Forgiveness can enlarge the future

来源：高中英语教学交流
发布时间：2013-05-07 14:50:00
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　　适合改编成完形填空的一篇美文：Forgiveness can enlarge the future宽恕能开阔未来
　　
　　It was probably her giggling that drew my attention. Sentence diagramming （句子分析）really wasn't all that funny as far as I knew.
　　
　　Walking over to the young offender, I asked for the note she had in her hands. Frozen, she refused to give it to me. I waited, all attention in the room on the quiet battle between teacher and student. When she finally handed it over she mumbled, “Okay, but I didn't draw it.”
　　
　　After getting the class going on a sentence diagramming competition, I finally had a chance to sneak a peek. It was a hand-drawn picture of me, dress details down to perfection, teeth blackened, nostrils flaring, and the words “I'm stupid” coming out of my mouth. The artist had done an amazing job and there was no doubt about who it was supposed to be.
　　
　　I managed to fold it up calmly and return to directing the competition. My mind, however, was working furiously as I wavered between wanting to cry and wanting to ream a certain few students up one side and down the next. I figured I knew the two most likely candidates for drawing the picture. It would do them some good to get taken down a notch or two（一两个等级）， and maybe it was high time that I did it!
　　
　　Thankfully, I was able to keep myself controlled.
　　
　　When there were about six minutes of class remaining, I had the kids stop what they were doing and get out a piece of paper. Then, suppressing（抑制住） my pride, I showed them the picture. The whole class was silent as I told them how hurtful this was for me. I told them there must be a reason behind that now was their chance to tell me anything they needed to tell me. Then I let them write silently while I sniffled in the back of the classroom.
　　
　　As I looked over the notes later, many of them said something like, “I've got nothing against you,” or “I'm sorry your feelings were hurt.” Some kids said, “We're afraid of you.” But two notes, from the girls I figured were behind the picture, had a list of issues. I was too mean, too strict, and I picked on certain people too much.
　　
　　Reading those notes, I realized that over the course of this year of slipshod work and incomplete assignments I had moved from being disappointed to being downright angry. Instead of encouraging my students, I had begun commanding them to achieve. I'd set high expectations without allowing for grace. Where I thought I was driving them to success, I was actually driving them away.
　　
　　I had some apologizing to do. When the kids walked into my classroom the next day one boy and one girl each handed me a card. The one signed by all the boys expressed sincere regret for the ugly joke. The one from the girls asked for forgiveness.
　　
　　This was a lesson for both the kids and me. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
　　
　　附：根据这篇美文改变的完形填空

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