超越自我篇06：逆境求生

In 1982 Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the shipping¹ lanes and floating in a life raft, alone. His supplies were few. His chances were small. Yet when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later (the longest anyone has survived a shipwreck² on a life raft alone), he was alive-much skinnier than he was when he started, but alive.
1982年史蒂文·卡拉汉独自驾驶着帆船横渡大西洋，途中帆船遇难下沉。他在救生艇里孤独地漂浮着，远离了航道。当时他身上的食物所剩无几，生存机会非常渺茫。但76天后，三个渔民发现了他，他还活着 (他是世界上遭遇海难，在救生艇上存活最长时间的人)，他当时瘦骨嶙峋，与出航前相比简直判若两人，然而他还活着。

His account of how he survived is fascinating. How he ingeniously managed to catch fish, how he fixed³ his solar still, which evaporates seawater to make fresh water, is very interesting.
关于他大难不死的故事让人惊叹。其中他是如何巧妙地抓鱼，如何固定太阳蒸馏器来提取淡水的事情都非常有趣。

But the thing that caught my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no point in continuing the struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his life raft was punctured⁴ and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to fix it, it was still leaking air and wearing him out to keep pumping it up. He was starved. He was desperately⁵ dehydrated. He was thoroughly⁶ exhausted⁷. Giving up would have seemed the only sane⁸ option.
但我最感兴趣的还是在他感到彻底绝望的时候，当一切抗争都似乎已毫无意义的时候，当灾难苦苦折磨着他的时候，他是如何支撑着活下来的?救生艇穿了洞，他强撑着虚弱的躯体，花了一周多的时间去修理，可救生艇仍然漏气，于是他耗尽了所有的力气去吹气。饥肠辘轳的他极度脱水，精疲力竭，就算放弃也完全在情理之中。

When people survive these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in similarly desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors⁹ do with their thoughts helps them find the guts¹⁰ to carry on in spite of overwhelming odds¹¹.
如果人们能够战胜这种情况，那么他们的脑海中一定有什么信念支撑着他们。许多人在遭遇类似的绝境时会选择放弃或精神失常，但幸存下来的人，靠的是心中的信念，是信念给予了他们战胜一切恶劣情况的勇气和决心。

"I tell myself I can handle it," wrote Callahan in his narrative¹². "Compared to what others have been through, I"m fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over, building up fortitude¹³….
“我跟自己说我一定可以挺过去的，”卡拉汉在他的叙述中写到。“跟别人的遭遇相比，我已经算是幸运的。我由始至终都这样鼓励自己，在自己心中建立起永不放弃的信念。”

I wrote that down after I read it. It struck me as something important. And I"ve told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed far off or when my problems seemed too overwhelming. And every time I"ve said it, I have always come back to my senses读完这几句，我就把它们抄下了，并深深地为之震撼。当我觉得自己的目标似乎遥不可及又或者我遇到了似乎无法解决的问题的时候，我就用它们来勉励自己。而每每念及它们，我总能有所醒悟。

The truth is, our circumstances are only bad compared to something better. But others have been through much worse. I"ve read enough history to know you and I are lucky to be where we are, when we are, no matter how bad it seems to us compared to our fantasies. It"s a sane thought and worth thinking事实上，不幸都是相对而言的，有些人比我们更不幸。不管现实和理想相距多远，纵观历史，我们应该为现在所处的时代和景况感到幸运。这样的想法是明智的，而且也值得思考

So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of survival, are words that can give us strength. Whatever you"re going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Compared to what others have been through, you"re fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the rough spots with a little more fortitude.
从这个大难不死的的故事中，我们学到了能给予我们勇气和力量的话语。无论你遭遇了什么，你都要对自己说：一定能挺过去的。和其他人的不幸相比，你已经算幸运了。要一遍一遍地用此话鼓励自己，这个信念将会使你更有决心去度过难关。
 

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 punctured   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

6 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

7 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

8 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

10 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

12 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

13 fortitude   

n.坚忍不拔；刚毅

参考例句：

• His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
• He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。