每周一段-Life on a Desert Island

一、文本

Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island. We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines. Life there is simple and good. Ripe fruit falls from the trees and you never have to work. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Life on a desert island is wretched. You either starve to death or live like Robinson Crusoe, waiting for a boat which never comes. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had the opportunity to find out.

临摹句子1：Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of life on a desert island.

Eg: Many people from the countryside have formed an unrealistic picture of life in big cities/megacities/metropolises.

My own sentence: Many teachers from the public schools have formed an unrealistic picture of life in private schools. 

临摹句子2：We sometimes imagine a desert island to be a sort of paradise where the sun always shines.

People from rural areas imagine urban life to be full of excitement/exuberance, comfort, and convenience.

My own sentence: Public school teachers imagine life to be a sort of paradise where teachers are well-respected and well paid.

二背诵句子

a) The other side of the picture is quite the opposite.

b) There is an element of truth in both these pictures. 

三摹写：

Version A:

Most of us have formed an unrealistic picture of growing up in a well-off family. We sometimes imagine a rich family to be a sort of heaven where all desires are satisfied. Life there is happy and carefree. Servants and chauffeurs are always there for you. The other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Children have to work harder than their peers to live up to their family's expectation or prove that they are competent not because they were born with silver spoons in their mouths, but because they are hard-working. For those having extremely wealthy parents, they dream of having the same amount of privacy as normal children. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, but few of us have had the opportunity to find out.

Version B:

Many people have formed an unrealistic picture of life abroad. They often imagine life in a foreign land to be relaxed, comfortable, and free from trouble: the houses are larger, the lawns greener, streets better lit, cars cheaper, and parking lots more spacious. Yet the other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Living abroad can be challenging/daunting. To blend in the local culture, you need to speak the language well, learn how to socialize with people from different backgrounds and with diverse views, and deal with homesickness. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, and whether to migrate to another country is purely a personal choice.

My own version

Many teachers from public schools have formed an unrealistic picture of life in international schools. They often imagine life in international schools to be a sort of paradise where teachers are highly  qualified and well paid.  It is often believed that most expatriated teachers' mother tongue is English thus students can be immersed in authentic English environment. High tuition fees is also a guarantee for  teachers' satisfactory salary.  Yet the other side of the picture is quite the opposite. Teachers all over the world speak English differently, which might be an obstacle for second-language learners to understand their accents. Also, subject teaching requires expertise and teachers' passion even if English is their first language. Believe it or not, expatriate teachers are paid way much higher than Chinese teachers only on the premises of the fact that they are international teachers. Perhaps there is an element of truth in both these pictures, and whether to work in international schools is purely a personal choice. 

四 心得：

好久没有练笔了，写一大段的话感觉非常地力不从心，尤其是在考虑句子与句子间的逻辑的时候觉得fuzzy!写作果然就是锻炼思维，如果写作者本身知道要表达什么就会表达得很清晰。语言只是载体，好的文章主要还是写作者的思维方式。当然语言也是前提，没有好的语言功底，就找不到合适的词语来表达自己。希望通过今年的练习在之后的写作中不那么抓狂。

Deliberate Practice is exactly what I need! 我非常喜欢这种摹写的形式，可以从逻辑和语言上面来折磨自己。

以后有机会要给学生练练笔，独乐乐不如众乐乐！