Karl Malone: Hard Work Pays Off
 

 

　　As a young boy,  I grew up with my eight sibilings in a tin-roofed shack in Summerfield, Louisiana. I didn’t see my circumstance as an obstacle, even though we didin’t even have a real toilet in the house. I saw my life more as a card that had been dealt to me and I tried to make the most of it.

 

　　在我是个小男孩时，我和我的八个兄弟姐妹在路易斯安娜萨默菲尔德的一个铁皮棚屋中长大。即使我们的屋里没有一个真正的厕所，我也没有把这种环境视为一个障碍。我更多地将我的生活看作是发给我的一张牌，努力充分发挥它的作用。

 

　　I was the youngest of five boys and also had four sisters who had to pull together and take care of each other. Dad wasn’t around, so I never knew him well. He committed suicide when I was three years old, leaving Mom with the job of raising and providing for nine kids. She worked at a sawmill running a foklift for fifty dollars a week and had another job at a poultry plant. She was a very hard worker, and in order to make ends meet, she hardly ever rested.

 

　　我是五个男孩中最小的一个,还有四个姐妹.家境迫使我们团结一致,相互照顾.爸爸已经不在人世,所以我根本不怎么了解他.我三岁时他自尽了,把抚养九个孩子的责任留给了妈妈.她在一家锯木常开叉车,周薪50美元,还在一个家禽厂干着另一份活.她工作非常努力.为了养家糊口,维持生计,她几乎没有休息过.

 

　　My mom believed in doing all she could do to take care of her responsibilities, so no matter what , she never asked for a handout. You can imagine; we kids didn’t get what we wanted, but we always got the things we needed. With my mom as my example, I learned that hard work is the best way to get what you want.

 

　　我妈妈相信,只要竭尽全力,就能尽好她的责任,因而无论如何,她从不乞求施舍.你可以想象,我们这些孩子得不到我们想要的,可我们总能得到我们的基本所需.有了我妈妈的榜样,我懂得了辛勤工作时获得想要的东西的最佳途径.

 

　　While growing up, I was surrounded with temptations to do negative things like drugs, alcohol and all that. I chose not to go there. Even as a little boy, I knew I was going to be successful. Some people take that to be cocky or conceited, but I wasn’t going to let anybody tell me that I couldn’t do whatever I set out to do.

 

　　在成长过程中,我的周围常常有做坏事的种种诱惑,如毒品,烈性酒等等.我选择不和这类事情沾边.甚至在我还是个小男孩时,我就知道我会成功.有些人认为这是自以为是或者骄傲自大,可我不让任何人对我说我不能做我决意要做的任何事.

 

　　Of course, I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up. At first, I would be a state trooper, then I wanted to be in the Special Forces. After a while, I decided that I wanted to drive eighteen-wheelers. There was even a period of time that I wanted to be in construction. I wanted to play football in high school; in fact, I still do. But regardless of what I chose, I wanted to make my brothers, sisters and mom proud of me---not only by being successful in what I chose to do , but also a person who could be looked up to for the night reasons.

 

　　当然,我又长大后想干什么的梦想.我先是想当个州警察,后来想参加特种部队.过了一阵子,我决定要去驾驶18轮大卡车.甚至有一段时间我想进建筑业.中学时我想打橄榄球;事实上,现在我还是这么想.但不管我的选择如何,我都要让我的兄弟姐妹和妈妈为我感到骄傲——不仅在我选择的领域中获得成功，而且因正当理由受人钦佩。

 

[page]

 

　　Suprising as it might seem, basketball wasn’t in my plans. One day, my mom cut a rim off an old water barrel and then held it up for me to throw an old rubber ball through. By junior high, I started playing basketball on a team. I loved to compete. There was a positive high I got by going out and playing against other people and working hard to win. For me, it paid off. I just let my success in basketball take its course, but I always put the effort in, every day.

 

　　可能显得出乎意料，篮球并非我计划之事。一天，我妈妈从一个旧水桶上割下一个圆框，挂了起来，让我往里扔一个旧像皮球。到上初中时，我开始在一个篮球队里打球。我喜欢竞争。走进球场对抗他人并努力争取胜利给我带来积极向上的快感。对我来说，这样做终于有了回报。我只是让我在篮球方面的成功自然发展，但我总是不懈努力，天天如此。

 

　　No matter what I’ve done, some people wait for my downfall, saying,”Karl Malone can’t do it.” Instead of letting people like that get to me, thay are actually my motivation and I continue to prove them wrong every single day. I try to do the best job I can in a positive way on and off the court. I realize that no matter what I’m dealing with, there’s somebody else out there who has it a little worse off. I’ve been there. And I know that without continued hard work, I could be there again.

 

　　无论我做什么，总有人等着我失败，说：“卡尔马龙成功不了。”我非但没让那种人挫伤我，反而让他们成了我的动力，继续每天以实际行动证明他们错了。我在篮球场上和篮球场外以积极进取的态度努力做到最好。我明白不论我应对的是什么，总有人生活尚不如我。我曾是他们中的一员。我也知道如果我不坚持努力，就可能回到原来的处境。

 

　　I am graceful for the life I’ve enjoyed as a basketball star. But when I see those shirts that say”Basketball is life,” I think Yeah, right! It is not life. It can be exciting. But the important thing about basketball is that gives me a way to do good things for others as I mmove through this jourey called life.

 

　　我感激我作为篮球明星所享受的生活。可当我看到那些T恤上写着“篮球就是生活”时，我想是啊，没错！可篮球又不等于生活。篮球可以激动人心。但篮球最重要的一面是，我在名为生活的旅途上行进时，它提供给我为他人做好事的途径。

 

　　Success is really about choosing right from wrong, making a positive contribution to the world around you and valuing the things that are really important---like family and friends.

 

　　成功实际上是在正确与错误中抉择，为你周围的世界作积极的贡献和珍视那些真正重要的东西，如家人和朋友。

 

　　While everyone was looking to popular athletes, actors and musicians as positive role models, my mom was my inspiration, and she contiues to be all these year later. She taught me that hard work never killed anybody. My mom is my hero. She , my family and friends bring me more joy than anything else in life does.

 

　　在大家都以运动明星，著名演员和歌星为正面榜样时，我妈妈却成了鼓舞我的力量，日后这些年来依然如此。她教导我懂得了辛勤工作从不会要任何人的命。我妈妈是我心目中的英雄。她，我的家庭和朋友比生活中的任何其他东西都给我带来更多的喜悦。

 

　　Ate the end of my life, I don’t want to e remembered as the kind of person who just sit on his rear end and said,”I’ve made it.” I don’t ever want to have to say that I didn’ tgibe it everything that I’ve got. Sure there are days that I don’t feel like working hard… but I do it anyway, ’couse that’ who I am.

 

　　当我的生命结束时，我不愿被铭记为那种坐着轻描淡写地说“我成功了”的人。我永远不想不得已的说我没有为我取得的成功竭尽全力。确实有时候我不想努力工作……可我还是干了，因为我卡尔马龙就是这样的人。