積極的心態(tài)總能帶來(lái)積極的結(jié)果，因?yàn)樗茏屇愠蔀闊o(wú)畏的騎士，勇敢駕馭生命之馬！

It seems that one year there was a class of students who were so unruly that they burned out2) two different teachers. One teacher took early retirement and the other decided to get out of teaching altogether3). This class was so bad that substitute teachers4) began to refuse to take it. So the principal called a teacher who had applied for a job but hadn't made the cut5) that year. He asked her if she would be willing to come in and finish out6) the year in return for7) the promise of a full-time position the next year. She eagerly accepted.

The principal decided not to warn the teacher about the class， afraid that she would be scared off8) if she heard what she was up against9). After the new teacher had been on the job for a month， the principal sat in on10) a class to see how things were going. To his amazement， the students were well-behaved and enthusiastic. After the students had filed out11) of the classroom， the principal stayed behind to congratulate the teacher on a job well done. She thanked him but insisted that he deserved thanks for giving her such a special class， such a great class， for her first assignment. The principal hemmed and hawed12) and told her that he really didn't deserve any thanks.

She laughed and told him， \"You see， I discovered your little secret on my first day here. I looked in the desk drawer and found the list of the students' IQ scores. I knew I had a challenging group of kids here， so bright and rambunctious13) that I would really have to work to make school interesting for them because they are so intelligent.\" She slid the drawer open and the principal saw the list with the students' names and the numbers 136， 145， 127， 128， and so on written next to the names.

He exclaimed14)， \"Those aren't their IQ scores—those are their locker numbers!\" Too late. The teacher had already expected the students to be bright and gifted—and they had responded positively to her positive view and her positive handling of them.

記得有一年，學(xué)校里有一個(gè)班級(jí)的學(xué)生不守規(guī)矩，很難管束，耗盡了兩位不同的老師的教書(shū)熱情。其中一位提前退了休，另一位則干脆告別了教師崗位。這個(gè)班級(jí)聲名狼藉，以至于沒(méi)有一個(gè)代課老師愿意接手。不得已，校長(zhǎng)給一位那年來(lái)應(yīng)聘過(guò)但卻沒(méi)有被錄用的老師打了個(gè)電話，詢問(wèn)她是否愿意來(lái)這所學(xué)校完成本學(xué)年余下的教學(xué)任務(wù)，并許諾來(lái)年可以給她提供一個(gè)全職崗位作為回報(bào)。她欣然應(yīng)允。

校長(zhǎng)決定先不告知她即將面對(duì)的班級(jí)的情況，以免她知道后會(huì)被嚇跑。新老師上任一個(gè)月后，校長(zhǎng)親臨課堂旁聽(tīng)，想看看這個(gè)班級(jí)的狀況如何。令他驚訝的是學(xué)生們都積極聽(tīng)講，表現(xiàn)良好。下課后，學(xué)生們魚(yú)貫而出，校長(zhǎng)留了下來(lái)，祝賀這位新老師出色的表現(xiàn)。她表示感謝并一再?gòu)?qiáng)調(diào)成績(jī)應(yīng)歸功于校長(zhǎng)，因?yàn)槭撬堰@樣一個(gè)出類拔萃、這樣一個(gè)優(yōu)秀的班級(jí)交給她，作為她教學(xué)生涯的開(kāi)端。校長(zhǎng)吞吞吐吐地告訴這位老師真的無(wú)需謝他。

她笑著說(shuō)道：“別客氣了。我來(lái)這兒第一天就發(fā)現(xiàn)了您的一個(gè)小秘密。我在講桌抽屜里找到了一份學(xué)生智商測(cè)試得分單。我很清楚這是一群極富挑戰(zhàn)性的學(xué)生，他們聰明好動(dòng)，調(diào)皮搗蛋。因此我必須努力使課堂變得趣味盎然，滿足他們的求知欲?！彼_(kāi)抽屜，校長(zhǎng)看到了那張單子。上面寫有各個(gè)學(xué)生的姓名以及緊隨其后的數(shù)字136、145、127、128等等。

校長(zhǎng)大叫起來(lái)：“那些不是他們的智商得分，而是他們的衣帽柜編號(hào)！”但為時(shí)已晚。這位新老師已經(jīng)把這些學(xué)生看成是非常聰明而又極具天賦的孩子，而這些學(xué)生也對(duì)老師的這種積極的想法與做法作出了積極的回應(yīng)。

Vocabulary

1.expectancy [Ik5spektEnsI] n. 期待，期望

2.burn out: 使筋疲力盡；使耗盡

3.altogether [7C:ltE5^eTE(r)] adv. 完全，全然，全部地

4.substitute teacher: 代課老師；substitute [5sQbstItju:t] n. 代替者，替換者

5.make the cut: <俚> 達(dá)到要求(或標(biāo)準(zhǔn))；在淘汰(賽)中幸存下來(lái)。這個(gè)短語(yǔ)來(lái)源于高爾夫球，球員必須打平或者超過(guò)一定的成績(jī)才能繼續(xù)比賽。“Make the cut” 在美國(guó)口語(yǔ)里是“打折”的意思：商家打折扣，就能被顧客接受。

6.finish out: = fill out，意思是“完成，填補(bǔ)空白”。

7.in return (for): (作為……的)交換(回報(bào))

8.scare off: = scare away，意思是“把……嚇跑”。

9.up against: <口> 面臨……的，面對(duì)……的

10.sit in on: 旁聽(tīng)

11.file out: 魚(yú)貫而出

12.hem and haw: 說(shuō)話吞吞吐吐，支支吾吾

13.rambunctious [rAm5bQNkFEs] adj. <主美口> 桀驁不馴的，難管束的

14.exclaim [Iks5kleIm] vt. 大聲說(shuō)出，叫喊著說(shuō)出