(台灣球王盧彥勳)
Finding the perfect gift for dear old dad can be difficult. You don't want to get him anything too old-fashioned, and you don't want to waste your money buying something that's too young or hip1. As a result, you end up getting him a tie2. When he unwraps the gift, he smiles and adds it to his growing collection of ties. This simple yet elegant gift of a strip3 of fabric4 has a history that dates back further than the first Father's Day.
As many great things have come from Asia, the same is true for ties. The first-known ties were found in the grave of Qin Shi Huang in 1974. He had planned to have his army buried along with him, but was finally talked out of it. He decided to replace these soldiers with ones made of terracotta5 instead. Around each of these statues' necks was a small piece of cloth. This discovery shows not only that ties have been around since 210 BC, but also that some fathers had been trying to get rid of their ugly ties even in ancient times.
幫親愛的老爸找個完美的禮物不是件容易的差事。你不想送他太過時的禮品，也不想浪費錢買太年輕或太時髦的東西。結果你最後買了條領帶給他。當他拆開禮物時，他露出微笑並把它加入他日漸增加的領帶收藏中。這個簡單卻高雅的布條禮物，其歷史可回溯至比第一個父親節還古早的歲月前。
許多偉大的事物都來自亞洲，領帶也一樣。最早為人所知的領帶於1974年在秦始皇的陵墓中被發現。秦始皇本來打算讓他的軍隊跟他一起陪葬，但最終被人勸退。他於是決定用赤陶製成的軍隊來取代。在這些兵馬俑的脖子上都有一小塊布。這個發現不但代表領帶在大約公元前210年就出現了，也讓我們看到早在古時候，就有一些父親試圖將他們醜陋的領帶丟掉。
1.unwrap vt. 解開；打開
The boy can't wait to unwrap his present.
那個男孩等不及要打開他的禮物。
2.elegant a. 高雅的；優美的
Catherine is an elegant lady.
凱薩琳是一位優雅的淑女。
3.bury vt. 埋葬；埋藏
What did the dog bury in the backyard?
小狗在後院裡埋了什麼東西？
1.end up + 現在分詞 結果∕最後……
Charles planned to go jogging, but ended up watching TV at home.
查爾斯本來計劃去慢跑，結果卻在家裡看電視。
2.talk + 人 + out of + 名詞∕動名詞 勸某人不要……
Lucy talked Dan out of skipping class.
露西說服阿丹不翹課。
3.replace A with B 用 B 取代 A
I decided to replace my car with a new one.
我決定換一台新車。
1.hip a. 新潮的，時髦的
2.tie n. 領帶（= necktie）& vt. 繫（領帶）
3.strip n. 條狀物（紙、布料等）
4.fabric n. 布料
5.terracotta n. 赤陶土
This simple yet elegant gift...
（這個簡單卻高雅的……禮物……）
1.yet 在本句中作連接詞用，表示含驚訝之意的語氣上的轉折，可譯成『卻，然而』。
It's only a small restaurant and yet it is always filled with ustomers.
（這只是一家小餐廳，然而它總是高朋滿座。）
2.yet 亦可作副詞。用於否定句時，表『還沒』之意；用於疑問句時，則表『已經』。
Bruce hasn't come in yet.
（布魯斯還沒進來。）
Have you made up your mind yet?
（你已經下定決心了嗎？）
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