Awakening your senses 喚醒你的感官

蔣建平

給自己來個測試吧。風(fēng)從哪邊吹來？你家門前能看見多少種野花？希望我們能夠運用我們的感官和情感全方位去感受自然的美妙，去感受世界的美好。

Give yourself a test. Which way is the wind blowing？ How many kinds of wildflowers can be seen from your front door？ If your awareness is as sharp as it could be， youll have no trouble answering these questions.

Most of us observed much more as children than we do as adults. A childs day is filled with fascination， newness and wonder. Curiosity gave us all a natural awareness. But distinctions that were sharp to us as children become unclear; we are numb（麻木的） to new stimulation（刺激） and new ideas. Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple， although it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits.

The first step in awakening senses is to stop predicting what we are going to see and feel before it occurs. This blocks awareness. One chilly night when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some students， I mentioned that we were going to cross a mountain stream. The students began complaining about how cold it would be. We reached the stream， and they unwillingly walked ahead. It was almost knee?deep when they realized it was a hot spring. Later they all admitted theyd felt cold water at first.

Another block to awareness is the obsession （癡迷） many of us have with naming things. I saw bird watchers who spotted a bird， immediately looked it up in field guides， and said “a ruby?crowned kinglet” and checked it off. They no longer paid attention to the bird and never learned what it was doing.

The pressures of “time” and “destination” are further blocks to awareness. I encountered many hikers who were headed to a distant camp?ground with just enough time to get there before dark. It seldom occurred to them to wander a bit， to take a moment to see whats around them. I asked them what theyd seen. “Oh， a few birds，” they said. They seemed bent on their destinations.

Nature seems to unfold to people who watch and wait. Next time you take a walk， no matter where it is， take in all the sights， sounds and sensations. Wander in this frame of mind and you will open a new dimension to your life.

[Reading][Check]

1. What idea does the author convey in paragraph 3？

A. Admitting mistakes honestly.

B. Following the teachers advice.

C. Avoiding jumping to conclusions.

D. Stopping complaining all the time.

2. What does the bird watchers behavior show？

A. They were really fascinated by nature.

B. They cared only about the names of birds.

C. They were very patient in their observation.

D. They questioned the accuracy of field guides.

3. Why did the hikers take no notice of the surroundings during the journey？

A. The natural beauty wasnt attractive to them.

B. They focused on arriving at the camp in time.

C. The forest in the dark was dangerous for them.

D. They were keen to see rare birds at the destination.

4. Whats the main idea of the passage？

A. We should try our best to protect nature.

B. We should open our mind to new things and ideas.

C. We should get rid of some bad habits in our daily life.

D. We should use our senses to feel wonders of the world.

[Language][Study]

Difficult sentence

One chilly night when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some students， I mentioned that we were going to cross a mountain stream. 一個寒冷的夜晚，我和一些學(xué)生在落基山脈徒步旅行，我提到我們將要蹚過一條山中的小溪。

【點石成金】本句是一個主從復(fù)合句，when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some stu?dents是關(guān)系副詞when引導(dǎo)的定語從句，One chilly night是先行詞，關(guān)系副詞when在從句中作時間狀語，that we were going to cross a mountain stream是that引導(dǎo)的賓語從句。