财富精英励志演讲09：我生命中的三个故事(9)

 　　My third story is about death.

　　我的第三个故事是关于死亡的。

　　When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right."

　　当我十七岁的时候, 我读到了一句话:“如果你把每一天都当作生命中最后一天去生活的话,那么有一天你会发现你是正确的。”

　　It made an impression on me,

　　这句话给我留下了深刻的印象

　　and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning

　　从那时开始,过了33年,我在每天早晨都会对着镜子

　　and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"

　　问自己:“如果今天是我生命中的最后一天, 你会不会完成你今天想做的事情呢？”

　　And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

　　当答案连续很多次被给予“不是”的时候, 我知道自己需要改变某些事情了。

　　Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.

　　“记住你即将死去”是我一生中遇到的最重要箴言,它帮我指明了生命中重要的选择。

　　Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment¹ or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

　　因为几乎所有的事情, 包括所有的荣誉、所有的骄傲、所有对难堪和失败的恐惧,这些在死亡面前都会消失，我看到的是留下的真正重要的东西。

　　Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

　　你有时候会思考你将会失去某些东西,“记住你即将死去”是我知道的避免这些想法的最好办法。

　　You are already naked.

　　你已经赤身裸体了。

　　There is no reason not to follow your heart.

　　你没有理由不去跟随自己的心一起跳动。

　　About a year ago I was diagnosed² with cancer.

　　大概一年以前, 我被诊断出癌症。

　　I had a scan³ at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor⁴ on my pancreas.

　　我在早晨七点半做了一个检查, 检查清楚的显示在我的胰腺有一个肿瘤。

　　I didn't even know what a pancreas was.

　　我当时都不知道胰腺是什么东西。

　　The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable⁵,

　　医生告诉我那很可能是一种无法治愈的癌症,

　　and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months.

　　我还有三到六个月的时间活在这个世界上。

　　My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die.

　　我的医生叫我回家, 然后整理好我的一切, 那就是医生准备死亡的程序。

　　It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months.

　　那意味着你将要把未来十年对你小孩说的话在几个月里面说完.；

　　It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family.

　　那意味着把每件事情都搞定, 让你的家人会尽可能轻松的生活；

　　It means to say your goodbyes.

　　那意味着你要说“再见了”。

1 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

2 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

3 scan   

n.审视，浏览，扫描，押韵，细查；vt.细看，浏览，扫描，详细调查，信件扫描（指BBS处理直递邮件或会议邮件时，对所有或特定信区做检查的动作）

参考例句：

• The first scan was bad, so I had to do it again.第一次扫描不好，所以我得重做。
• A scan determines the position of the baby in the womb.扫描可以确定胎儿在子宮中的位置。

4 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

5 incurable   

adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人

参考例句：

• All three babies were born with an incurable heart condition.三个婴儿都有不可治瘉的先天性心脏病。
• He has an incurable and widespread nepotism.他们有不可救药的，到处蔓延的裙带主义。