七十五岁的同学
The kung fu class story: the oldest student
Name: ________________ Date: ________
我在学功夫。我们班有十二个学生：十一个是小孩子，还有一个是张爷爷。张爷爷今年七十五岁了。
第一天，他穿着白衣服进来，大家都笑了。我小声问妈妈：“他是新老师吗？”
不是。他是新同学。
我们的老师才二十六岁。她叫张爷爷“张同学”，张爷爷呢，很认真地叫她“老师”。
张爷爷做得很慢。我们踢三次，他才踢一次。
可是他每次都是第一个来，最后一个走。下课以后，他还一个人在那里练习。
有一天，我问他：“张爷爷，你为什么来学功夫？”
他说：“我小时候很想学，可是家里没有钱。后来要工作，要照顾孩子。现在，我终于有时间了。”
到了年底，我们要给家长表演。我太紧张了，一开始就忘了下一个动作。别的小朋友也忘了。
我们都站在那里，不知道怎么办。
这时候，张爷爷还在慢慢地做，一个动作，又一个动作，一个也没有错。
我们就跟着他做。最后，大家一起做完了。
家长们都站起来鼓掌。老师笑着说：“今天，张同学是我们的老师。”
回家的路上，我问张爷爷：“你明年还学吗？”
“学啊，”他说，“明年，我要踢得比你高。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 班 | bān | class; team (as in 班级) |
| 笑 | xiào | to laugh; to smile |
| 慢 | màn | slow; to slow down |
| 踢 | tī | to kick |
| 小时候 | xiǎoshíhou | in one's childhood; when one was little |
| 开始 | kāishǐ | to begin; to start; beginning |
| 忘 | wàng | to forget; to overlook |
| 站 | zhàn | station; stop |
| 错 | cuò | wrong; mistaken; mistake; fault |
| 一起 | yìqǐ | together |
| 路上 | lùshang | on the way; on the road; en route |
| 高 | gāo | high; tall |
English (for the teacher)
I’m learning kung fu. Our class has twelve students: eleven are kids, and one is Grandpa Zhang. Grandpa Zhang is seventy-five this year.
On the first day, he comes in wearing white, and everybody laughs. I whisper to my mum, “Is he the new teacher?”
No. He’s a new classmate.
Our teacher is only twenty-six. She calls Grandpa Zhang “Student Zhang”, and Grandpa Zhang, very seriously, calls her “Teacher”.
Grandpa Zhang is very slow. We kick three times; he kicks once.
But he’s always the first to arrive and the last to leave. After class, he stays behind and practises on his own.
One day I ask him, “Grandpa Zhang, why are you learning kung fu?”
He says, “When I was little I really wanted to learn, but my family had no money. Later there was work, and children to look after. Now I finally have the time.”
At the end of the year, the class puts on a show for the parents. I’m so nervous that right at the start I forget the next move. The other kids forget too.
We all just stand there, not knowing what to do.
Then we see Grandpa Zhang, still going slowly, one move after another, without a single mistake.
So we follow him. In the end, we all finish together.
The parents all stand up and clap. Our teacher smiles and says, “Today, Student Zhang was our teacher.”
On the way home, I ask Grandpa Zhang, “Are you coming back next year?”
“Of course,” he says. “Next year, I’m going to kick higher than you.”