拇指英语说，
分享英语
学习心得，技巧和
方法。让英语学习变得
更有趣，
更简单。
在英语学习中，
阅读是学生获得英语知识，提高英语能力与素养的重要途径。通过
阅读，学生们可以增强语感、积淀文化知识，提高学生跨文化交际能力，从而整体提高他们的英语综合能力。
为增加阅读素材的多元化，
拇指英语说特推出
“报刊时文阅读素材积累系列”。众所周知，报刊阅读的材料内容丰富，真实感和时效性强，
语言地道，话题轻松活泼，贴近学生生活。因此，报刊阅读是对校内英语教材的有益补充，有利于培养学生的阅读兴趣，提高阅读技能。本系列适合小学高年级至初中年级学生。按阅读难度，分为一星（小学高年级），二星（初中低年级）和三星（初中高年级）。
[来源】Teens
[主题语境】励志美文
[难度系数】 **
Nobody has to be perfect
Reading
There was once a painter whose goal was to paint the most beautiful painting in the world. Day and night he painted to make his greatest work.
He painted many paintings, but every time, he would throw away paintings that he thought were less than perfect.At the same time, another painter who worked in the same studio (
工作室) also painted many paintings. He tried his best to paint and rarely (很少) threw any paintings away. The first painter would sometimes walk by, looking at the second painter’s finished works, and laugh at them. “No one will ever buy these paintings. They are worthless!” he would say.The second painter would always answer, “We’ll see.” And in time, the second painter sold nearly all of his works. People were happy with them, even if they were less than perfect.The first painter never achieved what he wanted and finally gave up on his dream of perfection. He went home, penniless (身无分文的), having never sold any of his paintings.There is a saying – “Practice makes perfect.”
It is used to say that people become better at something if they do it often. For example, if you want to be a good writer, you should write every day. But in fact, this saying is not always true. No one is perfect, and looking for perfection often ends in failure. But if we simply do our best and work hard, we can usually succeed in life.
【Treasure Box]
- perfect adj. 完美的 (perfection n. 完美)
- worthless adj. 无价值的
- achieve v. 达到；实现
- failure n. 失败
- succeed v. 成功
难句解析
1 He painted many paintings, but every time, he would ...
释义：他画了很多画，但每次都会扔掉那些他认为不太完美的画。
点拨：less than 在本句中指“不够”，后接形容词。I think he was less than honest with me. 我觉得他对我不太诚实。less than 还可以指在数量方面“不到；不足；少于”。The students finished the task in less than 10 minutes. 学生们在不到十分钟内完成了
任务。
2 It is used to say that people become better at something if they ...
释义：这是指，如果人们
经常做某件事，他们就会做得更好。
点拨：is used to do ... 为被动语态，意为“被用来做某事”，to 为动词不定式符号，后跟动词原形，意思和 be used for (doing) sth 相同。This truck is used to carry newspapers to the airport. This truck is used for carrying newspapers to the airport. 这辆卡车被用来把报纸搬运到机场。
区别：(1)
used to do sth 意为“过去常常做某事”，表示过去的习惯、经常发生的动作或状态。used to 只用于过去时，不能用于其它时态。used to 的否定式为 didn’t use to 或 used not to。There used to be an old temple on the hilltop. 以前在山顶上有一座古寺。(2)
be used to (doing) sth 意为“习惯于做某事”，其中 to 是介词，后接名词或动词-ing形式。The old man is used to living a simple life. 这位老年人习惯与简单的生活。
【Comprehension test】
Choose the answer:
1. What did the first painter hope to do?A. Paint the greatest painting ever. B. Collect the most paintings in the world.C. Make lots of money from painting.D. Be better than the second painter.
2. What did the second painter do?A. He laughed at the first painter.B. He threw away all of his paintings.C. He made good use of his works. D. He painted the greatest painting in the world.
3. What happened to the first painter in the end?A. He finally achieved what he wanted.B. He decided to chase a different dream. C. He sold no paintings and ended up poor.D. He sold all of his best paintings.
4. What opinion does the writer hold?A. Practice will always make perfect. B. Nobody can succeed all the time. C. The process is more important than the result.D. Perfection is not always possible, but that’s okay.
【Vocabulary in use】
Fill in the blanks with the right form of “use”: 5. It is a vacuum cleaner. It _______________ pick up dirt.6. Most of us _______________ having lots of homework. 7. When we were still students, we __________ get up early in order to catch the early bus to school.
【Sharing seconds】分享时刻追求完美本身就是在挑战极限，
目标就是要做那个凤毛麟角的人，所以成功者少之又少。但是，不完美也是人世间的常态，不追求完美又有何不可？
keys:
- A 2. C 3. C 4. D
5. is used to 6. are used to 7. used to
喜欢我的文章，欢迎和转发。
