2023年湖北省荆门市中考 – 阅读理解B

One day we went to pick up our grandson Mark at his school. It was a beautiful spring day so we went to the garden.
有一天，我们去学校接孙子马克。那是一个美丽的春天，所以我们去了花园。

We noticed that Mark was sad. He said, “There is nothing special about me. Well, I am smaller than my elder brother and I am bigger than my younger brother.” I knew he felt that he, was not getting the same attention.
我们注意到马克很难过。他说：“我没什么特别的。好吧，我比哥哥小，比弟弟大。”我知道他觉得自己没有得到同样的关注。

We walked a little farther into the woods when Mark asked me if we could throw rocks into the stream to see which one would go to the farthest. I agreed. Then Mark said, “I am going to throw the biggest rock, because I know it will go the farthest.” Mark picked up the largest rock he could find and threw it. Although it made a very big splash, it didn’t go very far. Mark thought for a minute and said, “I am going to throw a little rock instead.” He picked up a little stone and threw it but it didn’t go very far because it was too little.
我们往树林里走了一点，马克问我是否可以往小溪里扔石头，看看哪一块能走得最远。我同意了。然后马克说：“我要扔最大的石头，因为我知道它会走得最远。”马克捡起他能找到的最大的石头扔了出去。虽然它溅起了很大的水花，它没有走多远。马克想了一会儿，说：“我要扔一块小石头。”他捡起一块小石块扔了出去，但石头太小，扔得不远。

I thought this was a very good chance to teach him. I said, “Why don’t you pick up a medium-sized rock and see what happens?”
我认为这是一个很好的机会来教他。我说：“你为什么不拿起一块中等大小的石头，看看会发生什么？”

Mark picked up a medium-sized rock and threw it. Mark said, “Look, the middle-sized rock went the farthest!”
马克捡起一块中等大小的石头扔了出去。马克说：“看，中等大小的那块石头走得最远！”

I smiled, “You see, Mark, you are like the middle-sized rock. In this situation the little rock was too light, the big rock was too heavy, but the middle-sized rock was just right. ”
我笑着说：“你看，马克，你就像一块中等大小的石头。在这种情况下，小石头太轻，大石头太重，但中等大小的岩石正好。”

“So, I am special?”
“所以，我很特别？”

“Yes, Mark, everyone and everything is special and has a special purpose, especially you.”
“是的，马克，每个人和每件事都是特别的，都有特殊的目的，尤其是你。”