探索大自然

董国勇

（甘肃省积石山县民族中学）

探索自然是一项非常有趣和有益的活动。在自然中，我们可以欣赏到美丽的景象，比如壮丽的山脉、迷人的海滩、清澈的河流等等。这些景象让我们感受到自然的力量和无限的美好。我们也可以在自然中学习到很多东西。通过探索自然，我们可以更好地理解人与自然的关系，保护和珍惜我们的地球家园。

There’s no greater source of creative inspiration,beauty,and art than the planet we live on.Nearly every artist will tell you that they draw great inspiration from the natural world— from the beauty in the falling leaves of a forest to the way a child’s toes dig into the sand.As adults,many of our favorite childhood memories are connected with spots in nature — a walk in the woods behind Grandma’s house,a neighborhood tree we climbed often,or a tree house we escaped to.Nature can be both our inspiration and our meditation（冥想）.

I don’t think there is anything more beautiful or inspiring to me than watching children just be in nature.When they are able to be free in their environment — free in mind and free in spirit — their inner sense of connection to the earth is strong and alive.As a parent,I feel blessed and inspired to watch this process unfold throughout their childhoods.

It is important not only to spend time outdoors,but to bring the outside in as well.The things we surround ourselves with have a great impact on how we view our world.This is particularly true for our children,for whom everything is new and fresh.The beauty of the world around us — the changing color of the leaves on the trees,the smoothness of rocks at a beach,the acorns（橡子）left behind in autumn —all of these objects are full of beauty and inspiration.Being around and in the natural world as much as possible should be a primary goal of childhood.

It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s a small patch of dandelions on a tiny strip of city grass or a remote,wide-open lake with room to explore.Whatever the size,whatever the landscape,children have an innate（天生的）connection to their surroundings.It is when they are in these surroundings that they can find such beauty,enjoy such bliss（幸福）,and create such imaginative and carefree play.It is the job of children to just be in the world.To know it and to fall in love with it.There are no rules in the wilderness;there are no right ways to do things and no limits on what their imaginations can dream up.It is this that makes the wild so critical to their creative growth: limitless freedom and imagination.

Our ancestors instinctively（本能地）knew how to walk through the world — through a forest,through a desert,across a river— and“read”the signs around them.They did so in order to survive.While the need for survival is certainly not the same today,it does seem that we instinctively want to continue searching,hunting,and seeking in the landscape around us.All of our senses peak as we take in the world around us,and we become present in and full of our surroundings.

【背景简介】本文节选自美籍作家阿曼达·布莱克·索尔的《创意家庭宣言》。该书探讨了我们这个时代养育孩子的挑战并提出了一些别出心裁且令人惊奇的创意，非常适合家庭亲子共同参与制作。本文摘录自第七章“探索大自然”。

全篇译文

没有什么比我们生活的星球更能激发创造力、美感和艺术了。几乎每一位艺术家都会告诉你，他们从自然世界中汲取了巨大的灵感——从森林落叶中的美丽到孩子脚趾挖沙子的方式。成年后，我们最喜欢的许多童年记忆都与大自然中的景点有关——在奶奶家后面的树林里散步，我们经常爬的邻居家的树，或者我们爬过的树屋。大自然既是我们的灵感来源，也是我们产生冥想的地方。

我认为没有什么比看着孩子们在大自然中更美丽或更鼓舞人心的了。他们在自己的环境中时是自由的——思想上自由，精神上自由——他们与地球的内在联系感是强烈而活跃的。作为一名家长，看着这一过程在他们的童年时期展开，我感到很幸运，也很受鼓舞。

重要的是，我们不仅要花时间在户外，还要把户外活动带进来。我们周围的事物对我们看待世界的方式有很大影响。对我们的孩子来说尤其如此，对他们来说，一切都是新鲜的。我们周围世界的美丽——树上树叶的颜色变化，海滩上岩石的光滑，秋天留下的橡子——所有这些东西都充满了美丽和灵感。尽可能多地生活在自然世界应该是童年的首要目标。

无论是一小块城市草地上的蒲公英，还是一个有探索空间的偏远开阔的湖泊，似乎都无关紧要。无论大小，无论风景如何，孩子们都与周围环境有着天生的联系。正是在这样的环境中，他们才能发现这样的美，享受这样的幸福，创造出这样富有想象力和无忧无虑的游戏。孩子们的工作就是活在这个世界上，知道它并爱上它。在荒野中没有规则；没有正确的做事方式，他们的想象力也没有限制。正是这一点使野外活动对他们的创造力的成长如此关键：无限的自由和想象力。

