潘淵英

When my daughter was in primary school， she brought home four small twigs （嫩枝） one day. Her school gave these twigs to the students to plant. None of them looked very hardy， but with hope for the future， I planted them in our backyard. Over the years， because of an accident with the lawnmower （割草機(jī)） and poor soil （土壤）， three of them died. Only one survived.

It grew crooked （彎彎曲曲的） and very slowly. It never got very tall. In the end， it looked more like a fat bush than a tree. A few years ago， I noticed that it was starting to die. The lower branches were becoming bare. Only the top third of the tree was still green. Last summer I did my best to save it by feeding it a lot of fertilizer （肥料）， but it didn't work.

Later one morning， I went out and looked at it again. I was wondering whether it would be better to just cut it down. It would make mowing the lawn easier. As I walked over to take a closer look at it， however， I noticed something moving within the leaves. It was a robin （知更鳥(niǎo)） patiently building a nest in the topmost branches. I smiled when I looked at it. I thought maybe this old tree was still useful. It might not be healthy or pretty， but it was still giving a bird a home.

This tree reminded me that all of our lives have purpose. It doesn't matter if we are young and strong or old and sickly. Until our last breath， we have things to do， love to give， and joy to share.? We can help to make this world a better and more beautiful place.

【難句解析】

1. A few years ago， I noticed that it was starting to die.

釋義：幾年前，我注意到它就要死了。

點(diǎn)撥：（1） notice意為“注意到”，指有意識(shí)地留意到，含有從不注意到注意的變化過(guò)程。

notice sb. do sth. 注意到某人做過(guò)某事;notice sb. doing sth. 注意到某人正在做某事。例如：

They noticed him walking into the hotel.

（2） start意為“開(kāi)始”，可用于 start to do sth.或start doing sth.，但是當(dāng)start本身用進(jìn)行時(shí)時(shí)，后常用 to do sth.。例如：

I am starting to feel bored here.

2. Until our last breath， we have things to do， love to give， and joy to share.

釋義：只要我們還有一息尚存，就還有事情要做，有關(guān)愛(ài)要付出，有快樂(lè)要分享。

點(diǎn)撥：things to do， love to give， joy to share都是以“名詞+動(dòng)詞不定式”的結(jié)構(gòu)組成，動(dòng)詞不定式作定語(yǔ)，與其所修飾的詞之間有動(dòng)賓關(guān)系。這三個(gè)相似結(jié)構(gòu)的內(nèi)容并列使用，使用了排比的修辭手法，可以表示強(qiáng)調(diào)，使句子結(jié)構(gòu)緊湊，或制造某種氛圍，或表示某種語(yǔ)氣。例如：

He wants water to drink.

I. Choose the right answer：

1. What made the three trees die， according to the writer？

A. They grew out of small and hardy twigs.

B. The daughter didn't plant them correctly.

C. The soil around them was not rich.

D. There was no sunlight in the backyard.

2. What did the only remaining tree look like a few years ago？

A. It was straight and tall. B. It grew fat very quickly.

C. It looked like a bird's nest. D. There were not many leaves on it.

3. What might the writer do with the tree later？

A. He might cut it down. B. He might leave it as it is.

C. He might build more nests on it. D. He might take away some of its leaves.

4. In the story， the writer aims to tell us that ________.

A. we should take care of animals and plants

B. we should work hard until our last breath

C. every living thing has its own purpose

D. we are living in a beautiful world

II. Fill in the blanks：

1. ________________ （再仔細(xì)看一下） the wallpaper， you'll find a pair of painted hands.

2. The soldiers fought against their enemies ________________ （直到最后一口氣）.

3. No matter how hard life is， we should go on ________________ （對(duì)未來(lái)懷有希望）.

4. ________________ （上部三分之一） the building was on fire.