散文欣赏-生而为赢 Born to win

 　　Each human being is born as something new, something that never existed before. Each is born with the capacity to win at life. Each person has a unique way of seeing, hearing, touching¹, tasting and thinking. Each has his or her own unique potentials —capabilities and limitations. Each can be a significant, thinking, aware, and creative being — productive person, a winner.

　　The word “winner” and “loser” have many meanings. When we refer to a person as a winner, we do not mean one who makes someone else lose. To us, a winner is one who responds authentically² by being credible³, trustworthy, responsive, and genuine, both as an individual and as a member of a society.

　　Winners do not dedicate their lives to a concept of what they imagine they should be; rather, they are themselves and as such do not use their energy putting on a performance, maintaining pretence⁴ and manipulating others. They are aware that there is a difference between being loving and acting⁵ loving, between being stupid and acting stupid, between being knowledgeable⁶ and acting knowledgeable. Winners do not need to hide behind a mask.

　　Winners are not afraid to do their own thinking and to use their own knowledge. They can separate facts from opinions and don’t pretend to have all the answers. They listen to others, evaluate what they say, but come to their own conclusions. Although winners can admire and respect other people, they are not totally defined, demolished⁷, bound, or awed⁸ by them.

　　Winners do not play “helpless”, nor do they play the blaming game. Instead, they assume responsibility for their own lives. They don’t give others a false authority over them. Winners are their own bosses and know it.

　　A winner’s timing⁹ is right. Winners respond appropriately to the situation. Their responses are related to the message sent and preserve the significance, worth, well-being¹⁰, and dignity of the people involved. Winners know that for everything there is a season and for every activity a time.

　　Although winners can freely enjoy themselves, they can also postpone¹¹ enjoyment¹², can discipline themselves in the present to enhance their enjoyment in the future. Winners are not afraid to go after what he wants, but they do so in proper ways. Winners do not get their security by controlling others. They do not set themselves up to lose.

　　A winner cares about the world and its peoples. A winner is not isolated¹³ from the general problems of society, but is concerned, compassionate¹⁴, and committed to improving the quality of life. Even in the face of national and international adversity, a winner’s self-image is not one of a powerless individual. A winner works to make the world a better place.

　　人皆生而为新，为前所未有之存在；人皆生而能赢。人皆有其特立独行之方式去审视、聆听、触摸、品味及思考，因而都具备独特潜质——能力和局限。人皆能举足轻重，思虑明达，洞察秋毫，富有创意，成就功业。

　　“成者”与“败者”含义颇多。谈及成者我们并非指令他人失意之人。对我们而言，成者必为人守信，值得信赖，有求必应，态度诚恳，或为个人、或为社会一员皆能以真诚回应他人。

　　成者行事并不拘泥于某种信条，即便是他们认为应为其奉献一生的理念；而是本色行事，所以并不把精力用来表演，保持伪装或操控他人。他们明了爱与装爱、愚蠢与装傻、博学与卖弄之间迥然有别。成者无须藏于面具之后。

　　成者敢于利用所学，独立思考，区分事实与观点，且并不佯装通晓所有答案。他们倾听、权衡他人意见，但能得出自己的结论。尽管他们尊重、敬佩他人，但并不为他人所局限、所推翻、所束缚，也不对他人敬若神灵。

　　成者既不佯装“无助”，亦不抱怨他人。相反，他们对人生总是独担责任，也不以权威姿态凌驾他人之上。他们主宰自己，而且能意识到这点。

　　成者善于审时度势，随机应变。他们对所接受的信息做出回应，维护当事人的利益、康乐和尊严。成者深知成一事要看好时节，行一事要把握时机。

　　尽管成者可以自由享乐，但他更知如何推迟享乐，适时自律，以期将来乐趣更盛。成者并不忌惮追求所想，但取之有道，也并不靠控制他人而获取安然之感。他们总是使自己立于不败。

　　成者心忧天下，并不孤立于尘世弊病之外，而是置身事内，满腔热忱，致力于改善民生。即使面对民族、国家之危亡，成者亦非无力回天之个体。他总是努力令世界更好。

1 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

2 authentically   

ad.sincerely真诚地

参考例句：

• Gina: And we should give him something 2 authentically Taiwanese. 吉娜：而且我们应该送他有纯正台湾味的东西。
• A loser is one who fails to correspond authentically. 失败者则指那些未能做到诚实可靠的人。

3 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

4 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

7 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

8 awed   

adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

10 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

11 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

12 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

13 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

14 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。