navy. That was fun，too！

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.nieces 侄女，外甥女 2.nephews 侄子，外甥 3.foster 代养 原文 Family What does the word“family”mean to you？ The easiest way to define family is to talk about who you are related to. Usually，there is a mom and a dad and children who are brothers and sisters. This would be the“core”family. Then there is the“extend”family which would include grandparents，aunts and uncles，cousins，nieces and nephews and in-laws（people married to your brothers or sisters，husband or wife）. However，I think the word“family”has a much deeper meaning. The word“family”brings words to my minds like： Love，support，help，kindness，fun，love，trips，closeness，love，forgiving，sharing，love，understanding，respect and love. You'll notice one word that is repeated over and over again. LOVE. I believe if a family has real love for one another，they will be able to overcome any problems they may have. Actually，they may not have too many problems if they all love and respect one another. However，there are things that cannot be helped；like death，sickness and accidents. It is during those hard times that a family's love helps them to go through those experiences. We had quite a few children in my family. There are brothers and sisters，which including an adopted brother and a number of foster children，too. I was also very fortunate that I had both my mom and dad to live with and do things like vacations together. We had a lot of fun，and there were some times of tears too. Above all，we love one another. Family is a wonderful thing！ I am so lucky！

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.peeked 偷看 2.robber 强盗 3.creaking 吱吱作响 4.clunking 沉闷声响 5.furnace 火炉 6.whirring 呼呼响 7.alert 警惕 8.suspicious 嫌疑 原文 Home Alone I remembered the first time that my parents left me home alone. I was very grown up，and I thought that I would be just fine. I was fine for a while. I watched television and had something to eat. I called my friend on the phone and we talked for a while. Then，I sat down to read a book. The house was quiet，very quiet. I found myself listening very carefully. I heard a tap，tap，tapping noise. I wondered where it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from the window. I turned out the lights so that nobody would see me，and I peeked out the window carefully. I was expecting to see a robber was tapping at my window. There was nobody there. It was just a tree branch swaying in the breeze and tapping at the window. I felt silly. I turn on my lights and sat back down to read my book. A few minutes later，I heard some creaking noises. I listened carefully. Then，I heard a clunking noise. I think it might have been the furnace. Then，there was a whirring noise. My imagination began to played tricks on me. I was imagining that there were all kinds of creatures in the house. I told myself to grow up. I wouldn't let my imagination run away with me. I was glad when my parents got home. I told them about all the noises that I had heard. My parents laughed and said that all house make noises. We're usually just so busy that we don't hear all the noise that go on. I have stayed home alone many times now. I just ignore all the little creaks and noises that I hear. I am still alert and listen for anything suspicious，but I know that there are lots of noises that are harmless. That tree that taps on my window still frightens me sometimes，but I'm a lot braver now than I was the first time that I stayed home alone.

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.clumsy 笨拙的 2.crack 缝隙 3.bump 冲撞 4.glob 团 5.jar 罐 6.peanut butter 花生酱 7.rip my pants 撕破我的裤子 8.tail 尾巴 原文 I am Clumsy My mother says that I am clumsy. My father says that I am clumsy. I know that I am clumsy. I do things all the time that are clumsy. I fall down for no reason at all. If there is a crack in the sidewalk，I will be sure to trip on it and fall down. If I carry a plate of food in the cafeteria，I almost always either drop it or bump into someone with it. I don't try to do these things ，it just happens. When I drink juice，I miss my mouth and get juice all over my shirt. I always have something spilled on my clothes. Last week，I opened a jar of peanut butter. The jar flew out of my hands and landed upside down on the floor. There was a big glob of peanut butter on the floor. Yesterday，I knocked over the sugar bowl. There was a big sticky mess on the floor. I bump my head when I get into the car. I rip my pants on things. I lose my money out of my packets. I step on the cat's tail. I always feel bad when I do that because the cat thinks I don't love her. I don't mean to do these things. I am just a clumsy person. My parents tell me to slow down. I am always in a hurry；maybe that's why I'm so clumsy. Maybe it's just a stage that I am going through. If it is，I hope it is over soon. Being clumsy is no fun at all.

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.blurry 模糊 2.appointment 约会 3.optometrist 验光师 4.drops 水珠 5.frames 框架 6.measurements 测量 原文 I Need Glasses I have been having trouble seeing the blackboard. Everything is blurry. I keep getting headaches. I told my mother about it，and she made an appointment with the optometrist. I went to a place where they made me read words and letters on a chart. Some of the words were big，and some were very small. I tried to read everything，but sometimes I couldn't see some of the small letters. The optometrist would cover one of my eyes while I read the chart. Then，she would cover my other eye. She even put some drops in my eyes. I asked the optometrist if I had passed or failed the test. She laughed，and said that it wasn't the kind of test that you passed or failed. She was just trying to find out if I needed glasses. I did need glasses. My mother and I looked around. There are many pairs of frames. I wanted something that was in style. I tried on many pairs of frames. Some of them looked good on me，and some of them looked really funny on me. I finally chose a frame that was my favorite. I gave them to a lady who did some measurements. She told me to come back on Friday to get my glasses. On Friday，I got my glasses. My friends like them. They said I looked smart in my glasses. I wore them to school on Monday，and I was able to see the blackboard clearly. I didn't realize how much I hadn't been able to see. Now I don't get headaches anymore. I'm glad that I had my glasses. Everything is a lot clearer now.

