史蒂夫·古迪尔/Steve Goodier

Thanksgiving Day was near.The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment—to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.

Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season.These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student’s art.And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of picture.Douglas was a different kind of boy.He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy.As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side.One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.

Yes, his picture was different.When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand.Nothing else.Just an empty hand.

His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers.Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys.Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people.And so the discussion went—until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.The little boy looked away and murmured,“It’s yours, teacher.”

She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there, as she had the other students.How often had she said,“Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside.”Or,“Let me show you how to hold your pencil.”Or,“Let’s do this together.”Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.

Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.

In fact, people might not always say“thanks”.But they’ll remember the hand that reaches out.

感恩节就要到了，一年级的老师给学生们布置了一个有趣的作业，画一幅他们感谢某事或某物的图画。

虽然大多同学或许要考虑一下家庭条件问题，但仍然有许多同学准备了火鸡和其他传统的节庆点心来庆祝节日。对于这些，老师认为，这是大多数同学艺术创作的主题。确实如此。

但是，有一个非常与众不同的男孩，名叫道格拉斯，他画了一幅很特别的图画。在老师眼中，他是一个悲惨、脆弱、不幸的孩子。其他小朋友在课间休息时间做游戏时，他很可能就站在老师的身旁。在他那忧愁的双眼背后，人们看到的是心灵最深处的哀伤。

是的，他的画很特别。当老师要求画一幅感谢某物或某人的图画时，他画了一只手。其他什么都没有。仅仅是一只空空的手。他的这幅抽象画引起了其他同学的想象力。这只手会是谁的呢？有一个孩子猜那是农民伯伯的手，因为他们养火鸡。另一个孩子猜是警察叔叔的手，因为他们保护和照顾人们。讨论仍在继续，指导老师几乎忘了这位年轻的画家。

当孩子们去关注其他作业时，老师来到了道格拉斯的课桌旁，弯下腰，问他那只手是谁的。小男孩转过脸去，低声地说：“老师，是您的手。”

她回忆过去，曾经牵着他的手一起散步，就像牵着其他同学的手一样。曾经，她多次说：“道格拉斯，牵着我的手，一起出去散散步。”或是，“让我给你示范如何握铅笔。”或是，“让我们一起做事。”于是，道格拉斯对老师的这双手充满了感激。

老师拭去眼中的泪水，继续她的课程。

事实上，人们很少说“谢谢”。但是，他们会将那双援助之手铭记于心。

1.imagination

作名词：想像力；空想,想像；想像出来的东西,幻想物。

imaginary

作形容词：想像的。

imagine

作动词：想像，料想。

例：Her imagination is too powerful.

她的想象力太丰富。

2.until

作介词：到……为止，在……以前。

例：He will be working until 5 o’clock.

他将一直工作到5点钟。

作连接词：直到……才。

例：He ran until he was breathless.

他一直跑到气喘吁吁才停止。

1.Most of the class might be considered__________disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other__________goodies of the season.

2.When the__________had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.The__________looked away and murmured,“It’s yours, teacher.”