精神
There were two men both of whom decided to get a horse. One man found a red horse with much spirit. The other chose a more docile one. They would go riding together every day. It so happened on the route they would take around the countryside，there was a ditch about eight or nine feet wide. After a time it was apparent that the red horse’s spirit could not be shaken and he gave everything he had in all he did. When coming up to this gap in the trail，he hurled it the first time. Because of the spirit in him he was quick to respond and jumped it with no problem. Yet the more docile horse would balk every time he came to the edge.
从前有两个人想买马。其中一个人找到一匹非常精神的红马。另一个人选择一匹更驯顺的马。这两个人每天都一起骑马。他们每天要绕过一个乡村，在那里有一条沟大约八九英尺宽。红马一直显得非常勇敢，它总是竭尽全力。第一次来到这个缺口时，它就冲了过去。饱满的精神使它反应敏捷，跳过这条沟毫无问题。而每当那匹驯顺的马来到沟边时，它总是裹足不前。
He wasn’t sure of the distance； he would stand on the edge trembling with indecision and doubt because the distance to him looked too great. Then one day after awhile，coming up to the ditch and watching his companion take it with ease，something happened within him，a knowing was born that he could too. So with agility and ease he gracefully bounded over the barrier.
对于这个距离它没有把握；它总是站在沟边犹疑不绝地发抖，这个距离在它看来太远了。后来有一天，当它在沟边看到自己的同伴如此轻盈地跃过去时，它被触动了，它知道自己也能这样。于是，它轻捷优美地从障碍上方越过。
Life is much like the two horses. When we come up against trials or situations，we just don’t feel like we can make the distance or that it is just too big and we don’t know if we’ll make it. So we stand on the edge trembling. It’s not until we depend upon the spirit within. Then we are able to make it with ease. Until we quit looking at the obstacle or trial through our eyes，they will always seem too big for us. But there is a spirit within us that can judge the distance to the other side and will give us the strength to go through it.
生活就像这两匹马一样。我们也会遇到同样的考验。我们不知道自己能否跃过这个距离，是否距离太远，我们没有信心。因此我们站在沟边，瑟瑟发抖。直到我们开始信赖内在的精神，然后我们就能轻易地跃过去。除非我们不再紧盯着那些障碍或者考验，否则它们看上去永远如此不可逾越。但在我们内心深处有一种精神，它能判断出到鸿沟对面的距离并给予我们超越障碍的力量。
It all comes to a choice whether we look for the spirit within or just stand on the edge and balk. We will always have a choice.
我们是寻找内在精神还是站在沟边逡巡，这是一个选择。我们将永远面对这一选择。
决心
In 1883，a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However，bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
在1883年，一个名叫约翰·罗布林的富于创造力的工程师激动地构想建立一座连接长岛和纽约的大桥。然而，全世界的桥梁专家都认为这是不可能的。他们劝罗布林不要做不切实际的幻想了，以前从没人这么做过。
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington，an up and coming engineer，that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time，the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration，they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
罗布林无法忘掉这个伟大构想。他无时无刻不在想着造桥，而且从心底深处他相信他会成功。他需要和别人分享他的梦想。他试图说服他的儿子华盛顿，一个大有前途的工程师，这座桥能够建成。
父子第一次合作，他们共同研究工程的方案和解决困难的途径。他们满怀激情地投入，招兵买马，开始建造他们的梦想之桥。
The project started well，but when it was only a few months a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage，which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so.""Crazy men and their crazy dreams.""It’s foolish to chase wild visions."
