Have you heard of the story about spilt milk? Well, we all know there is no use crying over spilt milk. But this story is different. I would hope all parents would respond in this manner.
respond n. 应答；唱和vi. 回答；作出反应；承担责任vt. 以…回答
manner n. 方式；习惯；种类；规矩；风俗
你听说过洒了的牛奶这个故事吗？我们都知道，为洒了的牛奶哭泣是没有用的。但是这里说的故事不一样。我希望所有的父母应以这种方式作出反应。
I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was interviewed by a newsparper reporter who asked him why he was so much more creative than the average person; what set him so far apart from others?
recently adv. 最近；新近
famous adj. 著名的；极好的，非常令人满意的
research n. 研究；调查vt. 研究；调查vi. 研究；调查
scientist n. 科学家
several adj. 几个的；各自的pron. 几个；数个
important adj. 重要的，重大的；有地位的；有权力的
medical n. 医生；体格检查adj. 医学的；药的；内科的
breakthroughs 突破
interviewed v. 面试；接见；会见（interview的过去式）
reporter n. 记者
creative adj. 创造性的
average n. 平均；平均数；海损adj. 平均的；普通的；通常的vt. 算出…的平均数；将…平均分配；使…平衡vi. 平均为；呈中间色
apart adj. 分离的；与众不同的adv. 相距；与众不同地；分离着
最近我听说一个关于著名科学家的故事，他在医学领域做出了很多突破。他接受一家报纸记者的采访，记者问他为何他比常人更赋有创造性，是什么使他如此与众不同呢？
He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor— a veritable sea of milk!
responded v. 回答，回报；反应（respond的过去分词）
opinion n. 意见；主张
experience n. 经验；经历；体验vt. 经验；经历；体验
occurred v. 发生（occur的过去分词）
bottle n. 瓶子；一瓶的容量vt. 控制；把…装入瓶中vi. （街头艺人演出后）收拢钱币
refrigerator n. 冰箱，冷藏库
grip n. 紧握；柄；支配；握拍方式；拍柄绷带vt. 紧握；夹紧vi. 抓住
slippery adj. 滑的；狡猾的；不稳定的
fellv. 掉下；摔倒；下垂；变坏（fall的过去式）adj. 凶猛的；毁灭性的vt. 砍伐；打倒；击倒
kitchen n. 厨房；炊具；炊事人员
veritable adj. 真正的，名副其实的
他回答说，在他看来，这都源于自己两岁多的时候和妈妈的一次经历。他试图从冰箱里取出一瓶牛奶，却没有抓住光滑的瓶子，瓶子掉了，牛奶洒得厨房满地都是—白花花一片。
When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, ”Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well,the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”
kitchen n. 厨房；炊具；炊事人员
instead adv. 代替；反而；相反
yelling v. 叫喊（yell的ing形式）
lecture n. 演讲；讲稿；教训vt. 演讲；训诫vi. 讲课；讲演
mess n. 混乱；食堂，伙食团；困境；脏乱的东西vt. 弄乱，弄脏；毁坏；使就餐vi. 把事情弄糟；制造脏乱；玩弄
rarely adv. 很少地；难得；罕有地
suchadj. 这样的，如此的
huge adj. 巨大的；庞大的；无限的
puddle n. 水坑，泥潭；胶土（由粘土与水和成，不透水）vt. 使泥泞，搅浑；把…捣制成胶土；搅炼；用胶土填塞vi. 搅泥浆；在水坑中嬉戏
damage vi. 损害；损毁vt. 损害，毁坏n. 损害；损毁；赔偿金
already adv. 已经，早已；先前
当他妈妈赶到厨房，非但没有朝他喊叫，训斥他或是责罚他，反而说：“罗伯特，你制造了多么精彩的杂乱。我从来没有见过如此大的牛奶水洼。既然，后果已经造成了，在我们打扫干净之前，你愿意去牛奶水洼里玩几分钟吗？”
Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilt milk.
