Lesson 12 Try Again

Ⅰ

“Have you finished your lesson, George?” said Mr. Prentice to his son, who had laid aside his book and was busily engaged in making a large paper kite.

“No, father,” replied George, hanging down his head.

“Why not, my son?”

“Because it is so difficult, father. I am sure that I shall never learn it. Besides, I could not remember it after I had learned it, my memory is so bad.”

“If I were to promise you a holiday on the thirtieth of the month after next, do you think you would forget the date?”

“No, I am pretty sure that I should not.”

“You are first-rate at skating, and flying your kite, and playing at ball and marbles,are you not?”

“Yes, father.”

“And yet you cannot learn your lesson! My dear boy, you are deceiving yourself.You can learn as well as any one, if you will only try.”

“But have I not tried, father?” again urged [1] George.

“Well, try again. Come, for this afternoon lay aside that kite you are making, and give another effort to get your lesson ready. Be in earnest, and you will soon learn it. To show you that it only requires perseverance（不屈不挠）, I will tell you a story:“One of the dullest boys at a village school, more than thirty years ago, went up to repeat his lesson one morning; and, as usual, did not know it. ‘Go to your seat!’ said the teacher angrily, ‘If you don’t pay more attention to your lessons you will never be fit for anything.’

“The poor boy stole off to his seat, and bent his eyes again upon his lesson. ‘It is of no use; I cannot learn,’ he said in a whisper to a companion who sat near him.

“ ‘You must try hard,’ replied the kind-hearted boy. ‘I have tried, but it is of no use; I may just as well give up at once.’“ ‘Try again, Henry!’ whispered his companion, in an earnest and encouraging tone.

Ⅱ

“These two little words gave him a fresh impulse, and he bent his mind again to his task. Gradually he began to find the sentences lingering [2] in his memory; and soon,to his surprise and pleasure, the whole lesson was mastered! He then rose from his seat and proceeded [3] to the teacher’s desk.

“ ‘What do you want now?’ asked the teacher.

“ ‘To say my lesson, sir.’

“ ‘Did you not try half an hour ago?’

“ ‘Yes, but I can say it now, sir,’ said the boy.

“ ‘Go on, then.’

“Henry commenced ( 开始), and repeated the whole lesson without missing a word!The master gave him a look of pleasure as he handed back his book.

“From that day,” continued Mr. Prentice, “there was no boy in the school who learned more rapidly than Henry. From that day till the present hour he has been a student; and he now urges his son George to ‘try again,’ as he tried.”

“And was it indeed you, father?” asked his son, eagerly looking up into the face of his kind parent.

“Yes, my child. That dull boy was your own father in his early years.”

“Then I will try again,” said George, in a decided tone; and, flinging aside his half-made kite, he turned and re-entered the house, and was soon bending in earnest attention over his lesson.

“Well, what success, George?” asked Mr. Prentice, as the family gathered around the tea-table.

“I learned the lesson, father!” replied the boy. “I can say every word of it.”

“Did you find it hard work?”

“Not so very hard, after I had once made up my mind that I would learn it. Indeed I never stopped to think, as I usually do, but went right on until I had mastered every sentence.”

“May you never forget this lesson, my son!” said Mr. Prentice. “You now possess [4]the secret of success. It lies in never stopping to think about a task being difficult or tiresome, but in going steadily on, with a fixed determination to succeed.”

(695 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Note the reason] George said he was not able to learn his lesson because________ .

A. his memory was too bad

B. he was busy with making kites

C. his father didn’t promise a holiday

2. [Check the details] In order to show George that learning only required perseverance, his father________ .

A. agreed to take him out for a holiday

B. blamed him bitterly

C. told him a story

3. [Note the fact] Henry turned out to be________ .

A. Henry’s father B. Mr. Prentice C. a teacher

4. [Understand the main idea] According to the story, the secret of success lies in________ .

A. sticking to what you do with a fixed determination

B. believing you can repeat the whole lesson

C. considering your father as a good example

Ⅱ. Read for words

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

(1) And yet you cannot learn your lesson! My dear boy, you are deceiving yourself. (Para. 9)

A. cheating B. pleasing C. enriching

(2) These two little words gave him a fresh impulse, and he bent his mind again to his task. (Para. 16)

A. 愉悦 B. 打击 C. 冲动

2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.

(1) …and, flinging aside his half-made kite, he turned and re-entered the house…(Para. 26)

A. completing the rest work

B. throwing something without caring

C. making full use and handling in a right way

(2) Not so very hard, after I had once made up my mind that I would learn it. (Para.30)

A. stopped thinking B. thought carefully C. determined

Ⅲ. Writing practice Answer the following questions according to the passage, and then join them into one short passage. Do not include anything that is not in the passage.

1. What’s the problem of the boy?

2. What did his father do to help him?

3. What’s the story about?

4. What urged his father to be a success?

5. What’s the final result?

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