开局很好。但是刚开工几个月，就发生了一件可怕的事故。事故夺去了约翰·罗布林的生命，华盛顿也身受重伤。他的头部受了伤，以至于他无法走路、说话甚至移动。
"我们早就警告他们了"，"痴人说梦"，"做白日梦太愚蠢了"。
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
每个人都不看好这个计划，他们认为既然只有罗布林父子才知道这座桥如何造，现在这个计划应该被彻底抛弃了。尽管障碍重重，华盛顿却从不曾气馁，造桥的渴望在内心中熊熊燃烧，他的头脑依然敏锐。
He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends，but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room，with the sunlight streaming through the windows，a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
他试着去激起一些朋友的热情，但是他们被这项工作吓住了。他躺在病床上，当阳光照过窗户，微风吹动白色窗帘，他能瞥见窗外的天空和树冠。
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was to move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this，he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife’s arm with that finger，indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
这似乎是向他传达一个讯息叫他不要放弃。突然他有了一个主意。他只能活动一根手指，他决定对此善加利用。借助这根手指，他慢慢可以和妻子沟通了。
他用手指碰他妻子的手臂，告诉她他想再次召集工程师。然后他用碰妻子手臂的方式告诉工程师该做什么。这看起来很傻，但是工程就这样重新开工了。
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm，until the bridge was finally com
pleted. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work，and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
华盛顿就这样在他妻子的手臂上敲了13年，直到大桥最终建成了。今天的布鲁克林大桥巍然屹立，它展示了一个人的不屈精神和不被环境击败的决心。它也是所有工程师集体智慧的结晶，他们坚持了一个半个世界人眼中的疯子的信念。它也见证了一个妻子对丈夫无私的爱和奉献，在13年里，她耐心地转述这丈夫的心意，告诉工程师们下一步做什么。
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say？-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life，our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence，no matter what the odds are.
这是诠释永不言败精神的绝佳案例。这种伟大精神克服了身体的巨大残疾，最终完成了一个似乎是不可能的目标。
我们日常生活的障碍与很多人面临的障碍相比是微不足道的。布鲁克林大桥证明了只要有决心和毅力，无论希望看起来多么渺茫，我们也能实现它。
加油
While watching the Olympics the other night，I came across an incredible sight. It was not about a gold medal，or breaking a world record，but a show of sheer determination and guts.
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another，two of them false started，so they were disqualified. That left only one to compete. That would have been difficult enough，not having anyone to race against.
在不久前的一天晚上看奥林匹克比赛时，我偶然看到了一个令人难以置信的情景。那场比赛不是为了争夺一块金牌或是打破一项世界纪录，而纯粹是一场决心和勇气的展现。
这是一场只有三个选手角逐的游泳比赛。不知什么原因，两个选手抢游犯规而被取消比赛资格，于是只剩下一个选手比赛了。没有竞争对手的比赛真是够难为选手的。
I watched the man dive off the blocks and knew right away that something was wrong. Now I was not an expert swimmer but I did know a good dive from a poor one，and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced，it was evident that the man was not out for gold - his arms were flailing in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to titter. Clearly this man was not a medal contender.
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man that was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was exhausted.
看了那个人的启动我立刻就发现有问题。即使我不是一个游泳专家，但我也能分得出启动的好坏，这样的启动绝对是不可能夺冠的。当他露头时，他的自由泳摆臂很不规范。观众开始窃笑。显然这个人是拿不到奖牌的。
我听到观众开始嘲笑这个处境艰难的倒霉蛋。最后他开始返回。真够可怜的。他拼命地划水，显然他已经精疲力竭了。
But in those few awkward strokes，the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing，but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and yell things like "Come on，you can do it！"and "Go for it！"He did.
A clear minute passed. The average swimmer，this young man，finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold，and he should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history，this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
但是看到那几下笨拙的划水后，人群的态度开始改变了。
人们不再笑，而是开始欢呼。一些人甚至站起来喊"使劲。你能行！""加油！"他这么做了。
一分钟过去了。这个平庸的游泳选手终于完成了比赛。人群疯狂了。你可能认为他已经赢得了金牌，而他应该算是赢了。即使他创造了奥林匹克历史上的最慢的记录之一，他比其他选手更加振奋人心。
Just a short year ago，he had never even swum，let alone raced. His country had been asked to the games as a courtesy.
