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From an early age, Franklin began collecting stamps. That was a hobby he enjoyed all his life. His greatest love, however, was the sea. (喜歡大海的體現(xiàn))He played with model boats. He sailed in the summer. And when he was older, he went iceboating on the Hudson Riverin the bitter cold. (冷得不得了)(An iceboat was like a sled with sails and went very fast.
When Franklin was nine, Popsy bought ayacht(游艇英[j?t])called the Half Moon. Franklin was excited to go sailing on it at Campobello.
Campobello is an islandoff(離得不遠(yuǎn))the east coast of Canada.The Rooseveltsspent summers there in acottage (小屋糖埋,小別墅)they had built.(過去完成時(shí)) The strong winds andhigh tides (漲潮)made sailing around the islandtricky(形容詞. 難辦的窃这,難對付的). But Franklin loved the challenge and became a fine sailor. At sixteen, he had his own sailboat, New Moon.
Another family on Campobellotold theRooseveltsaboutthe Groton School. It was aboardingschoolnorth of Boston(在這個(gè)地方的外面,不在這個(gè)地方), Massachusetts(麻仕盍病). Franklin’s parents decided to send him there.
Most of the boys started at Groton when they were twelve. But Franklindidn’t go untilhe was fourteen. His mothercouldn’t bear tolet him go earlier. Not surprisingly, he was homesick at first.
Life at Groton was very different from Springwood.It(指代學(xué)校) was modeled(模仿) afteran English boarding schoolwith no frills(沒有華而不實(shí)的裝飾)and(省略with) aharsh(艱苦的 )lifestyle.Franklin lived in a room with other boys. Once, during the night, snow blew inthrough an open transom (氣窗)of the dorm. Franklin and the boys woke up nearlyfreezing(現(xiàn)在分詞).Still,(盡管如此)that didn’texcuse them fromthe cold shower they had to take every morning.
Vocabulary
cottage n. 小屋馆铁,小別墅
boarding school 寄宿學(xué)校
can't bear to do sth 無法忍受做某事
with no frills 沒有華而不實(shí)的裝飾
harsh adj. 艱苦的
transom n. 氣窗
excuse sb from (doing) sth 免除某人(做)某事的責(zé)任
Notes
■ Groton School
A private Episcopal (圣公會(huì)的) college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1884. Originally, it admitted only boys; the school became coeducational in 1975.