《90后少女纯真追梦之旅:非梧不栖》第39章

r　English。　I　clearly　know　what　I　should　do　and　always　try　my　best　to　control　myself；　though　sometimes　I　still　lose　control　of　myself。　For　example；　when　I　watched　The　Matrix　during　May　Day　holiday；　I　couldn’t　stop　watching　it　for　7　hours　till　the　end。　Mom　scolded　me　for　watching　too　long　even　for　learning　English。　She　warned　me　of　progress　in　my　Math；　Chemistry　and　Physics；　saying　that　I　ought　to　spend　more　time　on　them　since　the　exam　of　HSFZ　is　looming　（took　place　on　May　13th）。　I　didn’t　talk　back　because　I　knew　I　was　too　crazy　about　it　to　stop　watching　and　I　knew　I　was　wrong。
Anyway；　despite　the　fact　that　watching　movies　sometimes　wears　you　out；　I　still　consider　it　a　wonderful　way　of　learning　English　because　it　is　far　more　interesting；　lively　and　exciting　than　other　ways　of　learning　English。　But　my　advice　is：　doing　so　needs　great　self　discipline。　
Exploration　of　the　Ma…
Talking　about　my　favorite　movie；　definitely　it　is　The　Matrix。　There　are　three　DVDs　in　all；　and　each　of　them　lasts　34　hours。　When　I　first　watched　the　first　episode　I　could　barely　resist　the　impulse　to　finish　it　right　away；　and　once　I　came　to　the　last　two；　I　totally　indulged　myself　in　it　and　finished　it　after　a　sevenhour　watching。
I　consider　it　to　be　an　amazing　film；　no　wonder　some　websites　introduce　students　use　The　Matrix　to　improve　both　oral　English　and　understanding　of　English；　for　it　owns　an　extremely　plex　and　confusing　plot　and　significant　dialogues。　In　order　to　fully　understand　it；　I　took　the　trouble　of　taking　down　all　the　conversations　on　a　note　book；　so　I　had　to　pause　the　film　anytime　to　copy　the　subtitles。　Because　of　its　plex　story；　I　still　had　trouble　understanding　it。　The　sentences　of　this　movie　are　a　play　on　words；　which　contain　more　than　one　meaning。
For　example；　I　clearly　remember　at　the　beginning　of　the　film；　Mr。　Anderson；　who　is　known　to　us　as　Neo；　the　chosen　one；　wasn’t　aware　of　his　special　power。　One　day　he　woke　up；　and　a　sentence　“Follow　the　rabbit。”　appeared　on　his　screen　；　a　group　of　people　turned　out　and　asked　him　to　join　a　party。　He　wanted　to　refuse　at　first；　but　once　he　saw　a　rabbit　tattooed　on　a　woman’s　arm　who　revealed　it　on　purpose；　he　changed　his　mind　at　once。　Afterwards；　he　met　his　girlfriend　Trinity。　It　was　when　the　real　exciting　story　started。
How　e　the　story　happened　later　related　to　“rabbit”？　What　does　“follow　the　rabbit”　mean？　The　questions　kept　obsessing　me　and　drove　me　to　consult　all　the　dictionaries　I　could　find。　I　reckoned　“rabbit”　may　have　the　meaning　of　“clue”　at　first；　but　I　failed　to　prove　my　own　guess。　The　dictionaries　simply　provided　one　explanation　saying　that　it　means　“a　small　longeared　animal　that　lives　in　a　hole　in　the　ground”。　“Rabbit”　here　absolutely　had　its　unique　meaning；　and　its　general　meaning　“rabbit”　had　nothing　to　do　with　the　plot。　This　made　me　much　more　puzzled。
