1 Marva was a striking woman with high cheekbones and strong angular features, 马文是一个引人注目的女人,她有着高高的颧骨，瘦而强健，which she inherited along with a love of jewelry from a great-grandmother who was a Choctaw Indian. 这都遗传自她那乔克托印第安人血统的曾祖母。
Slender though not willowy, Marva was immediately discernible(可辨别的) in a crowd——even without the visibility afforded by her height——for she had acquired a poise（体态，姿态）and sophistication（成熟，有教养的）that gave her appearance a deliberate（深思熟虑的）style. 马文老师瘦削而不软弱，就算她没有那么高，在人群中时还是一眼就能识别出来——因为她有着特别的镇静及教养，这些都使她有了一种严谨的风格。
2 Marva would rarely wear slacks, and she never wore loose-fitting shirts or casually（随意的）assembled（组合的）bloused and skirts. Sloppy （肥大的）dressing showed disrespect（无理）for oneself, for the children, and for the profession（同行）. From the first day of class Marva was teaching that self-respect is the most important thing a person can have. For herself and forthe children Marva dressed impeccably（无可挑剔的）, favoring cashmere sweaters, suits, and herring-bone tweeds. Her clothing was tailored（裁制）and stylishly simple, but she usually added an ornamental（装饰的）touch: a carved belt cinched over a sweater, a gold medallion on a chain（链条）, an organdy boutonniere, or perhaps a lace handkerchief fanned in pleats across a pocket and held in place by a beaded lion’s-head brooch. In Marva’s opinion, it was important to have a unique imprint（印记）给人留下独特的印象是很重要的. She felt she was different from most people and delighted in her difference. Itwas an attitude often mistaken for arrogance（自大）. 马文很少穿宽松衣服，也决不穿宽大的直筒连衣裙或不正式的短衫及裙子。
马文认为宽大的衣服是对自己、对学生、对教师这一职业的不敬。
从开学的第一天起，马文老师总会告诉设法让孩子们懂得：自尊是一个人最可宝贵的东西。
马文的着装总是无可挑剔，这既是为了自己，也是为了学生们：她爱穿开司米羊毛衫、套装以及人字形花呢服装。
她的衣服都剪裁得很合适，时髦而简单，但她常常会加上一个装饰品：在羊毛衫上配上一条雕有花纹的腰带，或一条有圆形浮雕的锁链，或玻璃纱襟花，抑或是一块用狮头胸针别在口袋上的花边手巾。
在马文老师看来，。
她欣然于自己的与众不同，但这有时也会引起一些误解，认为这是自大的表现。
3 “I am a teacher,”she said to the class on this first day. “A teacher is someone who leads. There is no magic here. Mrs. Collins is no miracle worker. I do not walk on water, I do not part the sea. I just love children and work harder than a lot of people, and so will you. 4 “Some teachers sit behind a big desk, like a king in a castle, and the children are like the poor peasants. The desk isolates them from the children. But I don’t sit behind a big desk in front of the class. I walk up and down the rows of desks every day and I hug each of you every day. “Have you ever been afraid to go up to the teacher’s desk? Did you think someone would laugh at you if you made a mistake?”Marva didn’t wait for an answer. She knew each child was following her closely. “Tell me when I’m wrong. You must never be afraid to tell a teacher if she is wrong. I’m not God. My mouth is no prayer（祈祷）book. We shall work together. How many of you have been afraid to ask other teachers questions?”Hands immediately went up. “一些老师坐在大大的桌子后面，就像一座城堡里的国王，而学生们则像是贫困的佃农——这桌子使老师和同学们分离开来。
而我不会坐在教室前那张大大的桌子后面。
我每天都会在教室里来回走动，我每天都会拥抱你们。
”“以前你们害怕走到老师的办公桌前吗？你们是否觉得如果犯了错，有人会嘲笑你们？”马文并没有留给孩子们回答的时间，她明白，大家此刻都在紧跟着她的思路。
“如果我犯了错，请你们告诉我。
如果老师错了，你们不要不敢告诉她。
我不是神，我的嘴也不是祈祷书。
我们将会一起努力。
你们中有多少人原来害怕向老师提问的？”孩子们立刻举起了手。
5 “Why were you afraid to ask, Michele?”“I was afraid the teacher would holler（抱怨）.”“Why were you afraid, Jerome?”“I was afraid I would get hit with a ruler,”he said flatly （直截了当的）, expecting the snickers（偷笑）that came from his classmates. “When you were afraid of a teacher, Bernette, what were you afraid of?”“I was afraid she would make everyone laugh at me. My other teacher used to act like she was perfect or something. She used to make me feel dumb（哑的）.”6 “Sometimes I don’t like other grown-ups very much because they think they know everything. I don’t know everything.”Marva said. “I can learn all the time.”“You have a right to your opinion. You say what you think.”Marva told him. “Don’t care what anyone else thinks. What’s inside of you is important.”There was excitement building and Marva worked the momentum, like an entertainer（表演者）who felt the pulse脉搏of an audience. 马文老师触动了孩子们兴奋的神经，她就像是一个能够触到观众脉搏的表演者。
“Oh, I love to see your eyes dance, ”she said. “New children have such dull目无光彩的eyes, but yours are already coming alive.”“哦！我喜欢看你的眼睛起舞！”她说。
“新一届的学生总是两眼呆滞，但你的双眼看上去却充满了生机。
”7 “I know most of you can’t spell your name. You don’t know the alphabet, you don’t know how to read, you don’t know homonyms or how to syllabicate. I promise you that you will. None of you has ever failed. School may have failed you. Well, goodbye to failure, children. Welcome to success. You will read hard books in here andunderstand what you read. You will write every day so that writing becomes second nature to you. You will memorize a poem every week so that you can train your minds to remember things. It is useless for you to learn something in school if you are not going to remember it. “But you must help me to help you. If you don’t give anything, don’t expect anything. Success is not coming to you, you must come to it.”The Children looked puzzled. They were accustomed to warnings, threats, and rules of order on the first day of class. If nothing else, Marva vowed发誓she would get through to these children because she was so determined. Or just plain简单的stubborn顽固. 马文老师意志坚定—抑或仅仅是固执。