1、高中英语必读美文（150 ） 1 During summer vacations, I would volunteer at the vets, so Id seen a lot of dogs. Minnie was by far the funniest-looking dog Id ever seen. Thin curly hair barely covered her sausage-shaped body. Her bugged-out eyes always seemed surprised. And her tail looked like a rats tail. She w
2、as brought to the vet to be put to sleep because her owners didnt want her anymore. I thought Minnie had a sweet personality, though. No one should judge her by her looks, I thought. So the vet spayed her and gave her the necessary shots. Finally, I advertised Minnie in the local paper: Funny-lookin
3、g dog, well behaved, needs loving family. When a young man called, I warned him that Minnie was strange looking. The boy on the phone told me that his grandfathers sixteen-year-old dog had just died. They wanted Minnie no matter what. I gave Minnie a good bath and fluffed up what was left of her scr
4、aggly hair. Then we waited for them to arrive. At last, an old car drove up in front of the vets. Two kids raced to the door. They scooped Minnie into their arms and rushed her out to their grandfather, who was waiting in the car. I hurried behind them to see his reaction to Minnie. Inside the car,
5、the grandfather cradled Minnie in his arms and stroked her soft hair. She licked his face. Her rattail wagged around so quickly that it looked like it might fly off her body. It was love at first lick. Shes perfect! the old man exclaimed. I was thankful that Minnie had found the good home that she d
6、eserved. Thats when I saw that the grandfathers eyes were a milky white color - he was blind. 2 Tomorrow was his girlfriends birthday and the young man was having a difficult time deciding on a present for her. She already had more clothes than she knew what to do with them, so he couldnt get any ki
7、nd of apparel. She never ate sweets, so candy was out of the question. What then? He had a very special reason for wanting to impress her with just the right gift; tomorrow he was going to make an offer of marriage to her. He finally decided on perfume . All girls liked perfume. That raised another
8、problem, however. What kind did she prefer? He couldnt ask her, because that would ruin the surprise. At last the young man hit upon a brilliant idea. That afternoon, pretending to take his girl-friends fox terrier, little dog. Together, the young man and the dog went directly to the perfume counter
9、 of the towns biggest department store. Good! There was a large array of perfume. He beckoned a clerk, instructing her to open a large number of bottles and wave the stoppers under the dogs nose. Nestled in the young mans arms, the terrier began to be restless and bored as this seemingly pointless g
10、ame went on. Then Fritz suddenly became frisky, wiggling in the young mans arms and barking excitedly, as the clerk waved one stopper under his nose. “Ill take that one,” said the young man to the clerk. The price was high; but it was worth it, he thought. “My favorite perfume!” said the delighted g
11、irl the next evening as she unwrapped the package. “How did you know?” she asked, dabbing some perfume behind each ear. “Intuition, I guess,” said the young man, deciding that it wasnt exactly wrong to tell a lie under the circumstances. One day, after they were married, he would admit that his intu
12、ition had really been a little dog named Fritz. 3 My parents were in a huge argument, and I was really upset about it. I didnt know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friends house. Though I knew I wouldnt tell her about my parents
13、 situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was in the middle of packing up my things when suddenly the power went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on. I was really disappointed because I felt that we did n
14、ot have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that Id stay with him until the power was restored. He was quite happy and said, “Great opportunity.” “What is?” I asked. “To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a private little meeting
15、about what were going to do with your mom and dad, and what were going to do with ourselves now that were in the situation we are in.” “But we cant do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I
16、was And thats how the most unbelievable friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feeling and fears of life-from how fast things change, to how they sometimes dont change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend,
17、 with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be. Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “ I guess that means youll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!” 4 I really love my job because I enjoy working
18、 with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career. I wasnt an excellent student because I didnt do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and fo
19、und I didnt have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasnt the type to have a career. I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasnt too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening
20、. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, shed give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didnt often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children. One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and
21、met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didnt think I would be accepted because I didnt take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and t
22、hey were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten. Now Ive got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career
23、, even if you arent top of the class at school. Each of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures as a necessary part of the learning process. 5 Donnie was a shy, nervous perfectionist. His fear of failure kept him from classroom games that other children played with joyou
24、s excitement. He seldom answered questions - he might be wrong. Written assignments, especially math, reduced him to nail-biting frustration. He seldom finished his work because he repeatedly checked with me to be sure he hadnt made a mistake. Then one morning we were working math problems at the ch
25、alkboard. Pleased with their progress, I left the children with Mary Anne，my student teacher, and went for art materials. When I returned, Donnie was in tears. Hed missed the third problem. Anne looked at me in despair. Suddenly her face brightened. She reached the drawer we shared for some pencils.
