外刊精读 | 为什么越挫越勇，才是获取成功的必须？|亚伯拉罕·林肯|劳伦斯|奥运会|奥运冠军|爱迪生|翻译|越勇

今天是小芳老师陪你精读外刊的第36天

难度指数7级（共8级）

读前想想，下面内容用英语怎么说？

1. 易碎的 2. 徒劳的 3. 清楚显示 4. 创新的

第一步：泛读原文（盲听1遍，泛读1遍，对照文本听1遍）

There is a dangerous myth that is virtually endemic in today’s society, and it hampers happiness, success, and growth. The myth states that human beings are inherently fragile and that the only way to be happy and successful in life is to protect oneself by avoiding adversity.

Not only are those statements false, but the actions we take believing them to be “protective” also usually limit happiness and even stifle personal and professional growth. To use a sports metaphor, seldom do those who play the game of life not to lose ever really win.

Rather than fear and try to avoid all adversity, a fool’s errand at best, perhaps we should accept the inevitability of adversity and the occasional crises in life and prepare for, if not embrace, them. As a muscle grows stronger with stress, so can people, teams, organizations, even communities. Crisis reveals true strength.

Sports psychologists Fletcher and Sarkar have studied Olympic gold medal winners. They conclude, “Indeed, most of the participants argued that if they had not experienced certain types of stressors at specific times, including highly demanding adversities ... they would not have won their gold medals”.

Psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun coined the term “posttraumatic growth.” They describe it as the experience of positive change that occurs as a result of highly challenging life crises. It is manifested in a variety of ways, including an increased appreciation for life in general, more meaningful interpersonal relationships, an increased sense of personal strength, changed priorities, and a richer existential and spiritual life.

The remarkable success stories that can arise after moments of great challenge and failure are countless. Abraham Lincoln faced chronic depression, political failure, and the loss of a son but arose from failure and tragedy to become the greatest of American presidents. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times trying to create a light bulb filament that would light and burn in a consistent manner, but finally created the world’s first practical incandescent light bulb. Harland Sanders developed the iconic brand Kentucky Fried Chicken in his 60s while rebounding from a failed career as a lawyer. And Steve Jobs, who had his innovative technology company Apple taken from him by a hostile board of directors, regained control of the company. He then made it the world’s most recognized brand. There are thousands of other lesser-known people, whose lives are characterized by key moments of great resilience from adversity.

An English philosopher once wrote the ultimate result of shielding people from their mistakes is to fill the world with fools. Let us not make that mistake. Rather, let us understand that growth arises from challenge and even failure. The myth of fragility and overprotection keeps us all from realizing our full potential.

第二步：精读原文（精读1遍，对照文本听1遍，精读1遍）

读原文（精读1遍，对照文本听1遍）

There is a dangerous myth that is virtually endemic in today’s society, and ithampers happiness, success, and growth. The myth states that human beings are inherentlyfragileand that the only way to be happy and successful in life is to protect oneself by avoidingadversity.

1.hamper: 等于 hinder, impede，to prevent sb from easily doing or achieving sth，妨碍, e.g. Rescue efforts were severely hampered by the bad weather. 恶劣天气严重阻碍了救援工作。

2.fragile:等于breakable, brittle，易碎的，e.g. fragile china / glass / bones易碎的瓷器/玻璃制品/骨骼

3.adversity: 逆境：e.g. courage in the face of adversity 面对逆境的勇气

翻译：当今社会盛行一种有害的错误看法，它妨碍了幸福、成功和成长。这种错误的看法即“人类生来脆弱，在生活中获得快乐和成功的唯一方法就是通过规避逆境来保护自己”。

Not only are those statements false, but the actions we take believing them to be “protective” also usually limit happiness and evenstiflepersonal and professional growth. To use a sports metaphor, seldom do those who playthe game of lifenot to lose ever really win.

1.stifle: 等同于choke，suffocate，suppress，扼杀；抑制，e.g. She managed to stifle a yawn.她忍住了呵欠。

2.the game of life: 经典大富翁类桌游《人生游戏》

翻译：这些说法都是错误的，不仅如此，由于我们把它们当成“保护性的”说法，我们随之采取的行动通常也限制了幸福，甚至阻碍了个人和职业成长。用体育来打比方就是，那些在《人生游戏》中不输的人很少会真正赢。

Rather than fear and try to avoid all adversity,a fool’s errandat best, perhaps we should accept theinevitabilityof adversity and the occasional crises in life and prepare for, if not embrace, them. As a muscle grows stronger with stress, so can people, teams, organizations, even communities. Crisis reveals true strength.

