蜚聲世界的母親

閔正威

難詞探意

1. entourage /??nturɑ??/ n. 隨行人員;隨從

2. hospitality /?h?sp??t?l?ti/ n. 好客

3. reed /ri?d/ n. 蘆葦

4. tragically /?tr?d?kli/ adv. 悲劇地

History has given us many role models when it comes to mothering. Mothers throughout history have inspired us as they have raised their own families and passed down high values.

Tao Kans mother cut her hair and returned the salted fish

Tao Kan was a famous military general in the third to the fourth century. Tao lost his father as a young child. He and his mother lived a humble life， but his mother taught him to treat friends generously and not to put too much value on money. According to A New Account of the Tales of the World （《世說(shuō)新語(yǔ)》）， a scholar named Fan Kui once passed through Taos hometown and asked for a nights stay at their home. Fan was well?known in government and Tao wanted to make his acquaintance， but didnt have enough food and room to treat all his servants and horses. At this time， Taos mother told Tao to take in the entourage， cut off her long hair and sold it for money to buy food. She tore down several wood pillars from her house to chop into firewood， and even cut up her grass mats to feed Fans horses. Fan was deeply moved by their hospitality and impressed by Taos talents. Later， Fan recommended him to the local government， and Tao became an official.

But the story of Taos mother didnt end. As a low?ranked official， Tao was assigned to take charge of the fisheries. Once， he sent a jar of salted fish to his mother， but to his surprise， his mother returned it with a letter saying， “As you are an official， sending me public property will do me no good， but just worry me.” Tao was ashamed， and was determined to be an upright official in the future.

Ouyang Xius mother taught with a reed and sand

Ouyang Xiu was a famous statesman， historian， essayist， calligrapher， and poet in the 11th century. Its said that all of his achievements started from the great education he got from his mother.

According to The History of the Song， Ouyangs father died when Ouyang was only 4， leaving his mother and him in poverty. Ouyangs mother wanted to send Ouyang to school， but she couldnt afford it， so she decided to teach Ouyang by herself. They were so poor that they even couldnt afford to buy paper， brush， or ink， so Ouyangs mother collected some fine sand， spread it on the ground， and used a reed as a pen to trace characters in the sand. Just like this， Ouyang learned to write and was taught famous ancient essays by his mother until he was old enough to get a better education.

Princess Diana enjoyed a unique parenting style

Diana， Princess of Wales， was known to do things in her own way in almost every area of her very public life， from her fashion choices to her openness. Her parenting style under the spotlight that came with royalty was no different. She was a more hands?on parent than royals had typically been up to that point. She sent her children to public school， and she generally made efforts to let her two sons， William and Harry， experience common everyday life outside the palace walls. Her days as a mother were tragically short， as her sons were only 15 and 12 when she died in a car accident in 1997. Her son William and daughter?in?law， Princess Catherine， Duchess of Cambridge， have carried on some of her down?to?earth parenting ways.

Angelina Jolie believes her children are the best thing

Angelina Jolie is a woman who believes her children are the best thing ever happening to her. Jolie adopted two children， Cambodian orphan Maddox and Ethiopian Zahara， who lost her parents to AIDS. Jolie was named a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2001. Jolie loves different elements of life and knows how to manage both work and family. In 2007， she adopted a Vietnamese kid named Pax Thien and increased her family size.