I Can Do It

A sentence on Monday's page looks too long at first. It talks about climbing a famous wall, walking around an old palace, and sending pictures to a friend. Lin Hao's eyes jump, and he wants to close the book. Then he remembers the teacher's trick: break it into two parts.

星期一这一页有一句话，乍看太长。 它讲爬一座有名的城墙、逛一座古老的宫殿，还要把照片发给朋友。 林浩眼睛一跳，想把书合上。 接着他想起老师的办法：拆成两截。

He reads the first part: people can climb and walk. He reads the second part: they can send pictures after the trip. "I can do it," he says, not loudly, but clearly. One more time, a little faster.

他先读前半：人们可以爬、可以走。 再读后半：旅行之后可以发照片。 他说：“我可以的。”声音不大，可很清楚。 再来一次，稍快一点。

Chen Yu tries the same sentence and laughs when he trips on a word. Lin Hao waits, then they read it together. Long sentences are only short sentences holding hands. Once you see that, they are less scary.

陈宇读同一句，在一个词上绊了一下，自己笑了。 林浩等着，然后两人一起读。 长句子不过是短句子牵着手。 看清这一点，它们就不那么可怕。

At home he writes the sentence in three lines in his notebook. He reads each line, then all three. Mum hears him and says nothing, which is a kind of praise. The wall and the palace are far away. The habit is on this page.

回家后他把这句话在本子上写成三行。 他一行一行读，再连起来读。 妈妈听见了，什么也没说，这也是一种夸奖。 城墙和宫殿都很远。习惯就在这一页上。