2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-The Virtues of Creative Writing Competiti

The spring season of the latter years of high school are an anxious time when students will , choose one: fall in love, drink too much, or whatever's available, work really hard, slack off, make your hopes soar, dash them to the depth or all of the above. In short, they are living,trying out who they want to be.Increasingly ,in a stressed-out age,there's a private space to which more and more of these teenagers retreat---their journals.High school students are big purchasers of the journals in bookshops and stores like "Target",because even amid the Internet age or perhaps because of it,any teenager who can pick up a pencil can also pick up a notebook,anyone.That's what's so great about writing.You create a private world of the self,spill over the pages,fill the boundaries.In 11 counties in the foothills and mountains of eastern Tennessee,juniors and seniors are participating in this year's Walter state community college-high school creative writing contest.Interest in the contest has grown. Encompassing¹ fiction,nonfiction and poetry, more than 200 teenagers took part this year.Walt Stingson of Jefferson County High was among last year's winners. He wrote a note"To a rail splitter."Watching him,it looks so easy.One swing of the gold devil and the wood jumps apart.I try ,I practise in solitude,hoping to just one time hear that clapping burst and see the pieces multiply before my eyes." Another Jefferson High student, Kandeys Harara, wrote :"Daughters of eve.Daughters, forgive me, for I have eaten the fruit of deception² and for ever cursed your immortality³.However,the promises of the serpent were very persuasive⁴ and the temptation far too great." Gee,who hasn't felt like that? Over the years,PJ Brise Means,who teaches English at Walter state community college has looked at spidery contributions on minimalist scraps⁵ of paper and full-part hardbacks. One was called " Orange county 1968." "Teenagers have so much to say",she says."and clearly,even more,far more if we're willing to listen ,to reveal."This year's high school winners at Walter state community college will be chosen in April and published in the school's journal among these hills。

1 encompassing   

v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• Being too large and all-encompassing is a common defect among state-owned enterprises. 过分追求大而全，是国企的一大通病。 来自互联网
• Our services are: all-encompassing, love justice and high quality. 我们的服务目标是：全方位、真情义、高质量。 来自互联网

2 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

3 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

4 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

5 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。