书城外语双语学习丛书-校园之路
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第1章 Flying Your Dream放飞梦想(1)

People with a dream act differently than nondreamers. Dreamers develop an attitude that radiates energy; they have a sense of purpose and meaning to their lives.

Public schools are supposed to remove barriers so people can succeed. For some, the system does remove remove vt.移动, 开除, 移交 barriers barrier n.(阻碍通道的)障碍物, 栅栏, 屏障 and provide a solid base for achievement. For others, the system replaces one set of barriers with another.

有梦想的人身上充满了活力,有种使命感一直在督促他们,去积极追求人生的意义。

放飞梦想

在一些人看来,公立学校可以帮助学生扫清障碍取得成功。对一部分人而言,这种教育模式取消了对他们的限制,并为他们以后的成功奠定了良好的基础;而对另一部分人而言,公立学校只不过是以一种限制代替另一种限制而已。

For example, creativity creativity n.创造力, 创造 is killed by pressuring students to accept the status quo status quo n.现状, by establishing a fear to be different and a fear of failure. Independent thinking is replaced by dependency dependency n.依靠, 信赖, 从属, 从属物, 属国, 属地.

In some cases, pressure to excel in excel in v.在……方面胜过 academics kills ethics ethics n.偶尔, 道德规范, loyalty and motivation motivation n.动机, skills needed for success in the real world. People who have a vision, that motivates them, can overcome all barriers with integrity integrity n.正直, 诚实, 完整, 完全, 完整性 intact intact adj.完整无缺的, 尚未被人碰过的, (女子)保持童贞的, (家畜)未经阉割的.

譬如,在这种僵硬的教育模式压制下,学生们习惯了安于现状、不敢展现自我、害怕失败,长期如此,他们自然也就失去了创造力。而且,独立思考精神被依赖性取代。

一切以学习成绩的好坏作为判断标准,使得学生们舍弃了很多珍贵的东西,如道德、忠诚、激励,还有一些在现实世界中成就事业所必需的技能。只有那些眼界开阔、不断自我激励的人,才能战胜各种困难并保持人格的完整。

My story begins in Summit, NJ, at the age of sixteen, where I am sitting in a classroom starring out the window.

Out of the first window I could see myself exploring the jungles jungle n.丛林, 生死关头 of South America searching for gold, I could see myself drifting drift v.(使)漂流 down the Amazon Amazon n.亚马逊河(南美洲大河) River on a raft raft n.筏, 救生艇, 橡皮船, 大量, I could see monkeys swinging through the trees, I could see myself as Tarzan Tarzan n. 泰山(美国影片人猿泰山的主人公) swinging on a vine.

Through the next window, I could see the bow of my sailboat plowing through the towering waves, heading toward the South Pacific. I could see myself on a white sand beach chasing chase v.追逐,追赶;赶走,驱逐 girls.

我的故事要从新泽西州申美特说起。那时我16岁,正在课堂上听讲,显得有些心不在焉。

透过第一个窗户,我似乎到了南美洲,在丛林中探险寻金;我还看见自己乘着木筏在亚马逊河上漂流。顽皮的猴子在树丛间荡秋千,我像人猿泰山一样悬荡在藤蔓上。

透过另一个窗户,我似乎到了南太平洋,正在乘风破浪。在白沙滩上,我和女孩子们追逐打闹。

Then BANG! The teachers yardstick yardstick n. <美> 码尺, 准绳 hitting my desk brought me back to the real world where subjects did not relate to relate to v.涉及 my interest and dreamers are related to dummies dummy n.哑巴, 傀儡, 假人, 假货. In a loud voice the teacher said, “You are a failure! If you dont pay attention you will continue to be a failure!”

When the bell rang, instead of going to the next class I walked out of school never to return. I was tired of being called a failure. Right or wrong, I took charge of my future. When I left school, I carried the single most important element for success… A DREAM. During the next twenty years, every one of my teenage dreams came true.

You may be asking, “How does one make their dreams come true?” There are three elements:

突然一声“啪”,打在桌上的老师教鞭把我拉回到了现实中来——在这里,我对所有的科目都不感兴趣,爱做梦的我被当成笨蛋。老师大声怒吼:“你这个白痴!如果上课再开小差的话,你将只会失败!”

下课铃响了,我头也不回地走出了校门,没有再去上下一节课。我已经受够了别人的轻视。无论如何,我想自己决定命运。万出校园时,除了梦想我一无所有——而梦想正是成功最需要的元素。在随后的20年里,我年少时的每个梦想都逐一得到实现。

你或许会问:“要如何才能梦想成真呢?”答案是,要具备以下三大要素:

First—We must have a dream that motivates motivate v.激发 us. No one has ever achieved anything without a dream attached to a burning desire.

Second—We must learn howtolearn. In school, we learn how to memorize memorize v.[亦作memorise] 记住, 记忆 or be taught. Learning how to learn frees our dependency on others for knowledge.

Third—We must learn from failure and learn how to bounce bounce v.(使)反跳, 弹起, (指支票)被银行退票 back from failure. No one ever succeed without failure. In the classroom, failure is a nono.

In my early teens, I read the book KonTiki. This is a story about six Norwegians Norwegian n.挪威人, 挪威语 sailing a raft across the Pacific Ocean. Their adventure inspired my dream of duplicating duplicate vt.复写, 复制, 使加倍, 使成双 their raft voyage.

首先,我们要有一个梦想,以此激励自己。失去梦想和激情,我们将一事无成。