It is said that the career of Benjamin Franklin is full of inspiration for any young man. When he left school for good he was only twelve years of age. At first he did little but read. He soon found, however, that reading, alone, would not make him an educated man, and he proceeded to act upon this discovery at once. At school he had been unable to understand arithmetic. Twice he had given it up as a hopeless puzzle, and finally left school almost hopelessly ignorant upon the subject. But the printer' s boy soon found his ignorance of figures extremely inconvenient. When he was about fourteen he took up for the third time the"Cocker' s Arithmetic, " which had baffled him at school, and ciphered all through it with ease and pleasure. He then mastered a work upon navigation, which included the rudiments of geometry, and thus tasted "the inexhaustible charm of mathematics." He pursued a similar course, we are told, in acquiring the art of composition, in which, at length, he excelled most of the men of his time. When he was but a boy of sixteen, he wrote so well that the pieces which he slyly sent to his brother' s paper were thought to have been written by some of the most learned men in the colony．
The most successful man is he who has triumphed over obstacles, disadvantages and discouragements．
罗得岛州帕特基市的富商和慈善家海泽基亚·科南特回忆说：“50年前，我想离开马萨诸塞州的达德利去开创自己的天空。起初父亲并不同意，可经不住我苦苦哀求。最终，1845年5月的一天清晨，农场里的那匹老马身上多了一辆旧的四轮马车，父亲和我拿出了只有节日才穿的盛装，踏上去往伍斯特市的路途。《伍斯特报》广告中的招聘职位是吸引我前往的主要目的，广告的内容如下：
招募男孩
急招一名男孩，工作地点在报社，要求身体健康，能吃苦耐劳。
伍斯特报，5月7日
“具体的薪水是，第一年30美元，第二年35美元，第三年40美元，老板负责吃住。我很满意这些条件。于是，到伍斯特市的第二天我就去了报社。伍斯特报的用纸是很普通的四页纸。没过多久，我就知道所谓的粗重工作的含义了。主要是用‘华盛顿’牌手动操作印刷机印刷报纸；为了印刷每期大约2000份的周报，两个人每人需要10小时地轮流工作才能完成。每到星期五，外页的印刷工作必须结束，这更是让我忙得不可开交。
“在星期二下午三四点钟左右，内文便会被送来印刷，不到星期三凌晨三点，我不可能逃脱繁重的工作。三点后，我身心疲惫、步履蹒跚地去睡觉。除此之外，我还有一项艰巨的任务，从前门入口附近一块大石后面的水泵里打水，然后爬两层楼梯把水送到目的地。这已经成为我的日常工作了。刚去的时候，所有人都对我呼来喝去，很多人对我肆意辱骂，起一些五花八门的绰号。我还得没日没夜地工作：打扫办公室，冬天的时候生火，听人差遣，邮寄账单，取纸张，服侍编辑。本质上，我的生活与印刷厂学徒工没什么区别。不过，当他们发现我掌握了排字和操作印刷机的技术时，我便有了晋升的机会。我的工作被一个新雇来的男孩儿承担了，当然他也没能躲过所有的苦役。那是我首次获得成功，然后从那天以后时至今日，我从未因为一份工作或一个职位去恳求任何人，更不用说推荐信。不过，当遇到朝思暮想的重要工作时，我会绞尽脑汁地让那个雇主知道我的能力和性格。假如一些年轻人遇到事情便轻易放弃的话，我期待他们从我的经历中得到鼓舞和力量。刚刚踏上漫长、艰苦的成功之路时，你不会感到轻松，道理就像船只在海上航行一样。你一定要按照希望着陆的地方确定航程，并好好利用一切有益的环境。”
有一种广为流传的说法，许多年轻人知道本杰明·富兰克林的职业生涯后，都很受鼓舞。年仅12岁的富兰克林便离开学校，闯荡天涯。刚出校门，他只是埋头看书。不过，没过多久他便发现，自己光靠读书成不了学识渊博的人。意识到这点后，他马上采取了措施。上学的时候，富兰克林就弄不懂数学。在数学上无可救药的富兰克林甚至还有两次放弃的经历，最后离开学校时，富兰克林早已对数学彻底绝望。然而没过多久，这个印刷学徒就体会到了贫乏的数字知识所带来的重重困难。面对在学校期间让他头昏脑涨的“算术”，大约14岁的富兰克林第三次发起挑战，并最终体会到掌握数学带来的方便与快乐。随后，在一本囊括几何学入门知识的航海著作中，富兰克林真正理解了书中的真谛，因此感受到了 “数学的无穷魅力”。我们还听人说，为了改进写作技巧，富兰克林后来还学习了一门类似的课程，并最终成为同时代的杰出人物。年仅16岁的富兰克林，写文章的水平已经达到登峰造极的程度。有一次，富兰克林私下里把自己的文章寄到他哥哥的报社，很多人误认为是一些文学界知名人士的杰作。
通常，那些克服障碍、劣势和挫折的人才能获得最大的成功。
lame [leim] adj. 跛足的；僵痛的
He is lame in one leg and walks with the help of a crutch.
