At a parent家长 /ˈpɛrənt/ conference家长会 /ˈkɑnfərəns/, Leo's mom looked关注 /lʊkt/ worried担心的 /ˈwərid/. His marks成绩 /mɑrks/ were largely总体上 /ˈlɑrʤli/ satisfactory令人满意的 /ˌsætɪsˈfæktəri/, but he had no single唯一的 /ˈsɪŋgəl/ favorite最喜欢的 /ˈfeɪvərɪt/ subject科目 /ˈsəbʤɪkt/ and changed改变 /ʧeɪnʤd/ his career职业 /kərɪr/ idea constantly不断地 /ˈkɑnstəntli/. One week周 /wik/ he wanted to be a poet诗人 /poʊət/; the next下一个 /nɛkst/, an economist经济学家 /ɪˈkɑnəmɪst/ or photographer摄影师 /fəˈtɑgrəfər/. “How can he qualify获得资格 /kˈwɑləˌfaɪ/ for a scholarship奖学金 /ˈskɑlərˌʃɪp/ if he cannot name说出 /neɪm/ one profession职业 /prəˈfɛʃən/?” she asked. Ms. Green replied that developing发展中的 /dɪˈvɛləpɪŋ/ interests兴趣 /ˈɪntərɪsts/ were evidence证据 /ˈɛvədəns/, not a weakness弱点 /ˈwiknəs/.
She opened打开 /ˈoʊpənd/ Leo's portfolio作品集 /pɔrtˈfoʊliˌoʊ/. His strongest最出色的 /ˈstrɔŋgəst/ composition作文 /ˌkɑmpəˈzɪʃən/ was a fantasy奇幻的 /ˈfænəsi/ chapter章节 /ˈʧæptər/ based partly部分地 /ˈpɑrtli/ on an Irish爱尔兰的 /ˈaɪrɪʃ/ myth神话 /mɪθ/. He changed its tragic悲剧性的 /ˈtræʤɪk/ hero英雄 /ˈhɪroʊ/ into a girl女孩 /gərl/ who questioned质疑 /kˈwɛsʧənd/ fate命运 /feɪt/. A prominent知名的 /ˈprɑmənənt/ poet said it treated看待 /ˈtritɪd/ tragedy悲剧 /ˈtræʤədi/ as more更多 /mɔr/ than mere仅仅的 /mɪr/ fate and used action to characterize塑造 /ˈkɛrɪktərˌaɪz/ its hero. A second另一 /ˈsɛkənd/ segment一节 /ˌsɛgˈmɛnt/ described描写 /dɪˈskraɪbd/ a funeral葬礼 /fˈjunərəl/, and the school publisher出版方 /ˈpəblɪʃər/ selected选择了 /səˈlɛktɪd/ it. Originally最初 /ərˈɪʤənəli/, its distinction突出之处 /dɪˈstɪŋkʃən/ came from character, not sophisticated复杂的 /səˈfɪstɪˌkeɪtəd/ language.