indeed adv. 的确；实在；真正地；甚至int. 真的（表示惊讶、怀疑、讽刺等）
eventually adv. 最后，终于
restore vi. 恢复；还原vt. 恢复；修复；归还
proper adj. 适当的；本身的；特有的；正派的adv. 完全地
sponge n. 海绵；海绵状物vt. 抹掉；用海绵擦拭；讨得vi. 采集海绵；过寄生生活；海绵般地吸收
towel n. 毛巾，手巾；[纸] 纸巾vi. 用毛巾擦干身体vt. 用毛巾擦
mop n. 拖把；蓬松的头发；鬼脸vi. 用拖把擦洗地板；扮鬼脸vt. 擦干；用拖把拖洗
prefer vt. 更喜欢；宁愿；提出；提升vi. 喜欢；愿意
事实上，他真的做了。几分钟之后，他妈妈说：“罗伯特，你要知道，不管你弄得多么杂乱，最终你都要把它清扫干净，并恢复他原来的秩序。我们可以用海绵块、毛巾或是拖把。你更喜欢用哪个？”他选择了用海绵块，然后他们一起把洒掉的牛奶清理干净。
His mother then said, “You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!
failed v. 失败，不成功（fail的过去式和过去分词）adj. 已失败的，不成功的
experiment n. 实验，试验；尝试vi. 尝试；进行实验
effectively adv. 有效地，生效地；有力地；实际上
bottle n. 瓶子；一瓶的容量vt. 控制；把…装入瓶中
tiny adj. 微小的；很少的
discover vi. 发现vt. 发现；发觉
grasped n. 抓住；理解；控制vt. 抓住；领会vi. 抓
然后他妈妈又说：“你看，我们在这有了一次如何有效地用两只小手取出一大瓶牛奶的失败的实验。让我们到后院，然后把瓶子装满水，看看你是否能够找到一个方法来拿住它而不掉下来。”小男孩明白了，如果他用双手抓瓶子上部靠近瓶边的地方，他就能拿住瓶子不掉下来。这是多么有趣的一课啊！
The renowned scientist remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make mistake. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn’t work,” we usually learn something valuable from it.
renowned v. 使有声誉（renown的过去分词）adj. 著名的；有声望的
scientist n. 科学家
moment n. 片刻，瞬间，时刻；重要，契机
Instead adv. 代替；反而
opportunities n. 因素；机会；[数] 机遇
scientific adj. 科学的，系统的
experiments n. [试验] 实验（experiment的复数）
usually adv. 通常，经常
valuable n. 贵重物品adj. 有价值的；贵重的；可估价的
这位知名科学家谈论道，就是在那一刻，他懂得了他不需要害怕做错事情。相反，他认识到了错误正是从中学习新知识的机会，毕竟，任何科学实验都是如此。即使实验“没有成功”，我们通常也能从中得到宝贵的经验教训。
Wouldn’t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert’s mother responded to him?
respond n. 应答；唱和vi. 回答；作出反应；承担责任vt. 以…回答
responded v. 回答，回报；反应（respond的过去分词）
如果所有的父母都能像罗伯特的母亲做法一样，岂不是很伟大吗？
Have you heard of the story about spilt milk? Well, we all know there is no use crying over spilt milk. But this story is different. I would hope all parents would respond in this manner.
I recently heard a story about a famous research scientist who had made several veryimportant medical breakthroughs. He was interviewed by a newsparper reporter who asked him why he was so much more creative than the average person; what set him so far apart from others?
He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor— a veritable sea of milk!
When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, ”Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well,the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”
Indeed, he did.After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, atowel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilt milk.
His mother then said, “You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectivelycarry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.What a wonderful lesson!
The renownedscientist remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to beafraid to make mistake. Instead, he learned that mistakes were justopportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientificexperiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn’t work,” we usually learn something valuable from it.
Wouldn’t it be great if all parents would respond the way Robert’s mother responded to him?
