最美的人们01-一个叫斯帕基的孩子

[00:00.00]Most Beautiful People 最美的人们
[00:10.66]The most beautiful people are those who have known defeat,
[00:15.46]suffering, struggle, loss,
[00:17.22]and have found their way out of the depths.
[00:19.73]These persons have an appreciation,
[00:22.26]a sensitivity and an understanding of life
[00:25.64]that fills them with compassion¹, gentleness,
[00:28.72]and a deep loving concern.
[00:30.34]A Boy Named Sparky 一个叫斯帕基的男孩
[00:37.02]For Sparky, school was all but impossible.
[00:41.28]He failed every subject in the eighth grade.
[00:44.14]He flunked² physics in high school,
[00:45.98]getting a grade of zero.
[00:47.52]Sparky also flunked Latin, algebra³, and English.
[00:50.90]He didn’t do much better in sports.
[00:52.99]Although he did manage to make the school’s golf team,
[00:56.04]he promptly⁴ lost the only important match of the season.
[00:59.34]There was consolation⁵ match;
[01:01.51]he lost that too.
[01:02.72]Throughout his youth Sparky was awkward socially.
[01:06.10]He was not actually disliked by the other students;
[01:08.74]no one cared that much.
[01:10.26]He was astonished if a classmate ever said hello
[01:13.22]to him outside of school hours.
[01:14.98]There’s no way to tell how he might have done at dating.
[01:18.03]Sparky never once asked a girl to go out in high school.
[01:21.52]He was too afraid of being turned down.
[01:23.72]Sparky was a loser.
[01:25.68]He, his classmates…everyone knew it.
[01:28.53]So he rolled with it.
[01:30.18]Sparky had made up his mind early in life that
[01:32.90]if things were meant to work out,
[01:34.44]they would.
[01:35.43]Otherwise he would content himself
[01:37.16]with what appeared to be his inevitable⁶ mediocrity.
[01:39.58]However, one thing was important to Sparky—drawing.
[01:43.73]He was proud of his artwork.
[01:45.60]Of course,no one else appreciated it.
[01:47.78]In his senior year of high school,
[01:50.08]he submitted some cartoons to the editors of the yearbook.
[01:53.25]The cartoons were turned down.
[01:55.12]Despite this particular rejection,
[01:57.51]Sparky was so convinced of his ability
[02:00.04]that he decided⁷ to become a professional artist.
[02:02.98]After completing high school,
[02:05.73]he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios.
[02:08.01]He was told to send some samples of his artwork,
[02:10.76]and the subject for a cartoon was suggested.
[02:13.48]Sparky drew the proposed cartoon.
[02:16.12]He spent a great deal of time on it
[02:18.76]and on all the other drawings he submitted.
[02:21.15]Finally, the reply came from Disney Studios.
[02:24.13]He had been rejected once again.
[02:26.63]Another loss for the loser.
[02:28.49]So Sparky decided to write his own autobiography⁸ in cartoons.
[02:32.76]He described his childhood self—
[02:35.39]a little boy loser and chronic⁹ underachiever.
[02:38.56]The cartoon character would soon become famous worldwide.
[02:42.05]For Sparky, the boy who had such lack of success in school and whose work
[02:47.09]was rejected again and again was Charles Schulz.
[02:50.79]He created the Peanuts comic strip and the little cartoon character
[02:54.64]whose kite would never fly
[02:56.48]and who never succeeded in kicking a football—Charlie Brown.

1 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

2 flunked   

v.( flunk的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（考试、某学科的成绩等）不及格；评定（某人）不及格；（因不及格而） 退学

参考例句：

• I flunked math in second grade. 我二年级时数学不及格。
• He flunked out (of college) last year. 他去年（从大学）退学了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

6 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

7 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。

8 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。