Track 65

The little boy entered the house，unhappy. His mother was 　1　
cakes in the kitchen. She smiled as she turned around but stopped when she saw his face.“Tyler，　2　
happened? Is everything OK?”
“Nothing is OK，Mom，”said the boy.“Today，in our science lesson，Mrs. Green was talking about the environment. She said that the whole world is getting dirtier and that many animals and plants are dying. She wants us to think of something we can do to help. I thought all the way home，but there is 　3　
I can do to make a difference.”
“Let me tell you 　4　
，”the mother said after thinking for a while.“One morning a man was walking down a beach，there he saw thousands of dying starfish
（海星）covering the beach，they were pushed up by the 　5　
，and it was too far up for them to make their way back by themselves. The man shook his head as he walked along.‘What a pity！So many starfish will die on the beach. ’The man felt very sorry 　6　
those starfish. He went on walking and just at that time he was surprised to find a boy in front who was throwing the starfish back into the sea as 　7　
as he could.‘How silly you are！My 　8　
，’the man said，‘There are so many starfish，can you throw all of them back？’The boy didn’t stop but kept throwing.‘　9　
I can’t help them all，I can make a difference to this one，and this one，and this one，’said the boy.”
“Thinking for a moment，the man 　10　
to help return the starfish to their home. He smiled and said to himself，‘Sometimes the biggest lesson in life comes from the smallest person.’”
生词
environment
/ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt
/ n.环境：We need stronger laws to protect the environment. 我们需要更加有力的法律来保护环境。
difference
/ˈdɪfrəns
/ n.差异，不同：There is an age difference of three years between the two children. 这两名儿童相差三岁。
‖make a difference有影响，起作用：A week’s holiday made a lot of difference to her health. 一周的假期对她的健康有很大帮助。
beach
/biːʧ
/ n.海滩：The waters of the Pacific wash the beach. 太平洋的海水冲刷着海滩。
dying
/ˈdaɪɪŋ
/ adj.将死的：a dying man一个垂死的男人
lesson
/ˈlesn
/ n.教训，经验：The accident is a lesson to him. 这次事故对他来说是个教训。
❶ A. drinkingB. makingC. sellingD. washing❷ A. whatB. whenC. whereD. why❸ A. somethingB. anythingC. everythingD. nothing❹ A. a lieB. a jokeC. a storyD. a truth❺ A. windB. rainC. wavesD. sands❻ A. ofB. forC. fromD. forward❼ A. slowB. fastC. soonD. high❽ A. fatherB. motherC. sonD. daughter❾ A. OrB. SoC. BecauseD. Though❿ A. beganB. continuedC. forgotD. waited
参考译文
小男孩闷闷不乐地回到家。他的母亲正在厨房做蛋糕。她微笑着转过身，但当她看到儿子的脸时却愣住了。“泰勒，发生什么了？一切都好吗？”
“没一样好的，妈妈，”男孩说。“今天我们上科学课，格林太太谈起环境问题。她说整个世界正变得越来越脏，大量动植物正在消亡。她让我们想一些可以采取的补救措施。回家的路上我一直在想，但就是想不出任何改变的方法。”
“让我给你讲个故事，”母亲沉思片刻后说。“一天早上，一个男人正沿着海滩散步，看到海滩为成千上万只垂死的海星所覆盖，它们是被海浪冲上岸的。对它们来说，凭自己的力量返回大海，路程太遥远了。男人摇摇头，继续往前走。‘真可怜，这么多的海星要死在沙滩上了。’男人为这些海星深感痛惜。他继续往前走，就在这时，他惊讶地发现前面有个男孩正以最快的速度把海星扔回大海。‘你真傻！我的孩子，’男人说，‘海星这么多，你能把它们都扔回去吗？’男孩没有停，而是继续扔。‘尽管我不能帮助所有的海星，但我能改变这只的命运，还有这一只，这一只。’男孩说。”
“男人想了想，也开始帮着把海星送回它们的家园。他微笑着自言自语道：‘有时候，生活中最重要的经验来自年龄最小的人。’”