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold，or when they act so arrogantly in front of their rivals，it is nice to watch an underdog.
A man that gave his all，knowing that he had no chance，competed because of the spirit of the games.
只不过短短一年以前，他甚至还从未游过泳，更不用说参加比赛了。仅仅出于礼貌，他的国家才被邀请参加比赛。
在一场比赛中，当运动员因为感到被剥夺了金牌而摘去银牌时，或者当他们在对手面前趾高气扬时，看到一名居下风者是很好的。
他付出了全部--明知无法取胜，但是为了体育精神而继续拼搏。
A simple prayer
简单的祈祷
My son Gilbert was eight years old and had been in Cub Scouts for only a short time. During one of his meetings he was handed a sheet of paper，a block of wood and four tires and told to return home and give all to Dad.
That was not an easy task for Gilbert to do. Dad was not receptive to doing things with his son. But Gilbert tried.
我的儿子吉尔伯特八岁，刚参加校童子军不久。一次活动中，他领到一张纸、一块木头和四个轮胎，并被告知这些全部要交给爸爸。
对吉尔伯特来说，这个任务可不容易。爸爸不愿意和儿子做这些事。但吉尔伯特尝试了。
Dad read the paper and scoffed at the idea of making a pine wood derby car with his young，eager son. The block of wood remained untouched as the weeks passed.
Finally，Mom stepped in to see if I could figure this all out. The project began.
Having no carpentry skills，I decided it would be best if I simply read the directions and let Gilbert do the work. And he did. I read aloud the measurements，the rules of what we could do and what we couldn’t do.
爸爸看了看那张纸，对于和跃跃欲试的孩子共同做一辆松木赛车的主意他不屑一顾。几个星期过去了，他碰都不碰这块木头。
最后，我介入了，看看自己能否搞定。于是工作开始了。
我不会木工，所以我决定我最好只是读读说明，由吉尔伯特动手。他就这样开工了。我高声读出数据以及我们能做什么和不能做什么的规则。
Within days his block of wood was turning into a pinewood derby car. A little lopsided，but looking great (at least through the eyes of Mom).
Gilbert had not seen any of the other kids’ cars and was feeling pretty proud of his "Blue Lightning"，the pride that comes with knowing you did something on your own.
Then the big night came. With his blue pinewood derby in his hand and pride in his heart we headed to the big race.
几天里，木块一点点变成了一辆松木赛车。有点不太对称，不过看起来已经很不错了(至少在当妈妈的眼里如此)。
吉尔伯特没见到其他孩子的汽车，他对他的"蓝色闪电"感觉非常骄傲，特别是因为整个工作都是他独力完成的。
激动人心的夜晚终于来到了。吉尔伯特手捧着蓝色松木赛车，满怀骄傲地和我一起直奔赛场。
Once there my little one’s pride turned to humility. Gilbert’s car was obviously the only car made entirely on his own. All the other cars were a father-son partnership，with cool paint jobs and sleek body styles made for speed.
A few of the boys giggled as they looked at Gilbert’s lopsided，wobbly，unattractive vehicle. To add to the humility Gilbert was the only boy without a man at his side. A couple of the boys who were from single parent homes at least had an uncle or grandfather by their side，Gilbert had a "mom".
一到那里我儿子的态度就由骄傲变为了谦逊。吉尔伯特的汽车显然是唯一完全独力制做的。其他所有汽车都是父子合作完成的，漆工很好，车体光滑利于保持高速度。
当男孩们看到吉尔伯特那辆不太对称、摇摇晃晃、平淡无奇的汽车时，几个人格格地笑了起来。更让吉尔伯特不好意思的是只有他身边没有成年男人。即使是来自单亲家庭的男孩也至少有个叔叔或者爷爷陪在身边，而吉尔伯特只有"妈妈"。
As the race began，it was done in elimination fashion. You kept racing as long as you were the winner. One by one the cars raced down the finely sanded ramp.
