Lesson 5 Never too old to learn
活到老学到老

文章讲解

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 honour 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.

一、词汇部分
1.inform/ɪnˈfɔːrm/ v. 告诉，通知
搭配1: inform somebody about/of something
例句：Please inform us of any change of address as soon as possible.
搭配2: inform somebody (that)
例句：We regret to inform you that your application has been rejected.

2.headmaster/ˈhedˌmæs.tɚ/ n. 校长
扩展：principal （American English）

3.contribute/kənˈtrɪb.juːt/ v. 捐助，援助
搭配1: contribute something to/towards something
例句：The volunteers contribute their own time to the project.
搭配2: contribute substantially/significantly/greatly etc to something
例句：His work contributed substantially to our knowledge of the disease and how to treat it.

4.gift/ɡɪft/ n. 礼物，赠品
5.album/ˈæl.bəm/ n. 签名簿，相册
6.patience/ˈpeɪ.ʃəns/ n. 耐心
have the patience to do something
例：He didn't have the patience to listen to another point of view.
have little/no patience with somebody
例：Do you still love me? I find that you have no patience with me recently.
lose patience (with somebody)
例：Eventually his family lost patience with him and his irresponsible behavior.
run out of patience (with somebody)
例：She was wonderful with the children, and never ran out of patience.
try/test somebody's patience
例：Peter was beginning to try my patience.
somebody's patience is wearing thin
例：People's patience is wearing thin as the queues for visas get longer.
somebody's patience is rewarded
例：After two hours, their patience was rewarded and they saw the bird.

7.encouragement /ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒmənt / n. 鼓励
give somebody encouragement
例：My father always gave us a lot of encouragement.
offer encouragement
例：My parents offered encouragement and support.
get encouragement (=be given encouragement)
例：I got a lot of encouragement from Jay Chou.

.ADJECTIVES
positive encouragement (=encouraging someone by saying positive things)
例：It's important to balance punishment with positive encouragement.
active encouragement (=taking action as well as talking)
例：The scheme was set up with the active encouragement of the local authority.
considerable/great encouragement
例：We took considerable encouragement from our early success.

8.farewell/ˌferˈwel/ n. 告别
9.honour/ˈɑː.nɚ/ n. 敬意
it is an honour to do something
例：It is an honor to have you here, sir.
in honour of somebody/something

10.coincidence/koʊˈɪn.sɪ.dəns/ n. 巧合
11.total/ˈtoʊ.t̬əl/n. 总数
12.devote/dɪˈvəʊt / v. 致力于
devote your time/energy/attention etc to something
例：He devoted his energies to writing films.
devote yourself to something
例：She devoted herself full-time to her business.

13.gardening/ˈɡɑːr.dən.ɪŋ/n. 园艺
14.hobby/ˈhɑː.bi/ n. 爱好，嗜好