Encouragement
Guidance for Reciting
Some of the greatest success stories of history have followed a word of encouragement or an act of confidence by a loved one or a trusting friend.
Some of the greatest success stories of history have followed a word of encouragement or an act of confidence by a loved one or a trusting friend. Had it not been for a confident wife，Sophia，we might not have listed among the great names of literature the name of Nathaniel Hawthorne. When Nathaniel，a heartbroken man，told his wife that he had been fired from his job in a customhouse，she surprised him with an exclamation of joy，“I have always known you were a man of genius，”she said，“I knew that someday you would write a masterpiece.”Then，she opened a drawer，pulled out a substantial amount of money，enough for one whole year，and explained that was saved out of the money her husband gave for housekeeping every week. From her trust and confidence came one of the greatest novels of American literature，The Scarlet Letter.
Notes
1.exclamation [7eksklE5meiFEn] n. 惊呼，惊叹词
2.genius [5dVi：njEs] n. 天才
3.masterpiece [5ma：stEpi：s] n. 杰作
4.substantial [sEb5stAnFEl] a.大量的，实质上的，有内容的
鼓励的力量
诵读导言
历史上一些成功的人士背后总是伴随着亲朋好友的鼓励或信心的给予。
历史上一些成功的人士背后总是伴随着亲朋好友的鼓励或信心的给予。如果不是因为有了一位自信的妻子索菲亚，可能我们就不能在众多文学巨匠的名字中找到纳撒尼尔？霍桑。有一天，当纳撒尼尔伤心的告诉他的妻子，他已经被海关解雇的时候，他的妻子竟然表现出异常的喜悦，“我一直就知道你是个天才，”她说，“我知道终有一天你能写成一部杰作。”紧接着，她打开抽屉，拿出一大笔现金，足以应付他们全年的生活费，她解释说这是从霍桑每周给她的持家费中一点点省下来的。正是出于霍桑妻子对他的信任，才诞生了美国文学史上的一部经典小说，《红字》。
注：Nathaniel Hawthorne：纳撒尼尔？霍桑（1804-1864）是美国19世纪影响最大的浪漫主义小说家和心理小说家。长篇小说《红字》是他的代表作。霍桑1804年生于新英格兰的一个破落贵族家庭。全家笃信基督教清教。父亲去世后，他随母亲迁至萨莱姆外公家，萨莱姆浓厚的宗教气氛和激烈的宗教派别斗争以及霍桑一家的宗教传统都对霍桑的思想和后来的创作产生了极大的影响。他从小爱好文艺，大学毕业后曾在海关任职，后受法国空想社会主义影响辞职，在布鲁克农场制订实施空想社会主义计划。霍桑对当时美国社会道德沦丧和资产阶级的伪善不满，但是他又不想从根本上改变不合理的社会制度，只谋求社会道德的改进，宣扬上帝，主张道德的自我完善。