Finally it was between Gilbert and the sleekest，fastest-looking car there. As the last race was about to begin，my wide-eyed，shy eight-year-old ask if they could stop the race for a minute，because he wanted to pray. The race stopped.
Gilbert hit his knees，clutching his funny-looking block of wood between his hands. With a wrinkled brow he set to converse with his Father.
比赛开始了。这是一场淘汰赛。只要获胜了，你就能继续比赛。汽车鱼贯驶过细沙铺就的斜坡。
最后，吉尔伯特的汽车要和最光滑、看起来最快的那辆汽车展开角逐。决赛即将开始，我那大眼睛、怕羞的八岁儿子问是否可以暂停一下比赛，因为他想祈祷。于是比赛暂停了。
吉尔伯特跪下来，双手紧握他那样子滑稽的木块。他皱起眉头，开始和他的天父低语。
He prayed in earnest for a very long minute and a half. Then he stood，smile on his face and announc--ed，"Okay，I am ready."
As the crowd cheered，a boy named Tommy stood with his father as their car sped down the ramp. Gilbert stood with his Father within his heart and watched his block of wood wobble down the ramp with surprisingly great speed and rushed over the finish line a fraction of a second before Tommy’s car.
Gilbert leaped into the air with a loud "Thank you"as the crowd roared in approval.
他认真祈祷了大约一分半钟，然后站起身，微笑着宣布："我准备好了。"
人群欢呼着。一个叫汤米的男孩和他的父亲站在一起看着他们的汽车冲下斜坡。吉尔伯特与他心中的天父相伴看着他的那块木头以惊人的速度冲下斜坡，并以瞬间的领先冲过终点。
当人群为他高深欢呼时，吉尔伯特高声说了一句"谢谢你"。
The Scout Master came up to Gilbert with a microphone in hand and asked the obvious question，"So you prayed to win，huh，Gilbert？"
To which my young son answered，"Oh，no，sir. That wouldn’t be fair to ask God to help you beat someone else. I just asked Him to make it so I wouldn’t cry when I lost."
Children seem to have a wisdom far beyond us. Gilbert didn’t ask God to win the race. He didn’t ask God to fix the outcome. Gilbert asked God to give him strength to face the outcome.
When Gilbert first saw the other cars，he didn’t cry out to God，"No fair. They had a father’s help."
童子军教练手拿话筒走过来问了吉尔伯特一个显而易见的问题："你祈祷能赢，是吧，吉尔伯特？"
对此，我儿子回答说："噢，不，先生。要上帝帮助你击败别人这不公平。我刚刚祈求他让我既使失败了也不要哭。"
孩子们似乎远比我们有智慧。吉尔伯特没有祈求上帝让他赢得比赛。他没祈求上帝来决定结果。吉尔伯特希望上帝赋予他面对结果的力量。
当吉尔伯特刚看见其他汽车时，他没对上帝喊："这不公平，他们有父亲帮忙。"
No，he went to his Father for strength.
Perhaps we spend too much of our prayer time asking God to rig the race，to make us No. one，or too much time asking God to remove us from the struggle，when we should be seeking God’s strength to get through the struggle.
Gilbert’s simple prayer spoke volumes to those present that night. He never doubted that God would indeed answer his request. He didn’t pray to win，thus hurt someone else. He prayed that God supplied the grace to lose with dignity.
不，他向他的天父寻求力量。
或许，我们太多的祷告时间都用来祈求上帝操纵比赛，让我们当第一名，或者要上帝把我们从斗争中解脱出去，而非寻求上帝的力量来完成斗争。
吉尔伯特的简单祷告对那天在场者很有意义。他从未怀疑过上帝会回应他的请求。他不祈祷能赢，并因此伤害他人。他祈祷上帝赐予恩宠使他能有尊严地接受失败。
火灾
A couple，whom we shall call John and Mary，had a nice home and two lovely children，a boy and a girl. John had a good job and had just been asked to go on a business trip to another city and would be gone for several days. It was decided that Mary needed an outing and would go along too. They hired a reliable woman to care for the children and made the trip，returning home a little earlier than they had planned.
