TED演讲：我为什么划船横渡太平洋(4)

 　　And the oars¹ kind of became a symbol of just in how many ways I went beyond what I thought were my limits. 这些桨也变成了我可以用多种方式来突破我自认为是极限的标志。

　　I suffered from tendinitis on my shoulders and saltwater sores on my bottom. 肩部的腱鞘炎让我十分痛苦，海水也杀的臀部非常疼。

　　I really struggled psychologically, totally overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge,  我在心理上也非常挣扎过，完全是因为挑战的规模之大击垮了我，

　　realizing that, if I carried on moving at two miles an hour, 3,000 miles was going to take me a very, very long time. 我意识到，如果我按照每小时2英里的速度划行，3000英里会让我划行很长很长时间。

　　There were so many times when I thought I'd hit that limit,  好几次，我都觉得自己已经达到了极限，

　　but had no choice but to just carry on and try and figure out how I was going to get to the other side without driving myself crazy. 但我没有别的选择，只有一路向前，我必须努力克制自己，好让自己能够知道如何前行，达到彼岸。

　　And eventually after 103 days at sea, I arrived in Antigua.  最终，在海上航行了103天以后，我终于抵达了安提瓜。

　　I don't think I've ever felt so happy in my entire life. 在我整个人生里，我从没这么高兴过。

　　It was a bit like finishing a marathon and getting out of solitary² confinement³ and winning an Oscar all rolled into one. 这有点像把完成了马拉松、走出禁闭室，以及赢得了奥斯卡的感觉合在一起的感觉。

　　I was euphoric. And to see all the people coming out to greet me and standing⁴ along the cliff tops and clapping and cheering,  那一刻，我心潮澎湃。所有的人都跑过来向我问候，人们站在悬崖顶上鼓掌和唤呼，

　　I just felt like a movie star. It was absolutely wonderful.  我觉得自己像电影明星。那感觉简直太棒了。

　　And I really learned then that, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the sense of achievement when you get to the end of it. 我也确实明白了一个道理，困难越大，往往最终获得的成就感就越大。

1 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

3 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。