和大家一起来读有思想有内容的好作品。而且，我们说好用英音。

        一年的时光很快就又快过去了。有一种说法，一年的时光对于成年人来说可能都记不住三分之一。这也说明为什么我们回顾过往的时候，发现时间过得特别快，因为细节都记不住了。

不过，从学习的角度来说，只要每天都在练习和使用语言，哪怕到了年底记不住这一年的很多日子，但通过日积月累形成的能力则自然地会展现出来。这也就是为什么很多人会觉得自己突然进步了的原因。任何事情都是有缘由的。

这个月也是忙着为新一年规划的时刻，因为来不及改变的东西总期待着新一年中有机会可以实现。规划总是比具体落实会来得更有趣一些，这也是为什么我总是很乐意来规划新一年的年度课表的原因。2020年度的安排很快也会正式公布。

回望订阅号的文章，发觉不知不觉中已经积累了不少高质量的内容，其中每一篇示范音都期待展现出当下最优质的水平, 希望你喜欢，同时能够在发音上有所收获。今天，我将继续在这里和大家一起分享一首很经典的作品。很应景的这首Robert Frost的诗”Christmas Trees“。在这个外面冷，屋内可以暖和的季节，一起用纯正的英音将好作品念给你的家人和伙伴们听。

(作品从2‘27’‘起/White Christmas by Connie Francis）

Christmas Trees

By Robert Frost

Read by Kevin

(A Christmas Circular Letter)

The city had withdrawn into itself

And left at last the country to the country;

When between whirls of snow not come to lie

And whirls of foliage not yet laid, there drove

A stranger to our yard, who looked the city,

Yet did in country fashion in that there

He sat and waited till he drew us out

A-buttoning coats to ask him who he was.

He proved to be the city come again

To look for something it had left behind

And could not do without and keep its Christmas.

He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees;

My woods—the young fir balsams like a place

Where houses all are churches and have spires.

I hadn’t thought of them as Christmas Trees.

I doubt if I was tempted for a moment

To sell them off their feet to go in cars

And leave the slope behind the house all bare,

Where the sun shines now no warmer than the moon.

I’d hate to have them know it if I was.

Yet more I’d hate to hold my trees except

As others hold theirs or refuse for them,

Beyond the time of profitable growth,

The trial by market everything must come to.

I dallied so much with the thought of selling.

Then whether from mistaken courtesy

And fear of seeming short of speech, or whether

From hope of hearing good of what was mine, I said,

“There aren’t enough to be worth while.”

“I could soon tell how many they would cut,

You let me look them over.”

                                                    “You could look.

But don’t expect I’m going to let you have them.”

Pasture they spring in, some in clumps too close

That lop each other of boughs, but not a few

Quite solitary and having equal boughs

All round and round. The latter he nodded “Yes” to,

Or paused to say beneath some lovelier one,

With a buyer’s moderation, “That would do.”

I thought so too, but wasn’t there to say so.

We climbed the pasture on the south, crossed over,

And came down on the north. He said, “A thousand.”

“A thousand Christmas trees!—at what apiece?”

He felt some need of softening that to me:

“A thousand trees would come to thirty dollars.”

Then I was certain I had never meant

To let him have them. Never show surprise!

But thirty dollars seemed so small beside

The extent of pasture I should strip, three cents

(For that was all they figured out apiece),

Three cents so small beside the dollar friends

I should be writing to within the hour

Would pay in cities for good trees like those,

Regular vestry-trees whole Sunday Schools

Could hang enough on to pick off enough.

A thousand Christmas trees I didn’t know I had!

Worth three cents more to give away than sell,

As may be shown by a simple calculation.

Too bad I couldn’t lay one in a letter.

I can’t help wishing I could send you one,

In wishing you herewith a Merry Christmas.

        这首作品的写法很有意思，你很难找到一般诗歌中的音步规律，可以说它已经不再是简单的“儿歌”风格了。这首诗的结构更像是精致的小说，或者说如标题中说的“信”。因此，在朗读上更成熟，难度也更大，如果不仔细看明白意思，要准确地表达出逻辑关系是有一定难度 的。同时，由于打破了既有的朗朗上口的发音规律，在朗读上则可以更加自由，将自己理解的句子中的情绪自如地表达出来。这也是我不采用背景音乐的原因。因为会说话的文字和纯正 的发音，其实并不需要太多的修饰。要表达准确这首诗，首先要看明白它。你可以试试跟上我的版本，当然也可以自行发挥，将这首小巧、幽默、朴实、Robert Frost固有的风景诗在这个季节分享给更多的伙伴。

如果你有自己喜欢的诗歌，关于人生、磨难、困苦或者甜美等，都欢迎在微信社群告诉我，或者在这里的【留言】处告诉我，我会继续完成这个听上去挺美的事情。

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