支教是一項支援落后地區(qū)鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)中小學(xué)校的教育和教學(xué)管理工作。支教是一個提升自己、沉淀自己的過程，不僅幫助了別人，也鍛煉了自己，是一種難得的經(jīng)歷。我們來看看Connie參加完支教后，對她的工作以及其他方面的影響。

Tanner： Hey， Connie！ Good to see you back in the office.

Connie： Its good to be back！ Im glad to see everythings still 1）status quo around here.

Tanner： Well， you were only gone for one week. 2）Say， Im still not clear on why you were gone.

Connie： Oh， I went to do some volunteer teaching.

Tanner： So thats what you were up to！ ①I didnt know you had a heart of gold.

Connie： Oh， stop it！ Actually， it was a lot of fun.

Tanner： ②So how did you even get into volunteer teaching？

Connie： Well， ③a connection from my college days hooked me up with a charity organization that puts these kind of trips together every month or so.

Tanner： Every month？ I had no idea these events were going on all the time.

Connie： Sure. ④These days， a lot of people are looking for ways to give back.

Tanner： Well， I applaud your 3）civic-mindedness.

Connie： ⑤There you go again！

Tanner： But how did you get Anderson to approve the leave of absence？ Shes pretty 4）tightfisted about time off.

Connie： ⑥Even hard nuts like Anderson can have their soft spots. In Andersons case， she grew up in a poor area as well and she really sees value in this kind of project.

Tanner： Education is the road to a better life， they say.

Connie： Exactly. And anyway， teaching has benefits for my current work as well.

Tanner： Like what？

Connie： Well， presentation and communication skills， for one. ⑦When you work with kids whose background is different from yours， you can run into a lot of communication issues. You really have to think about the 5）optimal way of presenting information. Thats good experience for people in our line of work.

Tanner： I can see that.

Connie： Oh， and patience. You have to have a lot of patience to work with kids. ⑧After a week surrounded by elementary school students， putting up with co-workers is a piece of cake！

Tanner： Hey！ Should I take that personally？

Connie： Of course not， Tanner. And I guess the last benefit would have to be 6）perspective. After seeing the living conditions of some of those families， Im much more grateful for what I have！

Tanner： Well， thats something. Actually， it sounds like the trip was a great experience for you.

Connie： Sure was. Wanna come along next time？

Tanner： ⑨You bet！ Where do I sign up？

坦納：嘿，康妮！很高興看到你回辦公室。

康妮：回來的感覺真好！我很高興看到這里一切如舊。

坦納：好吧，你才離開一周而已。這不，我還不知道你為什么離開。

康妮：哦，我去了做支教。

坦納：那就是你去忙的事情！我以前不知道你有顆金子般的心。

康妮：哦，別說了！事實上，那是很有趣的事。

坦納：那么你是怎樣參與支教活動的？

康妮：嗯，我大學(xué)時認識的一個朋友幫我聯(lián)系了一家慈善機構(gòu)，該機構(gòu)大約每個月都組織這些類似的行程。

坦納：每個月？我都不知道這些事情一直在進行中。

康妮：當(dāng)然。近來，很多人在尋找各種方式來回報社會。

坦納：嗯，我要為你的公民責(zé)任感鼓掌。

康妮：你又來了！

坦納：但是你怎樣讓安德森同意你請假的？她對請假很嚴格的。

康妮：嚴厲如安德森的人也有他們的軟肋。安德森的情況是：她也是在一個貧窮的地區(qū)長大，能真正看到這種項目的價值。

坦納：俗話說：教育是通向美好生活的道路。

康妮：完全正確，然而，支教對我現(xiàn)在的工作也大有裨益。

坦納：比如說呢？

康妮：嗯，表達和溝通的技巧就是其中一點。當(dāng)你和一群生活背景跟自己完全不同的孩子一起互動，你會遇到很多溝通上的問題。你真的必須考慮用最合適的方式去傳達信息。那對于我們干這行工作的人是極好的經(jīng)歷。

