My Daily Stories 每天一杯英文下午茶Week 1

My Daily Stories 每天一杯英文下午茶Week 1 Week 1 1 每天一杯英文下午茶 My Daily Stories Week 1 Monday The meadow It was a warm breezy summer day in July and a perfect day for a walk. My first thought was to go to the meadow, a place where I feel comfortable and secure as if God‟s hands are around me. The meadow is a place where you can see all of God‟s handiwork if you take the time and watch closely, looking beyond the obvious. Upon entering the meadow the first thing that caught my eye was the way the winds blew softly across the sea of yellow goldenrods. It was as though each flower was in sync with the other as they moved in unison to and fro in the gentle summer breeze. The time passed quickly as I became mesmerized by the swaying motion of this sea of yellow flowers. I could hear the soft, soothing sounds of the bees as they flew from flower to flower. There was a yellow haze over the flowers as pollen filled the air, and its fragrance was sweet and refreshing. I realized that was God‟s way of helping the bees do their never ending task of pollinating the flowers of the meadow. As I looked closer I could see the small birds that were clinging to the golden rods. They seem so peaceful as they rode back and forth on the stems, almost as if God had created this motion just for their enjoyment. What was actually happening was, they were being fed by God‟s handiwork. The wind was causing the bugs that lit on the flowers to become airborne and as they did the birds would feast upon them. It was as though they knew that all this was being done, just for them. At the extreme end of the meadow I noticed several raspberry bushes which were blessed with an abundance of ripened fruit. Looking closer, under the bushes, were rabbits, field mice and woodchucks feeding on the ripened berries that were close to the ground. Just behind them were deer eating the berries that were higher on the bush. It was obvious at this point that God was providing food for his creatures. The day passed all too quickly but that was of no importance to me. The things I had seen were so beautiful and special that time seemed to have stood still. I had been lost in the overwhelming creations of God, and had learned that he provides for all his creatures no matter what their needs. I felt safe secure in all that was around me, realizing that I too was a creature of God and that He was providing for me. Sleep well my friend, wherever you may be. Week 1 2 每天一杯英文下午茶 1. breezy [ ' bri:zi] adj. 有微风的 2. meadow [ 'medəu ] n. 草场 3. in sync 同步的;协调的 4. unison [ 'ju:nizn ] n. 和谐 5. mesmerize [ 'mezməˌraiz] v. 迷住 6. pollen [ 'pɔlin ] n. 花粉 7. pollinate [ 'pɒləˌneit ] v. 对…授粉 8. handiwork [ 'hændwə:k] n. 手工制品 9. airborne [ 'eəbɔ:n ] adj. 空气传播的 10. raspberry [ 'ra:zbəri ] n. 覆盆子 11. woodchuck [ 'wudʧʌk ] n. 土拨鼠 12. overwhelming [ ˌəuvə'hwelmiŋ ] adj. 压倒性的 Tuesday The Stranger A few years after I was worn, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young min, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mon taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger, he was out storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn’t seem to mind. Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet ( I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled out household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home, not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn’t permit the liberal use of alcohol, but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely ! ) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and Week 1 3 每天一杯英文下午茶 generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents’ den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. What is his name? We just call him—“TV”. He has a younger sister now. We call her “Computer”. 1. enchanting [ in'ʧa:ntiŋ] adj. 迷人的，妩媚的，诱惑的 2. niche [niʧ] n. 地位 3. complementary [ˌkɒmpli'mentəri] adj. 互补的，补充的 4. shush [ ʃ ʌ ʃ] v. 叫…别出声，使安静 5. obligated [ 'ɔbligeeitid] adj. 有义务的 6. get away with 侥幸成功 7. squirm [skwə: m] v. 羞愧，难为情 8. blatant [ 'bleitənt] adj. 公然的 9. rebuke [ri'bju: k] v. 指责 10. den [den] n. 小房间 Wednesday Parable of the Pencil The Pencil Make took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. “There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.” “One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone‟s hand.” “Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you‟ll need it to become a better pencil.” “Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.” “Four: The most important part of you will always be what‟s inside.” “And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.” Week 1 4 每天一杯英文下午茶 The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart. Now replace and place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be. One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God‟s hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess. Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you‟ll need it to become a stronger person. Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make. Four: The most important part of you will always be what‟s on the inside. And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties. Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish. Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change. 