Never Give Up　永不放弃

Never Give Up　永不放弃

◎ Julie Hubert

The first day of school, our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I’ m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may.” and she gave me a giant squeeze.

开学的第一天，在教授做了自我介绍之后，还建议我们去认识一下自己不认识的人。我站起身四处环顾，这时一只手有礼貌地拍了拍我的肩膀。我转过身来，发现一位满脸皱纹、身材瘦小的老女士笑容满面地看着我，那笑容使她整个人都大放光彩。她对我说：“嗨，帅小伙，我是罗丝。我87岁了。我能拥抱你吗？”我笑了，很热情地回答：“当然可以。”之后她用力地拥抱了我。

“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel.” “No, seriously?” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

“你为什么在如此年轻而天真的年龄上大学呢?”我问她。她开玩笑似的回答：“为了找一个有钱的丈夫，然后结婚，生一堆孩子，再之后就退休去旅游。”“不是吧，你是认真的吗？”我问。我很好奇，想知道是什么激励她在这样的年龄还接受这样的挑战。

“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one.” she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milk shake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

“我一直都梦想有上大学的经历，现在我有了。”她告诉我。课后我们一起去学生活动楼，还共同分享了一杯巧克力冰镇牛奶。我们马上成了朋友。接下来的三个月里，每一天我们下课都一起离开，聊起来没完没了。我对她这个“时间机器”非常着迷，因为她总是和我分享自己的智慧与经历。

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up, and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whisky is killing me. I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.” As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.”

那一年，罗丝成了整个校园的偶像，她走到哪儿都能很容易地交上朋友。她喜欢盛装打扮，还陶醉于来自其他学生对她的关注。她尽情欢乐。学期末，我们邀请罗丝在我们的足球宴会上讲话。我永远不会忘记她教会我们的东西。介绍完毕之后她便登上讲台。当她开始要讲自己准备好的稿子时，她把那张五寸长三寸宽的卡片掉在了地上。带着沮丧和一点儿尴尬，她靠近麦克风简短地说：“很抱歉我非常紧张。我不再喝Lent牌的威士忌了，这种威士忌简直要了我的命。按原先稿子上准备好的去讲是不可能了，还是把我所知道的说给你们听吧。”我们欢声大笑，这时她清了清嗓子开始演讲：“我们不会因为年老而不再游玩；而是因为不再游玩我们才变老的。仅四个秘密就能使我们永葆青春，让我们快乐并获得成功。”

“You have to laugh and find humor every day.”

“每天你都要开怀大笑并去寻找幽默。”

“You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it.”

“你要拥有梦想。当你失去梦想时，你就会死去。我们周围有这么多人，直到死了都没意识到这一点。”

“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.”

“变老和成长之间有很大的区别。如果你19岁，在床上躺了一整年，一件有意义的事儿都没做，你也会长到20岁。如果我87岁了，也在床上躺了一整年，即使什么都没做，我也会变成88岁的。任何人都会变老。变老并不需要任何智慧或能力。而成长却需要不断寻找变化的机会。”

“Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

“不要后悔。年老的人并不会因为做过什么而后悔，却会后悔没做过什么。唯一惧怕死亡的人是那些有悔恨的人。”

She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose”. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

她鼓励我们唱“玫瑰”这首歌作为自己演讲的结尾。她强烈建议我们每个人学习抒情诗，并在我们的日常生活中将词义付诸实践。

At the year’s end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

当年年末，罗丝完成了她很多年前就开始的大学生涯。毕业后的一个礼拜，罗丝在自己的睡梦中平静地逝世。

Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example, that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.

有2000多名大学生参加了她的葬礼，大家共同悼念这位了不起的女人，对她表示敬意。她用自己的亲身经历告诉我们：想要实现自己的梦想永不为晚。

Remember, growing older is mandatory, growing up is optional.

记住，变老是注定的，而成长却是可以选择的。

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