2006年NPR美国国家公共电台十月-We're All Different in Our Own Ways

Welcome to "This I believe", an NPR series presenting the personal philosophies of remarkable¹ men and women from all walks of life.

I believe in honor, faith and service
I believe that a little outrage² can take you a long way.
I believe in freedom of speech.
I believe in empathy.
I believe in truth.
I believe in the ingredients of love.
This I believe.

For our series This I Believe! We've been inviting³ everyone to write statements of personal conviction, many schools around the country have turned our invitation into assignments. And today's essay comes from a 14-year-old student Jash Yokus from Milford Michigan. Here is our series' curator, independent producer Jay Allison.

"In many ways Jash Yokus is a lot like his classmates. He told us he's on the Milford Maverick's Football team, He plays clarinet in the concert band and he eats a lot of Roman noodles. But in some ways, he is not at all like the other students and it's in that difference that he discovered his belief. Here is Jash Yokus with his essay for" This I believe".

"What if everyone in the world was exactly alike, what if everyone talked the same, acted the same, listened to the same music, and watched the same TV programs, the world will be extremely dull! I believe it's important to accept people for who they are. Differences are important and they should be respected. For example, many important people throughout history were considered different, such as Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Harriet Tubman, Peter Tchaikovsky and Abraham Lincoln. They did great things, but some people thought they were weird⁴ because they had strong feelings about something. I can relate to these people, because I've been in that situation before many times.

It all started in elementary school when I realized that I wasn't like everyone else. My mom says that I have a tendency of obsessing⁵ on certain subjects. Unfortunately these subjects don't interest other kids my age, and they really don't interest my teachers. In fact, my kindergarten teacher said she would scream if I mentioned snakes or lizards⁶ one more time while she was teaching the days of the week(固定用法), I would get in trouble for not paying attention and the teasing began. In third grade my teacher informed me that I have Asperger Syndrome⁷, I said "so what? Do you know the Godzilla's suit weighs 188 pounds?"

Later I asked my mom, "what is Asperger Syndrome? Am I gonna die?" She said that it is like having blinders on and that I can only see one thing at a time, and that it's hard to focus on other things. Like I would tell anyone and everyone that would listen about Godzilla, because my big obsession⁸ was and still is Godzilla. Not a real popular subject with the middle school crowd, and so the teasing continues. I might be different because I have different interests than other teenagers, but that doesn't give them the right to be so mean and cruel to me. Kids at Oak Valley make fun of me for liking⁹ what I like the most. People also make fun of me for knowing facts about volcanoes, whales, tornadoes¹⁰ and other scientific things.

My mom says that she has been able to answer many questions on Jeopardy¹¹ just by listening to what I have to say, but I've even been ridiculed¹² for being smart. Maybe someday I will become a gene¹³ engineer and create the real Godzilla. I can dream, can't I? Sometimes I wish I were like everyone else, but not really, because I believe people should be respected for being different, because we are all different in our own ways. This I believe!

14-year-old Jash Yokus with his essay for This I believe. As part of his assignment Jash had to read his essay out loud in front of the class. And everybody thought it was pretty good. There was one girl who had come up to me and saying "That was pretty good Jash! " We have just made the more than 15,000 essays we have received available online where you can search through them or summit one of you own at NPR.org. For This I believe, I'm Jay Alison.

Next Monday on Morning Edition, a This I Believe essay from Angelina Michetti, a government contractor¹⁴ from Herndon, Virginia who believes in seeking perfection of character through karate¹⁵.

Support for This I believe comes from Capella University.

This I believe is produced for NPR by This I believe Incorporated and Atlantic Public Media. For more essays in the series, please visit npr.org/this i believe.
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clarinet
[乐]竖笛, 单簧管, 黑管
Harriet Tubman
American abolitionist. Born a slave on a Maryland plantation¹⁶, she escaped to the North in 1849 and became the most renowned¹⁷ conductor on the Underground Railroad, leading more than 300 slaves to freedom.
杜伯曼，哈里艾特：(1820?-1913) 美国废奴主义者，生于马里兰州一农场的奴隶家庭，1849年逃往北方并成为地下铁道的著名领导者，使300多名奴隶获得自由
Asperger Syndrome
阿斯珀格氏综合征作为儿童弥漫性发育障碍的一种,与孤独症有一些相似的特征,但同时具有自身的特点,这类儿童智力正常或超常,甚至表现出一定的天才特质,应引起教育的重视和关注.阿斯珀格氏综合征儿童的主要特征是社会交往问题、言语和非言语的双向沟通困难、狭隘的兴趣爱好以及刻板重复固执的行为方式等,阿斯珀格氏综合征与孤独症和天才既有区别也有联系,研究和探讨这些区别和联系并关注他们在教育中面临的问题和前景,应当引起社会的重视.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

4 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

5 obsessing   

v.时刻困扰( obsess的现在分词 )；缠住；使痴迷；使迷恋

参考例句：

• Why is everyone obsessing over system specs right now? 为啥现在人人都对系统配置情有独钟？ 来自互联网
• A nitpicker, obsessing over dimes, is too stiff to place orders. 一个连一毛钱都舍不得亏的人，因太过拘谨而不能下单。 来自互联网

6 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

7 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

8 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

9 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

10 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

11 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

12 ridiculed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

14 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

15 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

16 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

17 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。