常春藤名家散文精选 第3期:我们正在起跑点
第三课 我们正在起跑点
"We are reading the first verse of the first chapter ofa book whose pages are infinite..."
“我们正在阅读一本页数无限的书的第一章第一节……”
I do not know who wrote these words, but I havealways liked them as a reminder that the future canbe anything we want to make it.
我不知道这段文字是谁写的，但我一直很喜欢用这段文字来提醒自己，那就是“未来在我之手”。
We can take the mysterious, hazy future and carveout of it anything that we can imagine, just as a sculptor carves a statue from a shapelessstone.
我们可以掌握神秘而不可知的将来，从中开创出我们所能想像的任何东西，一如雕刻家可将未成形的石头刻出雕像一样。
We are all in the position of the farmer.
我们个个都像是农夫。
If we we plant a good seed, we reap a good harvest.
我们若种下好种子，就会有丰收。
If our seed is poor and full of weeds, we reap a useless crop.
假若种子不良且长满杂草，我们就会徒劳无获。
If we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.
如果我们什么也不种，就根本不会有任何收获。
I want the future to be better than the past.
我希望将来要比过去更好。
I don't want it contaminated by the mistakes and errors with which history is filled.
我不希望将来被那些充斥在历史中的错误所污染。
We should all be concerned about the future because that is where we will spend theremainder of our lives.
我们都应关心将来，因为往后的余生都要在将来中度过。
The past is gone and static.
往昔已一去不复返，沉静无声。
Nothing we can do will change it.
任凭我们怎么努力都不能改变过去。
The future is before us and dynamic.
将来就在我们眼前而且是动态的。
Everything we do will affect it.
我们的所作所为都会影响将来。
Each day brings with it new frontiers，in our homes and in our businesses, if we will onlyrecognize them.
只要我们体会得出来，每天都可发现新的知识领域伴随而生，可能是在家里，也可能是在我们的事业中。
We are just at the beginning of the progress in every field of human endeavor.
我们正处在人类所努力钻研的每个领域中进步的起跑点。
