智慧背囊 超越自我-15-梦想终有成真时

[00:00.73]Never Too Late to Become What You Want to Be 梦想终有成真时
[00:05.64]The first day of school our professor introduced a little old lady to us.
[00:12.99]“Why are you in college at such a young age?" I asked later.
[00:17.24]She jokingly replied,
[00:19.14]“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children,
[00:24.48]and then retire and travel."
[00:26.45]"No seriously," I asked.
[00:28.99]I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
[00:34.23]" I always dreamed of having a college education
[00:37.32]and now I’m getting one!" she told me.
[00:40.06]We became instant friends.
[00:42.46]Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop.
[00:47.96]I was always listening to this “time machine"
[00:50.68]as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
[00:53.52]At the end of the semester¹ we invited Rose to make a speech to our football team.
[00:59.12]I’ll never forget what she taught us.
[01:01.62]As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her note card on the floor.
[01:07.45]A little embarrassed she simply said,
[01:10.07]“I’m sorry. This whiskey is killing² me!
[01:13.13]I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
[01:18.52] As we laughed she cleared her throat and began:
[01:22.01]“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
[01:28.92]There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.
[01:35.26]You have to laugh and find humor³ every day. You’ve got to have a dream.
[01:40.41]When you lose your dreams, you die.
[01:43.69]We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it!
[01:48.42]There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
[01:52.79]If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year
[01:57.41]and don’t do one productive⁴ thing,
[01:59.92]you will turn twenty years old. Anybody can grow older.
[02:04.65]That doesn't take any talent or ability.
[02:07.60]The idea is to grow up by always finding⁵ the opportunity in change.
[02:12.40]Have no regrets.
[02:14.36]The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did,
[02:18.44]but rather for things we did not do.
[02:21.28]The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”
[02:25.57]At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree.
[02:29.50]One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
[02:34.64]Over two thousand college students attended her funeral
[02:38.60]to honor⁶ the wonderful woman who taught by example
[02:42.08]that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.

1 semester   

n.一学期，半学年，六个月的时间

参考例句：

• A student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester.每个学生一学期可能要修四五门课程。
• I had an especially rough time during my first semester.我第一个学期的日子难受极了。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 humor   

n.(humour)幽默，诙谐

参考例句：

• He is distinguished for his sense of humor.他以其幽默感著称。
• American humor is founded largely on hyperbole.美式幽默主要以夸张为基础。

4 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

5 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

6 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。