英语美文：固守自己的优势

 　　Stick to your special talents

　　You were born with a special talent. It may be to sing, write, teach, paint, mentor¹, preach, defend or befriend. You have something special to offer the world, something you can do better than 10,000 others. You must keep learning and trying new things to find your special talent. The world needs your gift. Be aware that even a special talent can go stale if you don’t keep using and honing it. Endeavor to keep your talents and all your skills up to date.

　　An advantage isn’t an advantage unless you use it. Find ways to use your advantages to set and reach your goals. Likewise, you should recognize and then try to minimize the impact of your limitations. Remember that not all advantages are transferable. Just because you are talented in one area doesn’t mean that you will be talented at everything you try. The successful real estate investor² can easily lose her money opening a restaurant. Stick to your advantages and don’t stray from them without reasoned justification³.

　　[参考译文]

　　固守自己的优势

　　你生而有自己的特殊天赋。你的特长可能是唱歌，写作，教书，绘画，劝导，步道，辩护或交友。你总有些特殊之处可以贡献给这个世界，有些事你可以做的比另外一万个人做的都好。你必须不断学习和尝试新的事物从而发现自己的特殊才能。时间需要你的贡献馈赠。要明白即使是特殊才能如果不经常使用而且磨练的话也会失效。因此要尽力使自己的天赋与所有的技能跟上时代。

　　任何优势如果不用的话也就不称其为优势了。找到办法运用你的优势来确定并实现你的目标。同样的你应该意识到自己的不足之处并尽力将其不利影响限制在最小程度。切记并不是所有的优势都能够相互转换的：你在某一方面有天赋并不意味着你在自己所尝试的一切事情上都有天赋。一个成功的房地产投资商很可能因为开餐馆而亏本。因此要固守自己的优势，在没有理性的确定判断之前不要轻易离开自己擅长的领域。 

1 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。