🔑 重点词汇（10个）

1. Leisure /ˈleʒər/

闲暇

例句：Children need leisure to grow.

2. Curious /ˈkjʊriəs/

好奇的

例句：She is curious about everything.

3. Explore /ɪkˈsplɔːr/

探索

例句：I want to explore new ideas.

4. Diversity /daɪˈvɜːrsəti/

多样性

例句：Diversity makes the world interesting.

5. Vitality /vaɪˈtæləti/

生命力

例句：Nature gives people vitality.

6. Freedom /ˈfriːdəm/

自由

例句：Freedom helps children grow.

7. Efficiency /ɪˈfɪʃənsi/

效率

例句：Money can buy efficiency.

8. Curiosity /ˌkjʊriˈɒsəti/

好奇心

例句：Curiosity drives learning.

9. Environment /ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt/

环境

例句：A good environment is important.

10. Grow /ɡroʊ/

成长

例句：Children need time to grow.

正文

八年前，当我妈决定带着我来新西兰的时候，她其实对这里一无所知。

Eight years ago, when my mum decided to bring me to New Zealand, she actually knew nothing about this place.

真的，就是啥也不知道。

Really—she knew absolutely nothing.

这里的学校是什么样的，医疗条件怎么样，适不适合我这个小孩长大，她其实都没有搞清楚。

She hadn’t figured out what the schools were like, how the healthcare system worked, or whether it was a good place for a child like me to grow up.

但她还是来了。

But she still came.

后来我问过她，你当时怎么敢啊？

Later, I asked her, “How were you so brave?”

你就这样辞职了，然后漂洋过海，带着我来了新西兰？

“You just quit your job, crossed the ocean, and brought me here to New Zealand?”

她就跟我说，因为她心里抓住了一个大概的方向。

She told me that she held onto a general direction in her heart.

你好，我是Angel，一个生活在新西兰惠灵顿的11岁女孩。

Hi, I’m Angel, an 11-year-old girl living in Wellington, New Zealand.

我妈说，如果一个地方能给孩子三样东西，那它大概率就不会太差。

My mum says that if a place can offer a child three things, then it’s probably not a bad place.

哪三样呢？

What are those three things?

第一个，我妈说，叫“闲”。

The first one, my mum says, is “leisure.”

我小时候可能没什么感觉，但是我现在越来越觉得，我们学校下午三点就放学，而且完全没有作业。

When I was younger, I didn’t really notice it, but now I feel it more and more—we finish school at 3 p.m., and we have no homework at all.

我现在都上初一了，还是这样。

Even now, in Year 7, it’s still like this.

这件事情，真的太爽了。

Honestly, it feels amazing.

我发现我有很多很多时间，可以去做很多好玩的事情。

I’ve realized that I have so much time to do things I enjoy.

我可以发呆，我可以乱逛，我可以捣鼓一些奇奇怪怪的东西。

I can daydream, wander around, and tinker with all kinds of random things.

而且不用老担心考试考得不好，或者作业没有做完。

And I don’t have to constantly worry about exams or unfinished homework.

我觉得这个真的很重要。

I think this is really important.

因为我看到有好多小朋友，他们的生活好像一直都被填得很满，好像一直都在被任务推着走。

Because I see many kids whose lives are always full, like they’re constantly being pushed by tasks.

有时候他们跟我练英语的时候，我都能感觉到他们整个人是累的。

Sometimes when they practice English with me, I can feel how tired they are.

我其实特别同情他们。

I actually feel really sorry for them.

我特别希望他们也能有一点闲暇，哪怕是什么都不干也可以。

I really hope they can have some free time too—even if they do nothing.

我妈以前说过一句话，我记得特别清楚。

My mum once said something that I remember very clearly.

她说，一个人将来能不能走得很远，最重要的并不一定是资源、平台，或者他有多少钱。

She said that whether a person can go far in life doesn’t necessarily depend on resources, platforms, or how much money they have.

很多时候，闲暇才是最奢侈的东西。

In many cases, leisure is actually the most luxurious thing.

因为钱能够买到的，很多时候只是效率；但是闲能够给一个人提供的，是生长的机会。

Because money often buys efficiency, but leisure gives a person the chance to grow.

第二个，是自然。

The second is nature.

