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"The Selfish Giant" is a fairy tale created by the British aestheticist writer Oscar Wilde, the story is warm and touching, telling the story of the selfish giant from selfish to generous, and finally under the guidance of God into heaven.
The Selfish Giant
Selfish giants
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden.
Every afternoon, when the children come back from school, they always go to play in the giant's garden.
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other.
It's a lovely big garden full of tender grass. Beautiful flowers bloom everywhere in the grass, like stars. There are also twelve peach trees in the garden, and in the spring, the pink and pearl-colored flowers are beautiful and attractive, and in the autumn the trees are full of fruit. Birds perched on the branches and sang beautifully, and the children could not help but stop playing and listen carefully. "How happy we are here!" They shouted at each other.
One day the Giant came back. 1-1e had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
One day the giant returned. He went to visit Cornwall's monster friends and lived with him for seven years. Seven years was over, and the giant had finished what he wanted to say, for his words always had an end, and he decided to return to his castle. When he got home, he saw the children playing in the garden.
"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.
"What are you doing here'!" He shouted very roughly, and the children ran away.
"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
"My own garden is my own," said the giant, "and anyone understands it." I don't allow anyone to play in the garden except me. So he built a high wall around the garden and put up a sign.
TRESPASSERS
Cross the line
WILL BE
Will
PROSECUTED
Severely punished
He was a very selfish Giant.
He was a very selfish giant.
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other.
Poor kids have nowhere to play. They try to play on the road. But the roads are dusty and full of hard pebbles. They don't like it there. After homework, they often wandered outside the high walls, talking to each other about the beautiful gardens inside the walls. "How happy we used to be there!" They were talking to each other.
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.
Spring has arrived, and the whole village is full of small flowers, and everywhere there are birds singing. Only the garden of the selfish giants is still winter. The birds didn't want to go there and sing because there was no sign of the children and the trees forgot to blossom. Once, a beautiful flower protruded its head from among the grass, but when it saw the sign, it felt sorry for the children, and retracted its head back into the ground and continued to sleep. The only happy ones were the snow and the rain falling. "Spring forgot about this garden," they shouted, "then we can live here all year round." The snow covered the grass with her heavy white coat, and the frost painted all the trees with a silver coat. Later, they also invited the north wind to come and live with them, and the north wind came. Wrapped in fur, he whistled in the garden all day and blew off his chimney pipe cap. "It's a pleasant place," he said, "and we have to call Hail as a guest."" So the hail came. Every day he pounded on the roof of the castle for three hours in a row until most of the tiles were smashed, and then he ran around the garden as fast as he could. He was dressed in gray and his breath was like ice.
I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the selfish Giant,as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."
"I don't understand why spring has been delayed," said the selfish giant, who sat by the window and looked at the cold, snow-white garden, "and I wish the weather would get better." ”
But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.
But spring never came, and summer never came. Autumn sent golden fruit to each garden, but nothing to the giant's garden. "He's too selfish," Autumn said. Therefore, the giant's garden is always a harsh winter, and the north wind, hail, frost and snowflakes dance among the trees.
<h2>Key vocabulary:</h2>
delicate ['delikit] Think about adj again. Meticulous and elegant, subtle, delicious adj.......
ogre ['əugə] Think again
determine [di'tə:min] Think about it and then look at v. Decision, determined to [computer] determine
gruff [grʌf] Think again adj. Rude
trespasser ['trespəsə] Think again and look at n. aggressors, violators, intruders
Prosecute ['prɔsikju:t] Think again v. conduct, practice, prosecute
blossom ['blɔsəm] Think about looking at n. flower, the state of blossom v. blossoming
slip [slip] Think about it again n. slip; Omissions, minor errors; Down n....
rattle ['rætl] Think again v. make... Quacking, chattering, talking hurriedly vt...
<h2>English Notes:</h2>
1. The "there be" sentence pattern contains a definite clause guided by "that", modifier "peach-trees".
2."so ... The "that" sentence pattern is one of the most commonly used in the English language, meaning "so ... so much so". The adverb "so" is followed by an adjective or adverb, and the "that" clause indicates the result. The common phrase "in order to" in the "that" clause here means "to, for," and synonyms include: "so as to, for the purpose of, for the sake of" and so on.
3. This is an English slogan that serves as a warning and warning. English public language is generally short and semantic. A common English slogan in life is: Please keep off the grass. (Do not trample the lawn.) No Access. (No entry.) No Trespassing. (No unauthorized intrusion.) No Littering. (No littering.)
4. Personification is a common writing technique for fairy tales. The flowers, plants, north winds, snow, frost and hail in the text are all endowed with human characteristics. Here the author vividly portrays snow and frost as a cold, ruthless, raging image, in stark contrast to the innocent, full of life of the children.
5. This is a juxtaposed sentence concatenated by the conjunction "and". The first sentence is a master-slave compound sentence, guided by the conjunction "till", and "till'" denotes "until... only; until... so far", used to emphasize the continuity of the action of the predicate verb "rattle" in the main sentence, the use of which is very successful in shaping the image of a wanton destruction hail. The sentence structure in the second sentence "as... as " is extremely commonly used in English, meaning " and ... Same".