Great Love
本杰明·卡森 / Benjamin Carson
There is no job more important than parenting. I can find the answer from my mother.
My belief began when I was just a kid. I dreamed of becoming a doctor.
My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each week from the Detroit Public Library and submit to her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse. My mother was illiterate. She had only received a third-grade education.
Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.
When I entered high school I was an A student, but not for long, I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went from being an A student to a B student to a C student, but I didn’t care. I was getting the high fives and the low fives and the pats on the back. I was cool.
One night my mother came home from working her multiple jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want.”
I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.
I also realized that immediate gratification wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation.
I went back to my studies and became an A student again, and eventually I fulfilled my dream and I became a doctor.
My story is really my mother’s story—a woman with little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job more important than parenting. This I believe.
世界上再没有比为人父母更伟大的工作了。我从母亲身上，就可以看到这一点。
我想成为一名医生，这个梦想在我孩提时就已产生。
母亲做过佣人。她在工作中发现，成功的人会用更多的时间看书，而不是看电视。因此母亲规定，我和哥哥每周只能看预先挑选的两三个节目。空闲时，母亲会让我们阅读从底特律公共图书馆借来的书，并写心得交给她。她会在上面做出审核过的各种标记。多年后，我们才意识到那是母亲的计策。其实她几乎不识字，受教育水平也仅仅是小学三年级。
尽管我们很穷，但是在书的每一页中我可以畅游世界，体验任何事，了解各种人的各方面生活。
刚踏入中学时，我是A等生，然而没多久，我就开始对奇装异服情有独钟，还常常和一帮男孩在校园里瞎混。很快，我就从A等生下滑到B等生，最终退到C等生，但我并不在乎这些。身边的人有支持我的，有泼冷水的，也有安慰我的。我觉得自己很酷。
一天晚上，做了多份工作的母亲疲倦地回到家。我向她抱怨说没有一件好的意大利针织衫。母亲说：“好吧，我把这周擦地板和洗厕所挣的钱都交给你，你来安排家庭的各项开支。余下的钱就可以用来买你想要的针织衫。”
对于这样的安排，我万分欣喜。但安排完所有的开支后，我才发现几乎分文不剩。我这才意识到母亲简直是位理财专家，她将我们的衣食住行都安排得很好。
我也懂得了，一时的满足并不能带给我什么。成功是需要知识和才能作为储备的。
于是，我重新回到学习当中，并再次成为了A等生。最终，我实现了梦想，成为了一名医生。
事实上，我的故事就是母亲的故事—— 一位目不识丁的贫穷妇女以母亲的身份改变了世上很多人的生活。世上最伟大的工作就是为人父母，我深信这一点。
记忆填空
1. My was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that people spent a lot more time reading they did watching television. She announced that my and I could only watch to three pre-selected TV programs the week.
2. When I entered school I was an A student, but not for , I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to out with the guys. I went being an A student to a B student to a C student, but I didn’t . I was getting the high fives and the fives and the pats on the back. I was cool.
佳句翻译
1. 世界上再没有比为人父母更伟大的工作了。
2. 尽管我们很穷，但是在书的每一页中我可以畅游世界，体验任何事，了解各种人的各方面生活。
3. 我也懂得了，一时的满足并不能带给我什么。成功是需要知识和才能作为储备的。
短语应用
1. I wanted to hang out with the guys.
hang out：闲逛，溜达
2. I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating money, there was nothing left.
be pleased with：对……感到满意，感到知足