每個人都要養成閱讀習慣,這樣可以多涉略許多人/事/物,也可以增廣見聞~現在Sandy只要有空閒都會讀一些關於旅行方面的英文,當下雖然背不太起來,但讀久了一定會有印象,加油,為下一次的自助旅行自我充實~明年第一個預計安排去歐洲_德國,考驗自己的歐洲第一站,加油!
How much is a miracle?
http://www.merit-times.com/NewsPage.aspx?Unid=323541
沒有信念或不堅持信念的人，可能必須屈服於現狀，度過平庸甚至淒慘的一生；但堅持信念的人，不會被人生路途中的挫折擊敗，因為信念的力量驚人，它可以改變困境，帶來令人難以置信的圓滿結局。
Tess was a precocious eight year old girl, when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money, and only a very costly surgery could save him.
She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, "Only a miracle can save him now."
Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. The total had to be exactly perfec, no room for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment.
She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick...... and I want to buy a miracle."
"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.
"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you, "the pharmacist said, softening a little.
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother, a well dressed man, stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does you brother need?"
"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. "I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money.
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents the exact price of a miracle for little brothers." He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro surgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
"That surgery", her Mom whispered, "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost... one dollar and eleven cents, plus the faith of a little child.
解說
泰絲是一個早慧的八歲女孩，她聽到爸媽正在談論她的小弟安德魯。德魯病得很重，只有價格非常昂貴的手術可以救他一命，但家中的錢都用光了。
她聽到爸爸對著含淚的媽媽低聲而絕望地說， 「如今只有奇蹟才能救他！」
泰絲回到臥室，從衣櫃拿出玻璃罐，倒出所有的零錢，在地板上仔細地數，「數目一定要對！」她仔細地把硬幣放回瓶子並把蓋子擰好，接著從後門溜向六條街外的雷克索藥店，門口有大紅色的印第安酋長標幟的那間。
她耐心地等著藥劑師注意到她，但他實在太忙了。
她清了清嗓子，發出古怪的聲音，但仍然無效。最後，她從罐子中拿了二毛五的硬幣彈到玻璃櫃檯上，才成功地引起藥劑師的注意。
「妳想要什麼？」藥劑師用惱火的語氣問她。
「嗯，我想和你談談我的弟弟，」泰絲回以相同的惱火語氣， 「他真的病得不輕……我想買一個奇蹟。」
「對不起，我沒聽清楚妳說什麼？」藥劑師說。
「他的名字是安德魯，他的腦子裡長了一些壞東西，爸爸說現在只有奇蹟才能救得了他，所以我想知道，一個奇蹟要賣多少錢？」
「我們這裡沒有賣奇蹟，小女孩，我很抱歉，但我幫不了你。 」藥劑師說，語氣軟化了一點。
「聽我說，我有足夠的錢來買奇蹟，如果不夠，我可以想辦法，請告訴我要花多少錢。」
藥劑師的哥哥、一個衣冠楚楚男人，原本安靜站在一旁，這時彎下腰問泰絲， 「妳的弟弟需要什麼樣的奇蹟？」
「我不知道，」泰絲的眼淚湧了上來。 「我只知道他是真的生病了，媽媽說他需要做手術，但我的爸爸又付不起，所以我想用我的錢。」
「妳有多少錢？」這個遠從大城市芝加哥來的男人問她。
「一塊又十一分錢（約台幣三十三元），」泰絲低聲回答， 「這是我所有的錢，但如果我需要，我可以想辦法拿出更多錢」。
「真巧，」 男人笑著說，「一美元十一美分，剛好是妳兄弟所需要奇蹟的價格。 」他一手拿著她的錢，另一手抓住她戴著手套的手說：「帶我到妳家，我要見見妳弟弟與妳的父母。」 讓我看看，需要哪種奇蹟。」
這位衣冠楚楚的先生是外科醫師卡爾頓阿姆斯壯，專長腦神經手術。
安德魯接受了「不收費」手術，不但很成功 ，術後的反應也良好。爸爸和媽媽高興地談論著這一連串的事件。
「這個手術」，她的媽媽小聲說，「是不折不扣的奇蹟，不知道本來會要多少錢？」
泰絲笑了，她很清楚知道這「奇蹟」要多少錢，一塊又十一分錢，加上一個小女孩的堅定信念。
找出隱藏的字Finding Words
C C S C M T F S C U H P
D Z Q O I L T U O F A I
J N Y M R E P S I H W H
T H R O A T I G N E Y T
H D E L C G M E C X E I
U T G E L S I R I A N A
M H U T E M R Y D C O F
I R S E S M I L E T M R
D O C T O R M O N E Y Y
Y L T C A X E E C Y L J
S C O M P L E T E L Y X
※「找字遊戲」之中， 有些字沒按照傳統英文字「由左到右」的規矩，所以有的字由右到左，有的字上下排列。
你至少可以找到十個字，這些字都在內文中找得到。 而且還藏了一些早就學過的字。
解答 Finding Words
C C S C M T F S C U H P
D Z Q O I L T U O F A I
J N Y M R E P S I H W H
T H R O A T I G N E Y T
H D E L C G M E C X E I
U T G E L S I R I A N A
M H U T E M R Y D C O F
I R S E S M I L E T M R
D O C T O R M O N E Y Y
Y L T C A X E E C Y L J
S C O M P L E T E L Y X
你至少可以找到completely；whisper；miracle；throat；coincidence；surgery；faith；exactly；smile；money等十個字。這些字都可以在內文之中找到。
※ 若只找十個字不過癮，還有其他的字可以繼續找，例如第一列可以找到humid（潮溼的），倒數第三行可找到doctor（醫師）.
WOW! 原來如此
I beg your pardon
「pardon」是法文，等於英文的「Excuse me」。「beg」是乞求，「I beg your pardon」不至於到「我乞求你的原諒」的程度，而是非常客氣的表達方式。
例如：（沒聽清楚對方說什麼）「I beg your pardon，could you repeat that again？」（對不起，你能重複一遍嗎？）
藥劑師不敢相信有人要買「奇蹟」，於是問泰絲：「I beg your pardon」（對不起，妳說什麼？）
也可以用來道歉，例如在公共場所不小心碰了別人一下，也可以說：「I
eyes welling up
「well」是井。文中不說「crying」（哭），也不說「weeping 」（啜泣），卻形容泰絲的眼淚「如井水般湧上來」（eyes welling up） 是指她想要表現出很堅強，但想到弟弟安德魯病重，禁不住就溼了眼眶。
audibly
「audio」是聽覺，相對於「video」 視覺。「audible」是「聽得見」。例如：His voice was barely audible above the noise of the machinery. （機器的聲響很大，幾乎聽不見他發出的聲音。）
文中「Tess answered barely audibly」的「barely」意指「幾乎不」， 泰絲用幾乎聽不到的聲音回答，因為一塊又十一分錢，實在不是可觀的數目。
