2006年NPR美国国家公共电台一月-When Ordinary People Achieve Extraordinar

I believe in the power of love. . .

I believe that a generation of ...

I believe in the impossible

I believe that everyone wants to love and be loved.

I believe in people.

This I believe. For our Monday series, This I Believe we have an essay from Jody Williams. She shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work as founding coordinator¹ of the International campaign to ban landmines³. Here is our series curator , independent producer, Jay Alision.

In the early 1980s, Jody Williams was not on track to a Nobel Peace Prize. In fact she was working for a temperary employment agency. Leaving a subway station one day, she was handed a leaflet about global activism which provoked her to change the direction of her life. That descion , that affirmation of the potential of individual action still guides her. Here is Jody Williams with her essay for this I believe.

I believe it is possible for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. For me, the difference between an "ordinary" and an "extraordinary" person is not the title that person might have, but what they do to make the world a better place for us all.

I have no idea why people choose to do what they do. When I was a kid I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I did know what I didn't want to do. I didn't want to grow up, have 2.2 kids, get married, the whole white picket⁴ fence thing. And I certainly didn't think about being an activist⁵. I didn't even really know what one was.

My older brother was born deaf. Growing up, I ended up defending him and I often think that is what started me on my path to whatever it is I am today.

When I was approached with the idea of trying to create a landmine² campaign, we were just three people in a small office in Washington, DC in late 1991. I certainly had more than a few ideas about how to begin a campaign, but what if nobody cared? What if nobody responded? But I knew the only way to answer those questions was to accept the challenge.

If I have any power as an individual, it's because I work with other individuals in countries all over the world. We are ordinary people: My friend Jemma from Armenia; Paul from Canada; Kosal, a landmine survivor⁶ from Cambodia; Haboubba from Lebanon; Christian⁷ from Norway; Diana from Colombia; Margaret, another landmine survivor from Uganda; and thousands more. We've all worked together to bring about extraordinary change. The landmine campaign is not just about landmines -- it's about the power of individuals to work with governments in a different way.

I believe in both my right and my responsibility to work to create a world that doesn't glorify⁸ violence and war, but where we seek different solutions to our common problems. I believe that these days, daring to voice your opinion, daring to find out information from a variety of sources, can be an act of courage.

I know that holding such beliefs and speaking them publicly is not always easy or comfortable or popular, particularly in the post-9/11 world. But I believe that life isn't a popularity contest. I really don’t care what people say about me -- and believe me, they’ve said plenty. For me, it’s about trying to do the right thing even when nobody else is looking.

I believe that worrying about the problems plaguing our planet without taking steps to confront them is absolutely irrelevant⁹. The only thing that changes this world is taking action.

I believe that words are easy. I believe the truth is told in the actions we take. And I believe that if enough ordinary people back up our desire for a better world with action, I believe we can, in fact, accomplish absolutely extraordinary things.

Jody Williams, with her essay for This I Believe. Williams almost always speaks extemporaneously¹⁰ but she obliged this by writing down her beliefs for our series. We hope you might do the same. To find out about submitting in an essay, please visit our website npr. org, or call 202-408-0300. Incidentally this weekend you can find an essay from Maria Hosey Perez as for Lauderdale Florida in USA Weekend Magzine, our print partner. For This I Believe, I'm Jay Alison.

And next Monday on Morning Edition an essay from position pious¹¹ come out of a rural Colorado. This I Believe is made possible by a grant from Farmers Insurance.

This is NPR. National Public Radio.

1 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

2 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

3 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

4 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 glorify   

vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化

参考例句：

• Politicians have complained that the media glorify drugs.政治家们抱怨媒体美化毒品。
• We are all committed to serving the Lord and glorifying His name in the best way we know.我们全心全意敬奉上帝，竭尽所能颂扬他的美名。

9 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

10 extemporaneously   

参考例句：

• Electric piano extemporaneously performance, in modern music education teaching, but also is in a development a. 电子琴的即兴演奏，在现代音乐教育教学中，还处于一个发展和不完善的阶段。 来自互联网
• He makes the splendid performance frequently extemporaneously at the concert, has made the astonishing progress. 他常常在音乐会上作精彩的即兴演奏，取得了惊人的效果。 来自互联网

11 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。