英语励志美文精华 39

Fixing Up the Run-Down Places

by Dr. David Dallas Jones

Every life coheres¹ around certain fundamental core ideas whether we realize it or not. If I were asked to state the ideas around which my life and my life's work have been built it would seem that they were very simple ideas. An old professor of mine used to say that "effort counts." "The surest thing in the world," he would say, "next to death is that effort counts." This I believe with all my heart. We seldom realize the sense of glow, the sense of growing self-esteem, the sense of achievement, which can come from doing a job well. Just working at a thing with enthusiasm and with a belief that the job may be accomplished², however uncertain the outcome, lends zest³ to life.

If I were to start life again, I think I would do just what I have done in the past-this past having been done by mere⁴ chance. I would start at some task which very much needed to be done. I would start in a place which was run down and I would believe with all my heart that if the thing needed to be done and if effort were put into it, results would come for human good.

Too, from the outset, my wife and I have had the feeling that no matter what else we did in life, we had to devote our best thinking and our best living to our children. Now that they are all grown, we have sincere satisfaction in the fact that trying to do a job and trying to earn a living did not take away from us this urgency to be and do so that our children could have a feeling of the importance of integrity, honesty and straightforwardness⁵ in life. It seems to me far too often this is overlooked. We people in public life do the jobs we have to do and fail to save our own children. This second thing is important- doing the task you have to do but beginning at home to bring peace, love, happiness and contentment to those whom God has given you.

The third idea, around which I have tried to live and work, is that there is an overshadowing Providence⁶ that cares for one. Ofttimes struggles are too intense, too "eager beaverish" when, as a matter of fact, time and God can solve many problems. Never in my life have I gotten away from the idea that God cares and that He provides that the forces of good in the world are greater than the forces of evil and that if we will lend ourselves to those forces, in the long run we have greater joy and happiness in the thing which we try to achieve. This I learned from my mother as a boy. Although she was ill and although we were poor-as poor as people can be-I do not now recall a moment of discouragement in her presence. There was always an overpowering belief that God was in His heaven and that, as Joe Louis said, "God is on our side."

These things I believe with all my heart.

1 coheres   

v.黏合( cohere的第三人称单数 )；联合；结合；（指看法、推理等）前后一致

参考例句：

• There are moral principles by which society coheres. 有些道德法则使社会得以团结一致。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The perfect technical design coheres the plan of Silver Star person,full of elaboration to every detail. 完美的设计技术，凝聚着银星人的精心策划，饱含着对每个细节的推敲。 来自互联网

2 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

3 zest   

n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣

参考例句：

• He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
• He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

4 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

5 straightforwardness   

n.坦白，率直

参考例句：

• They were impressed by his sincerity and straightforwardness. 他的诚恳直率给他们留下了很深的印象。
• What some people take for rudeness is really straightforwardness. 一些人所认为的无礼实际上却是直率的表现。

6 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。