超越自我篇04:Summon up Courage 鼓起勇气

There were two men who both decided¹ to get a horse for riding .One man found a red horse with much spirit. The other chose one more docile². 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.
有两个人，他们都决定要买马骑。其中一个人找到一匹生龙活虎的红马，另一个人则挑选了一匹更加温驯的马。他们每天都一起骑马。在他们环绕乡间的骑行路线上，碰巧有一道八至九英尺宽的沟坎。一段时间之后，很明显能够看出，红马的精神非常坚定，无论做什么都全力以赴。

When coming up to this gap in the trail he hurled³ 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 balk⁴ every time he came to the edge. 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.
当他们第一次来到小径上的这道沟边时，这匹马就向其猛冲了过去。他的精神使他能够迅速做出反应，于是他毫无困难地就跳了过去。然而，那匹温顺的马每次来到沟边时就不肯前进了。他不确定这道沟有多宽，因为这个距离对他来说似乎太远了，所以他只会优柔寡断，犹疑不定地站在沟边发抖。

Then one day after a while, 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 agility⁵ and ease he gracefully⁶ bounded over the barrier.
然后，有一天，来到沟边不久之后，当这匹温驯的马看到他的同伴轻松地跳了过去时，他的心理发生了变化，他知道自己也一定能够跳过去。于是，他敏捷而灵巧地轻松跳过了这个障碍。

Life is much like the two horses. When we as people come up against trials or situations we just don’t feel like we can make the distance or that it just is too big and we don’t know if we’ll make it, so we balk standing⁷ on the edge trembling.
生活就像这两匹马一样。当我们遇到考验或是困境时，我们感觉到自己无法对其做出估计，或其显得太过困难，从而使我们不知道自己能否通过。因此，我们会颤抖着在困难边缘止步不前。

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.
我们依靠精神力量，就可以轻而易举的做到。如果我们的眼睛只看到障碍或苦难，那么这些困难永远会比我们更强大。

But there is a spirit within us that can judge the distance to the other side and will give us the strength to make it through it. As long as we let it.
但是，我们内心的精神力量能够判断出沟坎的距离，并给予我们顺利通过的力量。只要我们拥有这种力量。

It all comes to a choice whether we look for the spirit within or just stand on the edge and balk.
一切都取决于我们自己的选择，是寻找这种内心的精神力量，还是站在困难边缘不再前进。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 docile   

adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的

参考例句：

• Circus monkeys are trained to be very docile and obedient.马戏团的猴子训练得服服贴贴的。
• He is a docile and well-behaved child.他是个温顺且彬彬有礼的孩子。

3 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 balk   

n.大方木料；v.妨碍；不愿前进或从事某事

参考例句：

• We get strong indications that his agent would balk at that request.我们得到的强烈暗示是他的经纪人会回避那个要求。
• He shored up the wall with a thick balk of wood.他用一根粗大的木头把墙撑住。

5 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

6 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。