当我不完美时

陆友军

At my primary school， ①I was one of the smartest kids there. I never studied， but always got perfect scores. I was also a prodigy（不凡之人）in music according to myself. I could sing better than almost everyone else in my school. I was pretty（很）sure that once I got to sixth grade， everyone would be surprised by me. But actually， they weren’t.

When I arrived at my new class， ②I couldn’t wait to show everyone what I could do. However， there was always someone else who could do them better. My grades began to suffer（变差）. More talented（有天资的）girls often sang solo（独唱）. I believed I wasn’t smart. I believed I wasn’t talented. I believed I was a failure.

Over the next two years， I had to work very hard. ③Every prize for the singing competition was given to me for hard work and effort（努力）. Grades were still very low but improving④little by little. I worked really hard. However， I was never the best at everything.

⑤I haven’t realized until recently that I really don’t have to be the best at everything. ⑥I was too hard on myself. In fact， when I did badly in a test， my classmates never laughed at me.

No one is perfect. There will probably always be someone better than me at something. Anyway， there are over seven billion people in this world. I will never be the number one at everything， and that’s really okay.

[精彩译文]

在我上小学时，我是学校最聪明的学生之一。我不努力学习，却总能取得高分。我自认为也是一位音乐奇才。在我们学校，几乎没人唱歌比我好。我十分确信，进入六年级时我会令每个人大为惊讶。但实际上，情况不是这样。

当我进入新的班级，我迫不及待地表现自己，让同学们知道我能干什么。然而，总有其他人比我干得更好。我的学习成绩开始变差。更多有才华的女孩经常独唱。我开始认为我不够聪明，没有才华，甚至认为自己是一位失败者。

在接下来的两年内，我不得不勤奋努力。“功夫不负有心人”，我囊括了歌唱比赛的每一个奖项。虽然学习成绩依然很差，但也逐渐地在提高。我拼尽全力，然而还是没能做到事事最好。

直到最近，我才意识到真的没有必要做到事事最好。我对自己太苛刻了。事实上，当我考试考砸了，也没有一个同学嘲笑我。

世上没有十全十美的人。总会有人在某些方面比我强。毕竟，这世上有70多亿人口。我永远都不会成为事事第一，不过这真的没关系。

[难点解读]

①本句中使用了“one of + the + 形容词的最高级 + 复数名词”这一结构，意思为“最……之一”。例如：

Bill is one of the most popular students in our class.

比尔是我们班最受欢迎的学生之一。

②can’t wait to do sth. 迫不及待地做某事。例如：

I couldn’t wait to turn on the TV as soon as I got home yesterday afternoon.

昨天下午一到家我就迫不及待地打開电视。

③本句涉及含有双宾语的被动语态，还可以写成：I was given every prize for the singing competition for hard work and effort. 例如：

My father bought me a computer last week. 还可以写成：

I was bought a computer by my father last week.

A computer was bought for me by my father last week.

④little by little 渐渐地

⑤not ...until... 直到……才……。 例如：

He didn’t go to bed until 11 o’clock last night.昨晚直到11点钟他才上床睡觉。

⑥be hard on  对某人要求严格

（作者单位：江苏省兴化市安丰初级中学）