TED演讲：怎样从错误中学习(3)

 　　From Kansas, I moved on to lovely Arizona, 离开堪萨斯后，我搬到美丽的亚利桑纳州，

　　where I taught in Flagstaff for a number of years, this time with middle school students. 我在Flagstaff小镇教了几年书，这次是教初中的学生。

　　Luckily, I didn't have to teach them American government. 幸运的是，我这次不用教美国政治。

　　Could teach them the more exciting topic of geography. 这次我教的是更令人兴奋的地理。

　　And again, "thrilled" to learn. But what was interesting about this position I found myself in in Arizona, 再一次，非常期待的要学习。但有趣的是，我发现在这个亚历桑纳州的教职，

　　was I had this really extraordinarily¹ eclectic group of kids to work with in a truly public school, 我所面对的是一群非常多样化的、彼此之间差异悬殊的孩子们，在一所真正的公立学校，

　　and we got to have these moments where we would get these opportunities. 在那里，有些时候我们会得到了一些机会。

　　And one opportunity was we got to go and meet Paul Rusesabagina, 其中一个机会是我们得以和Paul Russabagina见面，

　　which is the gentleman that the movie "Hotel Rwanda" is based after. 这位先生正是电影"卢安达饭店"根据描述的那位主人翁。

　　And he was going to speak at the high school next door to us. 他当时正要到隔壁的高中演讲。

　　We could walk there. We didn't even have to pay for the buses. 我们可以步行到那所学校。我们甚至不用坐公共汽车。

　　There was no expense cost. Perfect field trip. 完全不需要额外的支出，非常完美的校外教学。

　　The problem then becomes how do you take seventh- and eighth-graders to a talk about genocide 然后接着的问题是，你要怎么和七八年级的学生谈论种族屠杀，

　　and deal with the subject in a way that is responsible and respectful², and they know what to do with it. 用怎么样的方式来处理这个问题才是一种负责任和尊重的方式，让学生们知道该怎么面对这个问题。

　　And so we chose to look at Paul Rusesabagina as an example of a gentleman who singularly used his life to do something positive. 所以我们决定去观察Paul Rusesabagina是怎么做的，把他当作一个例子，一个平凡人如何利用自己的生命做些积极的事情的例子。

　　I then challenged the kids to identify someone in their own life, or in their own story, 接着，我挑战这些孩子，要他们去找出在他们的生命里，在他们自己的故事中，

　　or in their own world, that they could identify that had done a similar thing. 或是在他们自己的世界里，找出那些他们认为也做过类似事情的人。

　　I asked them to produce a little movie about it. It's the first time we'd done this. 我要他们为这些人和事迹制作一部短片。这是我们第一次尝试制作短片。

　　Nobody really knew how to make these little movies on the computer, but they were into it. 没有人真的知道如何利用电脑制作短片，但他们非常投入。

　　And I asked them to put their own voice over it. 我要他们在片子里用自己的声音。

　　It was the most awesome³ moment of revelation⁴ that when you ask kids to use their own voice 那实在是最棒的启发方式，当你要孩子们用他们自己的声音，

　　and ask them to speak for themselves, what they're willing to share. 当你要他们为自己说话，说那些他们愿意分享的故事。

　　The last question of the assignment is: how do you plan to use your life to positively⁵ impact⁶ other people? 这项作业的最后一个问题是：你打算怎么利用你自己的生命去正面的影响其他人？

　　The things that kids will say when you ask them and take the time to listen is extraordinary. 孩子们说出来的那些话，在你询问他们后并花时间倾听那些话后，是非常了不起的。

1 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

2 respectful   

adj.恭敬的，对...表示尊敬的

参考例句：

• He is respectful to his elders.他对长辈很尊敬。
• She received guests with a respectful attitude.她恭恭敬敬地接待了客人。

3 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

4 revelation   

n.泄露，揭示，展示，惊人的新发现

参考例句：

• Her true nature was a revelation to me.她的真实性格对我是一个新发现。
• The revelation of the plot of the traitors caused their capture.反叛者阴谋的泄露使他们被捕。

5 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

6 impact   

n.冲击，碰撞；影响；vt.装紧，压紧

参考例句：

• The computer had made a great impact on modern life.计算机对现代生活产生了巨大的影响.
• How will the war impact on such a poet?战争对这样一个诗人会产生什么影响？