赖丽霞

The best toys

小孩子小时候会有很多玩具，但是经常会认为别人的玩具比自己的更好。作者是这样，他认为他儿子也一样，但作者的儿子对Stomp Rocket情有独钟。

1 The best toys of your childhood are everybody elses. I recalled the impressive collections of my toys. There were the Matchbox garage passed down from Mum， my toy soldiers and wooden palace. I can imagine these things in detail. But its only when I get to remember Ben Walkers space hopper， or Neil Savlas rollerskates， or Olly Slobodas copy of the boardgame Mysteries of Old Pecking. My friends all had cooler toys than me.

2 I bring this up because my son was recently eager to get one of his friends toys： one called Stomp Rocket. Its marketed as a “science toy”， because it teaches kids air pressure. But， really， its just a big rocket launcher thats good for groups of children to play together. The person who jumps the hardest can get the rocket to go the highest.

3 My son Harvey immediately became obsessed by it， continuously begging me to buy one for him. I refused， partly because I thought he could play it with his friends， and partly because ?20 for a plastic tube is too expensive！ If I really put my mind to it， I could pro?bably create one. Furthermore， I was concerned that if I met his demands， Harvey would soon ask for the same remote?controlled car and plane. So， I told Harvey that if I brought him a Stomp Rocket， hed soon be bored with it.

4 But then I thought， perhaps that ?20 would be well?spent if it taught him a valuable lesson. If I bought Harvey his very own Stomp Rocket， hed be tired of it and realize that his own toys are actually just as good as everyone elses. Then I bought one two months ago. And every weekend since， whatever the weather， he asked to play with his Stomp Rocket. He wasnt tired of it， but the opposite—he developed new ways of playing. I was wrong this time.

Ⅰ. 日积月累

pass down 传下来

in detail 详细地

be eager to 渴望

air pressure 气压

be tired of 厌烦

play with 同……一起玩

Ⅱ. Difficult sentences

1. Furthermore， I was concerned that if I met his demands， Harvey would soon ask for the same remote?controlled car and plane. 此外，我还担心，如果我满足了他的要求，哈维很快就会要求得到同样的遥控汽车和飞机。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。that引导宾语从句，从句中还包括一个if引导的条件状语从句。

2. If I bought Harvey his very own Stomp Rocket， hed be tired of it and realize that his own toys are actually just as good as everyone elses. 如果我给哈维买了他心仪的Stomp Rocket，他会厌倦并意识到他自己的玩具其实和其他人的一样好。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。if引导条件状语从句，主句中还包括一个that引导的宾语从句。