Unit 1-Text A

Never, ever give up!
永不言弃！


1 As a young boy, Britain's great Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, attended a public school called Harrow. He was not a good student, and had he not been from a famous family, he probably would have been removed from the school for deviating from the rules. Thankfully, he did finish at Harrow and his errors there did not preclude him from going on to the university. He eventually had a premier army career whereby he was later elected prime minister. He achieved fame for his wit, wisdom, civic duty, and abundant courage in his refusal to surrender during the miserable dark days of World War II. His amazing determination helped motivate his entire nation and was an inspiration worldwide.
英国的伟大首相温斯顿·丘吉尔爵士，小时候在哈罗公学上学。当时他可不是个好学生，要不是出身名门，他可能早就因为违反纪律被开除了。谢天谢地，他总算从哈罗毕业了，在那里犯下的错误并没影响到他上大学。后来，他凭着军旅生涯中的杰出表现当选为英国首相。他的才思、智慧、公民责任感以及在二战痛苦而黑暗的时期拒绝投降的无畏勇气，为他赢得了美名。他非凡的决心，不仅激励了整个民族，还鼓舞了全世界。


2 Toward the end of his period as prime minister, he was invited to address the patriotic young boys at his old school, Harrow. The headmaster said, "Young gentlemen, the greatest speaker of our time, will be here in a few days to address you, and you should obey whatever sound advice he may give you." The great day arrived. Sir Winston stood up, all five feet, five inches and 107 kilos of him, and gave this short, clear-cut speech: "Young men, never give up. Never give up! Never give up! Never, never, never, never!"
在他首相任期即将结束时，他应邀前往母校哈罗公学，为满怀报国之志的同学们作演讲。校长说：“年轻的先生们，当代最伟大的演说家过几天就会来为你们演讲，他提出的任何中肯的建议，你们都要听从。”那个激动人心的日子终于到了。温斯顿爵士站了起来——他只有5英尺5英寸高，体重却有107公斤。他作了言简意赅的讲话：“年轻人，要永不放弃。永不放弃！永不放弃！永不，永不，永不，永不！”


3 Personal history, educational opportunity, individual dilemmas — none of these can inhibit a strong spirit committed to success. No task is too hard. No amount of preparation is too long or too difficult. Take the example of two of the most scholarly scientists of our age, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison. Both faced immense obstacles and extreme criticism. Both were called "slow to learn" and written off as idiots by their teachers. Thomas Edison ran away from school because his teacher whipped him repeatedly for asking too many questions. Einstein didn't speak fluently until he was almost nine years old and was such a poor student that some thought he was unable to learn. Yet both boys' parents believed in them. They worked intensely each day with their sons, and the boys learned to never bypass the long hours of hard work that they needed to succeed. In the end, both Einstein and Edison overcame their childhood persecution and went on to achieve magnificent discoveries that benefit the entire world today.
个人经历、教育机会、个人困境，这些都不能阻挡一个全力以赴追求成功的、有着坚强意志的人。任务再苦，准备再长，难度再大，都不能让他放弃自己的追求。就以本时代最有学问的两位科学家——阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦和托马斯·爱迪生为例，他们都曾面临巨大的障碍和极端的批评，都曾被说成“不开窍”，被老师当成笨蛋而放弃。托马斯·爱迪生还曾逃学，因为老师嫌他问的问题太多而经常鞭打他。爱因斯坦一直到将近9岁才能流利地说话，学习成绩太差，有些人认为他都已经学不好了。然而，这两个男孩的父母都相信他们。他们坚持不懈地每天和儿子一起努力，孩子们也了解到，要想成功，就绝不要怕付出长期而艰辛的努力。最终，爱因斯坦和爱迪生都摆脱了童年的困扰，进而作出了造福当今全世界的伟大发现。


4 Consider also the heroic example of Abraham Lincoln, who faced substantial hardships, failures and repeated misfortunes in his lifetime. His background was certainly not glamorous. He was raised in a very poor family with only one year of formal education. He failed in business twice, suffered a nervous breakdown when his first love died suddenly and lost eight political elections. Later in life, he suffered profound grief over the tragic death of three of his four children. Yet his strong will was the spur that pushed him forward, strengthening his optimism, dedication and determination. It intensified and focused his efforts and enabled him to triumph over the overwhelming failures and profound difficulties in his life. A hundred years later, people from around the world commend Abraham Lincoln as the greatest American president of all time.
再如亚伯拉罕·林肯这个英雄的典范，他一生面临了无数艰辛、失败和接二连三的不幸。他的出身和经历真是一点也算不上光鲜。他在一个非常贫困的家庭长大，只受过一年正规教育。经商两度失败，初恋爱人的突然离世也使他精神崩溃，还在八次政治选举中落马。此后，他的四个孩子有三个不幸去世，令他悲痛欲绝。然而，坚强的意志鞭策着他，推动他前进，使他更加乐观、投入、坚毅。这让他得以全力以赴，一次次战胜生命中的巨大困难和挫折。一百年之后，世界各地的人们都赞颂亚伯拉罕·林肯，认为他是有史以来最伟大的美国总统。


