Unit 3: Life Lesson in a Jar

Unit 3: Life Lesson in a Jar (E)

Reading

1	有一位老師曾把一個大而空的廣口瓶帶到班上，並將它放在全班前面的桌子上。他一言不發地開始把大石塊放進瓶子內，直到大石塊滿到頂端。然後他就問學生：「瓶子滿了嗎？」他們都同意瓶子滿了。接著，這位老師開始將小一點的鵝卵石放進瓶子裡，學生看著它們滾入大石塊之間的空隙。他再次問學生：「瓶子滿了嗎？」每個人都點頭。最後，他把足量的沙子倒入瓶中，把剩下的空間都填滿了。「瓶子滿了嗎？」，他第三次問學生。所有的學生都回答：「滿了。」
	[Question] What did the teacher put into the jar? [Answer] He put ________, ________, and ________ into the jar.

[1-1] A teacher once brought a large, empty jar to class and put it on a table in front of his students.

(1) once為「曾經」之意。例：

‧Many people ________ rushed to California to look for gold.
  許多人曾經蜂擁至加州淘金。

(2) ...large, empty...

補充

如果有一長串的形容詞同時修飾一個名詞時，通常會有習慣的先後次序，用法如下所示： 限定詞 (a, this, these, some...) + 主觀評斷價值或數量 (good, expensive, two...) + 客觀的尺寸或形狀 (large, small, square, circular...) + 新舊或年紀 (new, old...) + 顏色 (red, blue, yellow...) + 國籍或產地 (Chinese, English, Japanese...) + 材料 (silk, wooden, silver...) + 用途 (cooking, walking, sports...) + 名詞 ‧Dora bought a ________ ________ wooden table.   Dora買了一張紅色的大木桌。 ‧Andy is drinking his ________ ________ wine.   Andy正在品嘗他昂貴的法國酒。 ‧This is a good circular Japanese cooking pot.   這只日本製的圓鍋很棒。

(3) in front of表示「在……的前面」。

字詞辨義

A in front of B與A in the front of B的區別： A in front of B是指A在B的前面，A、B各為獨立的個體；而A in the front of B則表示A在B的前部，且A是B的一部分或是A在B的內部，表示「……的前頭」之意。例： ‧There is a beautiful garden ________ ________ ________ the house.   在這棟屋子前方，有一座美麗的花園。 ‧My classmate, Frank, sat ________ ________ ________ ________ the bus.   我的同班同學Frank坐在公車的前頭。

[1-2] Without saying a word, he began dropping rocks into the jar until they reached the top.

(1) 介系詞without與動名詞連用，表示「沒有……」之意。例：

‧The man entered the room ________ knocking at the door.
這位先生沒有敲門就進房間了。

(2) 連接詞until表示「直到……為止」。例：

‧My parents didn’t let me travel alone ________ I turned 25.
我父母直到我二十五歲才肯讓我獨自旅行。

2 3	「你們的人生和這一瓶裝了大石塊、鵝卵石和沙子的瓶子有什麼相似之處呢？」老師問道。學生們看著老師，但是沒有一個人回答。 「這個瓶子是你們人生的象徵，」老師解釋道。「大石塊代表你人生中最重要的事物，像是你的家人、朋友和健康。」
	[Question] What do the rocks represent in life? [Answer] The rocks represent ________ ________ ________ things in life.

[2-1] “How is your life similar to this jar of rocks, pebbles, and sand?” the teacher asked.

疑問副詞how在此用來詢問兩物的異同之處。例：

‧________ does the report differ from that one?
這份報告與那份報告有何不同？

4 5	「那鵝卵石呢？」一位學生問道。「鵝卵石代表你人生中的其他事物，比起大石塊來說較不重要的東西──你的工作、學業，以及社團等等。」老師回答。 　　「那麼沙子呢？」另一個學生詢問。「沙子代表你人生中其他一切事物，比起大石塊和鵝卵石來說更細微的事物。」老師答覆。「像是電玩、衣物和手機之類的東西」。學生們笑了出來。
	[Question] What does the sand represent in life? [Answer] The sand represents ________ ________ in life that is small in ________ to the rocks and pebbles.

[4-1] What about the pebbles?

What about + N/V-ing? = How about + N/V-ing?，意為「……如何呢？」，常用來詢

問對方的想法或意願。例：

‧________ ________ Taipei? Do you like the city?

台北如何？你喜歡這座城市嗎？。

[4-2] “The pebbles represent other things in your life that are less important than the rocks—your job, your school, your club, and so on,” the teacher replied.

(1) ...other things in your life that...

