Lesson 6
My Father Was My Hero
Guidance
How does the father in this poem love his wife and children? 父亲和母亲通常是不同的。有的父亲很沉默但情深似海。这篇文章中的父亲是如何爱妻子和孩子的呢？
1 My father was my hero, all throughout my life.
2 The father of eight children, he saw his share of strife .
3 When I was very little, he appeared to be so large.
4 In my e y e s he could do anything; we all knew he was in charge.
5 He was a man of great strength both physically and in mind, but in him there was a gentleness, he found ways to be outgoing and kind. ①
6 Many days of childhood were greeted with a kiss, and songs to me as I awoke, those days I surely miss.
7 He made me feel so special, "Miss America" he would sing.
8 I knew I had my father's love. It gave me courage to do almost anything.
9 From him I learned to stand up tall, to be proud of who I am.
10 Strength and determination were the qualities of this fine man.
11 As the years of his life dwindled down, that strength kept him alive.
12 Plus the unfailing determination to help my ailing mother have the care she needed to survive . ②
13 He loved her and his children, so much he gave up years of his life caring for this woman, his soulmate , his wife.
14 Day and night he struggled for years with her disease .
15 A lesser man would have been brought down to his knees. ③
16 With illnesses of his own, he still stood by her side, caring for her and loving her until the day she died. ④
17 Twenty days later his own time was at an end.
18 I lost my hero, my father, a man who was my friend.
19 A few years have passed, and life just isn't the same.
20 But as Father's Day approaches , I will celebrate his name.
21 With prayers to him and God above to stay by my side, to watch over me and guide me, to look down on me with pride. ⑤
22 For I am my father's daughter, one day we will meet again.
23 But until then I will remember, and the love will never end.
(337 words)
Word bank
Notes
① He was a man of great strength both physically and in mind, but in him there was a gentleness, he found ways to be outgoing and kind. 他的身心都蕴藏着无穷的力量，但他也温柔，能让人感到他友善直爽。
② Plus the unfailing determination to help my ailing mother have the care she needed to survive. 还有他坚定的决心，要让我体弱多病的母亲得到她需要的关爱继续留在人寰。
③ A lesser man would have been brought down to his knees. 换个不太坚强的男人恐怕早已认命屈服。
④ With illnesses of his own, he still stood by her side, caring for her and loving her until the day she died. 虽然他有自己的病痛，但他一直守在她的身边，关照她，爱她，直到她永远合上了眼。
⑤ With prayers to him and God above to stay by my side, to watch over me and guide me, to look down on me with pride. 祈祷他和在天的上帝能陪伴我，看护我，引导我，自豪地俯视我。
Practice
Ⅰ. Comprehension
1. According to the poem, which sentence is WRONG?
A. The writer has seven brothers and sisters.
B. The father died twenty days after his wife's death.
C. The father woke the writer up by kissing and singing in the morning of herchildhood.
D. The writer took good care of her mother when she was dying.
2. What is "Miss America" in the poem? "Miss America" is _____.
A. an American lady
B. a TV play called "Miss America"
C. a pop star
D. a song sung by the father to his daughter
3. What qualities does the father have? The father has _____.
A. humor and braveness
B. strength and determination
C. kindness and intelligence (智慧)
D. gentleness and being hard-working
4. The poem was written _____.
A. before her mother died
B. before her father died
C. after her father went away
D. when her father was ill
5. This is a passage to _____.
A. tell how much the father loved the mother
B. cherish the memory of the writer's father
C. tell us how greatly the writer's father influenced (影响) her
D. tell us how hard life was in her family
6. Can you translate "In my eyes he could do anything, we all knew he was in charge" into Chinese?
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7. Why does the writer say "My father was my hero" ?
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Ⅱ. Writing practice
Have you ever written a letter to your father? Maybe you have much in your heart to tell him. Now it's your turn to express your love to him. Come on!
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