Not　giving　up　easily；　I　called　Brenda　who　is　my　another　foreign　teacher　and　asked　her　about　this　detail。　She　chuckled　on　the　other　side　of　the　line；　saying：　“Clara；　think　of　a　famous　fiction　named　‘Alice’s　Adventures　in　Wonderland’；　how　did　Alice　get　to　wonderland？”　After　a　long　pause　of　silence；　I　yelled　in　excitement：　“That　rabbit”　“You　got　it”　said　Brenda。　“Now　do　you　know　the　other　meaning　of　‘follow　the　rabbit’？”　“Yeah”　answered　I　hastily；　“It　hinted　that　Neo　was　going　to　be　led　to　the　true　world　and　know　his　real　identity　and　destiny。”
Besides　this　part　of　The　Matrix；　there　are　several　parts　using　this　fiction　to　pun　on　words。　For　instance；　when　Neo　was　introduced　to　meet　Morpheus；　Morpheus　showed　him　two　pills；　one　red；　and　the　other　blue。　“Take　the　blue　pill；　and　you　wake　up　on　your　bed　tomorrow　and　believe　every　thing　you　believe；　take　the　red　one；　I’ll　show　you　how　deep　the　rabbit　hole　is。”　The　words　above　was　quoted　from　the　film；　and　the　last　sentence　of　Morpheus　implied　that　he　would　tell　Neo　the　truth　about　the　world　they　lived　which　was　a　virtual　wonderland　created　by　puters；　and　the　machines　had　taken　control　of　the　world　for　a　long　time。　Obviously；　“rabbit　hole”　refers　to　truth　here。
Further　more；　the　names　in　this　film　are　significant；　too。　The　one　that　named　the　characters　apparently　wanted　to　show　us　with　some　clues　through　these　deliberately　chosen　names。　Take　“Morpheus”　for　an　example。　It　is　the　name　of　god　of　the　dream　from　classical　legends。　The　name　“Trinity”　also　has　its　own　religious　meaning。
Unfortunately；　Brenda　left　abruptly　with　the　three　DVDs　I　lent　her；　so　I　could　not　keep　the　film。　My　only　memory　for　The　Matrix　is　my　notebook　that　contains　almost　all　the　conversations　of　it。　I　treat　it　as　my　priceless　treasure。　
The　first　TOEFL　class
Saturday；　July　28；　2007
The　courses　of　TOEFL　iBT　finally　began　after　I　had　expected　it　for　such　a　long　time。　The　first　thing　I　got　to　do　is　to　get　new　books。　When　Ellen　and　I　went　into　a　small　room　near　our　classroom　and　showed　the　woman　in　charge　of　our　listening　certificate；　our　hands　were　full　of　loads　of　books　in　an　instant　moment。　There　were　seven　huge　and　thick　books　including　a　series　of　four　books　for　the　four　sections　in　TOEFL　iBT；　an　advanced　skill　practice　for　the　iBT；　an　official　guide　and　a　preparation　course　for　TOEFL　iBT；　plus　more　than　30　CDs；　it　would　certainly　make　you　in　despair。　But　the　motto　of　the　New　Oriental　is　“Hew　out　of　the　mountain　of　despair　a　stone　of　hope　and　you　can　make　your　life　a　splendid　one。”　“OK；　I　will　try；”　I　thought。　“But　you　have　to　tell　me　how；　do　you？”
The　teacher　who　taught　our　spoken　English　is　John；　a　talkative；　humorous　man　with　a　look　a　little　like　foreigners。
In　class；　he　taught　us　how　to　make　through　independent　speaking　task　and　also　encouraged　students　to　speak　before　the　class　on　some　chosen　topics。　I　don’t　know　what　I　was　afraid　of；　for　most　of　the　class　spoke　much　more　poorly　than　I　did。　But　still；　I　didn’t　dare　to　stand　up　and　say：　“John；　can　I　have　a　try？”　Now　I　am　aware　of　my　fault；　：　wanting　to　be　perfect　is　not　wrong；　but　one　should　not　let　the　thought　block　one’s　way。　Stopping　talking　because　of　being　afraid　of　making　mistakes　surely　guarantees　you　a　nonmistake　performance；　but　fluency　in　English　is　bound　to　be　a　daydream　for　you。
The　ne