High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 42 · Two Ways to Tell the Same Story
Audio track 42
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
For a writing assignment, I asked my parents how they had met. My mother began with the day she missed a train and my father helped carry a heavy suitcase. My father began with the book she was holding. He remembered asking whether she had finished it, while my mother did not remember the book at all.
At first, I worried that one of them was mistaken. Then I noticed that both stories included the station, the suitcase, and their first conversation. They had selected different details because different things had stayed with them.
I wrote two short paragraphs rather than forcing the memories into one perfect version. After reading them, my mother laughed and said, “I still don't remember that book.” My father admitted that he might have confused its title with another book.
Their stories were not identical, but the differences taught me something about memory. When people describe the same day, their attention gives the story a shape.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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For a writing assignment, I asked my parents how they had met.
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My mother began with the day she missed a train and my father helped carry a heavy suitcase.
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My father began with the book she was holding.
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He remembered asking whether she had finished it, while my mother did not remember the book at all.
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At first, I worried that one of them was mistaken.
-
Then I noticed that both stories included the station, the suitcase, and their first conversation.
-
They had selected different details because different things had stayed with them.
-
I wrote two short paragraphs rather than forcing the memories into one perfect version.
-
After reading them, my mother laughed and said, “I still don't remember that book.”
-
My father admitted that he might have confused its title with another book.
-
Their stories were not identical, but the differences taught me something about memory.
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When people describe the same day, their attention gives the story a shape.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
为了完成写作作业，我问父母当年怎样认识。母亲先讲自己误了火车，父亲帮她搬沉重的行李箱；父亲却从她当时拿着的一本书讲起。他记得问过她是否读完，母亲则完全不记得那本书。
起初，我担心他们当中有人记错了。后来，我发现两个版本都提到了车站、行李箱和他们第一次交谈。他们选取不同细节，是因为留在各自记忆中的东西不同。
我写成两段短文，没有硬把两份回忆拼成一个‘完美’版本。读完后，母亲笑说：‘我还是不记得那本书。’父亲也承认，自己可能把书名和另一本弄混了。
两人的叙述并不完全相同，差异却让我了解记忆的特点。人们描写同一天时，各自注意到的事会为故事勾画出不同的形状。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- assignment
- 作业；写作任务需要采访父母。
- heavy suitcase
- 沉重的行李箱；父亲曾帮忙搬运。
- remember doing
- 记得做过；父亲记得问过书的事。
- at all
- 完全；母亲完全不记得书。
- mistaken
- 记错的；主人公起初的担心。
- select
- 选取；每个人讲述不同细节。
- force A into B
- 把甲硬塞进乙；不强拼成单一版本。
- admit
- 承认；父亲也可能记错书名。
- confuse A with B
- 把甲与乙弄混；两本书的书名可能混淆。
- identical
- 完全相同的；两段回忆并非如此。
Background notes (Chinese)
对同一事件的记忆可能有共同的核心，也有各自留意的细节。主人公没有强迫父母的回忆完全一致，而是保留差异，并指出尚不确定的书名。