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Text 1 Fathers & Sons: the Bonding Process
About the story
Father and son. It is a relationship that
rewards, frustrates and mystifies. Father and Son: The
Bond is a photo album of more than fifty fathers and sons
who reveal in their writings, and through Bill Hanson's poignant
photography, the unique bond of fatherhood. These men speak
of the responsibilities and rewards of being father and son.
They are firemen, athletes, professors, artists, and doctors.
They share stories of discovery and growing pains. As this
beautifully illustrated book demonstrates, while the bond
between fathers and sons can be celebrated, cursed, strained,
ridiculed, and honored, it cannot be broken.
Language notes
1) Life must have been lonely for a
boy losing his father, but Dad never wallowed in self-pity.
（对于一个年幼丧父的孩子来讲，他的生活一定是孤独的，但父亲从不沉湎于自怜。）
To wallow means to move, or roll about happily in deep mud, water, etc., as some animals
do.
e.g. (fig.) Don't just wallow in self-pity; do something about your problem!
2) bobtail:
(a horse or dog with) a tail cut short
3) Buffalo Bill：
Cody, William Frederick(91846-1917) US showman, born in Scott Co, Iowa. He was
known as "Buffalo Bill" after killing nearly 5 000 buffalo in eight months for
a contract to supply workers on the Kansas Pacific Railway with meat. He served
as a scout in the Sioux wars, but from 1883 toured with his Wild West Show.
The town of Cody in Wyoming stands on part of his former ranch. He died in Denver,
Colorado.
4）He had a real way with words
and instilled
in me an appreciation and knowledge for language.
（他非常擅长辞令，逐步教给我语言知识以及对语言的欣赏能力。）
To have a way with one
means (infml) to have an attractive quality which persuades or
pleases other people.
e.g. He has a way with flowery language and his stubborn was finally persuaded.
5) My world had hinged on him.
（我的世界一直依赖于他。）
To hinge on/upon means to depend on.
e.g. The success of the operation hinges on the support we get from our allies.
6) Little League:
a BASEBALL LEAGUE for children in the US, arranged in the summer in many different
towns and cities using money from local businesses.
Some parents whose children play in Little League become very concerned that
their children play well and win games. Parents who put too much pressure on
their children to win are sometimes called Little League parents, even if the
sport their child is involved in is not baseball.
Text 2 My father's Music
About the story
With the development of the society, people become aware of the fierce competition.
As parents, they long to see their children succeed in life. So it's quite understandable
that the children are made to learn more, play more outside the school. Only
to be versatile, as it is thought, can one survive. In the story, however, the
narrator is
hounded to practice accordion by his parents, not for better future, but the
joy he can possibly bring
people - this is the most precious gift. Those tales
shared at special moments with the family have untold value.
Language notes
1) Spending $300 for an accordion and
$ 5 per lesson was out of character for my father.
（花300美元买一架手风琴，每次上课再花5美元，这不象是我父亲的作风。）
Character here refers to the combination of qualities which make a particular person, thing,
etc., different from others.
e.g. I can't understand why he did that - it's quite out of character. (=
not at all typical of her behavior)
2) He seemed to hang on every note.
（他好象能跟得上每一个节奏。）
To hang on means to pay close attention to.
e.g. The boy admires his teacher and hang on his every word.
3) I had rarely heard Dad speak with
such feeling about anything, much less the accordion.
（我很少听到爸爸如此语重心长地跟我谈事情，更不用说是为了拉手风琴的事。）
Much less means and certainly not.
e.g. I can hardly walk, much less run.
4) At the theater nervousness overtook
me as I realized how much I wanted to make my parents proud.
（在剧场里，当我意识到我是多么想让父母引以为豪时，我紧张极了。）
To overtake means (of something unpleasant) to reach suddenly and unexpectedly.
e.g. Being overtaken by the misfortune, he felt as if his whole world had collapsed.
5) I was lightheaded, glad my ordeal
was over.
（我眩晕了，庆幸我的苦难终于结束。）
An ordeal is a difficult or painful experience.
e.g. The parents went through a terrible ordeal when their child was kidnapped.
6) On the moving day, I didn't have
the heart to tell him that he could dispose of the accordion.
（搬家那天，我不忍心告诉他，可以把那架手风琴扔掉。）
To have the heart (to so sth.)
means to be cruel or unfeeling enough (to do
sth.); usually it is in negative sentences or questions with can or could.
e.g. I didn't have the heart to tell her the bad news.
7) Dad had been right all along: the
most precious gift is to touch the hearts of those you love.
（爸爸始终是对的：最珍贵的礼物莫过于触动你所爱的人的心弦。）
All along means (infml) all the time from the beginning.
e.g. I suspected all along that he was lying.
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