波特小姐与彼得兔 This story began with a little girl and her rabbit. 故事要从一个小女孩跟她的兔子开始说起。
"Write what you know" is one of the first rules that every writer is given. No matter the setting of the story authors try to stick to this guideline. Famous children's author and illustrator Helen Beatrix Potter made sure to fallow this rule with all of her works. This was quite impressive considering her stories tended to be about talking animals.
Potter had what many would call a lonesome childhood. Instead of attending school, she was taught at home, so other than her brother Bertram, she had few friends; few human friends, that is. Both she and her brother were fond of animals, so much so that they ended up with a number of bizarre pets. Among their collection of critters were frogs, bats and, most importantly, rabbits, including Benjamin and Peter-two characters that Potter would later write about in her books.
It has actually been said that Potter loved Peter so much that she took him everywhere she went. But Potter's passions included more than just animals. Her holidays spent in the Scottish countryside and the Lake District of England ensured her deep admiration for plants as well.
Growing up surrounded by nature and her pets, Potter ended up learning quite a bit about both animals and plant life through sheer observation. During their holidays in the countryside, she and Bertram immersed themselves in the natural world. She put that knowledge to good use.
Potter used her observations of nature to draw detailed pictures of her muses - animals and plants. Her parents were so impressed with her work that they hired a drawing teacher to give her lessons for a number of years. Even at a young age, Potter did more than just draw with a pencil. She once said, "When I was young I already had the itch to write without having any material to write about." And write she did. She was known to have kept a journal that contained a code only she could decipher. Though she had persisted in developing her talents in both writing and drawing from a young age, it was years before she created her famous Peter Rabbit character, and that happened quite by accident.
Unlike most authors, Potter did not create her best-known character with the thought of publishing. The birth of Peter Rabbit came about when Potter was trying to entertain the child of an old governess. It has been said that the boy. Noel Moore, was sick and stuck at home. To cheer him up, Potter wrote him letters and included her drawings of animals. One of those letters contained the first drawing of Peter Rabbit. After seeing how much her letters were enjoyed, Potter decided to make a book for Peter Rabbit.
Potter then began writing her classic tale about the mischievous Peter Rabbit and his adventure in Mr. McGregor's garden. At first, every publisher she submitted her story to refused it. Nonetheless, she never gave up and eventually found the right publishers, who would go on to publish many more of her children's books. Generations of children have grown up with her beloved characters- Squirrel Nutkin, Jemime Puddle-Duck, Benjamin Bunny and others. Her books have been translated into numerous languages as well as braille. Potter's whimsical stories will continue to spread joy to all who read them for many years to come.
Grammar Tips:
And write she did.= And she did write.
"she", "write" - "write (verb)" before "she (subject)", that focus on "what is doing" instead of "subject"
subj. + did + verb =(verb)+subj. +did.
Tiffany was tired of the bad treatment she was getting at her work, so quit she did.
Frank was tired of the mess in his apartment, so clean he did.
Vocabulary Tips:
illustrate -use drawing to explain something.画画，画插画，画图，图表。
*Hank illustrated his points with charts during his presentation.
illustrator- 画插画的人， 插画家
*The book's illustrator's a schoolteacher.
bizarre-something is not common. 奇异的，超乎寻常的。
* The bizarre behaviors of the homeless man intimidated people passing by him.
*The pop singer's bizarre outfit made her the center of attention at the Grammy Awards.
ensure - "en"由为“使如何如何”之意 , "sure" -确保，保证，确认，确定
*A glass of warm milk can ensure you a good night's sleep.
*The trip to New York ensured Peggy's determination to study fashion design.
sheer -only thing she use.纯粹的，全然的，完全的。
*By sheer luck, Timmy won the card at the drawing.
*He got the promotion by sheer hard work.
* Nothing in the world can compete with the sheer joy of helping others.
have the itch to -have an eager heart to do something, strong desire want to or like to do something. 很想要去做某事，渴望着想要去从事某事。"itch" -癢，（令人忍不住）
*I always have had the itch to back-pack across Europe.
*Irene still has itch to learn how to play the piano, even though she's over 40.
decipher-解读，诠释，破解。
*These solders are trying to decipher the enemy's codes.
*Only the boy can decipher his friend's sloppy handwriting.
*It's not easy to decipher the motives for his action.
cheer someone up -使某人开心，帮某人打气。 "sheer"-鼓励，鼓舞
*Rita felt really bad because she didn't pass the exam, so we went to her house to cheer her up.
*The basketball team's victory cheered the whole school up.
mischievous-陶气的，玩皮捣蛋，调皮得，恶作剧，doing something not allowed, but only little or no harm or damage to others.
*The mischievous boy broke his father's laptop and was punished.
*He still remembers the mischievous things he did as a boy.
whimsical －异想天开，天马行空的。
*The whimsical set of the play draws children's attention right away.
*The whimsical style of the cartoonist is very recognizable. 可辨识的。
Chat Room:
countryside -乡下，乡间，农场，乡村地区（不一定是偏远地区，也可是近郊，离城市很近的地方）
the Scottish countryside -苏格兰的田园乡村。
-偏远的地区, a place that is out of city, open to the wild nature, ans far away from city.
He lives out in the sticks.
woods -树林
backwoods - 在树林后面，远离城镇的分明地带，内陆尚未开垦的边垂地带。
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blog - 记录，日誌，实验。"blog" word is came from "web log".
journal - diary 日记，报导文章。
She was known to have kept a journal that contained a code only she could decipher.
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entertain -娱乐something to do with some kind of performance.
The show kept us entertained.。看的很开心
He entertained us with music.用音乐来助兴
entertain -招呼带领，哄弄，引导，引起孩子们的注意力。
The birth of Peter Rabbit came about when Potter was trying to entertain the child of an old governess.
entertain-招待，款待客人
She entertained twenty guests.
entertain - 考虑
I'm entertaining the idea of taking a long vacation.
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