5 Just like Churchill and Lincoln, only those who "keep their eyes on the prize", those who uphold a committed and focused will and spirit, will find their endeavors successful. Many artists, statesmen, writers and inventors have had the same experience. They achieved prosperity because they possessed a fierce will to keep preparing and working and a passion to succeed. They attained success, not because it was easy, but because they had the will to overcome profound obstacles and to work diligently in the pursuit of their goals.
与丘吉尔和林肯一样，只有那些“执著地追求成功”的人，那些保持始终如一的精神意志的人，才会通过自身的努力，获得成功。许多艺术家、政治家、作家和发明家都有同样的经历。他们之所以能取得这样的成就，是因为他们拥有强烈的意愿，不懈地准备、奋斗，并保持对成功的激情。他们取得了成功，并不是因为成功很容易，而是因为他们拥有克服重重障碍的意志，为了追求目标而勤奋努力。


6 After growing up on a cattle ranch without running water or electricity, Sandra Day O'Connor fought to achieve the best education possible. Consistently graduating at the top of her class, she worked her way into Stanford Law School, where she graduated with honors. But despite all of her hard work, Sandra Day O'Connor was still a woman in the 1950s. Even with the prestige of her degree from Stanford, she was rejected from the entire law circuit as firms preferred to hire less qualified men rather than risk hiring a female lawyer, which was unprecedented. Yet Sandra Day O'Connor refused to give up on her dreams. Through sheer persistence she was eventually nominated and then appointed the first woman Supreme Court Justice of the United States of America. There, she acted as a crucial vote on issues like abortion and women's rights.
桑德拉·戴·奥康纳成长于既没自来水也没电的养牛场，她努力学习以使自己接受到最好的教育。她的学习成绩在班上始终名列前茅，一路奋斗终于进入了斯坦福大学法学院，并以优异的成绩从法学院毕业。尽管奥康纳勤奋刻苦，但在20世纪50年代，她仍然受到女人身份的制约。即使斯坦福大学的学位有良好的声誉，她仍被整个法律界拒之门外，因为事务所宁愿聘请才干稍逊的男性，也不愿冒险破例雇佣一位女律师。然而，桑德拉·戴·奥康纳并未放弃梦想。她执著地坚持下去，终于得到提名并被任命为美国第一位女性最高法院大法官。她任职期间，对很多问题，例如堕胎和妇女权利，都起到了极为关键的作用。


7 Many people simply say that they want something, but they do not expend the substantial effort required to achieve it. Many people let the threat of failure stop them from trying with all of their heart. The secret of success is based upon a burning inward desire — a robust, fierce will and focus — that fuels the determination to act, to keep preparing, to keep going even when we are tired and fail. As a wise saying goes: "It's not how many times you fall down that matters. It's how many times you get back up that makes success!"
很多人只是嘴上说他们想要什么东西，但并不真正地付出大量努力去实现。很多人因为害怕失败而不敢全心尝试。而成功的秘诀在于内心燃烧的欲望——一种坚定不移的意志和专注力——从而激发行动的决心，即使疲惫，即使失败，也会继续准备，继续前进。正如一句箴言所说：“你摔倒了多少次并不要紧；你能多少次重新站起来对成功才至关重要！”


8 Focus on becoming more knowledgeable. Focus on gradual, consistent progress. Maintain the strong will to keep going — even when you are tired and want to slack or the odds seem too large. "Keep your eyes on the prize!" "Where there's a will, there's a way!" With hard work, determination, dedication and preparation, you can transcend any handicap, accomplish any feat, and achieve success!
专注于汲取更多的知识，争取持之以恒地渐进，保持永不言退的坚强意志——即使在你疲惫想要松懈的时候，或者困难重重之时。“执著地追求成功！”“有志者，事竟成！”只要刻苦努力，意志坚决，专心投入，准备充分，你就能跨越一切障碍，完成所有壮举，取得成功！