Another folder文件夹 /ˈfoʊldər/ showed his science科学 /saɪəns/ work作业 /wərk/. Leo measured测量 /ˈmɛʒərd/ how an organic有机的 /ɔrˈgænɪk/ garden花园 /ˈgɑrdən/ could sustain维持 /səˈsteɪn/ insects昆虫 /ˈɪnˌsɛkts/. His dining用餐的 /ˈdaɪnɪŋ/ hall大厅 /hɔl/ study学习 /ˈstədi/ used a meter仪表 /ˈmitər/ and provider供应商 /prəˈvaɪdər/ records to compare比较 /kəmˈpɛr/ carbon碳 /ˈkɑrbən/ from a cow farm农场 /fɑrm/ with cholesterol胆固醇 /kəˈlɛstərˌɔl/, grain谷物 /greɪn/, and honey蜂蜜 /ˈhəni/ in meals餐食 /milz/. From another angle角度 /ˈæŋgəl/, a rapid快速的 /ˈræpɪd/ experiment实验 /ɪkˈspɛrəmənt/ asked how dirty脏的 /ˈdərti/ soil土壤 /sɔɪl/ affected影响了 /əˈfɛktɪd/ plant植物 /plænt/ evolution进化 /ˌɛvəˈluʃən/, how roots根 /ruts/ consume消耗 /kənˈsum/ water水分 /ˈwɔtər/, and whether new leaves叶片 /livz/ resemble与……相似 /rɪˈzɛmbəl/ old ones. An agricultural农业的 /ˌægrɪˈkəlʧərəl/ instructor教师 /ˌɪnˈstrəktər/ used a handful少量 /ˈhændˌfʊl/ of samples样本 /ˈsæmpəlz/ to educate教育 /ˈɛʤəˌkeɪt/ the class: depending取决于 /dɪˈpɛndɪŋ/ on water proportion比例 /prəˈpɔrʃən/, even a slight轻微的 /slaɪt/ tendency倾向 /ˈtɛndənsi/ could matter. Similar plants did not always grow similarly以相似方式 /ˈsɪmələrli/.
His social-studies社会研究 /social-studies/ project examined检查 /ɪgˈzæmənd/ a plan计划 /plæn/ to replace取代 /ˌriˈpleɪs/ a neighborhood社区的 /ˈneɪbərˌhʊd/ market市场 /ˈmɑrkɪt/ with an indoor室内的 /ˈɪnˌdɔr/ mall购物中心 /mɔl/. Acting担任 /ˈæktɪŋ/ like a correspondent记者 /ˌkɔrəˈspɑndənt/, Leo interviewed采访 /ˈɪntərvˌjud/ a wealthy富有的 /ˈwɛlθi/ developer开发商 /dɪˈvɛləpər/, a shopkeeper店主 /ˈʃɑpˌkipər/, and families sitting坐着 /ˈsɪtɪŋ/ on a porch门廊 /pɔrʧ/ and carrying a mortgage房贷 /ˈmɔrgɪʤ/. He publicly公开地 /ˈpəblɪkli/ corrected纠正 /kərˈɛktɪd/ a rumor传言 /ˈrumər/ about a secret秘密的 /ˈsikrɪt/ scheme图谋 /skim/ and financial金融的 /ˌfaɪˈnænʃəl/ scandal丑闻 /ˈskændəl/. Then he explained解释 /ɪkˈspleɪnd/ how higher更高的 /haɪər/ rent租金 /rɛnt/ might rid使摆脱 /rɪd/ the street of small小的 /smɔl/ stores.
Ms. Green also showed a psychology心理学 /saɪˈkɑləʤi/ reflection反思 /rɪˈflɛkʃən/. Leo admitted承认 /ədˈmɪtəd/ that a heavy沉重的 /ˈhɛvi/ workload任务量 /ˈwərˌkloʊd/ made his stomach胃 /ˈstəmək/ hurt and caused导致 /kɔzd/ him to become变得 /bɪˈkəm/ defensive防御的 /dɪˈfɛnsɪv/. When当……时 /wɪn/ mad生气的 /mæd/, he might yell吼叫 /jɛl/ or snap厉声说 /snæp/ at a fellow同伴 /ˈfɛloʊ/ student学生 /ˈstudənt/. He learned to relax放松 /rɪˈlæks/, lighten减轻 /ˈlaɪtən/ his load负担 /loʊd/, and cope应对 /koʊp/ effectively有效地 /ˈifɛktɪvli/ when ill by walking散步 /ˈwɔkɪŋ/, playing进行运动 /pleɪɪŋ/ tennis网球 /ˈtɛnɪs/, or helping帮助 /ˈhɛlpɪŋ/ his grandfather祖父 /ˈgrænˌfɑðər/ bake烘烤 /beɪk/ bread面包 /brɛd/. That practical实际的 /ˈpræktɪkəl/ adjustment调整 /əˈʤəstmənt/ did not hide every每一种 /ˈɛvəri/ feeling感受 /ˈfilɪŋ/ forever永远 /fərˈɛvər/.