他的一条腿跛了，走路借助于拐杖。
errand ['ernd] n. 差使；差事
I'll go there to do an errand.
我将去那里办件事。
decoration [,dek'rein] n. 装饰；装饰品
She'd put these whatnots in her hair as decoration.
她把那些也不知道是什么的东西弄到头发上当饰物。
baffle ['b鎓l] v. 困惑；为难
The question baffled me completely and I could not answer.
这个问题把我彻底难倒了，我答不出来。
你一定要按照希望着陆的地方确定航程，并好好利用一切有益的环境。
假如一些年轻人遇到事情便轻易放弃的话，我期待他们从我的经历中得到鼓舞和力量。
那些克服障碍、劣势和挫折的人才能获得最大的成功。
...I strike out for myself.
strike out：狠打；出击；敲打出（火花等）
The most successful man is he who has triumphed over obstacles, disadvantages and discouragements．
triumph over：获得胜利
当时光已逝
When Day is Done
罗宾德拉纳德·泰戈尔 / Rabindranath Tagore
If the day is done,
If birds sing no more,
If the wind has flagged tired,
Then draw the veil of darkness thick upon me,
Even as thou hast wrapt the earth with
The coverlet of sleep and tenderly closed,
The petals of the drooping lotus at dusk.
From the traveler,
Whose sack of provisions is empty before the voyage is ended,
Whose garment is torn and dust-laden,
Whose strength is exhausted, remove shame and poverty,
And renew his life like a flower under
The cover of thy kindly night.
假如时光已逝，
鸟儿不再歌唱，
风儿也吹倦了，
那就用黑暗的厚幕把我盖上，
如同黄昏时节你用睡眠的衾被裹住大地，
又轻轻合上睡莲的花瓣。
路途未完，行囊已空，
衣裳破裂污损，人已精疲力竭。
你驱散了旅客的羞愧和困窘，
使他在你仁慈的夜幕下，
如花朵般焕发生机。
弱者困于环境，智者利用环境。
coverlet ['kvlit] n. 床罩；被单
The coverlet was painted in blue.
床罩是蓝色的。
petal ['petl] n. 花瓣
Feel the petalvlike quality of your own thoughts.
感觉花瓣——就像你们自己的思想的特质。
provision [pr'vin] n. 准备；食物；供应品 v. 供应应
They provisioned the ship for a long voyage.
他们为远航的船只准备了食品和必需品
garment ['g:mnt] n. 衣服
The garment is sewn by hand.
这件衣服是手工缝制的。
假如时光已逝，鸟儿不再歌唱，风儿也吹倦了，那就用黑暗的厚幕把我盖上。
如同黄昏时节你用睡眠的衾被裹住大地，又轻轻合上睡莲的花瓣。
你驱散了旅客的羞愧和困窘，使他在你仁慈的夜幕下，如花朵般焕发生机。
If birds sing no more...
no more：不再
The petals of the drooping lotus at dusk.
at dusk：黄昏时刻
马上行动起来吧
Act at Once
佚名 / Anonymous
My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action.
Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which carried its owner over even one inch of ground. Never has there been a parchment of law, however fair, which prevented one crime. Action alone, is the tinder which ignites the map the parchment, my dreams, my plans, my goals, into a living force. Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success.
My procrastination which has held me back was born of fear and now I recognize this secret mined from the depths of all courageous hearts. Now I know that to conquer fear I must always act without hesitation and the flutters in my heart will vanish. Now I know that action reduces the lion of terror to an ant of equanimity.