在我生命中最重要的人里,有两位要数我的教练了。而他们也恰巧是我的父母!
妈妈奥拉斯恩·普里斯和爸爸理查德·威廉姆斯就是我的教练。我才四岁的时候,他们就开始教我打网球。他们给了我自信,让我深信自己可以在球场上出色发挥,也让我相信:只要我肯尝试,生活中就没有做不到的事情。
我的两位教练告诫我不要在意输赢,而是要从这两种经历中总结经验教训,每一次都有所提升。他们教给我的最重要的一课是要学会享受比赛,在全力以赴的同时获得乐趣。
我的父母经常强调说,如果我不喜欢网球,就应该去寻找自己热爱的事情,然后百分之百地投入。幸运地是,他们教我打网球的方式让我爱上了这项运动。我目前仍在从他们身上学习着很多东西,我希望自己有一天也能成为别人的好老师,就像他们当初教我的那样!
Quality Humor 高雅的幽默感
By Jeff Kinney (American author and illustrator8) of children's books, most well-known writing Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
杰夫· 金尼 (美国童书作家、插画家,最有名的作品是《小屁孩日记》)
Fifth grade was a breakthrough year for me. It's when I started to develop my sense of humor, and I thank my teacher, Mrs. Eleanor Norton, for that. Mrs. Norton was in her 60s and wore dresses with big flower prints on them. She welcomed humor in the classroom. School wasn't just for learning, it was for laughing. She made everything fun and she got students in on the act9). But she wasn't satisfied with cheap laughs10). When we made a joke, she'd challenge us to come up with something funnier.
One time my friends and I were practicing a comedy act that had us writhing11) around in a snake costume made of sewn-together sheets. I'm sure we looked ridiculous. Mrs. Norton gently described the difference between laughing "with" and laughing "at", suggesting that we would be laughed "at" by the audience. We thought about it and came up with a better act.
Mrs. Norton's guidance didn't stop there. In the fifth grade, I was a pretty good illustrator. I was pretty proud of my drawings. But Mrs. Norton showed me how my drawings could be better. She didn't let me settle for12) "good enough".
I still think about that. The year I spent in Mrs. Norton's class had a deep impact on me. I'll always remember the lessons I learned while in her classroom.
五年级对我来说是具有突破性的一年,因为当时我正开始培养自己的幽默感。说到这儿,我要谢谢我的老师埃莉诺·诺顿夫人。
诺顿夫人当时六十多岁,总是穿着印有大花的衣服。她鼓励我们在课上发挥幽默感。学校不光是学习的地方,也是让人开怀大笑的地方。她让每件事都变得很有意思,而且还带动学生一起参与进来。但她并不满足于没什么含金量的笑料。我们讲笑话的时候,她总是要求我们拿出更好笑的东西来。
有一次,我和几个朋友在为一幕喜剧进行排练,我们穿着用床单缝成的蛇的道具服在地上蜿蜒爬行。我确信我们的样子很好笑。然而诺顿夫人轻声道出了“laugh with”和“laugh at”的不同,暗示我们会被观众“laugh at”。我们考虑了她的话,设计出了一个更好的场景。
诺顿夫人的引导并不止于此。五年级的时候,我已经是一个很棒的小插画家了。我对自己的画作非常自豪。但诺顿夫人指点我怎样才能画得更好。她让我不要满足于“足够好”。
我如今仍会想起那些教导。跟诺顿夫人学习的一年令我受益匪浅。我会永远记得在她课上所学到的东西。
Days with Sid 和锡德在一起的日子
By Robert Winston (British medical professor)
罗伯特·温斯顿 (英国医学教授)
St Paul's School in London was full of teachers who were wonderful and highly intelligent. Perhaps one of the greatest teachers was the head of biology, Sid Pask. He had this extraordinary ability: he was both an inspiring person and he understood the way to turn people on to science was practical work, and he did that excellently. We went on all sorts of field trips. We used to examine streams in summer, we would go to Hertfordshire to look at plant life, and we went to the beach to count seaweed.
We were out of uniform for the trips and Sid didn't try to discipline us, allowing us to be quite wild teenagers. He would sit there with a quiet smile on his face. There was humanity13) about him, which was important. Scientists sometimes forget that they are part of humanity.
I probably did least well in biology, but Sid was crucial in my development. He was witty, open-minded and enthusiastic, and he was able to focus on the things that were likely to stimulate us. Dissection14) was fantastic in biology. We dissected about 20 species of animal, and we used to dissect plants as well.
I first studied biology at university, and then switched to medicine. The first year I didn't need to do any work because I'd done it at school.
Research shows that about 60 percent of schools have inadequate laboratories, or health and safety is an excuse for not doing experiments. So it would be a crucial thing to improve the value of the practical work that children do, the sort of work we did with Sid.
伦敦圣保罗学校有很多才华横溢、智力过人的老师,而生物学主任锡德·帕斯克先生也许是其中最棒的老师之一。他有这样一种超凡的能力:擅长鼓舞人,并且深知只有实际观察、亲自动手才能让人爱上科学,而这一点他自己做得十分出色。
我们参加各种各样的野外实地考察。夏天我们去观察溪流,去赫特福德郡研究植物,还去海滩数海藻。
郊游的时候我们不用穿校服,锡德也从不试图管束我们,而是任由我们这些孩子撒“野”。他会坐在那儿,脸上挂着安静的微笑。他有着博爱仁慈之心,这一点非常重要。有时候科学家会忘记他们也应该有博爱仁慈的一面。
生物可能是我学得最不好的一门课,但锡德对于我的个人发展却起了至关重要的作用。他机智诙谐、思想开明、富有热情,总是专注于那些可能对我们有所激励的事情。解剖是生物课上最有意思的环节。我们解剖过二十几种动物,也常常解剖植物。
上大学后,我最初学的是生物学,然后才转学医学。大一的时候,我什么功课都不用做,因为我中学的时候就做过了。
研究表明,有60%左右的学校实验室设施不齐备,或是以健康和安全问题为由不开实验课。所以,提倡孩子们实际观察、亲自动手有着至关重要的意义,就像当年锡德带我们做的那些事一样。
My Hero 我心目中的英雄
By Arne Duncan (U.S. Secretary of Education)
阿恩·邓肯 (美国教育部长)
I am fortunate. I attended great schools, and I had exceptional teachers throughout my life. Of all the great teachers I had, my favorite was Darlene McCampbell. Mrs. McCampbell was my high school English teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, and she still teaches there today. She taught me to be a better writer and better reader. But above all, she taught me how to be a better student. In Mrs. McCampbell's class, I wasn't just taught about great literature, I was encouraged to have something to say. I was free to share my ideas and opinions, without fearing judgment. She expressed a strong belief in her students' potential. There was never