85_Never_Too_Old_To_Learn

85 Never Too Old To Learn

原文译文

I have just received a letter from my old school, informing me that my former headmaster, Mr. Stuart Page, will be retiring next week. Pupils of the school old and new, will be sending him a present to mark the occasion. All those (who have contributed towards the gift) will sign their names in a large album (which will be sent to the headmaster's home). We shall all remember Mr. Page for his patience and understanding and for the kindly encouragement (he gave us) when we went so unwillingly to school. A great many former pupils will be attending a farewell dinner in his honor next Thursday. It is a curious coincidence that the day before his retirement, Mr. Page will have been teaching for a total of forty years. After he has retired he will devote himself to gardening. For him, this will be an entirely new hobby. But this does not matter, for, as he has often remarked, one is never too old to learn.

我刚刚收到母校的一封信，通知我说以前的校长斯图亚特·佩奇先生下星期就退休了。 为了纪念这个日子，学校的学生——无论老同学还是新同学——将送他一件礼物。 所有凑钱买此礼品的人都将自己的名字签在一本大签名簿上，签名簿将被送到校长的家里。 我们不会忘记佩奇先生对我们既有耐心又充满理解，也不会忘记在我们不愿去上学时他给予我们的亲切鼓励。 很多老同学都准备参加下星期四为他举行的告别宴会。 佩奇先生退休的前一天正好是他执教满40年的日子，这真是奇妙的巧合。 他退休后，将致力于园艺。对他来说，这将是一种全新的爱好。 但这没有关系，因为正如他常说的那样，人要活到老学到老。

Words

• informing /ˌɪnˈfɔrmɪŋ/ v. 通知
  1. The captain informed me that he won the election again.（L83）
  2. The teacher informed the kid’s parents that he lost his temper in the class.（L78）
  3. He’s just informed me that he got a rare disease.（L77）
• headmaster /ˈhɛdˌmæstɚ/ n. 校长
  1. The headmaster has informed every students that the police will take charge of school soon.
  2. When the headmaster arrived on the scene, no one was there.（L75）
  3. The school takes its name from the headmaster.（L71）
• Pupils /ˈpjupəlz/ 小学生
• mark /mɑrk/ the /ðə/ occasion /əˈkeʒən/ 纪念时刻
• understanding /ˌəndɚˈstændɪŋ/ 通情达理的
• kindly /ˈkaɪndli/ 亲切地
• unwillingly /ənˈwɪlɪŋli/ 不情愿地
• a /ə/ farewell /ˌfɛrˈwɛl/ dinner /ˈdɪnɚ/ n. 告别晚宴
  1. attend a farewell dinner…
  2. She was relieved to hear that she didn’t have to attend the farewell dinner.（L84）
  3. She claimed to have attended a farewell dinner last night.（L82）
  4. He changed into his best suits and attended a farewell dinner.（L81）
• in /ɪn/ his /hɪz/ honor /ˈɑnɚ/ n. 对于他的致敬
  1. in sb's honor…
  2. I'm gonna win this game tonight in his honor.
  3. We'd like to invite you to join
  4. We're gonna name him Marcus in your honor.
• curious /ˈkjʊriəs/ 奇妙的
• coincidence /koˈɪnsɪdəns/ n. 巧合
  1. It can’t be a coincidence that I saw you here this morning.（L17）
  2. It’s no coincidence that people went on strike on the same day that he won the election.
• gardening /ˈɡɑrdənɪŋ/ n. 园艺
  1. The headmaster has decided to devote himself to gardening.
  2. He is busy with the gardening now.（L70）
  3. I’m just gonna do some gardening this afternoon.
• contribute /kənˈtrɪbjut/ v. 贡献
  1. make a contribution…
  2. I'd like to contribute to his college fund.
  3. It is no use pretending that you haven’t contributed to the business.（L68）
• album /ˈælbəm/ n. 相册
  1. They were not surprised to see that the headmaster received an album from his students.
  2. I regretted giving him that album.（L41）
  3. When he saw the album, he burst into tears.（L72）
• patience /ˈpeʃəns/ n. 耐心
  1. lose sb’s patience / have a lot of patience…
  2. He kept on crying and I lost my patience.（L78）
  3. In the end I lost my patience and shouted at her.
  4. I ask for your patience and your help.（L6）
• hobby /ˈhɑbi/ n. 爱好
  1. My hobby is gardening.
  2. Are you interested in learning that?（L20）
  3. need/get/have + a hobby…
  4. Why don’t we talk about your hobby?（L74）
  5. a total of…
• devote /dɪˈvot/ v. 致力于
  1. I devote myself to helping the poor.
  2. After I had graduated, I continued to devote myself to research.（L42）
  3. I really enjoy learning and reading, so I devote myself to knowledge.（L68）

Expressions

• sb. inform sb. that + 句子 某人通知某人……
• make a contribution 做出贡献
• contribute to sth. 为……做贡献；促成
• lose sb’s patience 失去耐心
• have a lot of patience 很有耐心
• give sb. encouragement 给某人鼓励
• in one’s honor 为了纪念某人；向某人致敬
• It is a curious coincidence that +句子 ……真是奇妙的巧合
• a total of… 总计……
• devote oneself to sth. / doing sth. 致力于某事
• mark the occasion 庆祝这一时刻
  1. occasion.
  2. I'd like to say a few words to mark the occasion.
• remember sb. for sth. 因某事记住某人