阿朱英文书单（中学）系列之五（组图）
不算书单就是阅读纪录
无论做什么事情，难的就是坚持，阿朱正在坚持。
回顾已推送的阿朱英文书单系列，请戳下面五个链接。
再一次，阿朱书单的闪光点就是被女儿都读过写过，阿朱写下来这些不单单是为了帮助有需要的爸爸妈妈们，也是为了记录孩子留给我的回忆。
Great Expectation - 远大前程
这部书是狄更斯写的最出色的一部，但的确是老古董小说，我一直说，好的影视作品能够引起中学生们看原着的兴趣，这里一个好例子，我女儿当时因为看了2011年BBC的三集迷你剧之后，就有了强烈的愿望想看原着小说。
下面是她当年写的书评
In every book there is a main character, the way the book is written, is so that everyone looks up to or admires the main protagonist. Great Expectations, I believe is one of those books. Pip may have been unkind or harsh to Joe Gargery, but he is yet still a good man with good in his heart. Joe Gargery, another character of which the audience admires. Kind and forgiving towards Pip ever since he was small, yet Pip never really did anything to deserve it. Yet again, Biddy is loving and humble in the book, she is loved by the viewers and most of the critics.
To me, a good character is friendly and good - natured towards anyone they meet. One is innocent until proven guilty. Herbert Pocket was the character of whom I admired, as he showed just that when Abel Magwitch (Provis) turned up unexpectedly at his house with a dagger in his hand. He was scared, but he kept it to himself and showed kindness and seemed to be happy even. Herbert has always been a happy person, other than when he was young. But a good character learns from their mistakes and misunderstandings and fixes them properly. They are not too kind, nor too cruel upon people. It's kinda like Karma (善有善报恶有恶报). Good characters go by this rule. Always, (to me anyway). That's why, Herbert Pocket is undoubtely the best character in the book.
Pip, Estella and Joe Gargery are neither pleasing nor too attractive to me. Pip, cruel and undeserving of Joe's kindness. A spoilt child who thinks himself higher than everyone else. Estella, mean and doesn't know how to stand up and speak for herself when it comes to Miss Havisham. She seems to enjoy pain from others, but doesn't feel it herself. Joe Gargery I admitt is the best friend you could ever have, but yet still, he seems too kind, and doesn't know when to stop. Pip did nothing to deserve his kindness, and he shouldn't of given it to him. Joe wasted his whole life to someone who doesn't even care about him anymore.Great Expectations is a twisted and dramatic book, and everything and everyone is carefully thought out and linked in one way or another.
2011年BBC的三集迷你剧是很好看，当年是为了纪念狄更斯200周年诞辰而拍摄。
如果，你从来没有看过狄更斯的原着，那么推荐你看。因为本剧情节很紧凑，没有什么拖沓，剧本展开非常有悬念，精致的画面，一流的摄影，就当成言情剧来看好了。
如果，你看过狄更斯的原着并很熟，那么也推荐你看这个。因为，虽然整个剧的气氛就是我想象中样子，但是有太多的意外，Great Expectations->Out of Expectation，呵呵。
总之，狄更斯的作品，Family Movie，教育题材，家有中小学生值得一起看哈。
小时候的Pip很漂亮，眼睛会说话，星途无限啊
长大了的男一号Douglas Booth，虽然我也认为他很帅，但是他不是想象中的成年Pip，特别是这种正方形脸。。。
小女孩时期的Estella还行，虽然我想象她应该再漂亮再病态些。。。
女一号长大了，就out of my expectation了，书中应该是个大美人呀。
大明星Gillian Anderson现在虽然老了，但是演的真很好，她就是Miss Havisham的样子。
男二号小生Harry Lloyd演的Herbert Pocket是剧中我女儿最喜欢的角色， Herbert is awesome是当时我女儿的评价。
演罪犯Abel Magwitch和演大律师Jaggers的两位非常出色，英国的那些配角也是很高的水准。
这个迷你剧集还是忠于原着的，但是有一个人不见了 - Biddy。在小说里，Biddy对Pip有很正面的影响，她很宽容又很善良。她从一开始就不赞成Pip追Estella和他想往上爬成为上等人物的幻想。等到Pip终于醒悟希望和她好的时候，她却嫁给了老实人Joe（Pip的姐夫）happily ever after。小人物最后也有幸福生活是狄更斯要告诉我们的重点之一。很遗憾，这个人在新版剧集里根本就没有，总之，看下来，第一集最好看，第二集太泛泛了，第三集不错很drama，但是结尾我不喜欢，Pip和Estella的重逢应该多说些啥吧，结果就这样没了。
中学生看【格林童话】
其实格林兄弟并没有写这些童话，兄弟俩只是收集了这些民间故事成书而已。
格林童话很牛很牛，因为它是世界文化遗产，里面有200多个故事，相信我们每个人多多少少都看过几个知道几个，说没格林童话里一个故事也不知道的人估计非常罕见，百度上说在西方国家中格林童话的销量仅次于【圣经】。
格林童话小学生可以看，中学生可以看，大学生可以看，成年人也可以看，什么年龄段的人来看，读出来的东西都不一样的。
女儿当年写的review -Grimm's Fairytales
Ashputtel (Cinderella)
The original of Disney's Cinderella. Disney helps hide the cruel truth from children and even adults. The Grimm brothers don't bother. Instead of cinderella, her name is Ashputtel, because her family makes her live on ashes near the fireplace. She befriends birds and they help her in the chores her sisters give her. In return though, the story never stated she gave them anything. So my question is, why be so nice?
