01 Remember We Are Raising Children, Not Flowers 牢记，我们是养育孩子，不是养花
I recently heard a story from Stephen Glenn about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?
我最近从斯蒂芬·格伦那里听到一位有着几项重大医疗领域上突破的科学研究者的故事。新闻记者曾采访过他，问他为什么比一般人更具有创造力？究竟是什么潜在因素让他如此卓尔不凡？
He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor-a veritable sea of milk!
他说，在他看来，这一切都应与他两岁左右时母亲对发生在他身上的事有关。当时他试着挪动一瓶冰箱里面的牛奶，一不小心，没有拿稳，于是瓶子从手中滑落然后掉在了地上，牛奶溅得满地都是——看上去宛如茫茫乳海！
When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture or punishing him, she said, “Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”
母亲闻声赶紧走进厨房，可并没有对他大喊大叫，也没有狠狠地教训或者惩罚他，只是说：“小罗伯特，你这个小家伙，看看你给我带来的小小意外！我可从不曾见过这么大片的牛奶坑。好吧，你坏事都做完了，待我们把这收拾好前，你能先停会再玩吗？”
然后，他这么做了。几分钟后，母亲说道：“说真的，小罗伯特，无论你什么时候给我
Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.
们制造了点意外，到最后你都不得不自己收拾烂摊子然后把所有东西放回到原位。所以，接下来你打算怎么办呢？我们可以选择的有——海绵抹布，用毛巾或者是拖布，你觉得哪个好呢？”他挑了海绵抹布然后和妈妈一起把满地打翻的牛奶收拾干净了。
His mother then said, “You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!
母亲接着又说：“你瞧，在这里我们试着怎样有成效地用双小手拿着大瓶子的实验失败了。我们去后院吧，在那把瓶子装满水，然后看看我们能不能找到不让瓶子撒出水来的方法？”这个小家伙知道了当双手握紧瓶子口附近的地方时，瓶子才不会被打翻。多么有趣的发现！
This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about.even if the experiment “doesn’t work,” We usually learn something valuable from it.
这位赫赫有名的科学家后来谈到，也就是在那个时候他明白了无须恐惧去犯下错误。相反地，错误往往是学习新知识的良机，科学试验又何尝不是呢？即使试验失败了，我们还是可以从中学到很多有价值的东西。
Wouldn’t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert’s mother responded to him?
如果所有的父母都能像小罗伯特母亲那样善于应对孩子们所犯的小错误，那就太好了。
单词解析 Word Analysis
breakthrough[bˈreɪkθruːz]n.突破点，重要的新发现
例 The company looks poised to make a significant breakthrough in China.
这家公司看来很有把握在中国取得重大突破。
slippery[ˈslɪpəri]adj.滑的；滑头的
例 Motorists were warned to beware of slippery conditions.
提醒驾车人要当心路滑。
veritable[ˈverɪtəbl]adj.名副其实的；真正的
例 We hate and loathe these veritable fiends.
我们痛恨和厌恶这些不折不扣的魔鬼。
lecture[ˈlektʃə（r）]n.教训，训斥
例 Our captain gave us a stern lecture on safety.
船长就安全问题严厉地训斥了我们一顿。
eventually[ɪˈventʃuəli]adv.最后，终于
例 She sees the bar as a starting point and eventually plans to run her own chain of country inns.
她把那间酒吧当作一个起点，最终计划是经营自己的乡村旅馆连锁店。
sponge[spʌndʒ]n.海绵，海绵状物
例 He wiped off the table with a sponge.
他用一块海绵擦桌子。
renowned[rɪˈnaʊnd]adj.有名的，有声望的
例 It is renowned as one of the region’s best restaurants.
这是本地区最好的饭店之一。
valuable[ˈvæljuəbl]adj.贵重的，宝贵的，有价值的
例 The golden rule is never to clean a valuable coin.
重要的原则是决不清除贵重硬币上的污垢。
语法知识点 Grammar Points
set apart from区别；把……区分开
例 Her clear and elegant prose sets her apart from most other journalists.
她的散文凝练高雅，多数新闻工作者无出其右。
What sets it apart from hundreds of similar small French towns is the huge factory.
与其他数百个法国小镇不同的是它拥有巨大的工厂。
set apart留出；分开放；隔离开；突出
例 One day of the week should be set apart for relaxation.
每周应该拨出一天时间休闲。
类似的词组：set about开始；散布（谣言等）；开始，着手set aside提出；把……置于一旁set against使敌视，使对立
以上是what引导的感叹句，用来表示人的强烈感情。一般说来，what引导的感叹句有三种句式，此时，what为形容词，用作定语，修饰它后面的名词或名词词组。具体如下：
1. What a/an+形容词+可数名词单数+主语+谓语！
例 What a nice day it is!
多么好的天气啊！
2. What+形容词+可数名词复数形式+主语+谓语！
例 What good teachers they are!
他们是多么好的老师啊！
3. What+形容词+不可数名词+主语+谓语！
例 What delicious food it is!
这是多么美味的食物啊！
make a mess弄得乱七八糟
例 He made a mess of his work.
他把工作搞得乱七八糟。
fill ... with把……装满
例 The Dutch developed a custom by which children put out shoes which Saint Nicholas would fill with gifts when he came visiting.
荷兰人有一套自己的风俗，孩子们会将鞋子放在外面，圣诞老人到来时便会在里面装满礼品。
Jack filled his pockets with chestnuts.
杰克将口袋装满栗子。
fill ... with=be filled with, be filled with系表结构在英语中经常用到。
例 The young man is filled with joy.
那个青年内心充满喜悦。
The soldiers were filled with anger.
战士们满腔怒火。
经典名句 Famous Classics
1. A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary.
母亲不是赖以依靠的人，而是使依靠成为不必要的人。
2. All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.
我之所有，我之所能，都归功于我天使般的母亲。
3. If the whole world betrayed you, at least your mother will not give up. Still remember childhood mother’s embrace is the most beautiful paradise.
如果整个世界都抛弃了你，至少还有母亲不会放弃你。还记得儿时母亲的怀抱就是我最美的天堂。
4. God cannot be everywhere. So God created Mom.
上帝不能无处不在，所以他创造了“妈妈”。
5. All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
所有幸福的家庭都十分相似，而每个不幸的家庭各有各自的不幸。