3.The Rite of Spring(648)

Sixth grade rewrite

The Rite of Spring

【1】I've always wondered why we have gardens, especially since I started one when I first moved to the countryside over 36 years ago. It seems easier and cheaper to just buy vegetables from the store, but there's something special about growing your own. It's like a game that's hard to explain, but it's part of being human.

【2】I'm not a big fan of eating vegetables. I'd rather have something juicy and tasty, like hot dogs. But if you could grow hot dogs in your garden, that would be amazing! For now, I can't help but look at my garden every April, even though I tell myself I won't plant it again.

【3】When spring comes, I smell the earth and see the sun shining brighter. The birds are so excited, and I think about how the worms are moving in the soil. It's not just fun that makes me want to garden; it's also a challenge. Every year, I have to decide how to plant my garden. I used to use black plastic between the rows, which kept the soil moist and free of weeds. But it didn't look very pretty, so now I use hay mulch. It's free and makes the garden look nice

【4】Gardening teaches me how delicate and precious our planet is. In my small garden, there are many different types of soil. Some plants love one kind of soil but not another. I use a little bit of fertilizer, but not too much, because I don't want to help the weeds grow.

【5】Gardening is a bit like a game for some people. When life feels hard to understand, you can always go to your garden and do something. You can feel like a parent, taking care of plants that need you. Sometimes, like with beans and cucumbers, they grow so much that they seem to want to take over your house!

【6】Gardening is also a good thing to do because it helps you keep your garden looking nice, like in the pictures. But by July, it can get messy. That's when my wife takes over. She eats a lot of vegetables, so she helps by thinning out the plants and taking care of them.

【7】My wife's mother, who is a botanist, visits our garden in the summer. She looks at it with a critical eye. She used to tell us what we were doing wrong, but now she waits until she goes back to Europe to say things like, "Tomatoes in damp soil can get sick." By then, we don't care because the garden is over for the year.

【8】I think I garden because I have to. It would be strange to see an empty garden every day. There are good things about gardening, like seeing the vegetables in the morning, all shiny and green. It's much prettier than a row of hot dogs.

【9】In April, I sometimes get annoyed with gardening again. I don't understand people who say they "love" gardening. A garden is like a part of you, and it's always changing. You have to keep trying, even when things don't go as planned. You have to be willing to start over. That's what gardening is all about—learning and growing.

【10】I think Adam, the first person, was a gardener. And we all know what happened to him. But could he have been anything else? Only a gardener can keep hoping that this year, no matter what happens, they will do it right. God chose the right job for us, the ones who can dream and try again.

【11】I should say, though, that I wrote this on one of the coldest days in December.

六年级改写

春之祭

【1】我一直想知道为什么我们会有花园，尤其是自从36年前我第一次搬到农村时就开始有花园以来。从商店买蔬菜似乎更容易、更便宜，但自己种蔬菜有一些特别的地方。这就像一场难以解释的游戏，但这是人类的一部分。

【2】我不太喜欢吃蔬菜。我宁愿吃多汁又好吃的东西，比如热狗。但如果你能在花园里种热狗，那就太棒了!现在，我每年四月都忍不住要看看我的花园，尽管我告诉自己我不会再种了。

【3】春天来了，我闻到大地的气息，看到阳光更加灿烂。鸟儿们很兴奋，我在想蚯蚓是如何在土壤中移动的。让我想要园艺的不仅仅是乐趣;这也是一个挑战。每年，我都要决定如何种植我的花园。我过去常常在垄间使用黑色塑料，这样可以保持土壤湿润，不长杂草。但它看起来不太漂亮，所以现在我用干草覆盖。它是免费的，使花园看起来很漂亮

【4】园艺使我知道我们的星球是多么的脆弱和珍贵。在我的小花园里，有许多不同类型的土壤。有些植物喜欢一种土壤而不喜欢另一种土壤。我用了一点化肥，但不要太多，因为我不想帮助杂草生长。

【5】对有些人来说，园艺有点像游戏。当你觉得生活难以理解的时候，你可以去你的花园做点什么。你会觉得自己像个家长，照顾需要你的植物。有时候，就像豆子和黄瓜一样，它们长得太多了，似乎想要占领你的房子!

【6】园艺也是一件好事，因为它能让你的花园看起来很漂亮，就像照片上的那样。但到了7月，情况可能会变得混乱。这时我妻子就会接手。她吃很多蔬菜，所以她帮助修剪植物并照顾它们。

【7】我岳母是一位植物学家，她夏天来参观我们的花园。她以批判的眼光看待这件事。她过去总是告诉我们哪里做错了，但现在她等到回到欧洲才会说，“西红柿在潮湿的土壤里会生病。”到那时，我们已经不在乎了，因为花园已经结束了。

【8】我想我从事园艺是因为我必须这样做。每天看到一个空的花园会很奇怪。园艺有很多好处，比如在早上看到蔬菜都是闪亮的、绿色的。这可比一排热狗好看多了。

【9】到了四月，我有时又为园艺而烦恼。我不理解那些说自己“热爱”园艺的人。花园就像你的一部分，它总是在变化。即使事情没有按计划进行，你也要继续努力。你必须愿意重新开始。这就是园艺的全部，学习和成长。

【10】我想亚当，第一个人，是个园丁。我们都知道他发生了什么。但他还能是别的什么人吗?只有园丁才能保持希望，今年不管发生什么，他们都会做得很好。上帝为我们选择了合适的工作，那些有梦想，敢于尝试的人。

【11】不过，我应该说，我是在12月最冷的一天写这篇文章的。