In Disney's Cinderella, her sisters feet can't fit into the glass slipper. In Grimm Fairytales, Ashputtel's sisters decide to cut their big toe off and squeeze into the golden slipper until blood soaked through their white stockings. Horribly violent and no where NEAR Disney's version. They seemed to believe that stories needed violence and cruelty to make it seem realistic. But in fact, it's not at all.
What I don't like about these stories is that the main character is always helped by people or animals that they've shown no kindness nor generosity to. Even at the end, the character neither rewards them nor plays or laugh with them. It also seems like the young man or prince must always marry some princess or fair maiden that they've barely heard of. What happened to real love? In these stories, love is 'so the prince married the princess and ruled the kingdom for ever until his death.'
But overall, Grimms Fairytales are quite interesting and normally will have a moral at the end of it. Some stories do have violence, so young children might not ant to read this, but if you over 11 or 12, and you don't mind reading Fairytales, this is a good book for you. Ashputtel is only one of the many stories that lie within this huge book.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
这些都是女儿当时写的评论
The Witch of Blackbird Pond is a children's historical novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare, published in 1958. The story takes place in late-17th century New England. It won the Newbery Medal in 1959.
Do you still believe in witches, enchantments and curses? Back in the olden days or in this case, 1687 in New England, they certainly did. Sickness, rage and being uneducated was believed to be caused by curses or witchery. This is a story that tells of how everyone was wrong to judge a book by it's cover.Katherine or known as Kit, is a well - educated young girl. Being able to write, to read, to swim, and to do all of the things of which woman weren't supposed to do. What she couldn't do was all of the things she was meant and expected to be able to do. Having been brought up in the small island of Barbados, where slaves helped her with chores, and there wasn't a care in her life, Kit of course wasn't experienced when she came to her Auntie's house in New England without a letter or warning of whence she came. She expected glorious dresses, turquoise - blue waters, and a fabulous house, but what she got was muddy footpaths, small cottages and gray, dull waters. She was pushed away and disliked by some of the people, thinking she was a witch to do all of the things that woman aren't supposed to be able to do. Until she meets Hannah Tupper, a Quaker. Everyone in the town isolates her, because of the belief of her witchery, when in fact, she's just like any lonely old lady searching for company. Kit finds that Hannah's cosy cottage can be the only place to let out her true self, and be with the people of whom she loved. Hannah, Nat and Prudence. But one day the townspeople turn on Hannah and Kit, accusing her of the sickness that spread through the townspeople. Hannah faces a choice to run away and lie, or to tell the truth and be hanged.I recommend this book for ages 12+, not because of horror or inappropriate things, because of the language. The language is quite sophisticated and might not be appealing to younger ages. Adults could definetly read this book if they wanted to though.
【Messenger】by Lois Lowry
Messenger 是美国女作家Lois Lowry的作品，她曾经两次获得Newbery Medal，牛人一枚。这部书算是她Newbery Medal的作品【The Giver】和【Gathering Blue】的延续，但不是正儿八经的三部曲，因为之间关系并不大只是结构很相似，结尾都很开放，意犹未尽人物的命运都不交代完整的那种。。。
这个书虽然很薄，但是就内容来说小学生可能会有些不明所以然，中学生可能更能理解其中的含义，尤其是后来反乌托邦文学电影大行其道的背景下，The Hunger Game其实不稀奇，这种题材Lois Lowry三十年前就玩的很玄了。
下面是我女儿当时的书评
Imagine a village that's kept in harmony, with no such thing as theivery, lies, murder or any type of bad behaviour. Where there is no mistakes. Where everyone is given a special name to do with their true - self or talent that they possess. For example, if you discover you're true talent is helping people with your medicine, then your name might be the 'Herbalist'. Would you want to live there? I know I wouldn't, because making mistakes is part of who we are as a person, we learn from them, if there were no mistakes, who would you be?
