如何提高中學生英語閱讀理解能力是教學工作的重要任務。多閱讀英語文章是提高英語閱讀的一個方法，下面小編給大家準備了適合中學生閱讀的英語故事，一起來欣賞一下吧!
Most people need to hear those "three little words" I love you. Once in a while, they hear them just in time.
I met Connie the day she was admitted to the hospice1 ward, where I worked as a volunteer. Her husband, Bill, stood nervously nearby as she was transferred from the gurney2 to the hospital bed. Although Connie was in the final stages of her fight against cancer, she was alert and cheerful. We got her settled in. I finished marking her name on all the hospital supplies she would be using, then asked if she needed anything.
"Oh, yes," she said, "would you please show me how to use the TV? I enjoy the soaps so much and I don't want to get behind on what's happening." Connie was a romantic. She loved soap operas, romance novels and movies with a good love story. As we became acquainted, she confided how frustrating it was to be married 32 years to a man who often called her "a silly woman."
"Oh, I know Bill loves me," she said, "but he has never been one to say he loves me, or send cards to me." She sighed and looked out the window at the trees in the courtyard. "I'd give anything if he'd say ‘I love you,' but it's just not in his nature."
Bill visited Connie every day. In the beginning, he sat next to the bed while she watched the soaps. Later, when she began sleeping more, he paced up and down the hallway outside her room. Soon, when she no longer watched television and had fewer waking moments, I began spending more of my volunteer time with Bill.
He talked about having worked as a carpenter and how he liked to go fishing. He and Connie had no children, but they'd been enjoying retirement by traveling, until Connie got sick. Bill could not express his feelings about the fact that his wife was dying.
One day, over coffee in the cafeteria, I got him on the subject of women and how we need romance in our lives; how we love to get sentimental1 cards and love letters.
"Do you tell Connie you love her?" I asked (knowing his answer), and he looked at me as if I was crazy.
"I don't have to," he said. "She knows I do!"
"I'm sure she knows," I said, reaching over and touching his hands rough, carpenter's hands that were gripping the cup as if it were the only thing he had to hang onto "but she needs to hear it, Bill. She needs to hear what she has meant to you all these years. Please think about it."
We walked back to Connie's room. Bill disappeared inside, and I left to visit another patient. Later, I saw Bill sitting by the bed. He was holding Connie's hand as she slept. The date was February 12.
Two days later I walked down the hospice ward at noon. There stood Bill, leaning up against the wall in the hallway, staring at the floor. I already knew from the head nurse that Connie had died at 11 A.M..
When Bill saw me, he allowed himself to come into my arms for a long time. His face was wet with tears and he was trembling. Finally, he leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath.
"I have to say something," he said. "I have to say how good I feel about telling her." He stopped to blow his nose. "I thought a lot about what you said, and this morning I told her how much I loved her... and loved being married to her. You shoulda2 seen her smile!"
I went into the room to say my own good?bye to Connie. There, on the bedside table, was a large Valentine card from Bill. You know, the sentimental kind that says, "To my wonderful wife... I love you."
大多數人需要聽到那“三個小字”——我愛你。有時他們就會在最需要的時候聽到。
我在康尼住進收容所病房的那天見到了她。我在那兒當義工。把她從輪床抬上病床時，她的丈夫比爾焦慮不安地站在旁邊。雖然康尼處於和癌症搏鬥的晚期，但她仍然神智清醒，精神愉快。我們把她安頓好。我在醫院提供給她使用的所有用品上標上她的名字，然後問她是否需要什麼。
“啊，是的，”她說，“請告訴我怎麼用電視好嗎?我非常喜歡肥皂劇，想隨時跟上進展情況。”康尼是個浪漫的人。她酷愛肥皂劇、浪漫小說和講述美好愛情故事的電影。隨著我們越來越熟，她向我吐露說，跟一個經常叫她“傻女人”的男人生活了32年有多麼沮喪。
“唉，我知道比爾愛我，”她說道，“可是他從來不說他愛我，也不給我寄賀卡。”她嘆了口氣，朝窗外庭院裡的樹望去。“如果他說聲‘我愛你’，我願意付出一切，可這根本不是他的性格。”
比爾每天都來探望康尼。一開始，康尼看肥皂劇，他就坐在床旁。後來，她睡的時候多了，比爾就在屋外走廊裡踱來踱去。不久，康尼不再看電視了，醒的時候也少了，我開始花更多的義工時間和比爾在一起。
他談到他一直是個木工，他多麼喜歡釣魚。他和康尼沒有孩子，但他們四處旅遊，享受著退休生活，直到康尼得病。對他妻子病危這一事實，比爾無法表達他的感受。
一天，在自助餐廳喝咖啡時，我設法和比爾談起女人這個話題，談到生活中我們多麼需要浪漫，多想收到充滿柔情蜜意的卡片和情書。
“你跟康尼說你愛她嗎?”我明知故問。他瞧著我，就好像我有神經病。
“我沒有必要說，”他說道。“她知道我愛她!”