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.surgeon 外科医生 2.veterinarian 兽医 3.janitor 看门人 4.construction crew 施工队 5.interior 内部 6.instructor 教练 原文 Career Choices What do you want to be when you grow up？ There are so many things that you can be. You might want to work in the field of law. You could be a police officer. You could be a judge and a lawyer. Maybe you'd like to work in the food industry. You could be a cook or a waitress. You might want to manage a hotel dining room. Perhaps you would want to do room service in a hotel. You could be a chef and make fancy meals for people. Maybe show business is what you'd like to be involved in. You could act in television shows or movies. You could sing or play an instrument in a band. If you like to help people，you could go into medicine. You could be a doctor or a nurse. You might be a surgeon and operate on people There are other jobs in the field of medicine too. You could be an X-ray technician or a lab technician. It takes a lot of education to be a doctor. Maybe you would rather be a teacher. You could teach in a primary school or a high school. If you don't want to work with children，you could become a professor at university. There are hundreds of other jobs to choose from to. You might want to fix cars or work in a store. You could be a dentist or a veterinarian. You could be a janitor or a zookeep. There are so many jobs that I just can't name them all. Maybe you'd like to be a minister or an organist in a church. You could be a babysitter or a shop clerk. You might be interested in astronaut or a baker. You could work in a bank or at a shop. You could work on a construction crew and build roads and houses. Maybe you'd rather decorate house，so you'd become an interior decorator. You could hair cut or be a driving instructor. The list is endless. There are even jobs that you may never have heard about. The choice is yours. You just choose whatever you want to be and do your best to become that. I could do on forever. You could work in a library. You could be a factory worker or a fisherman. You could make clothes or build bridges. You could wash windows or be a bricklayer. The possibilities are endless.

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.gallery 画廊 2.phantom 幻影 3.portray 描绘 4.miserable scrooge 可怜的吝啬鬼 5.entertain 娱乐 原文 Creative People Some people are just born to create. That's what I think. Some people just have the need to write stories，compose beautiful music，or paint pictures. Creative seems to be inside them，and they need to let it out. It's good that we have people like that. Composers like Mozart and Chopin have given us music that is incredibly beautiful. It's not just the classical composers who have given us great pieces of music；there are modern composers who have written great songs also. Elton John is an example of someone of who has composed many wonderful songs. Andrew Lloyd Webber has given us some very popular musicals like Cats and The Phantom Opera. There are so many talented and creative people in this world. When you visit an art gallery，you marvel at how artists are able to recreate realism or make up something that seems totally unreal yet beautiful. The American artist Norman Rockwell painted some pictures that actually look like photographs. He tried to portray life as it was in America. Through his painting，one can get a good sense of American life through the years. On the other hand，artists like Jackson Pollock did not portray realism. Jackson Pollock painted abstract pictures. His paintings are just as good as Norman Rockwell's，but they are entirely different. Some books we read are classics. Mark Twain portray American life through his character Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Charles Dickens brought Victorian England to life through his books. Most people are familiar with his Christmas Carol，where the mean and miserable Scrooge learns the true mean of Christmas. People don't have to read the classics. There are modern writers who entertain reader through their stories. Stephen King has written a number of horror stories. Some of his books have even been made into movies. We are lucky to have creative people who share their gifts with us. If you are lucky enough to be creative，you should use your talent to create works of art that we all can share.

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.caterpillars 毛毛虫 2.snowflakes 雪花 3.vanish 消失 原文 I am Curious I am curious about many things I would like to find the answers to a lot of questions that I have. What holds the stars up in the sky？ Why does the ice form on the top of the lake when it is cold？ Is there life on other planets？ Why do we not fall off the face of the earth？ How do caterpillars turn into butterflies？ All of these things are mysteries to me. There are so many questions that are unanswered. I think I should go to library and get a book to find out why people grow old. What makes a television work？ I also want to know where electricity comes from. Who is the strongest person in the world？ Who is the smartest person in the world？ Why do some people have blonde hair，and some people have black hair？ Why do people in different countries speak different languages？ Why do people have to die？ Why are no two snowflakes alike？ What makes people fall in love？ What makes the rivers run？ Why does the sun rise every morning？ How did the oceans form？ Why did the dinosaurs vanish from the earth？ I wonder if I'll ever find out the answers to all my questions. I think I'll have to study hard and stay in school to find out everything that I want to know. Some questions never get answered. It is good to be curious. People who are curious about things are the ones who learn a lot，and some curious people go on to invent things and make important discoveries.

在喜马拉雅已支持实时字幕 关注公众号“高效英语磨耳朵”获取文稿和音频 词汇提示 1.rag 破布 2.plain 朴素的 3.clown 小丑 4.tattered 破烂的 5.torn 破损的 6.worn 磨损 7.cherish 爱惜 原文 My Doll When I was an infant，I got a rag doll. It was a very plain，little doll，and it wore a clown outfit and a clown's hat. I used to take that doll to bed with me every night. I couldn't go to bed without my doll. My mother used to pretend that the doll was talking to me. She would make the doll dance and sing songs. I would talk to the doll. My mother would answer for the doll，but I was a baby，and I thought that the doll was actually talking to me. That doll was my best friend. I took her everywhere. One time I took the doll to a store with me，and I left the her on a shelf in the store. We were halfway home when I realized that I didn't have my doll with me. I was very upset. My mother and I rushed back the store. My doll was still there. I was so relieved. I hugged my doll，and I promised myself that I would never leave her anywhere again. I couldn't imagine life without that doll. Through the years，the doll became less import to my life. I had other things to do，but the doll still sat on my bed during the day，and I still took it to bed at night. I gave that doll a lot of love when I was little. In fact，I love the doll so much that she looks tattered and torn now. There are parts of her face and hands that are almost worn away. I had a lot of other toys when I was little，but none of them were ever so important as that doll. I don't play with toys anymore，but that doll is still in my room. She sits in a special chair in the corner. I'll always have that doll. No matter how worn out she is，I'll always keep her and cherish her as a part of my early childhood.