英语美文：抓住你的左手

 Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one girl who decided¹ to study judo² despite the fact that she had lost her left arm in a car accident.

有的时候，你的软弱之处反而拥有强大的力量。比如我们下面要讲的这个故事：一位在车祸中丧失了左臂的小女孩，决定去学习柔道。

The girl began lessons with an old Japanese judo instructor³. The girl was doing well. So she couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the instructor had taught her only one move. 

小女孩向一位年长的日本老师学校柔道。小女孩学习进展不错，而三个月过去了，老师却只是重复的教授她一个动作，这使得她很迷惑不解。

"Instructor," the girl finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" 

“老师，”女孩终于忍不住问，“能不能再多教我一些动作？”

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the instructor replied. 

老师回答说：“你只要把这个动作学好就可以了。”

Not quite understanding, but believing in her teacher, the girl kept training. 

尽管女孩并不明白老师的用意，不过她相信老师的话，继续努力练习。

Several months later, the instructor took the girl to her first tournament. Surprising herself, the girl easily won her first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, her opponent became impatient and charged. The girl deftly⁴ used her one move to win the match. Still amazed by her success, the girl was now in the finals. 

几个月过去了，老师决定带她去参加一次竞赛。令女孩惊讶的是，她轻松地击败了头两个对手。第三个对手虽然比较强悍，但一番苦战后，对手就开始心浮气躁。女孩巧妙的使用她唯一的一招赢得了比赛。女孩自己虽感到不可思议，但她却一步步进入的决赛。

This time, her opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, the girl appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the girl might get hurt, the referee⁵ called a time-out. She was about to stop the match when the instructor intervened.

这一次，她的对手更高大强壮，而且经验丰富。女孩在一些时候甚至显露出败相，由于害怕女孩受伤，裁判宣布暂停比赛。正当她准备下场时，教练却制止了她。

"No," the instructor insisted, "Let her continue." 

“让她继续比赛。”教练坚持道。

Soon after the match resumed, her opponent made a critical mistake: she dropped her guard. Instantly, the girl used her move to pin her opponent. The girl had won the match and the tournament. She was the champion.

比赛恢复后，她的对手犯了一个严重的错误：她放松了自己的防卫。女孩立即用她那一招钉死了对手。女孩终于赢得了这场比赛，也成为了这次竞赛的冠军。

On the way home, the girl and her teacher reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the girl summoned the courage to ask what was really on her mind. 

回家的路上，女孩和老师回顾了比赛的每个环节，女孩鼓起勇气问老师一个困惑已久的问题。

"Instructor, how did I win the tournament with only one move?" 

“教练，为什么我用一个招式就赢得了这场比赛？”

"You won for two reasons," the teacher answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense⁶ for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm." 

老师回答她说：“有两个原因：一、我教你的招式是柔道中最难的一个动作，而你把它掌握的很精通；二、对手想要破解这个招式只有一个动作，就是抓住你的左手。”

1 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。

2 judo   

n.柔道

参考例句：

• The judo is a kind of fighting sport.柔道是一种对抗性体育活动。
• Which is more important in judo, strength or techniques?柔道运动中，力量和技术哪个更重要？

3 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

4 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。