Listen, Please

Monday's English class begins with a surprise. The teacher does not open the book at once. She says, "Listen, please," and puts a picture of a landmark on the board. Lin Hao puts down his pencil and looks up. The room becomes quiet.

星期一的英语课有一个小意外。 老师没有立刻打开书。 她说：“请听一听。”然后在黑板上贴了一张名胜的图片。 林浩放下铅笔，抬起头。教室安静下来。

The picture is a long bridge over the sea. "People can drive across it," the teacher says. "It took many years to build." Some students whisper the name in Chinese. The teacher smiles. "Now try it in English, slowly."

图片是一座跨海的长桥。 老师说：“人们可以开车过去。它花了很多年才建成。” 有的同学用中文小声说出名字。 老师笑：“现在用英语慢慢试。”

Lin Hao's first try is messy, but he listens to the teacher again. The second time, the words come out in a better order. Listening is the first step in class, before speaking, before writing. Without it, even easy words become noise.

林浩第一次说得很乱，可他又听了老师一遍。 第二次，词的顺序好了一些。 听是课堂上的第一步，在说和写之前。 没有听，连简单的词也会变成噪音。

At the end the teacher says, "You don't have to know every place in the world." "You only have to listen, then try." Lin Hao writes that sentence at the top of his page. The bridge in the picture is far away, but the habit is here.

最后老师说：“你们不必认识世界上每一个地方。” “只要先听，再试。” 林浩把这句话写在本子最上头。 图片里的桥很远，这个习惯却在这里。