异类之不一样的成功启示录 第191期:取得高等教育机会

 　　A year after MacMillan published his book, a wave of riots and unrest swept the Caribbean. 在麦克米兰的书出版一年后，动乱席卷了整个加勒比海。

　　Fourteen people were killed and fifty-nine injured in Trinidad. Fourteen were killed and forty-seven injured in Barbados. 在特立尼达岛14个人被杀害、59个人受伤；在巴巴多斯岛，14个人被杀害、47个人受伤；

　　In Jamaica, a series of violent strikes shut down the country, and a state of emergency was declared. 在牙买加，一系列的暴力事件冲击着国家，整个国家都处于紧张状态。

　　Panicked, the British government took MacMillan's prescriptions¹ to heart,  慌了神的英国政府终于领会了麦克米兰书中的精髓，

　　The scholarships began in 1941. My mother and her twin sister sat for the exam the following year. 奖学金从1941年开始有，我的妈妈和她的双胞胎姐姐参加了第二年的考试，

　　That is how they got a high school education;  这就是她们能取得高等教育机会的原因。

　　My mother owes the course her life took to the timing² of her birth, to the rioters of 1937, and to William.M.MacMillan. 我的母亲非常感激她出生的时间，还有1937年参加暴乱的人们，感谢麦克米兰。

　　I described Daisy Nation, my grandmother, as "renowned³ for her beauty".  我的祖母戴西·纳森，因漂亮而出名。

　　But the truth is that was a careless and condescending⁴ way to describe her. 其实这种描述对她是不认真的且不尊重的。

　　She was a force. The fact that my mother and her sister left Harewood for Saint Hilda's was my grandmother's doing. 她有一种独特的魅力，实际上我的母亲和她的双胞胎姐姐能够离开海厄乌德到圣·希尔达完全是由于我的祖母。

　　My grandfather may have been in an imposing⁵ and learned man, but he was an idealist and a dreamer. He buried himself in his books. 我的祖父曾经是一个让人印象深刻的学者，但他是一个理想主义者和一个空想家，他把自己埋藏在他的书中。

　　If he had ambitions for his daughters, he did not have the foresight⁶ and energy to make them real. My grandmother did. 即使他对他的女儿们有什么抱负，他也缺乏某种远虑和精力来实现它们，但我的外祖母却能实现。

　　Saint Hilda's was her idea: some of the wealthier families in the area sent their daughters there, and she saw what a good school meant. 去圣·希尔达学习是她的主意：她们那里有钱的人都把子女送到这儿来。她知道什么是好的教育，

　　Her daughters did not play with the other children of the village. 她的女儿们不用和小乡村的其它小孩子一起玩耍，

　　They read Latin and Algebra⁷ were necessary for high school, so she had her daughters tutored by Archdeacon Hay. 她们可以阅读书籍，学对高中有用的拉丁语和数学，所以她让牧师阿齐迪肯·海作为孩子的家庭教师。

1 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

2 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

3 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

4 condescending   

adj.谦逊的,故意屈尊的

参考例句：

• He has a condescending attitude towards women. 他对女性总是居高临下。
• He tends to adopt a condescending manner when talking to young women. 和年轻女子说话时，他喜欢摆出一副高高在上的姿态。

5 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

6 foresight   

n.先见之明，深谋远虑

参考例句：

• The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
• It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。

7 algebra   

n.代数学

参考例句：

• He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
• The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。