Plain, distinct speech was a particular concern of my father and he was constantly drilling me in the art of elocution. Before I was three, he was reading aloud to me from the Bible, Shakespeare and Mark Twain. Thereafter, I read aloud to him so he could work on my diction. By the time I was in the fifth grade, I could recite from a whole range of classical literature and poetry —— and had to be pre­pared to do so at a moment's notice. Once, when we happened to meet near the church, he swept me inside, stood me up in the pulpit and said, "Go ahead. " It was a familiar signal. I promptly launched into a recitation while, from a rear pew, Father kept coaching, "Aspirate your H's! Louder! And put more fire into it!"
Of course, here have been times as a young man, when I got tired of study and devoted my time to playing. Then Father would admonish me succinctly by quoting a saying from Shakespeare, "If all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work."
Obviously, his efforts were not entirely in vain, for my voice has enabled me to earn a fair livelihood. But that fact doesn't begin to define the enormous debt I owe my father.
Annotation:
1. line every vertical surface 这里的意思是凡能放书的地方都放满书。vertical 垂直的
2. zoology n. 动物学
3. persistent adj. 固执的,坚定不移的
4. enroll v. 录取
5. beneficiary n. 受益人
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