26、 See these pencils, Donnie? she said, kneeling beside him and gently lifting the tear-stained face from his arms. They belong to Mrs. Lindstrom and me. See how the erasers are worn? Thats because we make mistakes too. Lots of them. But we erase the mistakes and try again. Thats what you must learn t
27、o do, too. She kissed him and stood up. Here, she said, Ill leave one of these pencils on your desk so youll remember that everybody makes mistakes, even teachers. Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and just a glimmer of a smile - the first Id seen on his face that year. The pencil became Donnie
28、s prized possession. That, together with Mary Annes frequent encouragement and unfailing praise for even Donnies small successes, gradually persuaded him that its all right to make mistakes - as long as you erase them and try again. 6 A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to wh
29、ere God lived, so he packed his suitcase with potato chips and root beer and started his journey. When he stopped by in a park, he met an old woman. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted
30、it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As twilight approached, the boy realized that he got to go b
31、ack home. When the boy opened the door, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, What did you do today that made you so happy? I had lunch with God. You know what? Shes got the most beautiful smile Ive ever seen! Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returne
32、d to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy? I ate potato chips in the park with God. You know, hes much younger than I expected. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listen
33、ing ear, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally! 7 A few weeks ago, I followed a friend into an art-supply store. I found him picking out tubes of water-color paint, w
34、hich surprised me because hes not an artist. “I signed up for a water-color class, and it starts next week,” he said sheepishly. “I dont really have time for it, but it was on my list of 50 things to do before I die, so I went for it.” This sounds interesting, “What else is on the list” I asked him.
35、 “All kinds of things,” he said. “Every few months I look at the list and decide what to focus on next. Before I had the list, I regretted a lot about what I was missing in my life. Now I just do stuff.” “Can I see your list sometime” I asked. “I dont know,” he said. “It reveals a lot about me. Writ
36、e your own list, and youll see what I mean.” So that night I did just that, and he was right. The list revealed a whole lot about what was important to me. It also revealed how hopelessly behind I am at getting to the things I really want. Just writing the list helped me sort through some of my prio
37、rities. I filled up the first 20 blanks quickly, but then began to think carefully. Eventually I added items Ive thought about for years, dreams Ive carried with me since I was young, and things that I was longing for when I first heard about them. I have a cousin who has accomplished an amazing str
38、ing of interesting things. She told me the key was preparing the ground so that life could work in mysterious ways. “If you want your ship to come in, you must build a dock,” she said. Thanks to my list, Im working on some big docks. 8 Last night was the last game for my eight-year-old sons soccer t
39、eam. It was the final quarter. The score was two to one, my sons team in the lead. Parents surrounded the playground, offering encouragement. With less than ten seconds remaining, the ball suddenly rolled in front of my sons teammate, Mickey. With shouts of “Kick it!” echoing across the playground,
40、Mickey turned around and gave it everything he had. All around me the crowd erupted. Mickey had scored! Then there was silence. Mickey had scored all right, but in the wrong goal, ending the game in a tie. For a moment there was a total hush. You see, Mickey has Down syndrome（唐氏综合症）and for him there
41、 is no such thing as a wrong goal. All goals were celebrated by a joyous hug from Mickey. He had even been known to hug the opposing players when they scored. The silence was finally broken when Mickey, his face filled with joy, hugged my son tightly and shouted,“I scored! I scored. Everybody won! E
42、verybody won!” For a moment I held my breath, not sure how my son would react. I need not have worried. I watched, through tears, as my son threw up his hand in the classic high-five salute and started chanting, “Way to go Mickey! Way to go Mickey!” Within moments both teams surrounded Mickey, joini
43、ng in the chant and congratulating him on his goal. Later that night, when my daughter asked who had won, I smiled as I replied, “It was a tie. Everybody won.” 9 Life whispers in your soul and speaks to your heart. Sometimes，when you dont have the time to listen. Life throws a brick at your head. A
44、young and successful CEO was traveling down a neighborhood street， going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. As his car passed，one child appeared，and a brick smashed into the Jags side door. He slammed on the brakes and spun the Jag back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. He jumped out
45、of the car，grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car， shouting， What was that all about and what the hell are you doing? Thats a new car and that brick you threw gonna cost a lot. Why did you do it? “Please，mister，please，Im sorry. I didnt know what else to do!” pleaded the youngster. “I
46、ts my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I cant lift him up.” Sobbing，the boy asked the executive， Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? Hes hurt and hes too heavy for me.” Moved beyond words， the driver lifted the young man back into t
47、he wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts，checking to see that everything was going to be okay. Thank you，sir. And God bless you， the grateful child said to him. The man then watched the little boy push his brother to the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long wal
48、k back to his Jaguar. a long，slow walk. He never did repair the side door. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention. 10 Many say their most painful moments are saying good-bye to those they love. After watching Chery
49、l, my daughter-in-law, through the six long months her mother suffered towards death, I think the most painful moments can be in the waiting to say good-bye. Cheryl made the two-hour trip over and over to be with her mother. They spent the long afternoons praying, soothing, comforting, and retelling their shared memories. As her mothers pain intensified and more medication was needed to ease her into sedation, Cheryl sat for hours of silent vigil by her mothers bed. Each time she kissed her mother before leaving, her mot
