We are the turtles我们是海龟

海龟是一种动作缓慢、智力平平的动物。但2018年5月，中国留学生朱子曜关于“We are the turtles”的分享，却颠覆了我们对海龟的认知。这段轻松幽默而又励志的分享让我们重新认识了海龟精神：坚定、抗压、持之以恒，并最终到达终点。

愿心有目标、勇往直前的你，同样也具备这种精神，最终能达成心中所愿。

1 Good afternoon， ladies and gentlemen. Our dean， faculty and staff， proud parents and above all，students of class 2018， congratulations！ This is your day！

2 I always have random（随意的） questions in my mind， but there was another question I had the first day I learned about UMD（University of Maryland）： Why our mascot（吉祥物） is a turtle？ Many other schools pick fierce animals or figures： Princeton has a tiger， University of Chicago has a phoenix， and Duke has the “blue devil”. This question was not solved until I came to UMD and met the people here.

3 My first several months in Maryland were a nightmare. I had no friends here. I didn？蒺t know how to drive. So I could only lock myself in my room. I started to have a hair loss issue due to academic pressure since I had to spend 3 hours figuring out the most basic concept！ Worst of all， I attached this label to myself： a slow learner and an underachiever， just like a slow and foolish turtle.

4 It was Professor Zhang at the Smith School who helped me realize that the way to success is never easy. Under unimaginable pressure during her PhD life in Harvard， she had to get up at 4 every morning and every single day she doubted her ability， her choice and her future. Eventually she became the wonder woman in the field of statistics and inspires hundreds of students like me. Just like a turtle with a tough shell， bearing all the pressure and hardships， she still moves forward.

5 Then I learned more from my classmates. Despite all difficulties， none of them raised the white flag easily. Now， many of them earned excellent grades and have already found satisfying jobs. Just like turtles， when the chaos of life surrounds them， they still know their directions.

6 This experience made me realize what we are all made of. We are all turtles. Life is not a sprint（沖刺） or even a marathon. Life is a triathlon（铁人三项赛）. We might be not as super talented as the lucky ones， but we don't belittle ourselves. We might start things slow and be constantly discouraged by setbacks， but we know we choose to do things not because they are easy， but because they are hard. We might not be the first ones crossing the finishing line， but we are surely the ones knowing where we are going and why.

7 This is the turtle spirit， which could be explained by these 3 amazing letters that I will never forget： UMD， that is U Must be Determined.

8 The steps you are taking today might seem small， but some day you will see the big picture， as long as you are moving forward fearlessly， be it fast or slow. And please remember， UMD will always be there for you.

Ⅰ. Choose the best answers according to the text.

Genre 1. What is the type of this article？

A. A letter. B. A lecture. C. A narration. D. An argumentation.

Detail 2. Which can best describe the author's first several months in Maryland？

A. Exciting. B. Pleasant. C. Frustrating. D. Embarrassing.

Inference 3. What kept the author moving on according to Para. 4 and Para. 5？

A. The expectation of parents. B. The pursuit of good grades.

C. The power of good examples. D. The encouragement of turtles.

Inference 4. What played a key role in the author？蒺s success according to the text？

A. Good luck. B. Intelligence.

C. Smart choices. D. Determination.

Ⅱ. Discussion

As a high school student， what should you do to pursue success apart from the spirit of turtles？

Ⅰ. Discover useful structures in the text

as long as... 只要 be it... 不管

The steps you are taking today might seem small， but some day you will see the big picture， as long as you are moving forward fearlessly， be it fast or slow. 你今天迈出的步伐可能看起来很小，但总有一天你会看到大局，只要你无畏地前进，不管是快还是慢。

Ⅱ. Memorize some text centered chunks

above all 首先;尤为重要的

academic pressure 学业压力

raise the white flag 认输;放弃

figure out 理解;弄明白

bear all the pressure and hardships 承受所有的壓力和艰辛

big pictures 大图景;大格局