TED演讲：我为什么划船横渡太平洋(10)

 　　I think there are probably three key points here. 我认为有三个关键问题。

　　The first one is about the stories that we tell ourselves. 第一个关键是我们对自己的认识。

　　For so long, I told myself that I couldn't have an adventure because I wasn't six foot tall and athletic¹ and bearded. 在很长的时间里，我一直都认为自己不能去冒险，因为我没有六英尺高，也不好运动，而且也没胡子。

　　And then that story changed. I found out that people had rowed across oceans. 但是后来这些看法都改变了，我发现像我这样的人也有横渡大洋的。

　　I even met one of them and she was just about my size. 我甚至见过其中一位，她和我的个头差不多。

　　So even though I didn't grow any taller, I didn't sprout² a beard, something had changed: My interior³ dialogue had changed. 所以我就想尽管我不能长得更高，我也不可能再长胡子，但我还是可以改变的：我的内心世界改变了。

　　At the moment, the story that we collectively tell ourselves is that we need all this stuff, that we need oil. 我们都一致的认为，我们需要材料，我们需要石油。

　　But what about if we just change that story? 但是如果我们改变我们的想法呢？

　　We do have alternatives, and we have the power of free will to choose those alternatives, those sustainable ones, to create a greener future. 我们当然还有别的选择，我们当然可以自由选择另外的一些可持续发展的原料，创造更加绿色的未来。

　　The second point is about the accumulation of tiny actions. 第二个关键是这些细微行动的积累。

　　We might think that anything that we do as an individual is just a drop in the ocean, 我们一般认为我们所做的这些是纯属个人行为，如九牛一毛，

　　that it can't really make a difference. But it does. 这些行动也不会带来任何改变，但是，它们确实能带来改变。

　　Generally, we haven't got ourselves into this mess through big disasters. 我们还没有陷入大灾难带来的混乱中。

　　Yes, there have been the Exxon Valdezes and the Chernobyls, 尽管发生过埃克森瓦尔德斯事故和切尔诺贝利核泄漏事件，

　　but mostly it's been an accumulation of bad decisions by billions of individuals, day after day and year after year. 但它们主要是由无数人的日复一日、年复一年的错误决定积累造成的。

　　And, by the same token⁴, we can turn that tide. 寄于同样的原因，我们可以改变形势。

　　We can start making better, wiser, more sustainable decisions. 我们要开始做出更好、更明智、更有利于可持续发展的决定。

　　And when we do that, we're not just one person. Anything that we do spreads ripples⁵. 当我们那样做的时候，我们不再是一个人。我们所做的任何事情都是为了造成影响。

　　Other people will see if you're in the supermarket line and you pull out your reusable grocery bag. 其它的人会看到你在超市排队时拿出了重复使用的购物袋。

　　Maybe if we all start doing this, we can make it socially unacceptable to say yes to plastic in the checkout⁶ line. 如果我们所有人开始做这么做，也许我们能让全社会拒绝结账时使用塑料袋。

　　That's just one example. This is a world-wide community. 这只是一个例子，世界是一个大家庭。

1 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

2 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

3 interior   

adj.在内的，内部的，内地的，国内的；n.内部

参考例句：

• There is water in the interior of the cave.在山洞的内部有水。
• They went into the interior room.他们进了内室。

4 token   

n.筹码，信物，纪念品，礼券；adj.象征性的

参考例句：

• This little gift is a token of our regard.这点礼物是我们大家的一点心意。
• Black is a token of mourning.黑色是沮丧的象征。

5 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

6 checkout   

n.（超市等）收银台，付款处

参考例句：

• Could you pay at the checkout.你能在结帐处付款吗。
• A man was wheeling his shopping trolley to the checkout.一个男人正推着购物车向付款台走去。