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魔戒作者托爾金 -進一步了解中土傳說背後的故事-by Elizabeth Sunshine - By Elizabeth Sunshine.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings delight book and movie lovers alike. These great stories sprang from the mind of one man - J.R.R. Tolkien.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in 1892. He spent much of his childhood in the beautiful English countryside. He enjoyed studying and learning languages from a young age. And his mother taught him the strong Christian faith that he believed his whole life.But Tolkien's early life was also touched by tragedy. His father died when Tolkien was 4. Then Tolkien's mother passed away when he was 12.
Love, War and Studies
As a teenager, Tolkien fell in love with a girl named Edith Bratt. But his guardian forbade him to contact her until he turned 21. Tolkien obeyed and focused on school. But he didn't forget Edith, and he contacted her on his 21st birthday. His patience paid off. They were married in 1916.
But soon Tolkien faced his darkest trial - fighting in World War I, Life as a soldier was difficult, painful and dangerous. Tolkien became sick and had to return to England. Others were not so lucky. "by 1918, all but one of my close friends were dead." Tolkien later wrote.
Back in England, Tolkien became a scholar. He taught literature classes at Oxford University, did research and wrote-several influential papers. he continued to love languages, studying Greek, Anglo Saxon, Finnish and more. But Tolkien didn't just study languages; he invented his own! they added to the rich setting of the fantasy stories he had been writing for years.
The Hobbit
One day while grading tests, Tolkien found a blank page. He wrote the sentence, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." This began his children's story. the Hobbit. When it was finished, a friend gave it to publisher Stanley Unwin. Unwin's 10-year-old, Rayner, loved the book, so Unwin published it in 1937.
The Hobbit enjoyed instant success, and the publishing company asked for a sequel. So Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, a longer, more complex tale. Rayner Unwin, now an adult, helped publish The Lord of the Rings. It was so long that it came out in three parts in 1954 and 1955.
Tolkien's Legacy
Yolkien died 40 years ago this month. He was a committed father to his four children. He received an honorary degree from Oxford for his studies. But his greatest legacy is his stories. Tolkien wrote many tales besides The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. They tell about good and evil, the importance of friendship and making right decisions.
Tolkien's life shaped his stories. The peaceful, beautiful Shire resembles the English countryside where Tolkien grew up. Some think the evil land of Mordor came from Tolkien's war experiences. His relationship with his wife inspired the love stories he wrote. Through his work, Tolkien has brought joy, hope and encouragement to millions.
Grammar Gym:
"These great stories sprang from the mind of one man - J.R.R.Tolkien."
'sprang' - spring, to appear.
The pond was nice and quiet, but all of a sudden some ducks sprang out of nowhere and the whole place became noisy.
Mandy sprang through the doorway to show us her new outfit.
Vocabulary Tips：
delight- feel happy. 使高兴，使欣喜。
*The football team's victory at the state final delighted the whole town.
delight (n) -高兴，愉快。
*Hanna takes great delight in taking care of her grandchildren.
childhood -is the time you spend while you were a kid, during that time about your life.童年时期，童年时代。
*Sean had a happy childhood.
*The novel is full of the author's fond childhood memories.
*The artist's childhood home was turned into a museum.
tragedy (n) -sad things happen to your life. Parents pass in person's young age, you can call it 'tragedy'.惨剧，悲剧。
*It was a tragedy that this great athlete lost her leg in a car accident.
*Nathan never enjoys tragedies.
tragic (adj) -悲惨的。
*The movie is about a boy's tragic childhood.
guardian (n) -a person after to someone to watch and take care of somebody when someone died, or not be along.监护人。 'guard' (v) -指导，监护，看守。 "ian" - 人。
*The hospital needs the guardian's consent before operating on the child.
guardian - 护卫者。
*These reporters see themselves as guardians of truth.
tale - story.
pay off - you work hard and endure for long time for something you are looking forward to, then you got what you expected at the end.
something is pay off - your hard work at the end are awarded.
scholar (n) -学者。
*Many scholars participated in this conference.
*Dr. Williams is a well-respected scholar who specializes in Mayan culture.
scholarship - (scholar + ship) 奖学金。
*Wesley got a scholarship to Princeton.
influential - （重音在"en"） impact to people's thought or think.有影响力的，或是有权势的。
*Eric is an influential biochemist. 。。。。举足轻重的地位，重要影响力的生化家。
influence (v) -（重音在 'in'）影响。
* Brenda is always influenced by other people's comments.
fantasy - not happen in the real world, dream of something that almost is impossible. 幻想，幻想的产物。
*The little girl lives in a fantasy world.
*The book is full of fantasies and exotic stories.
fantasize (v) -幻想。
*Dave fantasized about becoming the world's greatest baseball batter.
publish -出版，发行，发表，宣布。 'public' -大众。
*The writer's first poetry was published in 1983.
publisher (publish + er) -出版商。
*Random house is a famous international publisher.
take away from something - had removed from something.
sequel - after the first book or first movie, there is another book or movie that continue the store of the first book or movie.指某本书或某个电影的续集。 'sequ' -跟从。
*The sequels to 'Iron Man' are now on DVD. 续集
sequel - 也指‘后续发展事件。
*The conflicts on the city streets were sequels to the riot at last night's soccer game.街市上的冲突事件。。。
complex (adj) - not simple, make of many different parts. many things come together, or a lot of things effect to it. 复杂的，难以了解的。
*The complex situation between the couple is beyond my understanding. 复杂状况。。。超过我能理解
complex (n) -指同类型的建筑物。
*Billy's factory is located in an industrial complex in Chicago. 工业区。
resemble - (‘s'发 'z'的音。) to look like someone or something, many similar with someone or something. 类似，与某对象相似。很像。're' -有‘再一次’之意。
*Sunny really resembles her grandmother. 很像她的祖母。
*The city resembled a war zone after the earthquake.
inspired / inspire / inspiring -touched someone, give someone idea to do something.启发，激励，激发灵感。 'spir' -‘呼吸’
* The movie was actually inspired by a headline news report.
inspiration (n) - 灵感。
*The writer finds her inspiration in her friends and family.
legacy - earned respect and well-known.
committed - work very hard, give your life to something. What are you committed to?
honorary degree - a degree to honor someone for something.
Language Tips:
die -死亡。过世（euphemism）
pass away -- die. Is a euphemism way to say die.
euphemism -婉转，委婉的说法。（但要小心，用的太多或太刻意，会让人以为你在咬文嚼字，玩弄文字。
pass on - (Christian refer to die is not a pass away thing, is pass on.) has gone to meet his maker. He is in a better place. 过世，
Watch! pass out is not die, pass out is faint.
pass out 是昏晕过去，昏倒，不醒人事。
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all but - 所有。。。但是除了。。
all but - all except,
I finished all but one book. 所有。。。只剩下。。。
.....all but one of my close friends were dead... 所有。。。。除了。
all but - almost.- 几乎
the language is all but forgotten.。。几乎被遗忘。
He is all but bankrupt. -几乎破产。
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dozen/ hundred / thousand / million -都是用来表示数目的字。看你表达什么。若是表示大概的数字，可以在这些字后加‘ s’。如：
dozens of cars were stolen.
hundreds of people attended the meeting.
thousands of flowers were in bloom.
millions - 大概有百万。。。。
dozen/ hundred / thousand / million -若在前面有数字，则这些字的后面绝不能加‘’，因为不是大概数字，而是准确的数字。
He has three million in his bank account.
three million - million 后面不能加 "s".因为不是大概数字，而是准确的数字。
Notes taking of StudioClassroom.
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