英语简短儿童的小故事

　　Spock Saves His Dad

　　Spock is a main character in the popular TV show "Star Trek." He is half Vulcan, half human. A Vulcan has no emotions but is extremely smart and logical. Spock joined the all-human crew of the spaceship Enterprise to explore the universe. Spock’s dad, Sarek, is Vulcan. He had wanted Spock to attend the Vulcan Science Academy and then join Sarek’s research firm. When Spock left his family to join the Enterprise, Sarek refused to talk to him anymore.

　　In one episode, representatives from various planets had an emergency meeting. Sarek and Amanda (Spock’s human mom) came aboard the Enterprise. Spock said hello to his dad, but Sarek ignored him.

　　The next day, Sarek had a critical medical problem. He was losing a lot of blood and needed immediate surgery. Spock was the only one on the Enterprise who also had Vulcan blood. Even though he could die, Spock offered every drop of his blood to save his dad. Dr. "Bones" McCoy operated on Sarek and saved his life.

　　The next day, when Sarek was told that his son had saved his life, he didn’t say thank you to Spock. Amanda got very angry with her husband. She told him that he should hug Spock and thank him. Sarek refused. He said that his son did the logical thing.

　　"You don’t thank someone for doing the logical thing," he told his wife. Spock told Amanda that his dad was right, which made her even angrier.

　　Shopping for Bargains

　　Jim went to the thrift shop. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular. He liked to go there just to browse. A big sign on the front door said OPEN. The shop was closed on Sunday and Monday. The rest of the week, it opened at 10 a.m. and closed at 2 p.m.

　　Two women worked inside. They rang up sales and put the items into plastic bags for the customers to carry out. At the back of the shop was a big room where another lady worked. She sorted the new donations and put price tags on them. At the end of each day, she would bring the new donations out to the main part of the shop.

　　Everyone who worked at the thrift shop was a volunteer. The only "payment" they received was that they had the opportunity to see, and buy, any items in the shop before the customers did.

　　When Jim entered, the lady at the register told him hello. He smiled and said hello. She knew Jim because he was a regular customer.

　　Jim said, "What’s new?"

　　She laughed and said that nothing was ever new at a thrift shop. "It’s always old and it’s always used," she smiled.

　　Jim looked at the watches in the glass case. He saw one that he liked.

　　"Could I look at that one?" he asked.

　　Cyber Step-Mother

　　I've often felt that "step-parent" is a label we attach to men and women who marry into families where children already exist， for the simple reason that we need to call them something. It is most certainly an enormous "step"， but one doesn't often feel as if the term "parent" truly applies. At least that's how I used to feel about being a step-mother to my husband's four children.My husband and I had been together for six years， and with him I had watched as his young children became young teenagers. Although they lived primarily with their mother， they spent a lot of time with us as well. Over the years， we all learned to adjust， to become more comfortable with each other， and to adapt to our new family arrangement. We enjoyed vacations together， ate family meals， worked on homework， played baseball， rented videos. However， I continued to feel somewhat like an outsider， infringing upon foreign territory. There was a definite boundary line that could not be crossed， an inner family circle which excluded me. Since I had no children of my own， my experience of parenting was limited to my husband's four， and often I lamented that I would never know the special bond that exists between a parent and a child.

　　When the children moved to a town five hours away， my husband was understandably devastated. In order to maintain regular communication with the kids， we contacted Cyberspace and promptly set up an e-mail and chat-line service. This technology， combined with the telephone， would enable us to reach them on a daily basis by sending frequent notes and messages， and even chatting together when we were all on-line.

　　Ironically， these modern tools of communication can also be tools of alienation， making us feel so out of touch， so much more in need of real human contact. If a computer message came addressed to "Dad"， I'd feel forgotten and neglected. If my name appeared along with his， it would brighten my day and make me feel like I was part of their family unit after all. Yet always there was some distance to be crossed， not just over the telephone wires.

　　Late one evening， as my husband snoozed in front of the television and I was catching up on my e-mail， an "instant message" appeared on the screen. It was Margo， my oldest step-daughter， also up late and sitting in front of her computer five hours away. As we had done in the past， we sent several messages back and forth， exchanging the latest news. When we would "chat" like that， she wouldn't necessarily know if it was me or her dad on the other end of the keyboard--that is unless she asked. That night she didn't ask and I didn't identify myself either. After hearing the latest volleyball scores， the details about an upcoming dance at her school， and a history project that was in the works， I commented that it was late and I should get to sleep. Her return message read， "Okay