名校励志英语演讲 172:服务-衡量成功的真正标准(13)

 　　And think about the friends who never got the chance to go to college but were still invested in your success—friends who talked you out of dropping out, friends who kept you out of trouble so that you could graduate on time, friends who forced you to study when you wanted to procrastinate¹.

　　想想那些从来没有机会进入大学但依然为你们的成功出钱出力的朋友们吧——想想那些劝告你们不要辍学的朋友们，想想那些让你们远离麻烦以便你们能够准时毕业的朋友们，想想那些当你们想偷懒时强迫你们去学习的朋友们。

　　Most importantly, tough, think of the millions of ids living all over this world who will never come close to having the chance to stand in your shoes—kids in New Orleans whose schools are still recovering from the ravages² of Katrina; kids who will never go to school at all because they're forced to work in a sweat shop somewhere; kids in your very own communities who just can't get a break, who don't have anyone in their lives telling them that they're good enough and smart enough to do whatever they can imagine; kids who have lost the ability to dream. These kids are desperate to find someone or something to cling³ to. They are looking to you for some sign of hope.

　　但是最重要的，想想世界上还有数百万计的孩子们，他们永远不会像你们一样离机会如此之近——想想纽奥良的那些孩子们，他们的学校遭受了卡特里娜飓风的肆掠，目前还在修复；想想那些将永远没有机会上学的孩子们，他们会被迫在世界各个角落的血汗工厂里做工；想想你们自己社区里的孩子们吧，他们没有这么好的运气，在他们的生命里没有人告诉他们，他们聪明优秀，足以完成他们想象的任何事情；想想那些失去梦想的孩子们吧。这些孩子们迫切想找到可以依赖的人或事物。他们想要从你们那里看到希望的曙光。

　　So, whenever you get ready to give up, think about all of these people and remember that you are blessed. Remember that you are blessed. Remember that in exchange for those blessings⁴, you must gives something back. You must reach back and pull someone up.

　　所以当你们准备放弃的时候。想想所有这些人，记住你们是幸运的。记住你们是被祝福的。记住，得到了这些幸福后，你们必须拿出东西来回馈社会，你们必须回过身去拉别人一把。

1 procrastinate   

v.耽搁，拖延

参考例句：

• Most often we procrastinate when faced with something we do not want to do.面对不想做的事情，我们经常拖延。
• It's easy to procrastinate when the deadline seems infinitely far away.当最终期限总是遥遥无期时是很容易延期的。

2 ravages   

劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹

参考例句：

• the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难
• It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。

3 cling   

vi.缠住，粘住，依恋，依靠，坚信，坚持

参考例句：

• Wet clothes cling to the body.湿衣服贴身。
• Members of a family should cling together in times of trouble.一家人应该患难与共。

4 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》