1.a fool’s errand: 徒劳的，e.g. For example, asking a friend who has no money for a loan is a fool's errand. 举个例子，向一个没有钱的朋友借钱是徒劳的。

2.inevitability: 词根inevitable 等于 unavoidable, e.g. It was an inevitable consequence of the decision. 那是这个决定的必然后果。

翻译：与其害怕逆境，想要将其完全避开（这充其量是愚蠢的做法），或许我们应该接受逆境是不可避免的，生活中偶尔会出现危机，即使无法欣然接受它们，也要做好准备。肌肉在压力下变得更强壮，人、团队、组织甚至社会也是如此。危机能使你展现真正的力量。

Sports psychologists Fletcher and Sarkar have studied Olympic gold medal winners. They conclude, “Indeed, most of the participants argued that if they had not experienced certain types ofstressors at specific times, including highly demandingadversities... they would not have won their gold medals”.

1.stressor: stress+or 理解为压力源

2.adversities: 原型 adversity，means a difficult or unpleasant situation困境, e.g. He overcame many personal adversities. 他克服了多次个人不幸

翻译：运动心理学家弗莱彻和萨卡尔研究了奥运会金牌得主。他们总结道：“事实上，大多数参与者认为，如果他们没有在特定时间经历某些类型的压力，包括严苛的逆境……他们就不会获得金牌”。

Psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhouncoined the term “posttraumatic growth.” They describe it as the experience of positive change that occurs as a result of highly challenging life crises. It ismanifested in a variety of ways, including an increased appreciation for life in general, more meaningful interpersonal relationships, an increased sense of personal strength, changedpriorities, and a richer existential and spiritual life.

1.coin: to invent a new word or phrase that other people then begin to use创造(新词语)

2.posttraumatic growth: refers to positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity and other challenges in order to rise to a higher level of functioning.

3.manifest: 清楚显示 (尤指情感、态度或品质)，等同于demonstrate, e.g. Social tensions were manifested in the recent political crisis. 最近的政治危机显示了社会关系的紧张。

4.priorities: priority首要事情：a high/low priority 重点/非重点项目

翻译：心理学家理查德·特德斯基和劳伦斯·卡尔霍恩创造了“创伤后成长”这一术语。他们将其描述为一种积极变化的体验，这种体验是极具挑战性的生活危机的结果。“创伤后成长”表现在多个方面，包括对生活的整体满意度的提高，更有意义的人际关系，个人力量的增强，优先事项的改变，以及更丰富的物质和精神生活。

The remarkable success stories that can arise after moments of great challenge and failure are countless. Abraham Lincoln facedchronicdepression, political failure, and the loss of a son but arose from failure and tragedy to become the greatest of American presidents. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times trying to create a light bulb filament that would light and burn in a consistent manner, but finally created the world’s first practicalincandescentlight bulb. Harland Sanders developed the iconic brand Kentucky Fried Chicken in his 60s while rebounding from a failed career as a lawyer. And Steve Jobs, who had hisinnovativetechnology company Apple taken from him by a hostile board of directors, regained control of the company. He then made it the world’s most recognized brand. There are thousands of other lesser-known people, whose lives are characterized by key moments of great resilience from adversity.

1.chronic: lasting for a long time; difficult to cure or get rid of，长期性的

2.incandescent: 白炽的：incandescent lamps白炽灯

3.innovative: 创新的, e.g. There will be a prize for the most innovative design. 设有一项最具创意设计奖。

写作：The remarkable success stories that can arise after moments of great challenge and failure are countless. 段落主题句，引出下文的各种例子，反过来说下面的例子是论证本句话的观点。

翻译：在经历了严峻挑战和重大失败之后获得显著成功的故事数不胜数。亚伯拉罕·林肯经历了长期抑郁、政治失败和丧子之痛，但却从失败和不幸中崛起，成为美国最伟大的总统。托马斯·爱迪生尝试发明一种能持续发光发亮的灯丝，他失败了数千次，但最终创造出了世界上第一个可用的白炽灯。哈兰·山德士在60多岁时从失败的律师生涯中恢复过来，创立了标志性品牌肯德基。史蒂夫·乔布斯在他的创新性科技公司苹果被董事会恶意夺走后，又重新获得了公司的控制权。后来，他使苹果成为世界上最知名的品牌。还有成千上万鲜为人知的人，他们在逆境中表现出强大的恢复力。

An English philosopher once wrote the ultimate result ofshielding people from their mistakes is to fill the world with fools. Let us not make that mistake. Rather, let us understand that growth arises from challenge and even failure. The myth of fragility and overprotection keeps us all fromrealizing our full potential.

