鄉間散步
【內容提示】
在一個初夏的下午，天氣明媚，溫暖愜意。課後，你和同寢室的同學沿著校外的一條河流散步。你們走著走著，不覺夜幕降臨了。你們之中的一位同學突然指著路旁發出紅光的東西喊起來。那是一株掛果的植物。你摘了一顆放到嘴裡嘗了嘗，挺好吃。於是每個同學都摘了一些吃。不一會，走來一位農婦，對你們說那果子是用來毒蛇的。這意味著你們的生命很危險。返校的路上你想了好多。回到學校，你們把果子拿給生物老師一看才知道不是毒果而是野草莓。
【作文示範】
A Walk in the Country
It was an early summer afternoon. The sun was shining brightly and warmly. Everything on the campus looked as if it had been sleeping for years. After school my roommates and I decided to take a walk along the river near our school, instead of staying with our “Mr. Formula”① and “Mrs. Theorem”② in the classroom.
A fresh breeze③ played with our hair. In the blue sky, clouds were drifting④ here and there. We told each other stories and jokes. Songs and laughter could be heard now and then. It seemed that the world belonged to us and the earth was full of joys.
We walked and walked. Before we knew it, it was nearly nightfall⑤ and all glowed red in the evening sunlight. Standing on the narrow country road, we felt a bit tired, thirsty and hungry.
“Look, what is it?” one of us said, pointing to something red growing by the side of the road. It was a plant, bearing some fruit, which looked so inviting⑥ that we all eager to taste it. I picked one. To my happy surprise, it was a bit sweet. Everyone of us picked a lot. While eating the little red fruit, we talked of the wonderful time we had that afternoon. Then a country woman came. When she saw us eating the wild fruit she let out a cry of surprise. She told us it was used to poison snakes. That meant, we thought with horror, that we were in danger.The story that some poison for mice left in the kitchen killed a lovely baby came to my mind. The more we talked, the more we were frightened. All of a sudden someone mentioned the word “death”. We looked at each other not knowing what to do.
Thinking of the coming death I felt the world was so dear that I was quite unwilling to leave her and time was so precious that I had no right to waste it.
“I should have valued my life. How I love life!” I thought, “If I am still living tomorrow morning, it will be my second life. I will not waste time any longer.”
As soon as we were back at school we showed the red fruit to our biology teacher. She told us with a smile, “That is wild strawberry⑦. It is not poisonous.
As the bell rang announcing it was time for self study, we had to enter the classroom without supper. Though I was hungry, I should waste no time, and I worked harder than ever. How valuable life is! How precious time is!
（選自1986年9月23日《上海學生英文報》）
【詞語解釋】
①formula [＇f&:mjul+] n．公式，方程式
②theorem [＇Ii+r+m] n．定理；原理
③breeze [bri:z] n．微風
④drift [drift] v．漂流；遊蕩
⑤nightfall [＇naitf&:l] n．黃昏
⑥inviting [in＇vaitiR] a．吸引人的；誘人的
⑦strawberry [＇str&:b+ri] n．草毒
【寫法指要】
這是一篇融描寫、記敘、抒情於一體的散文，文章寫得真切而寓意深刻。
1）第一、二段主要是環境描寫和天象描寫，這二者的對比，襯托出了校園環境的沉悶，用“Mr. Formula”和“Mrs. Theorem”擬人手法來抒發不滿的情緒；同時，也襯托出外面世界的美好，用“here and there”和“now and then”等傳神地表達出舒暢的心情。
2）第三、四段主要是記敘，敘述他們散步和發現草莓、農婦對他們講話的過程。第四段的最後部分是作者的心理描寫。
3）第五、六段主要是心理描寫，寫作者意識到生命和時間的寶貴和可愛；同時又一次運用擬人手法把人世間用“her”指稱，抒發作者熱愛生命，熱愛人世的感情。
4）第七、八段是結尾段，再次重複熱愛生命、珍惜時間的主題，表明了作者只爭朝夕、努力學習的決心。