TED演讲：内向性格的力量(10)

 　　But he also loved his congregation, 但他也很享受宗教集会，

　　and you could feel this love in the sermons that he gave every week for the 62 years that he was a rabbi. 62年来，他每周都会在犹太教布道会上讲道。

　　He would takes the fruits of each week's reading and he would weave these intricate tapestries¹ of ancient and humanist thought. 他会从每周的阅读中汲取养分，并且他会编织这些错综复杂的古代和人文主义的思想的挂毯。

　　And people would come from all over to hear him speak. 他的听众来自各个领域，都会认真聆听他的传讲。

　　But here's the thing about my grandfather. 我祖父有个特点。

　　Underneath² this ceremonial role, he was really modest and really introverted -- so much so that when he delivered these sermons, 在他宗教领导角色背后，他是个非常谦逊与内向的人--他甚至紧张到

　　he had trouble making eye contact with the very same congregation that he had been speaking to for 62 years. 不敢在布道时跟听众眼神交会，即使他都已经在同一个布道会传讲了62年了。

　　And even away from the podium, when you called him to say hello, 甚至当他走下讲台，人们向着他打招呼时，

　　he would often end the conversation prematurely³ for fear that he was taking up too much of your time. 他会草草的结束话题，因为担心会占用别人太多的时间。

　　But when he died at the age of 94, 当他在94岁那年过世时，

　　the police had to close down the streets of his neighborhood to accommodate the crowd of people who came out to mourn him. 交警不得不封掉许多邻近街道，来容纳蜂拥而至前来哀悼他的群众。

　　And so these days I try to learn from my grandfather's example in my own way. 所以，这些日子以来，我试图用我的方式来效仿我的祖父。

　　So I just published a book about introversion⁴, and it took me about seven years to write. 我刚完成了一本关于内向性的书，这本书花了我七年的时间。

　　And for me, that seven years was like total bliss⁵, because I was reading, I was writing, I was thinking, I was researching. 这七年，对我而言是极大的恩典，因为我得以阅读、写作、思考、研究。

　　It was my version of my grandfather's hours of the day alone in his library. 相较于祖父的阅读与布道，这是我的版本，我的表达方式。

　　But now all of a sudden my job is very different, and my job is to be out here talking about it, talking about introversion. 但现在我的工作变得非常棘手，我必须要在公开场合，在讲台上，跟你们谈论何谓内向。

1 tapestries   

n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The wall of the banqueting hall were hung with tapestries. 宴会厅的墙上挂有壁毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rooms were hung with tapestries. 房间里都装饰着挂毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

3 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

4 introversion   

n. [心理]内向性, 内省性

参考例句：

• The contrast between extroversion and introversion is entirely superficial. 在外向和内向之间所作的对比完全是表面的。
• The oft-drawn contrast extroversion and introversion is entirely superficial. 在外向和内向之间通常所作的对比完全是表面的。

5 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。