本帖最后由 周一~周日 于 2011-3-22 08:35 编辑
The umbrella is a very ordinary object. It keeps the rain and the sun off people. Most umbrellas are easy to carry. However，the umbrella did not begin life as an ordinary object. It was a sign of importance. Only kings，queens and their families can use it.Some Africa countries still use umbrellas in this way today. Someone carries an umbrella and walks behind the king or important person.
Umbrellas are very old. The Chinese had them in the eleventh century BC. From there，umbrellas traveled to India，Persia，and Egypt. In Greece and Rome，men wouldn’t use them. They believed umbrellas were only for women. When the Spanish explorers went to Mexico，they saw the Aztec kings using umbrellas. English explorers saw Native American princes carrying umbrellas on the East Coast of North America. It seems that people in different parts of the world made umbrellas at different times. Perhaps England was the first country in Europe where ordinary people used umbrellas for the rain. It often rains in England，and umbrellas are very useful there.
Everybody uses umbrellas today. The next time you carry one，remember that for centuries only great men and women used them. Perhaps you are really a king or queen，a princess or prince.
这是上周的周末阅读，比前两周的篇幅长，孩子还没背利索，不知道能不能交差。 | 
二年级的应该是长篇童话故事的连载吧？那时候我们背这个最多半小时搞定，现在是没可能了，看样子背的方式方法很重要，需要改革。