Selflessness basically means that you are more concerned about others'?feelings and well-being than your own. It's?safe to say that the world would be a much better place if we were all a little more selfless. It starts at the individual level, so you can start making that change today! There are tons of easy ways to start being more selfless in your everyday life.

?Lextutor.ca ????vocabulary profiler

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1 Try to help one random person each day.

It could be big or small, as long as you make the commitment(做出了承諾).?Maybe?you let someone in a rush go ahead of you on line, maybe?you give money to a homeless person, or maybe you lent a hand on a project to a stressed coworker. Every little thing you do helps make the world a better place.

It's?okay if the opportunity to help someone doesn't?come up every day. Just make the commitment to help if the situation does come up.

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2 Volunteer your time for a good cause.

This is a great way to practice generosity and contribute to the world. There are probably tons of local organizations that you can do some volunteer work with. Dedicate a few hours on the weekends to give back to your community.

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Popular volunteer work includes handing out food in a soup kitchen, helping clean up local parks, caring for animals at a shelter, and helping organize town events.

If you want to do bigger volunteer projects, you could also join an organization like the Peace Corps.

If you need more motivation, volunteering has great personal and mental health benefits too.

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3 Support charities with regular donations.

Giving up on frivolous things to help others is a selfless quality. If you're able to, find some charities that you'd like to support and set up a regular donation to them. Your support will help them keep doing their great work.

It's okay to skip giving money if you're not financially secure. There are tons of other ways to help people!

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4 Make yourself available for friends and family.

The people in your everyday life could probably use a helping hand! If someone asks you for some help, do all you can to make that happen. It might be a little inconvenient, but it'll?really improve their day.

Keep an eye out for little opportunities to help, like if your neighbor is carrying something heavy. Maybe they didn't?ask for your help, but they'll?appreciate you going over to offer a hand.

Remember that it's?okay to say no if helping someone will put undue strain on you. Don't?run yourself ragged!?(衣衫襤褸)

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5 ?Be patient with others to practice empathy.

Expecting everything at the drop of a hat is a selfish quality. If you're getting impatient, take a step back. Understand that in most cases, the people around you are trying their best, and you just need to be understanding. This keeps things in perspective and prevents you from losing your temper.

This quality can help improve your personal relationships too. Patient people usually attract other people because they're easier to be around.

Being patient doesn't mean you can't communicate your needs to others. It just means understanding that you can't always have instant gratification.

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6 ?Listen when others share their feelings with you

Good, active listening is key to understanding people's?needs. If someone starts opening up to you, let them do it without interrupting. Being generous with your time like this will show others that you're?the kind of person they can come to with problems.

Try to avoid offering advice unless they ask for it. People who are venting usually just want to get things off their chest.

Sometimes it helps to repeat what the person said back to them so they know you’ve heard and understood them.

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7 ?Put yourself in other people's?shoes

You'll?be more motivated to help people if you can empathize with them. Try to identify with the people around you and understand where they're?coming from. This is a great way to see people as individuals and get rid of any preconceived motions you may have had.

Volunteer work is a good way to see how other people live. You can really broaden your horizons this way.

Good listening is also a good way to understand people and their needs better.

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8 ?Admit when you're?wrong

This isn't?fun and no one wants to do it, but it's?an important quality. Believing you can never be wrong is a selfish quality. Don'tact like you know all the answers. Accept that other people might have the correct answers, and if you are wrong, own it and admit it. This will probably feel better than you're?expecting it to!

This usually makes your personal relationships stronger too. Friends, family, and partners probably won't?like it if you act like you're?never wrong.

Remember that being wrong is an opportunity to learn. If you pretend you're?never wrong, you won't?be able to grow as a person.

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9 ?Let others be the center of attention

Selfish people don't like when others get attention. Be willing to take a step back and let others enjoy their accomplishments without trying to focus attention on yourself. Don't?worry—you'll?have your day too!

If the boss compliments someone at work, for example, offer them a nice congratulations. Maybe you wanted some attention for your work too, but let your coworker have their moment.

You might not notice if you're?a one-upper, but try to monitor your behavior when someone else is getting attention. If you feel like you want that attention focused on you instead, then this might be something to work on.

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10 ?Don't?have rewards in mind when you help others

The point of being selfless is making the world a better place. If you're?hoping for rewards when you help others, then you're?not really being selfless. Forget about being paid back for what you do and take satisfaction in your good work instead.

Over time, you'll?realize that helping others makes you feel good, which is like a reward in itself.

Note that this doesn't?mean you should continue giving all your effort to people who Don't?appreciate it or take advantage of you, like in a relationship. This leads to resentment on your part.