This village is exactly what I described above, but sooner or later, people will naturally succumb to making mistakes, and this village will become dust in the wind. I find this book very much like The Giver, of which Lois Lowry also wrote (The Giver won the Newbury Medal Book Award), due to the fact that the villagers are given special names to suit what they are like or what they do. The book mainly focuses on a young boy named Matty. He yearns for his true name, and he hopes it to be 'Messenger'. This is because he can travel through the Forest without harm. The Forest is described as a deadly and unwelcome place to people, and if angered, the Forest will give you small warnings such as a prick on the arm, this means that the next time you enter, you won't come back out. Matty is different. The Forest almost seems to embrace or welcome him in a way nobody understands. He travels back and forth through the Forest on errands to different towns and villages.(THIS PART OF THE REVIEW MIGHT SPOIL THE BOOK FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO READ IT, SO .... IF YOU WANT TO READ IT ... DON"T READ ON..)
It's a fast - paced book, and someone could easily finish it in a day or two, because it's not long anyway. The thing that I don't like about this book is that fact that the main protagonist dies in the last 2 or 3 pages, and the ending is just rushed and confusing. Once you get to the last chapter, it almost seems as if the writer was late for something, and just wrote it in a hurry. I don't mind Shakespeare killing off his characters at the end, because ... well, he's Shakespeare and he writes tragedies and all, but in this book, it's just confusing and a bit weird for the reader. But overall, I still enjoyed this book, and I hope many of you get a chance to read it.
【Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage】
这是是一本类似于传记体裁的探险故事，非小说类的。作者叫Alfred Lansing，美国人，1959年出版的畅销作品，很有名。
故事是真人真事，说的是爱尔兰探险家Sir Ernest Shackleton在1914-1916年间带领“Endurance”船在南极第二次大规模探险，准备徒步穿越南极大陆的的经历。
坚忍号”(Endurance)于1914年8月1号从伦敦出发。全体船员一共28人。这次探险的目标是徒步横穿南极大陆。事实上，这次又没成功。在行进过程中，浮冰将“坚忍号”团团围住，使它寸步难行
Shackleton和船员不得不弃船搬到浮冰上，在10个月后于1915年11月船沉入海底。此时，Shackleton只有一个愿望：把全体船员一个不少的活着带回去。在随后的5个月里，他们28人登上了一块巨大的浮冰，这块浮冰随着时间的推移不断的碎裂，并慢慢的变小了。1916年4月9日，浮冰彻底碎裂了，3艘来自“坚忍号”的救生船被迅速推到海上。在海上经历了7昼夜的危险之后，他们登上了荒无人烟的象岛，此时据探险队出发已过去497天。因为象岛是一个远离商船航线的孤岛，没有任何人会路过象岛，最终Shackleton没有选择坐以待毙，他挑选了另外5名最强壮的船员乘上最大的救生艇，向东南偏东横渡约1300公里（800英里），来到了南乔治亚岛以寻求救援，这一史诗般的航行在气候极端恶劣的海上持续了16天，凭借航海经验和运气，Shackleton和5名船员抵达了南乔治亚岛并在风暴中强行上岸。上岸后，Shackleton不得不徒步翻越南乔治亚山脉，去寻找捕鲸站以寻求帮助。1916年5月20日下午3点，Shackleton和他的两个伙伴挣扎着走到最近的一个捕鲸站。在晚餐时分，挪威捕鲸人向他们表示了敬意。到达捕鲸站的3天后，他们登上了一艘捕鲸船，开始了解救围困在大象岛上的同伴的行动。在8月30号，经过第4次的尝试，他终于找到了一条从浮冰上穿过的路，发现他的所有的22个同伴都安然无恙的留在岛上。每个人都从南极获救了。
这本书其实是在讲一个失败者的故事，因为如果以目标是否实现来作为衡量成功的标准的话，Shackleton几乎所有的探险都是不成功的。然而，作为一个领导者，Shackleton无疑是非常出色的。他对探险队队友的无限尊重，信任和关爱都闪耀着光芒。他的一位队友称他为“世间最伟大的领导者”。在带领“Endurance”期间，他把所有队员安全带回时，他的领导才能达到了新的顶峰。Shackleton能使队员们在极端逆境下充满希望。
一位英国探险家说过一段有名的话来评价南极的探险者：“若想要科学探险的领导，请斯科特来；若想要组织一次冬季长途旅行，请威尔逊来；若想组织一次快速而有效率的探险，请Amundsen来（他是第一个到达南极的人）；若是你处在毫无希望的情景下，似乎没有任何解决办法，那就跪下来祈求Shackleton吧！”
【Jepp, Who Defied the Stars】
女儿当年评价10分里打9分的书
主角Jepp是几百年前欧洲的宫廷侏儒，故事说了他坎坷的命运，他不是一个认命的人，一直在追求他不被允许拥有的东西，比如学习、爱情、生存等等。。。好像是历史真有其人其事的，这算历史小说，也是励志读物。
女儿说这个作者的文字很好。
这部书是2012年入选New York Times Notable Children’s Books of 2012和The Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Books of 2012，是畅销书来着。
推荐阅读年龄14+
+61
+86
+886
+852
+853
+64
