从不说他做不到

 　　We Never Told Him He Couldn't Do ItMy son Joey was born with club feet. The doctors assured¹ us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally² - but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were spent in surgery³, casts⁴ and braces⁵. By the time he was eight, you wouldn't know he had a problem when you saw him walk .

　　The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldn't be able to run as well as the other children. So he didn't know.

　　In seventh grade he decided⁶ to go out for the cross-country team. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others - perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didn't tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn't know.

　　He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day - even the day he had a 103-degree fever. I was worried, so I went to look for him after school. I found him running all alone. I asked him how he felt. "Okay," he said. He had two more miles to go. The sweat⁷ ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever. Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running. We never told him he couldn't run four miles with a 103-degree fever. So he didn't know.

　　Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made the team. He was in seventh grade - the other six team members were all eighth-graders. We never told him he shouldn't expect to make the team. We never told him he couldn't do it. We never told him he couldn't do it...so he didn't know. He just did it.

　　从不说他做不到我的儿子琼尼降生时，他的双脚向上弯弯着，医生向我们保证说经过治疗，小琼尼可以像常人一样走路，但像常人一样跑步的可能性则微乎其微。琼尼3岁之前一直在接受治疗，和支架、石膏模子打交道。七八岁的时候，他走路的样子已让人看不出他的腿有过毛病。

　　邻居的小孩子们做游戏的时候总是跑过来跑过去。毫无疑问小琼尼看到他们玩就会马上加进去跑啊闹的。我们从不告诉他不能像别的孩子那样跑，我们从不说他和别的孩子不一样。因为我们不对他说，所以他不知道。

　　七年级的时候，琼尼决定参加跑步横穿全美的比赛。每天他和大伙一块训练。也许是意识到自己先天不如别人，他训练得比任何人都刻苦。训练队的前7名选手可以参加最后比赛，为学校拿分。我们没有告诉琼尼；也许会落空，所以他不知道。

　　他坚持每天跑4~5英里。我永远不会忘记有一次，他发着高烧，但仍坚持训练。我为他担心，于是去学校看他，发现他正在一个人沿着长长的林荫道跑步呢。我问他感觉怎么样，"很好。"他说。还剩下最后两英里。他满脸是汗，眼睛因为发烧失去了光彩。然而他目不斜视，坚持着跑下来。我们从没有告诉他不能发着高烧去跑4英里的路，我们从没有这样对他说，所以他不知道。

　　两个星期后，在决赛前的3天，长跑队的名次被确定下来。琼尼是第六名，他成功了。他才是个七年级生，而其余的人都是八年级生。我们从没有告诉他不要去期望入选，我们从没有对他说他不会成功。是的，从没说起过……所以他不知道，但他却做到了！

1 assured   

a.确实的，深信的

参考例句：

• He spoke in a calm, assured voice. 他冷静自信地说。
• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。

2 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

3 surgery   

n.外科，外科手术；手术室

参考例句：

• What time does surgery finish?门诊什么时间结束？
• Your condition is serious and requires surgery.你的情况很严重，需要动外科手术。

4 casts   

v.投( cast的第三人称单数 )；掷；扔；浇铸

参考例句：

• He casts up his accounts at the end of each day. 每天结束时他都结一次账。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tree casts a shadow on the ground. 树的影子映在地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

6 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。

7 sweat   

n.汗，汗水，水珠，焦急；vi.出汗，渗出，冒出水气，结水珠，烦恼，懊恼；vt.使出汗，流出，榨出，使汗流浃背

参考例句：

• She was all of a sweat.她一身大汗。
• She is always all of a sweat before the exam.她临考前总是急得不得了。