从不说做不到
We Never Say We Couldn't Do It
佚名 / Anonymous
My son Joey was born with club feet. The doctors assured us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally, but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were spent in surgery, casts and braces. By the time he was eight, you wouldn't know he had a problem when you saw him walk.
The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldn't be able to run as well as the other children. So he didn't know.
In seventh grade he decided to go out for the cross-country team. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others, perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didn't tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn't know.
He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day-even the day he had a 103-degree fever. I was worried, so I went to look for him after school. I found him running all alone. I asked him how he felt. "Okay," he said. He had two more miles to go. The sweat ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever. Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running. We never told him he couldn't run four miles with a 103-degree fever. So he didn't know.
Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made the team. He was in seventh grade—the other six team members were all eighth-graders. We never told him he shouldn't expect to make the team. We never told him he couldn't do it. We never told him he couldn't do it... so he didn't know. He just did it.
儿子乔伊出生时，是畸形足。医生很确定地说，小乔伊经过治疗，像正常人一样走路是没问题的，但是像正常人一样跑步几乎是不可能的。乔伊三岁前一直与支架和石膏模子形影不离，从未间断过治疗。八岁时，他走路的样子已趋于正常，几乎看不出他的腿曾有过毛病。
邻居家的孩子们总是追逐嬉戏，小乔伊也会跑去和他们一起玩。我们从未告诉过他不能像其他孩子那样跑，我们也从未告诉他与别的孩子有什么不一样。所以，他也一直不知道这些。
七年级时，乔伊决定参加越野队。每天他都要和大家一起接受训练，比任何人都卖力，或许是因为他意识到自己天生没有运动的天赋。训练成绩在前七名的选手有资格参加最后的比赛，有机会为学校争得荣誉。我没告诉他，他很可能不会胜出，对此他全然不知。
他每天坚持跑四五英里，即使是发着高烧，也从不耽误。那次，我很担心，便在放学时去学校看他。我发现他独自在跑步。我问他感觉如何。“很好啊！”他说。还剩两英里了，他满头大汗，因为发烧，眼神也失去了往日的光彩，然而他全神贯注地坚持跑步。我们从未告诉他，发着高烧不可以跑四英里的路。我们没告诉他，他对此也全然不知。
两周后，入围队员的名单确定下来了。乔伊名列第六名。他入选了！只有他是七年级学生，而另六名队员都是八年级的。我们从没有告诉他，不要对入选抱有过高的期望，我们也从没有对他说过他不能做这，不能做那……所以，他一直认为自己什么都可以做到，他也确实做到了！
人类最大的敌人是自己，只要战胜自己，便可所向披靡。我们常说“初生牛犊不怕虎”，为什么这么说呢？原因很简单，成年人丰富的社会经验，使他们更容易为自己设置心理障碍，做起事来畏首畏尾。相反，年轻人没有那么多经历，也就少了很多理所当然的心理恐惧，因而更容易成功。
assure ['u] v. 使相信；使确信；向……保证
We assure you that such things will not happen again in our future
deliveries.
我们向您保证，类似的情况绝不会在今后交货时再次发生。
surgery ['s:dri] n. 外科手术；外科学
Organ transplant not only needs accurate surgery but also have
a stable source of organs.
器官的移植不仅需要精确的外科手术，而且要有稳定的器官来源。
sense [sens] v. 感觉到；意识到；发觉
I can sense the tension before the exam.
我可以感觉到考试前紧张的气氛。
glassy ['gl鎠i:] adj. （眼神）呆滞的；无生气的
The woman slowly turned her head toward him and he saw that
her eyes were glassy and distant.
那女人慢慢把头转向他，他这才看见她的眼睛是漠然的。
每天他都要和大家一起接受训练，比任何人都卖力，或许是因为他意识到自己天生没有运动的天赋。
他每天坚持跑四五英里，即使是发着高烧，也从不耽误。
他满头大汗，因为发烧，眼神也失去了往日的光彩，然而他全神贯注地坚持跑步。
In seventh grade he decided to go out for the cross-country team.
go out for：（运动员、运动队）尽力参加选拔赛
Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school.
have the potential ：有潜力；有可能
摆脱失业的困扰
Getting over the Job-loss Blues
谢里尔·理查森 / Cheryl Richardson
Pick up almost any newspaper today, and you' re bound to see a story about layoffs. If you' re one of the unlucky ones (or if a family member is), you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed, disoriented, or just plain scared.
Losing a job is considered one of the five most stressful life changes you can experience. Those who have been there say it feels like being robbed of your identity and is as painful as the loss of a loved one. The anxiety that results can shake up your life. It' s normal to feel panicky about finances, nervous about the job search process, or lonely for your old community of coworkers. And many downsized employees are left wondering what they could have done to prevent being let go (even when it clearly wasn' t their fault). Whether you were expecting the cut or were shocked by the news, these emotions can leave you feeling paralyzed and unsure of what to do next.
During this time your family members may be dealing with their own fears and sense of loss, adding to the pressure at home. For example, your spouse may insist on keeping close tabs on your job search process. Or your children, feeling the tension, may start behaving badly at school.
The first stage of loss is denial and numbness. In this stage you may shut down and feel unmotivated. Denial is one of the mind' s ways of protecting you, but getting stuck in this stage can present additional problems. One woman I know received notice that her job would be eliminated in six months. But she never bothered to prepare a resume or begin networking until the week before she was to leave. Stuck in denial, she believed that something miraculous would happen to prevent the inevitable.
The next stage brings mixed emotion：anger, confusion, sadness, and fear. During this phase you may vacillate between extremes. When my friend Samantha lost her job unexpectedly, she went from screaming in traffic one minute to shaking and sobbing the next. Your feelings of anger or sadness may last minutes, clays, or weeks. The more you express them in healthy ways—working out your anger at the gym, for instance, or sharing your feelings with a trusted friend—the quicker they will pass.