英语美文：小人物如何取得大成就？

 How Small People Make A Big Difference

　　成长的过程中，你是否也有过同样的困惑？在这里，马丁·路德·金的“我有一个梦想”获得了不一样的诠释，希望能对你有所帮助。

　　Repression¹

　　Today, as I was relaxing at the beach, I couldn't help but eavesdrop² on a conversation four high school kids we having on the beach blanket next to me. Their conversation was about making a positive difference in the world. And it went something like this…

　　"It's impossible to make a difference unless you're a huge corporation or someone with lots of money and power," one of them said.

　　"Yeah man," another replied. "My mom keeps telling me to move mountains – to speak up and stand up for what I believe. But what I say and do doesn't even get noticed. I just keep answering to ‘the man’ and then I get slapped back in place by him when I step out of line."

　　"Repression…" another snickered.

　　I smiled because I knew exactly how they felt. When I was their age, I was certain I was being repressed and couldn't possibly make a difference in this world. And I actually almost got expelled³ from school once because I openly expressed how repressed I felt in the middle of the principals’ office.

　　I Have A Dream

　　Suddenly, one of the kids noticed me eavesdropping⁴ and smiling. He sat up, looked at me and said, "What? Do you disagree?" Then as he waited for a response, the other three kids turned around too.

　　Rather than arguing with them, I took an old receipt out of my wallet, ripped⁵ it into four pieces, and wrote a different word on each piece. Then I crumbled⁶ the pieces into little paper balls and handed a different piece to each one of them.

　　"Look at the word on the paper I just gave you and don't show it to anyone else." The kids looked at the single word I had handed each of them and appeared confused. "You have two choices," I told them. "If your word inspired you to make a difference in this world, then hold onto it. If not, give it back to me so I can recycle the paper." They all returned their words.

　　I scooted over, sat down on the sand next to their beach blanket and laid out the four words that the students had returned to me so that the words combined to form the simple sentence, "I have a dream."

　　"Dude, that's Martin Luther King Jr.," one of the kids said.

　　"How did you know that?" I asked.

　　"Everyone knows Martin Luther King Jr." the kid snarled⁷. "He has his own national holiday, and we all had to memorize his speech in school a few years ago."

　　"Why do you think your teachers had you memorize his speech?" I asked.

　　"I don't really care!" the kid replied. His three friends shook their heads in agreement. "What does this have to do with us and our situation?"

　　"Your teachers asked you to memorize those words, just like thousands of teachers around the world have asked students to memorize those words, because they have inspired millions of repressed people to dream of a better world and take action to make their dreams come true. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

　　"Man, I know exactly what you're trying to do and it's not going to work, alright?" the fourth kid said, who hadn't spoken a word until now. "We're not going to get all inspired and emotional about something some dude said thirty years ago. Our world is different now. And it's more screwed up than any us can even begin to imagine, and there's little you or I can do about it. We're too small, we're nobody."

　　Together

　　I smiled again because I once believed and used to say similar things. Then after holding the smile for a few seconds I said, "On their own, ‘I' or ‘have’ or ‘a’ or ‘dream’ are just words. Not very compelling or inspiring. But when you put them together in a certain order, they create a phrase that has been powerful enough to move millions of people to take action – action that changed laws, perceptions⁸, and lives. You don't need to be inspired or emotional to agree with this, do you?"

　　The four kids shrugged⁹ and struggled to appear totally indifferent, but I could tell they were listening intently¹⁰. "And what's true for words is also true for people," I continued. "One person without help from anyone else can't do much to make a sizable difference in this crazy world - or to overcome all of the various forms of repression that exist today. But when people get together and unite to form something more powerful and meaningful then themselves, the possibilities are endless.

　　Together is how mountains are moved. Together is how small people make a big difference.

1 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

2 eavesdrop   

v.偷听，倾听

参考例句：

• He ensconced himself in the closet in order to eavesdrop.他藏在壁橱里，以便偷听。
• It is not polite to eavesdrop on the conversation of other people.偷听他人说话是很不礼貌的。

3 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

4 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

5 ripped   

adj. <美俚>喝醉的，受毒品麻醉的 动词rip的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He had ripped up the carpet, leaving only the bare boards. 他用力扯去了地毯，只剩下裸露的地板。
• I ripped my jeans on the fence. 我的牛仔裤在栅栏上划破了。

6 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

7 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 perceptions   

感知（能力）( perception的名词复数 )； 觉察（力）； 认识； 观念

参考例句：

• Her perceptions and intuitions about human nature were fascinating. 她对人性的理解和感知引人入胜。
• There was no inside to Whitman's perceptions. 惠特曼的直觉里没有内涵。

9 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 intently   

adv.专心致志地，注意力集中地

参考例句：

• He watched her face intently to catch every nuance of expression. 他认真地注视着她的脸，捕捉每一丝细微的表情变化。
• He was looking at her intently but she stared him out. 他专注地看着她，可她盯得他移开了目光。