李明娟

The next day is Friday and I go to school again. I go to this class not only because of our teacher. I like this class because there are students from many different countries in our class. Some students are from Europe. Some students are from South America. There is also one student from Japan and one from South Korea in my class. This is good for me because the students dont speak my native2 language. When I speak to them， I have to use English. It is very good for my practice.

第二天是星期五，我再次上學。我上这堂课不仅是因为我们的老师。我喜欢这堂课，因为我们班上有来自许多不同国家的学生，有些学生来自欧洲，有些学生来自南美。我班上还有一位来自日本的学生和一位来自韩国的学生。这对我有好处，因为他们不会说我的母语。当我和他们说话时，我只能使用英语。这对我的练习非常好。

Today， we have another new student in our class. Her name is Sofia. She is from Argentina3. At the beginning of the lesson， Sofia says that she doesnt have a talent for studying languages， but she wants to work hard to improve4.

今天，我们班上又有一位新生。她的名字叫索非亚，她来自阿根廷。在课程开始时，索非亚说她没有学习语言的天赋，但她想努力提高自己。

My teacher asks her， “Why do you think that you dont have a talent？” She answers， “I think that I dont have a talent because my sister learns English very fast but for me it is difficult.”

我的老师问她：“为什么你认为自己没有天赋？”她回答说：“我认为我没有天赋是因为我姐姐学英语的速度非常快，但对我来说却很困难。”

Then our teacher asks everybody in the class， “Do you think that you have a talent for learning languages？ Please put your hand up if you believe that you have a talent.”

然后我们老师问全班同学：“你们认为自己有学习语言的天赋吗？如果你相信自己有，请举起手来。”

I look around the class and nobody puts their hands up.

我环顾全班，没人举手。

My teacher smiles， then she says， “Now， I want to tell you something. Many people think that you need to have a talent if you really want to learn a new language. I agree5. But I also believe that you already have a talent for learning languages.

老师笑了，然后她说：“现在，我想告诉你们，许多人认为，如果你确实想学习一种新语言，需要有天赋。我同意。但是我也相信你已经具备了学习语言的天赋。

Why do you have a talent？ You have a talent because you already learnt one language， which is your native language. You were successful6 at learning your native language and you speak that language fluently7. All people who are able to learn their native language have a talent for learning languages.

你为什么有天赋？你之所以具有天赋，是因为你已经学习了一种语言，这就是你的母语。你成功地学习了母语，并且语言表达很流利。所有能学习母语的人都有学习语言的天赋。

Why do many students believe that they are not talented？ The reason is this. There are people who are super-talented. Yes， it is true. These super-talented people remember new words very fast. Maybe you know these people. Maybe it is somebody at your work or in your family. There are not many of these people but they are real. I believe that this can be Sofias sister as well. Learning a new language is fun for these people and they can do it easily.”

为什么许多学生认为自己没有天赋？原因是这样的。有些人非常有天赋。是的，是真的。这些超级有天赋的人很快就能记住新单词。也许你认识这些人，也许是你的同事或者家人。这些人并不多，但他们真的存在。我相信这也可能是索非亚的姐姐。学习新语言对这些人来说很有趣，他们可以轻松地做到这一点。”

Sofia says that it is true， that her sister is really better than everyone else.

索非亚说，没错，她姐姐真的比其他任何人都出色。

Our teacher goes on， “It is true that these super-talented people are real. It is a fact and we cannot do anything about it. But it is not a problem. The problem is that we compare8 ourselves to these people and if we dont learn as fast as they do， we will think that we are not talented. I want to tell you one thing. Please do not compare yourself to these super-talented people. Yes， they are lucky and they have an advantage9， but you can be lucky too and you are super-talented at doing other things. Maybe you are more talented than others when you learn to sing， swim， play tennis， count numbers， cook， or repair cars. People are not all the same. It is a beauty10 of this world.

老师继续说道：“这些超级人才确实存在。这是事实，我们对此无能为力。但是这不是问题。问题是，我们将自己与这些人进行比较，如果我们没有像他们那样快地学习，就会认为自己没天赋。我想告诉你一件事，请不要将自己与这些天才相提并论。是的，他们很幸运而且有优势，但是你也可以很幸运，并且你在其他事情上很有天赋。当你学习唱歌、游泳、打网球、数数、做饭或修理汽车时，也许你比其他人更有天赋。人们不尽相同。这是世界的美好之处。

Now， you can believe that you are also talented， maybe not super-talented， but talented. When you believe that you are talented， learning English will be easier for you.”

現在，你可以相信自己也很有天赋，也许不是超级有天赋，而是才华横溢。如果你相信自己有天赋，那么学习英语对你来说就会更容易。”

These words from our teacher are very helpful for us. I know that I am talented at playing football and tennis. Now I know that I am also talented at learning English. It is great.

老师的这些话对我们很有帮助。我知道我擅长踢足球和网球，现在我知道我在英语学习方面也很有天赋。这太好了。

（英语原文选自：howtolearnenglishinlevels.com）