名人励志英语演讲 第114期:选择塑造人生(6)

 　　Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life--the life you author from scratch on your own--begins.

　　明天，非常现实地说，你们的人生——你们从零塑造自己的人生——即将开启。

　　How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

　　你们将如何运用自己的天赋？你们又将做出怎样的抉择？

　　Will inertia¹ be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

　　你们是被惯性所引导，还是追随自己内心的激情？

　　Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

　　你们会墨守成规，还是勇于创新？

　　Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

　　你们会选择安逸的生活，还是选择一个奉献与冒险的生活？

　　Will you wilt² under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?

　　你们会屈从于批评，还是会坚守信念？

　　Will you bluff³ it out when you're wrong, or will you apologize?

　　你们会掩饰错误，还是会坦诚道歉？

　　Will you guard your heart against rejection⁴, or will you act when you fall in love?

　　你们会因害怕被拒绝而掩饰内心，还是会在面对爱情时勇往直前？

　　Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?

　　你们想要波澜不惊，还是想要搏击风浪？

　　When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless⁵?

　　你们会在严峻的现实之下选择放弃，还是会义无反顾地前行？

　　Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?

　　你们要做愤世嫉俗者，还是踏实的建设者？

　　Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?

　　你们要不计一切代价地展示聪明，还是选择善良？

　　I will hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating⁶ for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story. Thank you and good luck!

　　我要冒险做一个预测。当你们在80岁时只有你一个人静静对内心诉说着自己的人生故事时，其中最为充实、最有意义的那段讲述，会被你们做出的一系列决定所填满。最终，是选择塑造了我们的人生。为你自己塑造一个伟大的人生故事。谢谢，祝你们好运！

　　重点讲解：

　　1. in a sense

　　从某种意义上说，总的来说；

　　eg. In a sense, both were right.

　　从某种意义上来说，两者都对。

　　eg. He's not the leader in a political sense.

　　他并不是政治意义上的领导者。

　　2. from scratch

　　从零开始；从头做起；白手起家；

　　eg. Building a home from scratch can be both exciting and challenging.

　　建立一个全新的家庭既让人兴奋又富于挑战。

　　eg. Hong Kong's manufacturing industry did not start from scratch in the post-war period.

　　战后，香港制造业的兴起并非从零开始。

　　3. bluff it out

　　（借蒙骗）脱离困境，绝处逢生，蒙混过关；

　　eg. Although his wife had caught him telling a lie, he tried to bluff it out.

　　尽管他的妻子已识破了他的谎言，他还是极力抵赖。

　　eg. It seems to me that he can't bluff it out any longer because the authorities have started to look into the matter.

　　我看他再也蒙混不下去了，因为当局已着手调查此事。

　　4. fall in love

　　堕入爱河；（与…）相爱；喜欢上；喜爱上；

　　eg. I fell in love with him because of his kind nature.

　　我爱上他，是因为他秉性善良。

　　We fell madly in love.

　　我们疯狂地相爱了。

　　5. play it safe

　　谨慎行事；避免冒险；

　　eg. If you want to play safe, cut down on the amount of salt you eat.

　　如果想要谨慎点的话，就减少盐的摄入量。

　　eg. The pilot decided⁷ that Christchurch was too far away, and played it safe and landed at Wellington.

　　飞行员认为克赖斯特彻奇距离太远，为求稳妥，就降落在了惠灵顿。

　　6. at the expense of

　　以……为代价；

　　eg. They are worth having but not at the expense of better services.

　　它们值得拥有，但是不能因此放弃更好的服务。

　　eg. But skeptics worry that costs may be trimmed at the expense of the patient.

　　但是持怀疑态度的人担心费用的削减会以牺牲病人的利益为代价。

1 inertia   

adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝

参考例句：

• We had a feeling of inertia in the afternoon.下午我们感觉很懒。
• Inertia carried the plane onto the ground.飞机靠惯性着陆。

2 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

3 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

4 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

5 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

6 narrating   

v.故事( narrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She entertained them by narrating her adventures in Africa. 她讲述她在非洲的历险来使他们开心。
• [Mike Narrating] Worm and I fall into our old rhythm like Clyde Frazier and Pearl Monroe. [迈克叙述] 虫子和我配合得象以前一样默契我们两好象是克莱德。弗瑞泽和佩尔。门罗。 来自电影对白

7 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。