PREFACE

In this, the third reader of the series, great care has been taken, not only in selecting material suited to the needs and ability of the pupil, but also to arrange the selections so that he may develop the habit of acquiring interesting facts as he reads.

In the first two grades the children need to learn the mechanics of reading,—the recognition of words, the ability to find out new words for themselves by means of phonics, correct pronunciation, enunciation¹, inflection, expression, etc., but in this grade especial stress may be laid on learning by reading,—getting the fact and remembering it. This prepares the pupil for the actual work of studying, when he is given a book and asked for the first time to “learn the lessons.” The questions at the end of many of the lessons should be read and answered by the pupil after he has read the selection. His answers should be thoughtfully prepared and correctly stated.

Especial attention is called to the fact that the selections in this book are almost exclusively copyrighted material, and have never been and cannot be used in other series of readers. This avoids the tiresome² repetition of stories, read first in one book and then again and again in others.

Many of the selections are valuable from a literary standpoint, and the pupils will read with real enjoyment³ stories by Laura Richards, Mary E. Wilkins, Anna von Rydingsv?rd, Helen Hunt Jackson, and other authors, noted⁴ for their skill in writing stories for children.
 

The selections which deal especially with child life and interests in other countries will broaden the child’s view of the world, prepare him for the study of geography, and help him to be a wide awake child, just the child whom this Wide Awake Series is intended to develop.

The selections, “Little Grandmother’s Shoes,” “Children of a Sunny Land,” “The Little Plant,” “The Little Goatherds,” “Great-Great-Grandma’s Christmas in England,” “The Whipping Boy,” “The Christmas Spruce Tree,” “The Eve of St. Nicholas,” “The Little Turkeys,” “The Children of Armenia,” “Ahmow,—the Wolf,” “The Emperor and the Peasant,” and “The Christmas Monks,” are used by arrangement with the Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company.

1 enunciation   

n.清晰的发音；表明，宣言；口齿

参考例句：

• He is always willing to enunciate his opinions on the subject of politics. 他总是愿意对政治问题发表意见。> enunciation / I9nQnsI5eIFn; I9nQnsI`eFEn/ n [C, U]。 来自辞典例句
• Be good at communicating,sense of responsibility,the work is careful,the enunciation is clear. 善于沟通，责任心强，工作细致，口齿清晰。 来自互联网

2 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

3 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。