英语沙龙：改变永远不晚

It’s Never Too Late to Change

Age is no criterion¹ when it comes to changing your life.

In fact, it might be just the opposite.

The older we get, the more we must change.

Change is what keeps us fresh and innovative².

Change is what keeps us from getting stale³ and stuck in a rut.

Change is what keeps us young.

This is not easy.

When we are young it's easy to change and experiment with different things.

The older we get the more set in our ways we become.

We've found out what our comfort level is, and we all want to stay in it.

We don't want to be risk takers anymore, because risk frightens us,

and simply not changing seems so easy.

We must fight through this.

We must look fear straight in the eye and take it on.

We must tell ourselves that we have too much talent, too much wisdom,

too much value not to change.

I believe that Jim, who is on my staff,

is one of the best assistant coaches in the country.

But I almost didn't hire him three years ago

because I thought that psychologically⁴ he was too "old,"

that he had lost the drive and passion that an assistant coach needs.

Three years ago he was forty, and I thought

he might have spent too many Saturday afternoons at the country club,

that he wasn't going to get in the trenches⁵ anymore,

like the younger assistant coaches do.

But Jim told me that he couldn't wait to get down in the trenches again.

So I hired him, and he's been an integral⁶ part of our success.

There is a conventional⁷ wisdom in coaching that once you've been a head coach

you can't enthusiastically go back to being an assistant again

and still have the same passion as before.

Jim didn't buy into that.

He didn't let his "old age" get in his way.

He was ready when opportunity came calling.

He reestablished a work ethic⁸ second to none with the eagerness of a person right out of college.

And I'm thankful for what he did,

because he played such an essential role in our championship season.

This is what we all must do.

We must realize that it's never too late to begin making changes

that can transform our life.

1 criterion   

n.（批评判断的）标准，准据，规范

参考例句：

• Only social practice can be the criterion of truth.只有社会实践才能是检验真理的唯一标准。
• Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.实践是检验真理的唯一标准。

2 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

3 stale   

adj.因陈旧而乏味的，过时的；没有新意的

参考例句：

• The room smelled musty and stale.这个房间闻起来有股发霉的陈味儿。
• The bread is too stale to eat.面包太陈不能吃了。

4 psychologically   

adv.心理上地，心理学地

参考例句：

• This explanation fits the facts and is psychologically plausible. 这一解释与事实相符，从心理角度看也有理。
• Boys mature more slowly than girls,both physically and psychologically. 在生理和心理上，男孩比女孩成熟得晚些。

5 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

6 integral   

adj.必不可少的，构成整体所必需的

参考例句：

• She is our best player,who is integral to our team.她是我们最好的球员，我们队离不开她。
• That's an integral part of the country.那是构成国家所必需的一部分。

7 conventional   

adj.普通的，常规的；符合习俗的，因循守旧的

参考例句：

• After a conventional opening remarks,he made a brilliant speech.在一个常规的开场白后，他做了个很精彩的演讲。
• It is simpler and quicker to use than conventional methods.这比通常的做法更简单、更快捷。

8 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。