關係代名詞that引導限定用法的關係子句，修飾表事物的先行詞，that如果當受格時可省略。

          (2) …less important than…

文法一點通

...less Adj than... 這是形容詞劣等比較的用法，可與...not as Adj as作代換。例： ‧The girls are ________ active ________ the boys in the school. → The girls are not as active as the boys in the school. 這所學校裡的女孩不比男孩活潑。

[5-1] “The sand represents everything else in your life that is small in comparison to the rocks and pebbles,” the teacher answered.

    由於先行詞有everything一字，因此這裡須用關係代名詞that，不可用which替代。

補充

關係代名詞that通常可以代替who、whom或which，但是在某些情況下，關係代名詞通常只用that： (1) 當先行詞是all、anything、nothing或everything等代名詞時。例： ‧The host tried to provide everything ________ his guests needed. 主辦人試圖提供他的賓客需要的所有東西。 (2) 當有形容詞最高級修飾先行詞時。例：    ‧Kevin is the most handsome man ________ I have ever seen.      Kevin是我看過最英俊的男人。 (3) 當有any、all、every、the only、the first或the last等詞修飾先行詞時。例：    ‧Sally was the first person ________ reached the finish line of the race.      Sally是這場比賽中第一位抵達終點的人。 (4) 先行詞同時含有「人」和「物」時。例：    ‧I knew the boy and his dog ________ were running in the park.      我認識那位和他的狗在公園裡奔跑的男孩。 (5) 以疑問詞who, which或what開頭的疑問句，為了避免重複，多用that。例： ‧Who is the girl ________ danced with you?   與你一同共舞的女生是誰？

6	接著，老師以更嚴肅的口吻告訴學生，這瓶子含有重要的人生啟示。「假如你把你的瓶子先裝了沙子和鵝卵石，那麼就沒有空間來裝石塊了，」他說道。「也就是說，若是你太過注意人生中的細微末節，你可能會錯過或甚至失去你最重要的事物。舉例來說，如果你在意電玩更勝於朋友，那你有可能就會失去那段友誼。」
	[Question] What may happen if you fill your jar with sand and pebbles first? [Answer] There will be no ________ for ________.

[6-1] Then, in a more serious tone, the teacher told the students that the jar contained an important life lesson.
(1) tone在此為「語氣，語調」之意。例：

‧Tiffany greeted her new classmates in a ________ ________.
Tiffany以友善的語氣向新同學打招呼。

(2) lesson表示「(從生活、事件中學到的) 教訓、經驗」。例：

‧The car accident taught the careless driver a ________.
這場車禍讓這位粗心的駕駛學到了一個教訓。

[6-2] “If you fill your jar with sand and pebbles first, there will be no room for rocks,” he said.

(1) 這是if引導的直說語氣條件子句，表示可能發生的情況。

(2) fill A with B表示「使A充滿B」。例：

‧Trisha is ________ the sink ________ water to wash the dishes.
Trisha正使洗碗槽充滿水以清洗盤子。

[6-3] That is, if you concentrate too much on the small things in life, you may miss the most important ones or even lose them.

(1) may為表示推測的助動詞，可用來表示現在或將來可能發生的事。例：

‧I ________ not play baseball with you on Sunday.

我星期天可能不會和你一起打棒球。

(2) miss為「錯過」之意。例：

       ‧Oliver overslept and ________ the school bus this morning.

         Oliver今天早上睡過頭錯過了校車。

7	藉由將瓶子比喻成人生，這位老師向他的學生展示設定優先順序的重要性。「如果你不讓這些小事妨礙你，」這老師總結地說，「那麼你將會過快樂的生活。」
	[Question] How did the teacher show his students the importance of setting priorities? [Answer] By making the ________ an example of ________, the teacher showed his students the importance of setting priorities.

[7-1] By making the jar an example of life, the teacher showed his students the                         importance of setting priorities.

          介系詞by為「藉著，透過」之意，可放在句首或句尾，後面須接動名詞。例：

    ‧________ using the Internet, people can look for information at home.

             透過使用網路，人們可以在家搜尋資訊。

[7-2] “If you don’t let the small things get in your way,” the teacher summed up, “then         you will lead a happy life.”

    (1) …let the small things get…

文法一點通

let/make/have + O + V 使役動詞後面的受詞若為主動發出動作者時，則後面可省略to，直接接原形動詞。 ‧If you need any help, let me ________.   如果你需要任何幫忙，讓我知道。 ‧My mom had me ________ my room this morning.   我媽媽要我今天早上打掃房間。

    (2) ...then you will lead a happy life.

lead/live a...life為「過……的生活」。例：

‧Mr. Carter moved to the countryside in the hope of ________ a quiet ________.
Mr. Carter搬到鄉下希望可以過個安靜的生活。