The scholarship committee委员会 /kəˈmɪti/ did not simply只 /ˈsɪmpli/ reward奖励 /rɪˈwɔrd/ elite精英的 /ɪˈlit/ pupils学生 /ˈpjupəlz/, wealthy families, or future未来 /fˈjuʧər/ celebrities名人 /səˈlɛbrɪtiz/. Reviewers评审 /rivˈjuərz/ had no fixed固定的 /fɪkst/ profession preference偏好 /ˈprɛfərəns/. They looked for curiosity好奇心 /ˌkjʊriˈɑsəti/, service, motivation动机 /ˌmoʊtəˈveɪʃən/, and the ability能力 /əˈbɪləˌti/ to derive提炼 /dəraɪv/ wisdom智慧 /ˈwɪzdəm/ from experience经历 /ɪkˈspɪriəns/. A mixed多元的 /mɪkst/ portfolio could constitute构成 /ˈkɑnstəˌtut/ a convincing令人信服的 /kənˈvɪnsɪŋ/ picture整体图景 /ˈpɪkʧər/ if its parts部分 /pɑrts/ shared共享的 /ʃɛrd/ an inner内在的 /ˈɪnər/ purpose目的 /ˈpərpəs/. That purpose gave the collection作品集 /kəˈlɛkʃən/ a soul灵魂 /soʊl/.
They built a six-week六周的 /six-week/ plan. Leo would revise修改 /rɪˈvaɪz/ his essay文章 /ˈɛˌseɪ/, bind装订 /baɪnd/ two两份 /tu/ samples, shorten缩短 /ˈʃɔrtən/ the science report, satisfy满足 /ˈsætɪsˌfaɪ/ every form requirement要求 /rɪkˈwaɪrmənt/, and request要求 /rɪkˈwɛst/ notes from his instructor and classroom课堂 /ˈklæsˌrum/ aide助教 /eɪd/. He would calculate计算 /ˈkælkjəˌleɪt/ the considerable可观的 /kənˈsɪdərəbəl/ cost成本 /kɔst/ of study and compare grants助学金 /grænts/, loans贷款 /loʊnz/, and part-time兼职的 /ˈpɑrtˈtaɪm/ work. His mother promised承诺 /ˈprɑməst/ not to judge判断 /ʤəʤ/ art艺术 /ɑrt/ versus对立 /ˈvərsəz/ science as opposing对立的 /əˈpoʊzɪŋ/ teams阵营 /timz/. Ms. Green would offer给予 /ˈɔfər/ a helpful有帮助的 /ˈhɛlpfəl/ prompt提示 /prɑmpt/ when necessary必要的 /ˈnɛsəˌsɛri/.
At the end结束 /ɛnd/, Leo joined加入 /ʤɔɪnd/ the meeting会议 /ˈmitɪŋ/. He was glad高兴的 /glæd/ nobody had chosen选定的 /ˈʧoʊzən/ his entire整个的 /ɪnˈtaɪər/ future for him. He did not need需要 /nid/ to become a famous著名的 /ˈfeɪməs/ maker创作者 /ˈmeɪkər/ or “super超级的 /ˈsupər/” professional专业人士 /prəˈfɛʃənəl/ immediately立刻 /ˌɪˈmiˌdiətli/. For now眼下 /naʊ/, he could strengthen加强 /ˈstrɛŋθən/ several几种 /ˈsɛvərəl/ skills技能 /skɪlz/ and discover发现 /dɪˈskəvər/ which combination组合 /ˌkɑmbəˈneɪʃən/ felt meaningful有意义的 /ˈminɪŋfəl/. He came to owe应该给予 /oʊ/ thanks感谢 /θæŋks/ to those interests: together共同 /təˈgɛðər/, they formed a valuable有价值的 /ˈvæljəbəl/ legacy遗产 /ˈlɛgəsi/ rather than a weakness.