湖北當陽市第二高級中學 文 波

One of my most beloved possessions is my black，spiral-bound journal．It is a thin，wide-ruled，simple journal with no lock or key that I found at the dollar store．The journal has no monetary value but instead holds its value of capturing my daily moments of gratitude．

The concept of a gratitude journal originated when my little brother began his gratitude journal．Although he is only twelve，he has truly grasped the concept of gratitude．I remember one of his journal entries saying，“I am thankful for my dog because I love walking her in the park．” A simple walk in the park makes game-addicted brother grateful and joyful．

Seeing how my brother could practice gratitude daily，I was inspired to start my own gratitude journal.Initially，writing in my gratitude journal was such a struggle．On the most typical，dry days when I sat at my desk for hours studying for the SAT，what was there to be grateful for?At one point，I found my gratitude journal to be a pointless concept and I lost belief in my gratitude journal．In the time when I chose not to write journals，I realized how plain my life was．I missed savoring every moment and taking delight in the little aspects of my life that made me smile．

I decided to continue writing in my gratitude journal once again．Even though I was not learning in a classroom over the summer，I still learned in a different manner．The journal has acted as a reflective，personal space for me to recall the past．The simplest moments of my life that were once overlooked are now the highlights of my day．

Reading Check

1．Why did the author mention his brother's journal?

A．To praise his brother's vivid works．

B．To express his gratitude to his brother．

C．To amuse the readers with a funny story．

D．To explain his cause of writing a journal．

2．What trouble did the author have in writing journals in the beginning?

A．He didn't know what to write．

B．He was struggling with words．

C．He was too busy to write journals．

D．He couldn't find the meaning of life．

3．What does the underlined word “savoring” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Expecting． B．Fighting． C．Enjoying． D．Ruining．

4．What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．Learn from journals，and learn from life．

B．Be grateful for every moment of life．

C．Wherever you are，do remember to keep a journal．

D．The least important can be the highlight sometimes．

Language Study

Difficult sentence

Seeing how my brother could practice gratitude daily，I was inspired to start my own gratitude journal．

【翻譯】_____________________________________________________________________________

【點石成金】句中的Seeing how．．．daily為現在分詞結構作時間狀語，與主語I構成主動關系；inspire sb to do sth意為“激勵某人做某事”。