英语名篇诵读 毅力

Perseverance¹

毅力

W. F. Markwick & W. A. Smith(W. F. 马克威克 & W. A. 史密斯)

Perseverance depends on three things — purpose, will, enthusiasm. He who has a purpose is

always concentrating his forces. By the will, the hope and plan are prevented from evaporating

into dreams, and a little gain is all the time being added. Enthusiasm keeps the interest up, and

makes the obstacles seem small. The man who thinks to get on by mere² smartness and by idling

meets failure at last.

Life is in a sense a battle. Perseverance is the master impulse of the firmest souls, and

holds the key to those treasure-houses of knowledge from which the world has drawn³ its wealth

both of wisdom and of moral worth.

Great men never wait for opportunities; they make them. They seize upon whatever is at

hand, work out their problem, and master the situation. The greatest thing a man can do in this

world is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given to him. This is success, and

there is no other.

One of the first lessons of life is to learn how to get victory out of defeat. It takes courage and

stamina⁴ , when mortified⁵ and embarrassed by humiliating disaster, to seek in the wreck⁶ or

ruins the elements of future conquest. Yet this measures the difference between those who succeed

and those who fail. You cannot measure a man by his failures. You must know what use he makes

of them.

A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from hard surroundings, is the price of

all great achievements. The man who has not fought his way upward, and does not bear the scar

of desperate conflict, does not know the highest meaning of success.

毅力取决于三件事：目标、意志和热情。有目标的人总是集中使用自己的力量。凭借

意志，希望和计划就不会蒸发成为幻想，而且小收获一直都在增添。热情使兴趣高昂，使

障碍显得渺小。想耍小聪明，懒散度日，难有长进，最终要遭遇失败。

生活在某种意义上说是战场。毅力是强者的主要动力，是打开知识宝库的钥匙，从这

个宝库中，人们汲取智慧的和道德的宝贵财富。

伟大的人从来不等待机会；他们创造机会。他们抓住手中的一切，解决自己的问题，

掌控着局势。在这个世界上，一个人能够做的最伟大的事情，就是用所得资源发挥出最大

效益。这就是成功，没有别的。

生活中最重要的教益之一，就是学会如何从失败中获取胜利。当耻辱的灾难袭来，人

们往往羞愧难当，尴尬困顿，这时就需要勇气和毅力，从失败的废墟中寻找获胜的要素。

而正是这一点衡量出了成功者和失败者的差别。你不能以一个人的失败去衡量一个人。你

必须了解他怎样利用了这些失败。

坚持不懈的奋斗，持之以恒地在恶劣的环境中拼搏，这是所有伟大成就都要付出的代

价。一路披荆斩棘向前，不畏浑身伤痕累累，方能体会到成功的最高境界。

1 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

5 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。