課文：
Wing walkers
Once airplanes took to the sky, they provided another platform for daredevils. Wing walkers became popular by performing breathtaking stunts like walking from one plane to another while in mid-air. Sadly, many died performing such dangerous feats.
provide：提供
platform：平台、台
breathtaking：驚人的
stunt：絕技、驚險動作
feat：技藝（表演）、事蹟、功蹟、壯舉、雜技功夫
“Evel” Knievel
課文：
Does floating in a barrel over a massive waterfall or walking on the wings of an airplane sound appealing to you? If so, you might be a daredevil! Reckless activities like these seem crazy, yet since ancient times people have been taking incredible risks, often just for the thrill of it.
daredevil：喜歡冒險的人、鋌而走險的人、不怕死的、冒險家
float：漂浮的
barrel：大桶
massive：巨大的、大量的、大規模的
mass：大量
appealing：有魅力的、動人的
reckless：不顧後果的
incredible：難以置信的
thrill：（使）興奮、激動
Early pioneers
Spaniard Abbas Ibn Firnas, a 9th-century inventor, was fascinated with flight, so he designed and built a glider. To test his device, Firnas jumped from the top of a tower, gliding successfully for a short distance before making a hard landing. His brief flight was well documented and inspired those in early aviation.
課文：
“Thank you.” This short but important English phrase acknowledges kind words or actions. But sometimes, those two words are not enough. When it comes to thanking people, you can be creative!
acknowledge：答謝、承認、認知
acknowledgement：（n.）
creative：有創意的、有創造力的
To thank someone, send a letter. Letter-writing is fast becoming a lost art form. When you put pen to paper, people will be happy you took time to write. Don’t worry about the letter’s length. Long or short, just express how thankful you are.
put pen to paper：開始動筆、開始寫、下筆寫
課文：
Carol met Mr. Davidson every day after school and practiced at home to drum the notes into her head.
The night of the concert, Carol felt so nervous she was shaking.
“Don’t forget to sing in tune,” teased Bella, and a few girls snickered.
The show opened with a few pieces for the entire choir. Then Bella performed her solo with the choir, which sounded wonderful.
課文：
All week Bella tried to convince Carol to trade solos with her. She asked again and again, sounding like a broken record. She loudly criticized Carol’s singing. Carol tried to tune her out, but Bella’s mean comments bothered her.
Bella drummed up lots of support from the other girls in choir. Bella was popular and outgoing, so they took their cues from her. They accused Carol of being selfish.
convince：說服
sound like a broken record：不斷重複同樣的話、老調重彈
criticize：指責、批評、非難
criticism：（n.）
tune out：不理睬、置之不理
drum up：激起、鼓動
outgoing：開朗的、外向的
take one’s cue from：照對方的話做、聽對方的吩咐行事
accuse：指責
selfish：自私的
Finally, Carol give in. After choir practice she told Mr. Davidson she no longer wanted the solo.
課文：
“Carol, why don’t you sing the solo one ‘Hear the Music,’” said Mr. Davidson, the high school choir director.
“Really? I’d love to,” replied Carol. Mr. Davidson’s words were music to her ears. She loved that song and didn’t get to sing solos very often.
Carol’s classmate Bella piped up, “But Mr. Davidson, I thought I would get that solo.” Bella always got the best solos, so Carol was usually stuck playing second fiddle.
solo：獨奏、獨唱、個人表演、獨立進行的、單飛的
choir：合唱團、教會詩班
music to one’s ears：中聽的話、好消息
pipe up：突然開始說話、大聲說話
stuck：處境
play second fiddle：第二號人物、居次要地位
課文：
Listening to music these days often involves headphones, but it wasn’t always a solitary activity. Take the jukebox. You’d put a coin into the machine, select a song, and then punch a button with a letter and a number on it. Then you – and everyone else nearby – would listen as the machine played your selection from a vinyl record.
solitary：單獨的、獨自的、孤立的、獨立的
solitude：孤單
jukebox：自動點唱機
punch：用拳猛擊、用力按（= press）
nearby：（= close by）
vinyl：塑膠
vinyl record：黑膠唱片
Early beginnings
This music machine was introduced 125 years ago at the Palais Royal Saloon in San Francisco. On November 23, 1889, Louis Glass and his partner first displayed their machine there. While this saloon only survived one year after that, the machine was a sensation, resulting in several orders for more.
課文：
A Life of Commas
During a two-year break, Mc Conaughey refused “Saturday” roles until offers stopped altogether. But later, he suddenly became a god idea again. Well-known directors wanted him in surprising character roles (Bernie) and darker stories (Mud).
refuse：拒絕、不肯
altogether：全部、完全
McConaughey’s Academy Award-winning 2013 role in Dallas Buyer’s Club has come to define his career. He dropped over 40 pounds to play the role of a desperate man with AIDS. That effort and a fierce performance made him the most recent Best Actor Oscar winner. But as McConaughey says, the Oscar isn’t the end. “It’s a wonderful moment in my career that is in the middle of its approach.”
課文：
“Find Your Frequency”
While dealing with fame, McConaughey took some roles that were important to him. Contact’s theme was about the relationship of God and science, and Amistad discussed slavery. The first film was successful, but the second project started a string of financial disappointments.
frequency：頻率、調性、頻繁性
frequent：頻繁的
deal with：應付、處理、與…相關（= handling something）
theme：主題
slavery：奴隸、奴役
disappointment：失望、沮喪、掃興
“We all have a frequency, where things are clicking,” McConaughey says. “I can adapt better. I’m catching more green lights.” Looking back, he might say he found his frequency in romantic comedy. He describes a light quality in romantic comedies that keeps things very “Saturdays.” and he adds, “I’m good on Saturdays.” Starting with 2001’s The Wedding Planner, he was involved with several hits.
課文：
Matthew McConaughey has collected over 800 sayings, and he loves to share them. Collecting and creating bits of wisdom seems to be one of his hobbies. More than that, however, they seem to be fuel for his career.
saying：格言、諺語
fuel for：刺激因素（= keep going）
career：事業、職涯、職業、生涯
“Just Keep Living”
That would be McConaughey’s truth of choice. The saying might have been useful during his childhood. His Texas oil-man father and schoolteacher mom divorced and remarried each other twice. But the phrase came to him when shooting his first movie.
小說－未完結 (2)