精美英文欣赏:弱点还是强项

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每个人都会有自己的弱点或缺陷，不同的是看待这些弱点的方法。面对自己的弱点，人们往往变得谦卑或者沮丧，却不知道强和弱本是相对的概念，可以辩证地转化。世界上没有十全十美的人，除了不懈的努力，最重要的是明白自己的弱点，并去克服它，化弱点为强项。

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided¹ to study judo² despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating³ car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei," the boy finally said, "shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. 

Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly⁴ used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee⁵ called a timeout. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

"No," the sensei insisted, "let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a big mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy gathered the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense⁶ for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm." 

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

弱点还是强项

你最大的弱点有时可以变成最大的优势。我们就拿一个10岁男孩的故事来举个例子吧。尽管在一次严重车祸中失去了左臂，他还是决定去学习柔道。

他师从一位德高望重的日本柔道大师。男孩学得不错，但他弄不明白在三个月的训练中，大师为什么只传授他一招。

“师傅，”男孩终于问道，“我可以学些别的招数吗？”

“这是你知道的惟一的一招，但有这一招就够了。”师傅回答道。

虽然懵懵懂懂，但男孩信任他的师傅，便继续练了下去。

几个月后，男孩被师傅领着首次参加锦标赛。

让男孩自己都感惊讶的是，他轻而易举地赢了头两场比赛。第三场比赛就没那么轻松了，可是一段时间后，他的对手沉不住气了，发起进攻，男孩巧妙接招，一招制敌。尽管对自己的成功仍百思不得其解，男孩已经杀入决赛了。

这次他的对手高大强壮，经验老到。一时间，男孩看上去要被打败。担心男孩可能会受伤，裁判赶紧喊“暂停”。裁判正打算宣布终止比赛，男孩的师傅出面了。

“不，”师傅坚持道，“让他继续。”

比赛重新开始不久，他的对手犯了一个致命错误：他疏于防守，门户大开。男孩以迅雷不及掩耳之势，用他那一招将对方摔倒在地。男孩赢得了比赛，夺得了锦标赛的冠军。

回家的路上，男孩和师傅回顾起每场比赛的每一个动作。然后，男孩鼓起勇气，向师傅提出了他苦思不解的问题。

“师傅，我怎么会只用一招就赢得了锦标赛的胜利呢？”

“你赢有两个原因，”师傅回答说。“首先，你已经基本掌握了整个柔道中难度最高的一种摔跤动作。第二，目前已知破解此招惟一的方法就是对手去抓你的左臂。”

男孩最大的弱点变成了他最大的优势。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 judo   

n.柔道

参考例句：

• The judo is a kind of fighting sport.柔道是一种对抗性体育活动。
• Which is more important in judo, strength or techniques?柔道运动中，力量和技术哪个更重要？

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。