名人励志英语演讲 第83期:为成功做好准备(2)

 　　So what exactly is a successful life? How do you define it? Does being successful require you to amass¹ material possessions or to wield² great power? Must you be famous, or even become a celebrity³? Perhaps it's more about being devoted⁴ to serving others less fortunate than you or enjoying a life with family and friends, or living sustainably and leaving a legacy⁶, such as world peace.

　　那么，成功的人生究竟是什么样的？该如何定义成功？成功的人生是否意味着积累物质财富或是能够行使大权？是否意味着你要非常出色，甚至成为名人？也许成功的人生更意味着帮助比你不幸的人，和家人及朋友一起享受生活、和睦相处，或是为子孙后代留下遗产，比如世界和平。

　　Trying to answer this question drew me to the innovative⁷ TED⁵ website earlier this year. TED (standing for technology, entertainment and design) is a small non-profit organization devoted to ideas worth spreading. They do this through their website and annual US and UK conferences where they bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers.

　　在寻觅何谓成功人生时，我想到了年初见到的创新型网站TED。TED（指technology, entertainment, design在英语中的缩写，即技术、娱乐、设计）是一家小型非盈利机构，该机构通过他们的网站和美英年度会议致力于有价值的思想的传播。美英年度会议，即TED大会，会议云集世界上最杰出的思想家和实干家。

　　This is where I found a very appealing definition of success, which was used by a well known American basketball coach called John Wooden. He defines true success as peace of mind through knowing that you have made the effort to do the best of which you are capable. This is appealing because it means that anyone from anywhere can live a successful life with a bit of hard work and self-belief. He also argues that you should never let what you cannot do interfere⁸ with what you can do. And that is a great piece of advice.

　　有一位著名的美国篮球教练约翰·伍顿曾给成功下了一个很有感染力的定义。他认为，真正的成功是竭尽全力做好自己力所能及的事情从而达到内心的平和。这个定义很有感染力，因为这意味着，无论任何人，不管来自哪里，只要努力并且充满自信，就能拥有成功的人生。他还说，永远不要让无法做成的事情影响到你能做到的事情。这可是一个很好的建议。

1 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

2 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

3 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

4 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 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。

8 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。