Believe In Yourself

曲永华

人生苦短，无论经历什么，都要相信自己——这是本文作者的亲身体会。那么作者曾经是怎样一个人？是谁给了身陷困境的他一臂之力？他又是如何破蛹而出成就自己的辉煌的？请细细体会作者的苦与乐，并思考一下如何战胜你自己吧！

①Life is not easy， so Id like to say “When anything happens， believe in yourself.”

②When I was a young boy， I was so shy to talk to anyone that my classmates often laughed at me. I was sad but could do nothing. Later， something happened， and it changed my life. It was an English speech contest. My mother asked me to take part in it. What a terrible idea！ It meant I had to speak before all the teachers and students of my school.

“Come on， boy. Believe in yourself. You are sure to win the contest. ” Then Mother and I talked about many different topics. At last I chose the topic “Believe in yourself”. I tried my best to remember all the speech and practiced it over 100 times. With the help of my mother， I did well in the contest.③I could hardly believe myself when the news came that I had won the first place. I heard the cheers from the teachers and the students. ④Those classmates who once looked down on me， now all said “Congratulations！” to me. My mother hugged me and cried excitedly.

Since then， everything has changed for me. When I do anything， I try to tell myself to be sure and I will find myself. This is not only for a person but also for a country.

精彩译文：

相信自己

人生不轻松，所以我想说：“无论发生什么，都要相信自己。”

在我小时候，我很羞于和别人说话，我的同学们经常嘲笑我。我很伤心但是无能为力。后来发生的事情改变了我的生活。那是一次英语演讲比赛，我的妈妈让我参加。这可真是个坏主意！那就意味着我必须在学校全体师生面前演讲。

“加油，儿子！相信自己！你一定会赢得比赛的。”然后妈妈和我讨论了许多不同的话题。最后我选择了这个题目“相信自己”。我尽力记住所有的内容，练习了不下100遍！在妈妈的帮助下，我在比赛中表现出色。当我赢得第一名的消息传来时，我几乎不敢相信我自己。我听到了来自老师和同学们的欢呼声。那些曾经看不起我的同学现在都向我表示祝贺。我的妈妈拥抱着我，兴奋地哭了。

从那以后，我的一切都发生了变化。无论我做什么，我都尽力告诉自己要自信，而且我会找到自己的位置。这不仅是为了个人也是为了国家。

难句解读：

①Life is not easy， so Id like to say “When anything happens， believe in yourself.”

人生不轻松，所以我想说：“无论发生什么，都要相信自己。”

本句中引号引起的直接引语作动词say的宾语，其中When引导一个时间状语从句。

②When I was a young boy， I was so shy to talk to anyone that my classmates often laughed at me.

在我小時候，我很羞于和别人说话，我的同学们经常嘲笑我。

When引导一个时间状语从句，so... that引导结果状语从句。laugh at意为“嘲笑，笑话”。

③I could hardly believe myself when the news came that I had won the first place.

当我赢得第一名的消息传来时，我几乎不敢相信自己。

When引导的时间状语从句中，that引导一个同位语从句，其本位语是the news。引导同位语从句的连接词在从句中不充当成分，但不可省略。

④Those classmates who once looked down on me， now all said “Congratulations！” to me.

那些曾经看不起我的同学现在都向我表示祝贺。

Who引导的定语从句修饰先行词those classmates，look down on / upon意为“俯视，看不起，轻视”。