As they drove into their home town feeling glad to be back，they noticed smoke，and they went off their usual route to see what it was. They found a home in flames. Mary said，"Oh，well，it isn’t our fire，let’s go home."
约翰和玛丽夫妇有一所漂亮的房子和两个可爱的小孩，一个男孩和一个女孩。约翰有份好工作。他正要去另一个城市出几天差，玛丽也想出趟门，所以他们一起去了。他们请了一个可靠的妇女帮助照顾孩子后就出发了。结果，他们比原计划提前回家。
他们很高兴就要回家了。这时他们看见了浓烟，于是绕了弯看看发生了什么事。他们发现一所住宅着火了。玛丽说："哦，不是咱们家。我们还是回家吧。
But John drove closer and exclaimed，"That home belongs to Fred Jones who works at the plant. He wouldn’t be off work yet，maybe there is something we can do.""It has nothing to do with us，"protested Mary. "You have your good clothes on. Let’s not get any closer."
But John drove up and stopped and they were both horror？鄄stricken to see the whole house in flames. A woman on the lawn was in hysterical screaming，"The children！ Get the children！"John grabbed her by the shoulder，saying，"Get a hold of yourself and tell us where the children are！""In the basement，"sobbed the woman，"down the hall and to the left."
但约翰把车开到近前，惊呼："是在工厂上班的佛瑞德·琼斯的家。他肯定在上班，也许我们能帮上点忙。"玛丽不同意，她说："这不关我们的事。你穿着好衣服呢。别在靠前了。"
但是约翰继续开过去。整所房子起火的情景把他们惊呆了。一个女人坐在草地上歇斯底里地尖叫："孩子！救救孩子！"约翰抓住她的肩膀说："冷静点。孩子在哪儿？""在地下室。"女人呜咽着说，"门厅下面的左边。"
In spite of Mary’s protests John grabbed the water hose and soaked his clothes，put his wet handkerchief on his head and bolted for the basement which was full of smoke and scorching hot. He found the door and grabbed two children，holding one under each arm like the football player. As he left，he could hear some more whimpering. He delivered the two badly frightened and nearly suffocated children into waiting arms and filled his lungs with fresh air and asked how many more children were down there. They told him two more and Mary grabbed his arm and screamed，"John！ Don’t go back！ It’s suicide！ That house will cave in any second！"
不顾玛丽的反对，约翰抓过水管淋湿了衣服，把湿手帕放在头上，然后冲向了充满了烟和热气的地下室。他找到了地下室的大门，然后抓住两个孩子，像拿橄榄球那样把他们挟在手臂下。冲出火海时，他听到火中还有呜咽声。他把两个吓坏了的孩子交给人们，呼吸了几口新鲜空气，问人们里面还有几个孩子。人们说还有两个。玛丽揪住他的手臂尖叫："约翰！别去！你会死的！房子马上就要塌了！"
But he shook her off and went back by feeling his way down the smoke-filled hallway and into the room. It seemed an eternity before he found both children and started back. They were all three coughing and he stooped low to get what available air he could. As he stumbled up the endless steps the thought went through his mind that there was something strangely familiar about the little bodies clinging to him，and at last when they came out into the sunlight and fresh air，he found that he had just rescued his own children.
The baby-sitter had left them at this home while she did some shopping.
他甩开她，又冲回了烟雾弥漫的走廊并进入了地下室。在他找到孩子冲出火海前，时间似乎停止了。他们三个全都大声咳嗽着，他深深地弯下腰以便吸上几口空气。当他晃晃荡荡地在似乎看不到头的楼梯上攀爬时，他感觉一丝奇怪，因为紧贴着他的这个孩子的身体似乎让他很熟悉。最后，当他们终于回到阳光和新鲜空气中时，他发现他救的竟是他自己的孩子。
原来保姆出去买东西时把他们的孩子留在了琼斯家。