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11 Make time for self-care too

Being selfless doesn't?mean neglecting yourself or your health. Continue making time for yourself, doing your hobbies, resting, and overall taking care of yourself. That way, you'll?have plenty of energy to keep helping others.

Remember, you'll?be able to help people better if you're?rested and refreshed!

1)?appreciate

2)?available

3)?benefits

4)?commitment

5)?communicate

6)?community

7)?contribute

8)?energy

9)?financially

10)?focus

11)?identify

12)?individual

13)?mental

14)?monitor

15)?motivated

16)?overall

17)?partner

18)?perspective

19)?project

20)?random

21)?secure

22)?stress

23)?volunteer

24)?accomplishment

25)?boss

26)?broaden

27)?charity

28)?compliments

29)?corps

30)?coworker

31)?dedicate

32)?donation

33)?empathize

34)?empathy

35)?frivolous

36)?gratification

37)?hobbies

38)?impatient

39)?inconvenient

40)?preconceived

41)?ragged

42)?resentment

43)?selfless

44)?skip

45)?strain

46)?undue

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Selfish Giant

Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden.

每天下午，孩子們放學(xué)后，都會(huì)去巨人的花園玩耍。

It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass.

那是一個(gè)可愛(ài)的大花園，上面種著柔軟的綠草。

Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars,?and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit.

草地上到處都是美麗的花朵，像星星一樣，還有十二棵桃樹(shù)，春天開(kāi)出粉紅色和珍珠般的嬌嫩花朵，秋天結(jié)出豐富的果實(shí)。

The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them.

小鳥(niǎo)們坐在樹(shù)上，唱得那么甜美，孩子們常常停下游戲來(lái)聽(tīng)他們說(shuō)話。

"How happy we are here! " they cried to each other.

“我們?cè)谶@里真高興！”他們互相喊道。

One day the Giant came back.

有一天，巨人回來(lái)了。

He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years.

他曾去拜訪他的朋友康沃爾食人魔，并在他身邊呆了七年。

After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say,?for his conversation was limited, and he was determined to return to his own castle.??（mansion）

七年過(guò)去了，他想說(shuō)的都說(shuō)完了，因?yàn)樗恼勗捰邢?，他決定回到自己的城堡。

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When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.

當(dāng)他到達(dá)時(shí)，他看到孩子們?cè)诨▓@里玩耍。

"What are you doing here? " he cried in a very gruff ?/ɡr?f/?voice, and the children ran away.

“你在這里做什么？”他用非常粗魯?shù)穆曇艉暗溃⒆觽兣芰恕?/p>

"My own garden is my own garden, " said the Giant;?"any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.

“我自己的花園就是我自己的花園，”巨人說(shuō)?！叭魏稳硕伎梢岳斫膺@一點(diǎn)，除了我自己，我不會(huì)允許任何人參與其中?！庇谑撬谒?chē)鹆烁邏Γ⒇Q起了一塊布告牌。

TREPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED. He was a very selfish Giant.

入侵者將被起訴。他是一個(gè)非常自私的巨人。

The poor children had now nowhere to play.

可憐的孩子們現(xiàn)在無(wú)處可玩。

They tried to play on the road,?but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it.

他們?cè)囍诼飞贤?，但是路上塵土飛揚(yáng)，到處都是堅(jiān)硬的石頭，他們不喜歡這樣。

They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside.

"How happy we were there,?" they said to each

other.

下課后，他們常常在高墻上閑逛，談?wù)摾锩婷利惖幕▓@。

“我們?cè)谀抢镎骈_(kāi)心，”他們互相說(shuō)。

Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds.

Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter.

然后春天來(lái)了，全國(guó)到處都是小花和小鳥(niǎo)。

只是在自私巨人的花園里，還是冬天。

The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom.

由于沒(méi)有孩子，鳥(niǎo)兒們不在意在里面唱歌，樹(shù)也忘了開(kāi)花。

Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass,?but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep.

有一次，一朵美麗的花從草叢中探出頭來(lái)，但當(dāng)它看到布告欄時(shí)，它為孩子們感到難過(guò)，它又滑回地面，睡著了。

The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost.

唯一感到高興的是雪和霜。

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"Spring has forgotten this garden, " they cried,?"so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver.

“春天忘記了這個(gè)花園，”他們喊道，，“所以我們一年四季都住在這里?！毖┯盟羌咨拇蠖放裆w住了草地，霜把所有的樹(shù)都涂成了銀色。

Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came.

然后他們邀請(qǐng)北風(fēng)和他們住在一起，他來(lái)了。

He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down.

他裹著皮草，整天在花園里咆哮，把煙囪吹倒。

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"This is a delightful spot, " he said,?"we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came.

