优才英语秀- An Insignificant Act of Kindness - Emily | 王斐璠

Good evening everyone, this is Emily from the English Show presented by Only for the Top One of Beijing New Oriental School. In today' s show, I' m going to share one of my favorite stories with you. The title of the story is called An Insignificant Act of Kindness. A man was walking along a beach. Along the shore were many starfish that had been washed up by the tide and were sure to die before the tide returned. The man noticed that a boy was running back and forth, picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the sea.一个男人在海滩上散步。岸边有很多海星被潮水冲到了岸上，它们在退潮后就会死去。那个人看到，有一个小男孩正在来来回回地跑，捡起岸上的海星并把它们扔回海里。 The man, hoping to teach the boy a little lesson, walked up to the boy and said, "I have been watching what you are doing, son. You have a good heart, and I know you mean well, but do you realize how many beaches there are around here and how many starfish are dying on every beach every day? Surely, such an industrious and kindhearted boy such as yourself could find something better to do with your time. Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?" 这个人很想给小男孩上一课。于是走过去对他说：“我看到你在做什么了，孩子。你很善良，你的想法也是好的，但是你注意到海滩有多大了吗？你知道每天有多少海星在岸上死去吗？我肯定像你这样勤奋又善良的孩子可以用这些时间做一些更有意义的事情。你认为你现在做的事有意义吗？” The boy looked up at that man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet. He picked up a starfish, and as he gently threw it back into the ocean. He said with a smile, "For this starfish, it makes a difference."小男孩看了看男人，又看了看他脚下的海星。他捡起来一个海星，并轻轻把它扔进海里，笑着对男人说：“对这个海星来说，是有意义的呀！” 从这篇文章中我们可以学到一个词组：make a difference, 有影响，有意义的意思。 比如，Whatever you choose to do, it will make a difference. 无论你选择做什么，都会有一定的影响。在生活中的确如此，我们总是想改变世界，但是，总是因为我们力量太弱小，而踌躇不前，其实，改变世界很容易，只要你坚持一颗善良的心,并且每天付诸行动，哪怕每天只改变一点点，这个世界也会因为你的行动而变更美好。就像电影《灰姑娘》里面说的，Have courage, and be kind. 晚安。