1.shield: shield sb from sth = protect sb from sb or sth, e.g. You can't shield her from the truth forever. 你不可能永远瞒着她，不让她知道事实真相。

2.realize our full potential: 充分发挥我们的潜力

翻译：一位英国哲学家曾经写道，保护人们不犯错误最终会让世界充满了傻瓜。我们不要犯这样的错误。相反，我们应当明白成长源于挑战甚至失败。错误地认为自己很脆弱、需要过度保护会使我们无法充分发挥自己的潜力。

第三步：阅读双语文章

上下滑动阅读双语全文

当今社会盛行一种有害的错误看法，它妨碍了幸福、成功和成长。这种错误的看法即“人类生来脆弱，在生活中获得快乐和成功的唯一方法就是通过规避逆境来保护自己”。

这些说法都是错误的，不仅如此，由于我们把它们当成“保护性的”说法，我们随之采取的行动通常也限制了幸福，甚至阻碍了个人和职业成长。用体育来打比方就是，那些在人生竞赛中不输的人很少会真正赢。

与其害怕逆境，想要将其完全避开（这充其量是愚蠢的做法），或许我们应该接受逆境是不可避免的，生活中偶尔会出现危机，即使无法欣然接受它们，也要做好准备。肌肉在压力下变得更强壮，人、团队、组织甚至社会也是如此。危机能使你展现真正的力量。

运动心理学家弗莱彻和萨卡尔研究了奥运会金牌得主。他们总结道：“事实上，大多数参与者认为，如果他们没有在特定时间经历某些类型的压力，包括严苛的逆境……他们就不会获得金牌”。

心理学家理查德·特德斯基和劳伦斯·卡尔霍恩创造了“创伤后成长”这一术语。他们将其描述为一种积极变化的体验，这种体验是极具挑战性的生活危机的结果。“创伤后成长”表现在多个方面，包括对生活的整体满意度的提高，更有意义的人际关系，个人力量的增强，优先事项的改变，以及更丰富的物质和精神生活。

在经历了严峻挑战和重大失败之后获得显著成功的故事数不胜数。亚伯拉罕·林肯经历了长期抑郁、政治失败和丧子之痛，但却从失败和不幸中崛起，成为美国最伟大的总统。托马斯·爱迪生尝试发明一种能持续发光发亮的灯丝，他失败了数千次，但最终创造出了世界上第一个可用的白炽灯。哈兰·山德士在60多岁时从失败的律师生涯中恢复过来，创立了标志性品牌肯德基。史蒂夫·乔布斯在他的创新性科技公司苹果被董事会恶意夺走后，又重新获得了公司的控制权。后来，他使苹果成为世界上最知名的品牌。还有成千上万鲜为人知的人，他们在逆境中表现出强大的恢复力。

一位英国哲学家曾经写道，保护人们不犯错误最终会让世界充满了傻瓜。我们不要犯这样的错误。相反，我们应当明白成长源于挑战甚至失败。错误地认为自己很脆弱、需要过度保护会使我们无法充分发挥自己的潜力。

第三步：回答问题（评论区回答问题）

Reading Questions：

1. What did the dangerous myth say about human beings?

2. What helped the gold medal winners to win their gold medals?

3. What did Abraham Lincoln have to face before being the greatest president?

滑动查看答案

The myth states that human beings are inherentlyfragileand that the only way to be happy and successful in life is to protect oneself by avoidingadversity.

Certain types of stressors at specific times, including highly demanding adversities.

He facedchronicdepression, political failure, and the loss of a son but arose from failure and tragedy to become the greatest of American presidents.

今天是小芳老师陪你精读外刊的第36天

检查一下，你学到了吗？

1.fragile: 易碎的 2.a fool’s errand: 徒劳的 3.manifest: 清楚显示 4.innovative: 创新的

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