“我肯定她知道，”我說。我伸出手，觸控著他那雙木工粗糙的手。這雙手緊握著杯子，似乎它是他需要依附的惟一東西——“可是她需要聽到它，比爾。她需要聽到所有這些年來她對你意味什麼。請你考慮考慮。”
我們走回康尼的房間。比爾進了屋，我走開去看望另一個病人。後來，我看見比爾坐在床邊。康尼入睡了，他握著她的一隻手。那天是2月12日。
兩天後的中午時分，我順著收容所病房過道向前走著。比爾站在那裡，靠著牆，凝視著地面。護士長已經告訴我，康尼在上午11點故去了。
比爾看見我後，讓我擁抱了他許久。他滿臉淚水，渾身顫抖。最後，他向後靠在牆上，深深地吸了一口氣。
“我有話非說不可，”他說道。“我得說，對她說出來，感覺真是好極了。”他停下來擤鼻子。“你說的話我想了很多;今天早上我對她說我多麼愛她……我多麼珍惜和她結為夫妻。你真該看看她的笑容!”
我走進康尼的房間，親自去和她告別 。我看見，床頭桌上放著一張比爾給她的.大大的情人節賀卡——就是那種充滿柔情蜜意的賀卡，上面寫著：“給我出色的妻子……我愛你。”
【If the Dream is Big Enough】If the Dream is Big EnoughI used to watch her from mykitchenwindow, she seemed so small as she 1)muscled her way throughthecrowd of boys on the playground.
The school was across thestreetfrom our home and I would often watch the kids as theyplayedduring recess.
A sea of children, and yet to me, she stoodout fromthem all.I remr the first day I saw her playing ched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids.
Shemanaged to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into boys always tried to stop her but no one could.I begantonotice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone.
Shewould practice 2)dribbling and shooting over and overagain,sometimes until dark.
One day I asked her why she practicedsomuch. She looked directly in my eyes and without a momentofhesitation she said, “I want to go to college.
The only way Icango is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided thatifI were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going toplaycollege basketball.
I want to be the best. My Daddy told me ifthedream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” Then she smiledandran towards the court to 3)recap the routine I had seen overandover , I had to give it to her—she was ched her through those junior high years and into highschool.
Every week, she led her 4)varsity team to day inhersenior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled inherarms.
I walked across the street and sat down in the coolgrassbeside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,”came asoft reply.
“I am just too short.” The coach told her that at5’5”she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team—muchless offered a scholarship—so she should stop was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tightenas Isensed her disappointment.
I asked her if she had talked to herdadabout it yet.
She lifted her head from her hands and told methather father said those coaches were wrong. They just didnotunderstand the power of a dream. He told her that if shereallywanted to play for a good college, if she truly wantedascholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing — herownattitude.
He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, thefactsdon’t count.”The next year, as she and her team went totheNorthern California Championship game, she was seen by acollege5)recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a fullride, toa Division I, 6)NCAA women’s basketball team.
She was goingto getthe college education that she had dreamed of and workedtoward forall those ’s true: If the dream is big enough,the factsdon’t count.
我以前常常從廚房的窗戶看到她穿梭於操場上的一群男孩子中間，她顯得那麼矮小。
學校在我家的街對面，我可以經常看到孩子們在下課時間打球。儘管有一大群的孩子，但我覺得她跟其他的孩子截然不同。
我記得第一天看到她打籃球的情景。看著她在其他孩子旁邊兜來轉去，我感到十分驚奇。她總是盡力地跳起投籃，球恰好越過那些孩子的頭頂飛入籃筐。那些男孩總是拼命地阻止她，但沒有人可以做得到。
我開始注意到她有時候一個人打球。她一遍遍地練習運球和投籃，有時直到天黑。有一天我問她為什麼這麼刻苦地練習。她直視著我的眼睛，不加思索地說:“我想上大學。只有獲得獎學金我才能上大學。我喜歡打籃球，我想只要我打得好，我就能獲得獎學金。我要到大學去打籃球。我想成為最棒的球員。我爸爸告訴我說，心中有目標，風雨不折腰。”說完她笑了笑，跑向籃球場，又開始我之前見過的一遍又一遍的練習。
嘿，我服了她了——她是下定了決心了。我看著她這些年從國中升到高中。每個星期，她帶領的學校籃球代表隊都能夠獲勝。
高中那會兒的某一天，我看見她坐在草地上，頭埋在臂彎裡。我穿過街道，坐到她旁邊的清涼的草地上。我輕輕地問出什麼事了。“哦，沒什麼，”她輕聲回答，“只是我太矮了。”原來籃球教練告訴她，以五英尺五英寸的身材，她幾乎是沒有機會到一流的球隊去打球的——更不用說會獲得獎學金了——所以她應該放棄想上大學的夢想。
她很傷心，我也覺得自己的喉嚨發緊，因為我感覺到了她的失望。我問她是否與她的爸爸談過這件事。
她從臂彎裡抬起頭，告訴我，她爸爸說那些教練錯了。他們根本不懂得夢想的力量。他告訴她，如果真的想到一個好的大學去打籃球，如果她真的想獲得獎學金，任何東西也不能阻止她，除非她自己不願意。他又一次跟她說：“心中有目標，風雨不折腰。”
第二年，當她和她的球隊去參加北加利福尼亞州冠軍賽時，她被一位大學的招生人員看中了。她真的獲得了獎學金，一個全面資助的獎學金，並且進入美國全國大學體育協會其中一隊女子甲組籃球隊。她將接受她曾夢想併為之奮鬥多年的大學教育。
是的，心中有目標，風雨不折腰。