1. parable [ 'pærəbl] n. 寓言 2. sharpen [ 'ʃa: pən ] v. 变尖 3. access [ 'ækses] v. 接近 4. possess [ 'pəses] v. 持有，拥有 5. accomplish [ə'kɒmpli ʃ] v. 实现 Thrusday True Love I was doing a weekend seminar at the Deerhurst Lodge, north of Toronto. On Friday night a tornado swept through a town north of us called Barrie, killing dozens of people and doing millions of dollars worth of damage. Sunday night, as I was coming home, I stopped the car when I got to Barrie. I got out on the side of the highway and looked around. It was a mess. Everywhere I looked there were smashed houses and cars turned upside down. That same night Bob Templeton was driving down the same highway. He stopped to look at the disaster just as I had; only his thoughts were different than my own. Bob was the vice-president of Telemedia Communications, which owns a string of radio stations in Ontario and Quebec. He Week 1 5 每天一杯英文下午茶 thought there must be something we could do for these people with the radio stations they had. The following night I was doing another seminar in Toronto. Bot Templeton and Bob Johnson, another vice-president from Telemedia, came in and stood in the back of the room. They shared their conviction that there had to be something they could to for the people in Barrie. After the seminar we went back to Bob‟s office. He was now committed to the idea of helping the people who had been caught in the tornado. The following Friday he called the executives at Telemedia into his office. At the top of a flip chart he wrote three 3s. He said to his executives, “how would you like to raise 3 million dollars 3 days from now in just 3 hours and give the money to the people in Barrie?” There was nothing but silence in the room. Finally someone said, “Templeton, you‟re crazy. There is no way we could do that.” Bob said, “Wait a minute. I didn‟t ask you if we could or even if we should. I just asked you if you‟d like to .” They all said, “Sure we‟d like to.” He then drew a large „T‟ underneath the 333. On one side he wrote, “Why we can‟t.” On the other side he wrote, “How we can.” “I‟m going to put a big X on the „Why we can‟t side‟. We‟re not going to spend any time on the ideas of why we can‟t. That‟s of no value. On the other side we‟re going to write down every idea that we can come up with on how we can. We‟re not going to leave the room until we figure it out.” There was silence again. Finally, someone said, ”We could do a radio show across Canada.” Bob said,” That‟s a great idea,” and wrote it down. Before the had it written, someone said, “You can‟t do a radio show across Canada. We don‟t have radio stations across Canada.” That was a pretty valid objection. They only had stations in Ontario and Quebec. Templeton replied, “That‟s why we can. That stays.” But this was a real strong objection because radio stations are not very compatible. They usually don‟t work together. They are very cutthroat. They fight each other. To get them to work together would be virtually impossible according to the standard way of thinking. All of a sudden someone said, “You could get Harvey Kirk and Lloyd Robertson, the biggest names in Canadian broadcasting, to anchor the show.” (That would be like getting Tom Brokwa and Sam Donaldso to anchor the show. They are anchors on national TV. They are not going to go on radio.) At that point, it was absolutely amazing how fast and furious the creative ideas began to flow. That was on a Friday. The following Tuesday they had a Radiothon. They had fifty radio stations all across the country that agreed to broadcast it. it didn‟t matter who got the credit as long as the Week 1 6 每天一杯英文下午茶 people in Barrie got the money. Harvey Kirk and Lloyd Robertson anchored the show and they succeeded in raising three million dollars in three hours within three business days! You see, you can do anything if you put your focus on how to do rather than on why you can‟t. 1. Toronto [ tə'rɒntəu ] n. 多伦多(加拿大城市) 2. smash [ smæ?] v. 粉碎 3. a string of 一系列，一串 4. Ontario [ ɒn'teəriəu ] n. 安大略湖(加拿大) 5. Quebec [ kwi'bek] n. 魁北克省 6. conviction [ kən'vik?ən ] n. 信念 7. executive [ ig'zekjutiv ] n. 经理;主管人员 8. flip chart 海报 9. underneath [ ˌʌndə'ni:θ ] prep. 在…的下面 10. compatible [ kəm'pætəbl ] adj. 兼容的 11. cutthroat [ 'kʌtˌθrəut ] adj. 无情的 12. virtually [ 'və:ʧuəli ] adv. 事实上;实质上 13. get the credit 得到荣誉 Friday Blessings Unpackaged A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer‟s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He hand his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book. Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things. When he arrived at his father‟s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search his father‟s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it Week 2 7 每天一杯英文下午茶 years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer‟s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words: paid full. How many times do we miss God‟s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? 1. blessing [ 'blesiŋ ] n. 祝福 2. showroom 陈列室 3. Graduation Day 毕业典礼日;毕业日 4. await [ ə'weit ] v. 等候，等待 5. study [ 'stʌdi ] n. 书房 6. storm out of 气冲冲地走出去 7. make arrangements 作安排;筹备 8. passed away 去世，逝世 9. will [ wil ] v. 立遗嘱 10. possession [ pə'ze?n ] n. 财产 11. tape [ teip ] v. 用胶布把…粘住 Week 2 待续