admin That Christmas eve、Paul learned what Jesus meant when he said : " it is more blessed to give . "
在那个耶稣前夕，保罗真正理解了主圣诞节所说的“施与比接受更幸福”的含义。
1 听力练习
2 英语文本学习
A friend of mine named Paul（V+ed形式作定语） received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new Car, admiring it（V+ing形式作伴随状语）. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.
Paul nodded, "Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything（宾语从句）? Boy, I wish…" he hesitated.
【词汇Tips】
automobile /ˈɔːtəməbiːl/ n. 汽车
urchin /ˈɜːtʃɪn/ n. 顽童，少年
admire /ədˈmaɪə(r)/ v. 钦佩，仰慕；欣赏
astounded /əˈstaʊndɪd/ adj. 被震惊的
→ astound v.使惊愕
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for（宾语从句）. He was going to wish he had a brother like that（宾语从句）. But what the boy said（主语从句） jarred Paul all the way down to his heels.
"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."
【词汇Tips】
jar /dʒɑː(r)/ v. 撞击，震憾
→ jar … all the way down to his heels 使某人大为震惊
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment. Then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?"
"Oh yes, I'd love that."
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind driving（固定用法，mind后面动词用V+ing形式） in front of my house?"
【词汇Tips】
in astonishment 吃惊地，惊讶地
impulsively /ɪmˈpʌlsɪvli/ adv. 冲动地，脱口而出地
aglow /əˈɡləʊ/ adj. 通红的；发光的
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted（宾语从句）. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile（宾语从句）. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are（状语从句）?" the boy asked.
He ran up the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.
【词汇Tips】
cripple /ˈkrɪp(ə)l/ v. 使残疾，使成为跛子 n. 跛子
squeezed /skwiːz/ v. 挤压；挤出
→ squeeze up against him 紧紧地抱住他
"There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm gonna give you one just like it… Then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about（定语从句）."
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed elder brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.
【词汇Tips】
memorable /ˈmemərəbl/ adj. 难忘的，值得纪念的
That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant（宾语从句） when he said: “It is more blessed to give …”
3 美文赏读（参考译文）
我的一位名叫保罗的朋友从他哥哥那里收到一辆汽车作为圣诞礼物。圣诞节前夕，当保罗从办公室出来时，一位街头少年正在闪亮的新车周围走来走去，赞叹不已。“先生，这是你的车？”他问。
保罗点点头，“是的，这是我哥哥送给我的圣诞节礼物。”男孩大为惊讶。“你是说你哥哥把它送给你，而你不用花一分钱？天哪，我真希望...”他犹豫了一下。
保罗当然知道他在期待什么。他希望他能有一个那样的哥哥。但接下来男孩说的话完全出乎保罗的意料。
“我希望，”男孩继续说，“我也能成为一个那样的哥哥。”
保罗惊讶地看着那个男孩。然后他脱口而出，“你要不要坐我的车去兜风？”
“啊，当然好了，我太想了。”
车开了一小段路后，男孩转过身来，眼睛发亮地说：“先生，你能不能把车子开到我家门前？”
保罗微微一笑。他清楚他知道男孩想干什么。他必定想向邻居们炫耀，他坐了一辆大轿车回家。但这次保罗又猜错了。“你可以把车停在那两个台阶前吗？”男孩问道。
男孩跑上台阶。过了一会儿，保罗听到他回来了，但他走得很慢。原来是他抱着他那跛脚的小弟弟。他让他坐在第一步台阶上，然后紧紧地抱住他的身子，指着那辆车。
“小家伙，看，这就是我刚才在楼上跟你说的那辆车。是他的哥哥在圣诞节送给他的哦，没有花他一分钱。总有一天我也会送给你一辆像这样的车……到时候你就可以坐在车里，亲眼去看看圣诞节橱窗里所有漂亮的东西，就像我一直对你说的那样。”
保罗下了车，把小男孩抱到车的前座上。他的哥哥也侧身坐到他旁边，满眼放光。就这样，他们三人开始了一次令人难忘的假期兜风。
那个圣诞夜，保罗才真正懂得了主耶稣说的 “施比受更有福” 的含义。
4 讲故事（口语）练习
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（我是@忽然一念一名大学英语老师。本文英文原文来自网络，编译由本人原创，供大家学习使用。有任何英语学习问题，欢迎大家给我留言、交流。）