我们遇到的每个困难都是一块垫脚石。只有不断地甩掉身上的土，不断地前进，永不放弃，才能逃离生活的深井。

The Story of the Farmer and His Donkey

   Time: 5 minutes  Difficulty: ★★★

   One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway and it just was not worth retrieving the donkey. So, he decided to bury it!

   He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly, then slowly he quieted down till nothing more was heard.

   A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up!

   As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

   Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up, shaking it off, and taking a step up!

1.      Help:

retrieve: vt. 重新得到

astonished: adj.惊讶的

trot: vi. 小跑

2.      Test for you:

(1)    The word “piteously” means ______.

A. 愤怒地   B. 凄惨地   C. 持续地

     （2）Finally, the donkey was ______.

         A. saved      B. dead     C. killed

  3.  Key points:

     (1) figure out: figure sb/sth out 弄明白。如：We’ve never been able to figure out how to do this. 我弄不懂怎么做这件事。

     （2）shake off: 甩掉。shake out: 抖开；将（某物）抖落干净

  4.  Sentences Recitation:

（1）Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.

（2）The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.

（3）Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.

（4）We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up, shaking it off, and taking a step up!

（Key: B A）

责任编辑:yingyubao