A young man who was also an avid golfer found himself with a few hours to spare one afternoon．He figured if he hurried and played very fast，he could get in 9 holes before he had to head home．Just as he was about to tee off，an old gentleman shuffled onto the tee and asked if he could accompany the young man as he was golfing alone．Not being able to say no，he allowed the old gentleman to join him．
To his surprise the old man played fairly quickly．He didn’t hit the ball far，but plodded along consistently and didn’t waste much time．Finally，they reached the 9th fairway and the young man found himself with a tough shot．There was a large pine tree right in front of his ball and it was directly between his ball and the green．After several minutes of debating how to hit the shot，the old man finally said，“You know，when I was your age，I’d hit the ball right over that tree．”
With that challenge placed before him，the youngster swung hard，hit the ball up，right smack into the top of the tree trunk and it thudded back on the ground not a foot from where it had originally lay．The old man offered one more comment，“Of course，when I was your age that pine tree was only 3 feet tall．”
重点英语词汇
1.avid - 热衷的，热心的
2.golfer - 高尔夫球手
3.spare - 空闲的
4.tee off - 开球
5.accompany - 陪同
6.golfing - 打高尔夫球
7.gentleman - 先生
8.shuffle - 拖着脚步走
9.tee - 开球区
10.plod along - 缓慢而稳定地前进
11.waste - 浪费
12.fairway - 球道
13.tough shot - 难打的球
14.pine tree - 松树
15.green - 球洞区
16.debate - 讨论
17.swing - 挥杆
18.smack - 猛击
19.trunk - 树干
20.thud - 重击声
21.foot - 英尺
22.challenge - 挑战
23.youngster - 年轻人
24.original - 原来的
25.comment - 评论
高尔夫挑战赛
有一个年轻人是狂热的高尔夫球迷。有天下午，他发现自己有几小时的闲暇时光。他想如果能抓紧时间，且球打得快的话，就可以在回家之前打完九个洞。当他把球放在球座上，准备击打的时候，一个老先生缓慢地走到球座前，说自己一个人打球太孤单，问能否和年轻人一起打。小伙子觉得无法拒绝，便同意了。
令小伙子感到惊讶的是，老人球打得飞快。他球击得并不远，却动作连贯，没有花费很多时间。最后，他们到达了第九洞的球道。小伙子发现自己的下一击将非常困难，因为前面有一棵大松树，正好挡在球和草坪之间。他和老人讨论究竟该怎样打这一球。几分钟后，老人说：“你知道，我像你这么大的时候，会让球正好飞过这棵树。”
年轻人面对挑战，猛地挥杆，将球击向天空，球正好打在树干的顶端，弹回到地面，和原来击球的地方相差不到一英尺。老人又发表了一句评论：“当然，我像你这么大的时候，这棵松树只有三英尺高。”