“這是一個(gè)令人愉快的地方，”他說(shuō)，“我們必須拜訪冰雹。”于是冰雹來(lái)了。

Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go.

每天三個(gè)小時(shí)，他在城堡的屋頂上嘎嘎作響，直到他把大部分石板都打碎了，然后他以最快的速度在花園里跑來(lái)跑去。

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He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.

他一身灰衣，氣息如冰。

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"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming, " said the Selfish Giant,?as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather." But the Spring never came, nor the Summer.

“我不明白為什么春天來(lái)得這么晚，”自私的巨人說(shuō)道，他坐在窗前，望著他冰冷的白色花園。 “我希望天氣會(huì)有所改變?！钡谴禾鞗](méi)有來(lái)，夏天也沒(méi)有。

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The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none.

"He is too selfish, " she said.

秋天給了每個(gè)花園金色的果實(shí)，但她沒(méi)有給巨人的花園。

“他太自私了，”她說(shuō)。

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So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail,?and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.

所以那里總是冬天，北風(fēng)，冰雹，和霜，還有雪在樹(shù)上跳來(lái)跳去。

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One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music.

It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by.

一天早上，巨人正躺在床上醒來(lái)，聽(tīng)到一些美妙的音樂(lè)。

這聲音在他的耳朵里聽(tīng)起來(lái)如此美妙，以至于他認(rèn)為一定是國(guó)王的音樂(lè)家路過(guò)。

It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful?music in the world.

窗外真的只是一只小紅雀在唱歌，但他已經(jīng)很久沒(méi)有在花園里聽(tīng)到過(guò)鳥(niǎo)兒的歌聲了，在他看來(lái)，那是世界上最美妙的音樂(lè)。

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Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement.

然后冰雹在他頭頂停止了舞動(dòng)，北風(fēng)也停止了咆哮，一股芬芳的香味從敞開(kāi)的窗扉飄到了他的面前。

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"I believe the Spring has come at last, " said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.

“我相信春天終于來(lái)了，”巨人說(shuō)。他從床上跳下來(lái)向外張望。

What did he see?

He saw a most wonderful?sight.

他看到了什么？

他看到了最美妙的景象。

Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees.

In every tree that he could see there was a little child.

And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads.

孩子們從墻上的一個(gè)小洞里爬了進(jìn)來(lái)，他們坐在樹(shù)枝上。

在他能看到的每一棵樹(shù)上，都有一個(gè)小孩。

樹(shù)木很高興孩子們又回來(lái)了，它們用鮮花把自己蓋住了，在孩子們的頭頂上輕輕地?fù)]舞著手臂。

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The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing.

It was a lovely scene,?only in one corner it was still winter.

鳥(niǎo)兒飛來(lái)飛去，歡快地嘰嘰喳喳，花兒在綠草叢中仰望而笑。

這是一個(gè)可愛(ài)的場(chǎng)景，只是在一個(gè)角落里還是冬天。

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It was the farthest corner of the garden,?and in it was standing a little boy.

He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly.

這是花園最遠(yuǎn)的角落，里面站著一個(gè)小男孩。

他太小了，伸手夠不到樹(shù)枝，在它周?chē)D(zhuǎn)來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)去，痛哭流涕。

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The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it.

那棵可憐的樹(shù)上還結(jié)滿了霜和雪，北風(fēng)在它上面吹著呼嘯著。

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"Climb up! little boy, " said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy?was too tiny.

“爬上去！小男孩，”樹(shù)說(shuō)，它把樹(shù)枝往下壓得盡可能低。但是這個(gè)男孩太小了。

And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out.

當(dāng)他向外看時(shí)，巨人的心融化了。

"How selfish I have been! " he said;?"now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy?on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had done.

“我是多么自私！”他說(shuō)?！?/span>現(xiàn)在我知道為什么春天不會(huì)來(lái)了。我會(huì)把那個(gè)可憐的小男孩放在樹(shù)頂上，然后我會(huì)推倒墻，我的花園將永遠(yuǎn)是孩子們的游樂(lè)場(chǎng)?！彼娴臑樽约旱乃魉鶠楦械椒浅１?。

So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden.

于是他躡手躡腳地下樓，輕輕地打開(kāi)前門(mén)，走進(jìn)花園。

But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again.

但孩子們看到他，嚇得都跑了，花園又變成了冬天。

Only the little boy?did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming.

只有小男孩沒(méi)有跑，因?yàn)樗难劬锍錆M了淚水，他沒(méi)有看到巨人來(lái)了。

And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree.

