永不退休的教师

王虹

作者一直梦想成为一名老师，教导和他有着相同背景的孩子。他在59岁的时候如愿以偿地得到了一份教书的工作，并且决心全身心投入这个重要的教育工作，永不退休。

1. aerospace /erspes/ n. 航空航天技术

2. assignment /sanmnt/ n. （分派的）任务

3. relevant /relvnt/ adj. 有意义的

My family came to the United States from Mexico when I was 5， so I was an Englishlanguage learner in school and had to work very hard. After I finished high school， it took me eight years to graduate from university， during which time I was working full time at night.

I started out as an aerospace engineer and changed into marketing， working at HewlettPackard and IBM for most of my career. Then I became a financial adviser， but eventually didnt find it satisfying enough.

I had always dreamed of teaching children with a background like mine， and I was 59 years old， so I knew it was now or never. I found out about the EnCorps STEM Teachers Program in California， which would allow me to explore the possibility of becoming a science， technology， engineering， or math teacher in a highneed middle or high school. I quickly applied and was accepted.

My first job was the hardest assignment you can get. I spent my first year there teaching math in a middle school， and the following two years I taught at the Academy of Science & Engineering. When I spotted a job opening within the high school network Soledad Enrichment Action and I saw the students， I knew its where I wanted to work. Im in my third year there， and I love it. Its so much more satisfying than what I used to do for work. The best is when you see a student really getting something for the first time， especially algebra， which can be very confusing. Sometimes I was so confused at their age that I couldnt even ask a question， so I know that feeling.

I feel relevant again， like what I do is really important. I dont plan on ever retiring.

1. What do we know about the author from the first two paragraphs？

A. He had to begin working from an early age.

B. He was good at language learning when young.

C. Upon graduating， he enjoyed trying different jobs.

D. Not satisfied with his job， he changed jobs constantly.

2. How did the author realize his dream？

A. By applying to be a math teacher in a high school.

B. By teaching children with a background like his.

C. By getting the hardest assignment to challenge himself.

D. By changing his job for a satisfying one as an engineer.

3. What was the author satisfied with when being a teacher？

A. He found algebra can be very confusing.

B. He settled confusing math problems for his students.

C. He taught at the Academy of Science & Engineering.

D. He saw a student really getting improved for the first time.

Difficult sentence

After I finished high school， it took me eight years to graduate from university， during which time I was working full time at night.

【翻譯】

【点石成金】这是一个主从复合句。主句中含有句型it takes/took sb some time to do sth，意义为“某人做某事花费多少时间”。