开始学英语之前

苗淑华

Do you remember your first impulse1 to learn English？ Do you remember the moment2 when you started to learn English？

还记得你第一次学习英语的冲动吗？还记得你开始学习英语的那一刻吗？

I remember the moment when I started to be interested in English. My teacher asks， “Can you tell us about this moment？”

我记得当我开始对英语感兴趣的那一刻。我的老师问道：“你能和我们说说这一刻吗？”

I say， “Yes. First I have to say that English wasnt always my favourite subject.

我说：“好。首先，我得说，英语并不是我一直最喜欢的学科。

I started to learn English at middle school. At the beginning， it was very difficult for me. When I finished high school， I was still only a beginner. I couldnt speak English and I believed3 that I couldnt learn this language.

我从中学开始学习英语。一开始，这对我来说非常困难。高中毕业时，我还只是一个初学者。我不会说英语，而且我认为我学不会这种语言。

I always liked music and when I was twenty， I started to listen to the Beatles4. I wanted to know more about their songs. So I started to translate5 the texts of their songs. Slowly I understood more and more.

我一直很喜欢音乐，二十岁的时候开始听披头士乐队的音乐，我想多了解一下他们的歌。所以，我开始翻译他们歌词的内容。慢慢地，我越来越了解他们的音乐。

Then I met two ladies from England on train. We had a simple conversation6 but it helped me very much. I started to believe that I could learn English. From then on， I was working on my English almost every day and I was better and better. ”

后来我在火车上遇到了两位来自英国的女士。我们进行了一次简单，但对我很有帮助的交谈。我开始相信我可以学会英语。从那时起，我几乎每天都在学习英语，而且学得越来越好。”

My teacher says， “Here is something very interesting about your story. First， you didnt have motivation7 to learn English. Then you had a motivation. You wanted to learn songs. You can see that motivation is very important. When you have it， you can learn English well. When you dont have it， it is very hard to be successful8.”

我的老師说：“这个故事很有趣。首先，你没有学习英语的动力，后来你有了动力，你想学唱歌。你可以看到，动力非常重要。有了动力，你就可以学好英语。如果没有的话，就很难成功。”

Everybody has some motivation to use English in real life or to get information9 from books.

每个人都有某种动机，会在现实生活中使用英语或从书籍中获取信息。

Our teacher asks us if we like English. I say， “I didnt like English at my high school but now I like it a lot. I can see how useful it is to know this language.”

老师问我们喜不喜欢英语。我说：“我中学时不喜欢英语，但现在我非常喜欢英语。我知道学会这种语言有多大用处。”

Our teacher says， “This is another important factor10 when you learn a new language. It is good when you like something which is connected11 to English. It can be people， music， culture， or history. If you like English， it is easier for you to learn it.

我们老师说：“这是学习新语言的另一重要因素。当你喜欢与英语相关的事物时，这是件好事。这些事物可以是人、音乐、文化或历史。如果喜欢英语，学习起来会更容易。

（英语原文选自：howtolearnenglishinlevels.com）