巨人悄悄走到他身后，輕輕握住他的手，把他放到樹(shù)上。

And the tree broke at once into blossom,?and the birds came and sang on it, and the?little boy?stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him.

樹(shù)立刻開(kāi)花了，鳥(niǎo)兒飛來(lái)，在樹(shù)上歌唱，小男孩伸出兩只胳膊摟住巨人的脖子，吻了他。

And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked?any longer,?came running back, and with them came the Spring.

而其他的孩子，當(dāng)他們看到巨人不再邪惡時(shí)，跑回來(lái)了，春天也跟著來(lái)了。

"It is your garden now, little children, " said the Giant,?and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall.

“現(xiàn)在是你的花園了，小孩子們，”巨人說(shuō)，他拿起一把大斧頭把墻撞倒了。

And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.

當(dāng)人們?cè)谑c(diǎn)鐘去市場(chǎng)時(shí)，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)巨人在他們所見(jiàn)過(guò)的最美麗的花園里和孩子們玩耍。

All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye.

他們玩了一整天，到了晚上，他們來(lái)到巨人面前向他道別。

"But where is your little companion? " he said: "the boy?I put into the tree." The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.

“可是你的小伙伴呢？”他說(shuō)：“我放進(jìn)樹(shù)里的那個(gè)男孩?！本奕俗?lèi)?ài)他，因?yàn)樗沁^(guò)他。

"We don't know, " answered the children; "he has gone away."

"You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow, " said the Giant.

“我們不知道，”孩子們回答。 “他走了。” “你必須告訴他要確定，明天到這里來(lái)，”巨人說(shuō)。

But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.

但孩子們說(shuō)他們不知道他住在哪里，也從未見(jiàn)過(guò)他；巨人感到非常難過(guò)。

Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant.

每天下午放學(xué)后，孩子們都會(huì)來(lái)和巨人一起玩。

But the little boy?whom the Giant loved was never seen again.

但是巨人所愛(ài)的那個(gè)小男孩再也沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)過(guò)。

The Giant was very kind to all the children,?yet he longed for his first?little friend, and often spoke of him.

巨人對(duì)所有的孩子都很好，但他很想他的第一個(gè)小朋友，經(jīng)常提起他。

?

"How I would like to see him! " he used to say.

“我多么想見(jiàn)他！”他常說(shuō)。

Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble.

歲月流逝，巨人變得非常蒼老和虛弱。

He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden.

他不能再打一場(chǎng)比賽了，所以他坐在一張巨大的扶手椅上，看著孩子們的游戲，欣賞他的花園。

"I have many beautiful flowers, " he said;?"but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all." One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing.

“我有很多美麗的花朵，”他說(shuō)?！暗⒆觽兪亲蠲利惖幕ǘ??！币粋€(gè)冬天的早晨，他在穿衣服時(shí)從窗外望去。

He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.

他現(xiàn)在不討厭冬天了，因?yàn)樗滥侵皇谴禾焖耍▋哼€在休息。

?

Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked.

突然，他驚訝地揉了揉眼睛，看了又看。

It certainly was a marvellous sight.

這當(dāng)然是一個(gè)了不起的景象。

In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden,?and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy?he had loved.

花園最遠(yuǎn)的角落里有一棵樹(shù)，上面開(kāi)滿了可愛(ài)的白花。它的枝條全是金色的，和銀色的果實(shí)掛在上面，下面站著他心愛(ài)的小男孩。

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Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden.

巨人高興地跑下樓，跑進(jìn)了花園。

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He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child.

他急忙穿過(guò)草地，走到孩子身邊。

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And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said,?"Who hath dared to wound thee? " For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.

當(dāng)他走近時(shí)，他的臉氣得漲紅了，說(shuō)：“誰(shuí)敢傷害你？”因?yàn)楹⒆拥氖终粕嫌袃蓚€(gè)釘子的印子，兩個(gè)釘子的印子在小腳上。

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"Who hath dared to wound thee? " cried the Giant;?"tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him."

"Nay! " answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love."?"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.

“誰(shuí)敢傷害你？”巨人叫道。“告訴我，我可以拿起我的大劍殺了他?！?

“不！”孩子回答。 “但這些都是愛(ài)的傷口?！薄澳闶钦l(shuí)？”巨人說(shuō)，一種奇怪的敬畏降臨在他身上，他跪在小孩子面前。

And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him,?"You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise." And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.

孩子對(duì)巨人笑了笑，對(duì)他說(shuō)：“你讓我在你的花園里玩一次，今天你要和我一起去我的花園，那是天堂?！蹦翘煜挛纾⒆觽兣苓^(guò)去，發(fā)現(xiàn)巨人躺在樹(shù)下，開(kāi)滿是白色的花朵。

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