更美的世界04-我遇到的最好的老师

[00:00.00]The Best Teacher I Ever Had 我遇到的最好的老师
[00:05.41]Mr. Whitson taught sixth-grade science.
[00:10.00]On the first day of class,
[00:12.09]he gave us a lecture about a creature called the cattywampus,
[00:15.36]an animal that was wiped out during the Ice Age.
[00:18.53]He passed around a skull¹ as he talked.
[00:21.93]We all took notes and later had a quiz.
[00:23.91]When he returned my paper,
[00:25.65]I was shocked.
[00:26.52]There was a big red X through each of my answers.
[00:29.79]I had failed.
[00:30.79]There had to be some mistake!
[00:32.65]I had written down exactly what Mr. Whitson said.
[00:35.70]Then I realized that everyone in the class had failed.
[00:39.09]What had happened?
[00:40.74]Very simple, Mr. Whitson explained.
[00:42.93]He had made up all that stuff about the cattywampus.
[00:45.76]There had never been any such animal.
[00:48.07]The information in our notes was, therefore, incorrect.
[00:51.35]Needless to say, we were outraged².
[00:54.64]What kind of test was this?
[00:56.60]And what kind of teacher?
[00:58.14]We should have figured it out,
[00:59.87]Mr. Whitson said.
[01:01.41]After all, at the very moment he was passing around the cattywampus skull
[01:06.11](in truth, a cat’s),
[01:07.87]hadn’t he been telling us that no trace of the animal remained?
[01:11.36]He had described its amazing night vision,
[01:14.11]the color of its fur and any number of other facts he couldn’t have known.
[01:17.93]The zeroes on our papers would be recorded in his grade book,
[01:21.54]he said.
[01:22.41]And they were.
[01:23.29]Mr. Whitson said he hoped we would learn something from this experience.
[01:27.44]Teachers and textbooks are not infallible.
[01:30.60]In fact, no one is.
[01:32.47]He told us not to let our minds go to sleep,
[01:35.44]and to speak up if we ever thought he or the textbook was wrong.
[01:39.04]Every class was an adventure with Mr. Whitson.
[01:42.09]I can still remember some science periods almost from beginning to end.
[01:46.46]One day he told us that his Volkswagen was a living organism.
[01:50.31]It took us two full days to put together a refutation³ he would accept.
[01:54.47]He didn’t let us off the hook
[01:56.53]until we had proved not only that we knew what an organism was
[01:59.93]but also that we had the fortitude⁴ to stand up for the truth.
[02:03.54]If I’m ever asked to propose a solution to the crisis⁵ in our schools,
[02:07.69]it will be Mr. Whitson.
[02:09.49]I haven't made any great scientific discoveries,
[02:12.43]but his class gave me and my classmates something just as important:
[02:16.50]the courage to look people in the eye and tell them they are wrong.
[02:20.33]He also showed us that you can have fun doing it.

1 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

2 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

3 refutation   

n.辩驳，反驳

参考例句：

• The refutation is forceful and every word hits home.批驳有力，句句中的。
• Truth fears no refutation.真理不怕人驳。

4 fortitude   

n.坚忍不拔；刚毅

参考例句：

• His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
• He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。

5 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。