保持自己的节奏

 　　有这样一个真实的故事：一位年长者决定到当地中学的足球场去慢跑。当他喘着粗气跑步时，足球队正在训练。很快，那些队员们便开始从操场的一端跑到另一端练习全速冲刺。年长者对自己说：“他们停了我才停。”

　　A true story has it that one elder man decided¹ to jog around the local high school football field. As he huffed and puffed² along, the team was in practice. The players soon started running sprints³ up and down the field. The man told himself, “I’ll just keep running until they quit.”

　　于是他不停地跑。他们也不停地跑。他还在跑，他们也继续跑着。他一直到彻底跑不动了才停下来。他精疲力竭地停了下来。其中一个队员，也累得精疲力竭，走过来对他说：“老兄，我很高兴你终于停下来了。教练告诉我们只要那个老家伙还在慢跑，你们就得继续跑下去！”他看着他们，而他们也在看着他。他任由他们设定了自己的标准，而他们却把决定权交予了他。

　　So he ran. And they ran. And he ran some more. And they kept running. And he kept running until he could finally run no more. He stopped in exhaustion⁴. One of the players, equally exhausted⁵, approached him and said, “Boy, I’m glad you finally stopped. Coach told us we had to keep running as long as the old guy was jogging!” He was watching them. They were watching him. He was letting them set his standard. They allowed him to set theirs.

　　我的问题是：你是在跟着别人的节奏吗？你是在让别人来设定你的标准吗？那么你自己在道德水准上的标准和原则呢？你想采取什么样的态度准则来对待生活呢？你是跟着周围的人的节奏呢，还是自己决定你的生活呢？事实是……只有你自己才有资格决定你的标准是什么。

　　My question is this: Are you keeping pace with somebody else? Are you allowing other people to set your standards for you? What about your standards, or principles, for moral behavior? Or guidelines for what kind of attitudes you want? Do you keep pace with those around you, or do you decide yourself just how you will live your life? The truth is... only you are qualified⁶ to determine what your standards will be.

　　将你的标准定得太低，你只会感到不满。但将标准定得高一些，你就会过得无比充实和满足。只有当你达到自己内心的最高境界时，你才能过得很好。

　　Set your standards too low, and you’ll know only discontent. But set high standards and you can live animmeasurably full and worthwhile life. For only when you reach for the best that is within yourself, will you experience great living.

　　是谁在制定你的标准呢?

　　Who is setting your standards?

 

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 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 sprints   

n.短距离的全速奔跑( sprint的名词复数 )v.短距离疾跑( sprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You can run sprints only so long before you're out of breath. 你死命地跑，只能跑那么一段时间，到了喘不上气的时候，只好停下来。 来自辞典例句
• The cheetah finds the open grasslands ideal footing for its lightning-quick sprints. 非洲猎豹把开阔的草原作为它们闪电猎食的理想处所。 来自互联网

4 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

5 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。

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。