on board the steamer was an elderly man with such a joyful face that if it didn't belie him he must have been the happiest person on earth. in fact, he said he was the happiest; i heard it from his own mouth. he was a dane, a countryman of mine, and a traveling theatrical producer. his whole company was with him and lay in a large box, for he was the proprietor of a puppet show. he said that his natural cheerfulness had been enlightened by a polytechnic student, and the experiment had left him completely happy. at first i didn't understand what he meant, but later he explained the whole thing to me, and here is the story.

"in the town of slagelse," he said, "i gave a performance in the post-office courtyard before a brilliant audience, all juvenile except for two old matrons. suddenly a person in black, looking like a student, entered the hall and sat down; he laughed at the right places and applauded appropriately. he was an unusual spectator. i was anxious to know who he was, and i learned that he was a student from the polytechnic institute of copenhagen who had been sent out to teach the people in the provinces. my performance ended promptly at eight o'clock, for children must go to bed early, and a manager must consider the convenience of his public. at nine o'clock the student began his lecture and experiments, and now i was one of his spectators. it was all extraordinary to hear and see. most of it went over my head and into the parson's, as one says, but it made me think that if we mortals can learn so much we must surely be intended to last longer than the little span we're here on earth. what he performed were miracles, and though only small ones, everything was done as easily as a foot fits into a stocking, as naturally as nature functions. in the days of moses and the prophets such a man would have been counted among the wise men of the land; in the middle ages he would have been burned at the stake. i didn't sleep that whole night. and the next evening, when i gave another performance, and the student was again present, i was in an exuberantly good humor. i once heard from an actor that when he played the part of a lover he always thought of one particular lady in the audience; he played only to her and forgot the rest of the house. now the polytechnic student was my 'she,' my only spectator, for whom alone i performed.

编辑:Liuxuepaper.Com

作文地带知识拓展:

• 英语（English）属于印欧语系日耳曼语族西日耳曼语支，最早被中世纪的英国使用，并因其广阔的殖民地而成为世界使用面积最广的语言。英国人的祖先盎格鲁部落是后来迁移到大不列颠岛地区的日耳曼部落之一，称为英格兰。这两个名字都来自波罗地海半岛的Anglia。该语言与弗里斯兰语和下撒克森语密切相关，其词汇受到其他日耳曼语族语言的影响，尤其是北欧语（北日耳曼语），并在很大程度上由拉丁文和法文撰写。

  英语的英文释义：

  English 名词 uk  /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/ us  /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/

  the language that is spoken in the UK, the US, and in many other countries

  英语

  American/British English

  美式／英式英语

  Do you speak English?

  你会说英语吗？

  English   形容词 adjective   uk  /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/ us  /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/

  in or relating to the English language

  英语的

  an English teacher

  英语老师

  relating to or from England

  英格兰的;英国的

  English films/food/people

  英国电影／食品／人

  English law

  英格兰法律