我们的祖先本能地知道如何穿过世界——穿过森林、穿过沙漠、穿过河流——并“读懂”周围的标志。他们这样做也是为了生存。虽然今天对生存的需求肯定不一样了，但我们似乎本能地想继续在周围的风景中搜寻。当我们进入周围的世界时，我们所有的感官都达到了顶峰，我们融入并充满了周围的环境。

人教版重点单词复现

sourcen.来源；源头（必修一U2）

creativeadj.创造性的；有创造力的(必修二U1）

spotn.斑点；地点，场所；污迹（必修三U5）

inneradj.内部的（必修三U1）

sensen.含义，意义，意思；感觉v.感觉到（选必一U2）

blessvt.祝福（选必一U3）

processn.过程 vt.处理（必修二U1）

surroundvt.包围；围绕（必修二U4）

impactn.影响；撞击（必修二U5）

particularadj.特别的（必修二U3）

objectn.对象；目的；目标；物体；东西；宾语v.反对（选必一U1）

remoteadj.远程的；偏远的（选必一U2）

explorev.探讨；探索（必修一）

landscapen.地形，地貌；风景，景色（必修二U4）

surroundingsn.环境；周围的环境（选必二U2）

criticaladj.关键的；批评的（选必一U2）

ancestorn.祖先 (必修二U4）

desertn.沙漠；荒漠；荒原v.抛弃（选必四U5）

signv.签署；签字；签名 n.标志；迹象；符号；标牌；征兆（必修三U4）

survivev.生存；存活；幸存（必修一U1）

survivaln.生存；存活；幸存（必修一U1 ）

huntv.打猎；猎杀；追捕 n.打猎；寻找 (必修二U2）

seekv.寻求；寻找（必修三U3）

peakn.高峰；顶峰；山峰；尖端 vi.达到高峰（选必二U4）

inspirationn.灵感(必修二U3)

词汇积累

patchn.补丁；小块，小片

dandelionn.蒲公英

stripn.(纸、金属、织物等)条，带

一词多义

escapev.逃脱；被忘掉

如：She managed to escape from the burning car.

她设法从燃烧的汽车里逃了出来。

Her name escapes me (=I can’t remember it).我记不起她的名字了。

processv.处理

如：Most of the food we buy is processed in some

way.我们买的大部分食品都用某种方法加工过。

objectv.反对

如：Many local people object to the building of the new airport.许多当地的居民反对兴建新机场。

desertv.抛弃

如：Never desert a friend in need.决不要抛弃有困难的朋友。

阅读小练

1.What is the source of creative inspiration?

A.Art works. B.Fallen leaves.

C.An old house. D.The natural world.

2.How would a child playing in nature feel?

A.Blessed. B.Inspired.

C.Free. D.Curious.

3.What does the writer advise children to do?

A.Play outdoors.B.Learn new things.

C.Set a clear goal.D.Communicate with others.

4.What can we learn about the benefit of the wilderness?

A.It gives everything you want.

B.It is critical to build up body.

C.It is good for child’s creation.

D.It provides our ancestors tools.

1.没有什么比我们生活的星球更能激发创造力、创造美丽和艺术了。

______________________of creative inspiration,beauty,and art than the planet we live on.

2.尽可能多地生活在自然世界中应该是童年的首要目标。

_________________________________________________________________________ should be a primary goal of childhood.

3.正是当他们在这样的环境中，他们才能发现这样的美，享受这样的幸福。

_________________________________________they can find such beauty and enjoy such bliss.

答案和解析

1.D。细节理解题。根据第一段第一句可知，激发灵感的来源是自然界。故选D。

2.C。推理判断题。根据第二段第二句可以判断，当孩子们在大自然中玩耍时会感到自由自在。故选C。

3.A。细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句可知，作者建议孩子们应该多在户外玩耍。故选A。

4.C。推理判断题。根据第四段最后一句可以判断，野外活动对一个孩子的创造能力很关键。故选C。

1.There’s no greater source

2.Being around and in the natural world as much as possible

3.It is when they are in these surroundings that