书城外语享受一分钟的感动
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第15章 紧紧握住梦想的航标 (1)

Following the Goal of Dreams

他们根本不懂得梦想的力量。他告诉她,如果真的想到一个好的大学去打篮球,如果她真的想获得奖学金,任何东西也不能阻止她,除非她自己不愿意。他又一次跟她说:“心中有目标,风雨不折腰。”

Never Give Up永不放弃

Never give up,

Never lose hope.

Always have faith,

It allows you to cope.

Trying times will pass,

As they always do.

Just have patience,

Your dreams will come true.

So put on a smile,

You’ll live through your pain.

Know it will pass,

And strength you will gain.

永不放弃,

永不心灰意冷。

永存信念,

它会使你应付自如。

难捱的时光终将过去,

一如既往。

只要有耐心,

梦想就会成真。

露出微笑,

你会走出痛苦。

相信苦难定会过去,

你将重获力量。

Correct Principles Are Lighthouses正确的原则犹如灯塔

It was a dark and stormy night. The officer on the bridge came to the captain and said, “Captain, Captain, there is a light in our sea lane and they won’t move.”

“What do you mean they won’t move? Tell them to move. Tell them starboard right now.”

The signal was sent out, “Starboard, starboard,” The signal comes back, “Starboard yourself.”

“I can’t believe this. What’s going on here? Let them know who I am.” The signal sent out, “This is the mighty Missouri, starboard.” The signal comes back, “This is the lighthouse.”

My friends, correct principles are lighthouses, they do not move. They are nature laws. We can’t break them. We can only break ourselves against them. We might as well learn them, accommodate them, utilize them and be grateful for them. Then it enlarges us and emancipates us and empowers us.

TS.Eliot once sad something I think is appropriate as we come to the conclusion of our visit together. He said, “We are never cease from striving, and the end of all of our striving will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.”

那是个漆黑的、狂风暴雨的夜晚,一名干事从驾驶室出来走向船长说:“船长,船长,我们的海道上有灯光,而且他们不愿移开。”

“他们不愿移开是什么意思?叫他们移开。告诉他们立即右偏。”

信号发了出去:“右偏,右偏。”发回来的信号说:“你自己右偏。”

“我就不信。这是怎么了?让他们知道我是谁。”信号发出去:“这里是密苏里巨轮,请右偏。”信号发了回来:“这里是灯塔。”

朋友们,正确的原则犹如灯塔,他们不会移动。它们是自然法则。我们打破不了。我们要么让自己与它们相悖,要么去学习它们、调整它们、利用它们,并感激它们。然后我们自己得以发展,得以解放,得到使用这些原则的能力。

TS.爱略特曾说过一句话,我认为很适合用来做此行的结束语。他说:“我们将永不放弃奋斗,经过全力以赴的奋斗后,我们将到达出发之地,并重新认识这个地方。”

If the Dream Is Big Enough心中有目标

I used to watch her from my kitchen window; she seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all.

I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could.

I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practiced so much. She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” Then she smiled and ran towards the court to recap the routine I had seen over and over again.

Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her varsity team to victory.

One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,” came a soft reply. “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at 5.5 feet she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team—much less offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreaming about college.

She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing — her own attitude. He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.”

The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women’s basketball team. She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years.

It’s true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.

我以前常常从厨房的窗户看到她穿梭于操场上的一群男孩子中间,她显得那么矮小。学校在我家的街对面,我可以经常看到孩子们在下课时间打球。尽管有一大群的孩子,但我觉得她跟其他的孩子截然不同。

我记得第一天看到她打篮球的情景。看着她在其他孩子旁边兜来转去,我感到十分惊奇。她总是尽力地跳起投篮,球恰好越过那些孩子的头顶飞入篮筐。那些男孩总是拼命地阻止她,但没有人可以做得到。

我开始注意到她有时候一个人打球。她一遍遍地练习运球和投篮,有时直到天黑。有一天我问她为什么这么刻苦地练习。她直视着我的眼睛,不加思索地说:“我想上大学。只有获得奖学金我才能上大学。我喜欢打篮球,我想只要我打得好,我就能获得奖学金。我要到大学去打篮球。我想成为最棒的球员。我爸爸告诉我说,心中有目标,风雨不折腰。”说完她笑了笑,跑向篮球场,又开始我之前见过的一遍又一遍的练习。

嘿,我服了她了——她是下定了决心了。我看着她这些年从初中升到高中。每个星期,她带领的学校篮球代表队都能够获胜。

高中那会儿的某一天,我看见她坐在草地上,头埋在臂弯里。我穿过街道,坐到她旁边的清凉的草地上。我轻轻地问出什么事了。“哦,没什么,”她轻声回答,“只是我太矮了。”原来篮球教练告诉5.5英尺的身材,她几乎是没有机会到一流的球队去打球的——更不用说会获得奖学金了——所以她应该放弃想上大学的梦想。

她很伤心,我也觉得自己的喉咙发紧,因为我感觉到了她的失望。我问她是否与她的爸爸谈过这件事。她从臂弯里抬起头,告诉我,她爸爸说那些教练错了。他们根本不懂得梦想的力量。他告诉她,如果真的想到一个好的大学去打篮球,如果她真的想获得奖学金,任何东西也不能阻止她,除非她自己不愿意。他又一次跟她说:“心中有目标,风雨不折腰。”

第二年,当她和她的球队去参加北加利福尼亚州冠军赛时,她被一位大学的招生人员看中了。她真的获得了奖学金,一个全面资助的奖学金,并且进入美国全国大学体育协会其中一队女子甲组篮球队。她将接受她曾梦想并为之奋斗多年的大学教育。