我妈说，她们这一代人，还有现在很多城市里的孩子，见得最多的是高楼大厦、封闭的教室和手机屏幕，却很少能够真正接触到自然。

My mum says that her generation, and many children in cities today, mostly see buildings, classrooms, and screens, but rarely real nature.

真正的自然，应该是你可以经常闻到花的香味，听到鸟儿唱歌，摸到草地的湿度，还能感受到风吹到脸上的感觉。

Real nature is when you can smell flowers, hear birds singing, touch the grass, and feel the wind on your face.

这些东西看起来好像也没什么“用”，但是它就是会让我觉得，活着好开心呀。

These things may not seem “useful,” but they make me feel happy to be alive.

第三个，是多元。

The third is diversity.

这个是我来到新西兰以后，感受特别深的一件事情。

This is something I’ve felt very strongly since coming to New Zealand.

因为我每天都会跟来自不同国家、不同背景、不同思维方式的人在一起交流。

Every day, I interact with people from different countries, backgrounds, and ways of thinking.

慢慢地我就发现，这个世界上其实并不存在一种标准答案，也不是只有一种正确的生活方式。

Gradually, I realized that there isn’t just one correct answer in the world, nor only one way to live.

我看见了很多差异，但我也很尊重这些差异。

I see many differences, and I respect them.

而且我觉得，正因为这样，我才有足够的勇气去长成我自己想要的样子。

And because of that, I have the courage to become who I want to be.

一个很好的环境，应该像一个大大的鱼塘，或者像海洋。

A good environment should be like a big pond—or even an ocean.

里面什么样的鱼都有，各种各样，奇奇怪怪，但是都可以自由自在地游。

There are all kinds of fish, different and unique, all swimming freely.

我们本来就不应该被放进同一道尺度里面，然后被训练成同一个形状。

We shouldn’t all be put into the same standard and shaped into the same form.

我的朋友们觉得，我是一个好奇心和求知欲都挺强的人。

My friends think I’m a very curious person who loves learning.

我有时候会想，这难道不是孩子本来就应该有的吗？

Sometimes I wonder—isn’t that what all children should have?

可是好像很多小朋友，作业写多了，求知欲就慢慢没了；补课补多了，好奇心也慢慢没了。

But it seems that many kids lose their curiosity—too much homework weakens it, and too many extra classes destroy it.

因为如果所有好玩的事情，最后都变成了一个任务，那谁还会真的喜欢它呢？

Because when everything fun becomes a task, who would still truly enjoy it?

我前两天在一本书里看到一句话，说从某种意义上来说，人的一生本来就是一个向死而生的过程。

A few days ago, I read something in a book that said life is, in a way, a journey toward death.

结局其实大家都知道，我们都会死。

We all know the ending—we will all die.

所以如果总是用效率、结果，还有很功利的眼光去看待一切，那难怪很多大人会觉得焦虑、疲惫，甚至觉得活着没有什么意思。

So if we always look at life through efficiency and results, it’s no surprise that many people feel anxious and exhausted.

可是，真正让一个孩子觉得有希望、觉得有热情、觉得这个世界值得去体验的，恰恰就是我们内心深处那个没有被磨掉的好奇心。

But what truly makes a child feel hopeful and passionate is that piece of curiosity that hasn’t been worn away.

我妈说，现在很多教育其实就是在一点一点地消磨这个东西。

My mum says that a lot of education today is slowly taking that away.

我觉得最好的教育，不是把我们更快地推上某一个赛道。

I think the best education is not about pushing us faster onto a track.

而是能不能帮我们守住自己身上那种很珍贵的生命力。

It’s about protecting that precious life force within us.

闲、自然、多元，这三个东西，肯定不能像作业或者技能那样被量化。

Leisure, nature, and diversity cannot be measured like homework or skills.

可是它们决定的，恰恰是我们的创造力、感受力、开放性，还有我们内在的生命力。

But they shape our creativity, sensitivity, openness, and inner vitality.

教育对我们最深的供给，不是把我们填满。

The deepest purpose of education is not to fill us up.

而是给我们留出空白。

It is to leave space.

不是控制我们，而是让我们的生命有空间，让我们自己去野蛮生长。

Not to control us, but to give life space—to grow freely on its own.

欢迎我的朋友们来新西兰找我玩。