坦納：我能體會得到。

康妮：哦，還有耐心。跟孩子們打交道你必須要很有耐心。跟小學(xué)生在一起一周后，再難忍受的同事也是小菜一碟！

坦納：嘿，我能不能以個人形式去參加？

康妮：當(dāng)然不能，坦納。我想最后一個好處就是對事物的看法。看到那里有些家庭的生活狀況后，我更加珍惜自己現(xiàn)在擁有的！

坦納：太好了。事實上，聽起來那趟出行對你來說是很棒的經(jīng)歷。

康妮：沒錯。下次要一起來嗎？

坦納：當(dāng)然！我要在哪里登記？

Smart Sentences

① I didnt know you had a heart of gold. 我以前不知道你有顆金子般的心。

a heart of gold： a genuinely kind and caring person（金子般的心）。例如：

He plays the part of a tough cop， but he has a heart of gold.

他雖說是一個強悍警察，但卻有著金子般的心。

② So how did you even get into volunteer teaching？ 那么你是怎樣參與支教活動的？

get into sth.： become involved in sth.（參與其中）。例如：

He cant wait to get into advertising.

他迫不及待地想進入廣告界。

③ A connection from my college days hooked me up with a charity organization that puts these kind of trips together every month or so.我大學(xué)時認識的一個朋友幫我聯(lián)系了一家慈善機構(gòu)，該機構(gòu)大約每個月都組織這類行程。

hook up with sb.： form a connection with sb.（與某人掛鉤，與某人建立聯(lián)系）。例如：

Our paper hooked up with CCTV last year and we can probably work with them to help students in rural areas.

我們報紙去年與央視建立了聯(lián)系，可以跟他們聯(lián)手幫助農(nóng)村的學(xué)生。

④ These days， a lot of people are looking for ways to give back. 近來，很多人在尋找各種方式來回報社會。

give back： repay（回報社會）。例如：

Setting up a charity foundation is one of Bill Gates ways of giving back.

創(chuàng)立慈善基金會是比爾·蓋茨回報社會的一種方式。

⑤ There you go again！ 你又來了！

There you go again： used to express exasperation or dissatisfaction， same as “you did that again”（用以表示惱怒或不滿，等同于“you did that again”）。例如：

——Sis， you failed the driving test？ Ive already said you would.

姐，你沒有通過駕考？我早就說過你過不了。

——There you go again！ Shut up！

你還說！閉嘴！

⑥ Even hard nuts like Anderson can have their soft spots. 嚴厲如安德森的人也有他們的軟肋。

a hard nut： sb. who is tough and not easily hurt（堅強的人，嚴厲的人）。例如：

Outsiders may view Mrs. Susie Stone as a hard nut， but she is a loving boss to us.

外人可能覺得蘇茜·斯通夫人很嚴厲，但對我們來說，她是一個很友善的上司。

have a soft spot： have a tender or sentimental feeling for sth./sb.（性格中易受打動之處）。例如：

Terry had a soft spot for Jenny， her youngest daughter.

泰莉的感情弱點是她最小的女兒簡妮。

⑦ When you work with kids whose background is different from yours， you can run into a lot of communication issues. 當(dāng)你和一群生活背景跟自己完全不同的孩子一起互動，你會遇到很多溝通上的問題。

run into： unexpectedly begin to experience problems or difficulties（碰上難題）。例如：

The project has run into money problems.

項目遇上了資金問題。

⑧ After a week surrounded by elementary school students， putting up with co-workers is a piece of cake！ 跟小學(xué)生在一起一周后，再難忍受的同事也是小菜一碟！

put up with： tolerate or accept sth.， even though it is unpleasant or unsatisfactory（容忍，忍受）。例如：

Its amazing that my mother has put up with my fathers snoring for three decades.

我媽已經(jīng)忍了我爸的鼾聲三十年，太神奇了。

⑨ You bet！ 當(dāng)然！

You bet： used to emphasize a positive or affirmative reply（用以強調(diào)肯定的答復(fù)）。例如：

——You sure the party is on Sunday night？

你肯定派對是在星期天晚上嗎？

——You bet.

當(dāng)然。