美國語文讀本-3 節選

《美國語文讀本3(美國原版經典語文課本)》：這套讀本的英文原版共分七級，包括啟蒙讀本和第1-6級。考慮到啟蒙讀本與**級篇幅都較少，難易程度也很接近，于是將之合并為第1冊，其余2-6級與英文原版相同。這樣國內出版的這套讀本共包括6冊。《美國語文讀本3(美國原版經典語文課本)》也是較正式的課文。每一課包括詞匯和課文，以及對一些生詞的英文解釋，讓學生學會通過簡單英文理解生詞，養成用英語理解和思維的習慣。This series of schoolbooks teaching reading and moral precepts, originally prepared by William Holmes who was a professor at Miami University McGuffey, had a profound influence on public education in the United States. The eclectic readers, meaning that the selections were chosen from a number of sources, were considered remarkably literary works and probably exerted a greater influence upon literary tastes in the United States more than any other book, excluding the Bible. It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961 they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No other textbook bearing a single person's name has come close to that mark. McGuffey's Readers are still in use today in some school systems, and by parents for home schooling purposes.The third reader was much more formal. It contained rules for oral reading of its fifty-seven lessons. This book contained only three pictures and was designed for a more mature mind, of junior high standing today.