Learn English with American Primary School Textbooks

Chapter 45 Literature and Art (10)
You might take a hard look at yourself and say, "I'm not as pretty as my sister, I'm not as smart as my friends, I'm nothing! How can I feel good?"

The truth is: no one is perfect, and most people think like you.

But the truth is this!Wisdom and beauty are useful, but we don't necessarily envy smart and beautiful people. There are many such people around us.Besides, some people are just in vain!

The qualities most people value most are honesty, bravery, tenacity, generosity, and humility.Just looking at this string of words reveals an interesting thing.These qualities are not innate, but acquired.Everyone can have it!You don't have to be Einstein or a supermodel to respect yourself and be respected.

You just have to work on developing honesty, fortitude, generosity, humility, and courage in yourself.This is called "character".

In short: How you feel about yourself is all about how you handle it.

Exercise
1.Why did Fred find fault with all his friends?
2.Why does Mary always compliment others?

3.What is the quality most people value most?
1. Because he feels inferior and can feel better by criticizing other people.

2. Because she doesn't like herself and hoping other people return to praise.

3. Honesty, courage, persistence, generosity and humility.

16 Mistakes and Errors If you make a mistake
Mistakes and errors are the disciplined true which we advance in life. Mistakes are great teachers. Success comes to those who are willing to risk making mistakes in the pursuit of their goals and aspirations, and who are able to learn from those mistakes. And in order to learn from mistakes you must be willing to pay for them.
Mistakes can be enormously valuable, but when you look to others to pay for your mistakes, then you deprive yourself of the opportunity to learn from them. When something goes wrong, it's usually very easy to find someone else to blame, but what does that really accomplished?

Much of the value of mistakes comes from the fact that they exact a cost which must be paid. The person who learns the most from a mistake is the person who pays the price for that mistake.
When you make a mistake, the last thing you want to do is run from it, rather to accept it. There is much value to be had when you claim it. The mistake has been made, so make the most of it. Pay the price, learn the lesson, and grow that much stronger.
When you make a mistake, don't look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The present is yet in your power, and take full advantage of achieving your goals and aspirations.
Vocabulary
disciplined ["disiplind] adj. disciplined, trained;
v. Discipline, discipline

aspiration["?sp?"rei? ? n] n. desire, ambition, exhalation, attraction
deprive [di"praiv] vt. to deprive, deprive
claim [kleim] vi. to make a request;

vt. demand, claim;
n. demand, claim, assertion
Wisdom ["wizd? m] n. Wisdom, intelligence, wisdom, wisdom, knowledge

Practice
What should you do and what should not you do when you make a mistake?

Translation
Mistakes and mistakes allow us to discern right from wrong and help us move forward.Mistakes are great teachers.Success always favors those who dare to risk making mistakes to pursue their goals and ideals, and are good at learning from their mistakes.In order to learn from a mistake, you have to be willing to pay for it.

Mistakes can be of great value, but if you want others to pay for your mistakes, you forfeit the opportunity to learn from them.It's always easy to blame others when things go wrong.But what good is that?
The value of mistakes is largely reflected in the fact that people must pay for their mistakes.The one who learns the most from his mistakes is the one who pays for them.

When you make a mistake, the last thing you should do is run from it.You need to accept this fact because you can learn a lot from it.Now that a mistake has been made, make the most of it.Pay the price, learn the lesson and grow stronger.

When you make a mistake, don't always take it to heart.Remember why you made a mistake, and move on.Making mistakes is a lesson in wisdom.The past cannot be changed, the present is still in your hands, use your mistakes to achieve your goals and ideals.

Exercise
What are the do's and don'ts when you do something wrong?

We shouldn't run from it, and don't look back at it long. take
the reason of the thing into our mind, and then look forward.

17 Freedom Parrot The parrot that cries for freedom

A man, a great man, a fighter for freedom was traveling in the mountains. He stayed in a caravans for the night. He was amazed that in the caravans there was a beautiful parrot in a golden cage, continually repeating "Freedom! Freedom! ” And it was such a place that when the parrot repeated the word “Freedom!” it would go on echoing in the valleys, in the mountains.
The man thought: “I have seen many parrots, and I have thought they must want to be free from those cages… but I have never seen such a parrot whose whole day, from the morning to the evening when he goes to sleep, is spent in calling out for freedom.” He had an idea. In the middle of the night, when the owner was fast asleep, he got up and opened the door of the cage. He whispered to the parrot: “Now get out.”

But he was very surprised that the parrot was clinging to the bars of the cage. He said to him again and again: “Have you forgotten about freedom? Just get out! The door is open and the owner is fast asleep; nobody will ever know. You just fly into the sky, the whole sky is yours.”

But the parrot was clinging so deeply, so hard, that the man said: “What is the matter? Are you mad?” He tried to take the parrot out with his own hands, but the parrot started pecking at him, and at the same time he was shouting: "Freedom! Freedom!" The valleys in the night echoed and re-echoed, but the man was also stubborn, he was a freedom fighter.
He pulled the parrot out and threw him into the sky; and he was very satisfied, although his hand was hurt. The parrot had attacked him as forcefully as he could, but the man was immensely satisfied that he had made a soul free. went to sleep.
In the morning, as the man was waking up, he heard the parrot shouting: "Freedom! Freedom!" He thought perhaps the parrot must be sitting on a tree or on a rock. But when he came out, the parrot was sitting in the cage. The door was open.
Vocabulary
caravan ["k? r? v? n] n. caravan, caravan

continuously [k? n"tinju? li] adv. Frequently, constantly

echoing ["ek? ui?] n. Echo, albedo, echo;

v. Echo, echo (present participle of echo)
cling [kli? ] vi. Persevere, adhere to, cling to, attach
stubborn ["st? b? n] adj. Stubborn, difficult to handle, tenacious
immensely [i"mensli] adv. greatly, infinitely, vastly, enormously

Practice
What can you see in the allegory?

Translation
A man, a marvelous man, a fighter for freedom, is walking among the mountains.Tonight he is staying overnight in a big hotel.There was a golden birdcage in the inn, and he was shocked by a beautiful parrot that kept repeating "Freedom! Freedom!" over and over again.It was one of those places where when the parrot kept repeating "Freedom," the word would echo from hill to hill and valley to valley.

The man thought, "I've seen a lot of parrots, and I've thought they must want to fly out of these cages to be free...but I've never seen a parrot like this, from morning to night, until it fell asleep, all the time. The sky is crying for freedom." He had an idea.At midnight, when the owner was fast asleep, he quietly got up, opened the cage door, and whispered to the parrot, "Now, go out."

But what surprised him was that the parrot clung to the crossbar of the cage and refused to let go.He said to it over and over again: "Have you forgotten your freedom? Get out! The door is open, the shopkeeper is asleep, and no one will see. You just fly into the sky, and the whole sky is yours."

But the parrot was still clinging to the crossbar firmly, so he said, "What's the matter? Are you crazy?" He tried to free the parrot with his hands, but the parrot started pecking at him, yelling, "Freedom! Freedom!" Echoes echoed in the valley in the middle of the night, but this man was just as stubborn, who made him a man of freedom.

He pulled the parrot out and threw it into the air.He is satisfied, even though his hand hurts.Although the parrot attacked him with all his strength, he was satisfied because he had set a soul free.He went back to sleep his sleep.

In the morning, he woke up and heard the parrot shouting, "Freedom! Freedom!" He thought maybe the parrot was alighting on a tree or a rock.But when he came out, the parrot was in the cage with the door still open.

Exercise
What do you see in this parable?
18 The Cobbler and the Banker The Cobbler and the Banker
(End of this chapter)