1、How to beat adversity:from losing both arms as a child to pro-athlete and top academic with Jesse Yang Mengheng“无臂学霸无臂学霸”杨孟衡：杨孟衡：一个普通人的一败涂地和逆风翻盘一个普通人的一败涂地和逆风翻盘Jesse Yang Mengheng lost both arms at the shoulders as a child but that did not stop him pursuing a life in sport.Endowed(赋予)with athletic ta
2、lent,he seemed destined for the highest stage,but injuries and bad luck ended his professional sporting career.杨孟衡小时候失去了双臂，但这并没有阻止他发展自己的体育事业。拥有运动天赋的杨孟衡似乎注定要登上最高舞台，但伤病和厄运却给他的职业体育生涯画上了句号。pursue v 课标新增词 正式用语 追求be destined for 注定injury n（身体上的）伤；损伤Yang then excelled academically,graduating from an elite(
3、最优秀的)university and earning an MA from Cambridge.Now 30,he is also an inspirational motivational speaker and educator.自那以后，杨在学术上表现出色，从一所顶流大学毕业，在剑桥获得了硕士学位。现年30岁的他同时也是一励志的演说家和教育家。excel v 精通；擅长academically adv 学业上；学术上（academical+-ly）inspirational adj 鼓舞人心的（inspiration+-al）MA 文学硕士（Master of Arts）motivat
4、ional adj 激发积极性的（motivation 课标新增词 积极性；动力+-al）“Yi bai tu di”is a Chinese saying that means a defeat that leaves you flat on the ground.Yang tells his life story in terms of such defeats four,along with two triumphs(凯旋).“一败涂地”是一个中国成语，意思是倒在地上，形容彻底的失败。杨孟衡用这样的词来形容他的一生四次失败，两次胜利。Chinese saying 中国俗语（saying
5、n 格言；谚语）flat adj 瘪的；没气的（此处比喻义“失败的”）in terms of 从方面来讲；就而言along with 与一起Yang was born near Kunming in Yunnan province,in a family of schoolteachers.At the age of seven he climbed an electrical transformer and was electrocuted(触电):“When I woke up several hours later,my arms were burnt.Doctors had to am
6、putate(截肢)them to save my life.”杨孟衡出生在云南昆明附近的一个教师家庭。七岁时，他爬上变压器被电晕了过去：“几个小时后，我再醒来时，我的胳膊烧伤了，医生不得不截肢来保住我的生命。”transformer n 电 变压器（transform 转变+-er 表物）electrocute v 触电（electro-+execute 杀死）He learned to write and eat using his feet.“It took me about three months.It is easy to learn at a young age.”他学会了用脚写
7、字和吃饭。“这大概花了三个月的时间，小的时候比较容易学会。”Some kids at school“mocked and bullied”him because,using his feet,he wrote and ate much slower than they could.他用脚写字和吃饭比其他孩子慢得多，因此受到了学校里一些孩子的“嘲笑和霸凌”。But he was a faster runner,beating them at races.The feeling of movement made him“forget his inferiority(劣势)”.但他跑步很快，在比赛中
8、遥遥领先，跑步让他“忘记了自己的不足”。His athletic talent was obvious and at the age of 10 he was sent to a sports boarding school ti xiao to become a runner.It seemed like a good idea to Yang “I loved sports and did not want to study.”他的运动天赋显而易见，10岁时，他被送到体育寄宿学校体校成为一名赛跑运动员。对杨孟衡来说，这似乎是个好主意“我喜欢运动，不想学习。”obvious adj 明显的b
9、oard v 熟词生义 寄宿At 14,Yang ran a 56-second personal best in 400 metres and great things were expected from him.14岁时，杨孟衡在400米赛跑中跑出了56秒的个人最好成绩，人们对他寄予厚望。Then,the International Paralympic Committee suddenly cancelled his disability category and Yang was no longer needed as a runner.“Yi bai tu di”a crushin
10、g defeat,the first one.然而，国际残奥会突然取消了他参加项目的立项，杨孟衡不再是一名职业运动员第一个“一败涂地”。paralympic adj 残疾人奥运会的（para-不正常+olympic）disability n 残疾；障碍（dis-+ablity）“It took me two months to recover(from the shock),”he said.“It was my dream to win a Paralympic medal.”“我花了两个月的时间从打击中恢复了过来，”他说。“赢得残奥会奖牌曾是我的梦想。”He got over it bec
11、ause he had a new goal.A swimming coach gave him three months to learn how to swim.他克服沮丧，树立了一个新的目标游泳教练给了他三个月的时间学会游泳。get over 克服（困难、偏见等）；从（疾病、损失中）恢复过来Then,Yang was told,he would do a trial to be considered for conversion(转变)into a professional para-swimmer.然后，杨孟衡获知，他将参加一项试验，或许有机会可以转为职业游泳运动员。Yang coul
12、d not swim at all and only had his father to help him learn.“We went to a swimming pool every day.The hardest part was to learn how to stay afloat and breathe.I learned by drowning(溺水),”he joked.“Once I got my head out of the water to breathe,I would go down.”杨孟衡根本不会游泳，那时只有爸爸来帮助他学游泳。“我们每天都去游泳池，游泳最难的
13、部分是学会漂浮和呼吸，而我是通过溺水学会的。”他开玩笑说。“一旦我把头伸出水面呼吸，我就会沉下去。”afloat adj 漂浮的（a-到 to+float）Three months later,Yang passed his trial and was readmitted to sports school.三个月后，杨孟衡通过了试验，被体校重新录取。readmit v 允许再次加入（re-再次+admit 接纳；录取）After four years of intensive(密集的)training,Yang was preparing for the 2007 National Para
14、lympic Games,national qualifiers for the Beijing Paralympics.He was expected to qualify and then do well on the highest stage.经过四年的强化训练，杨孟衡得以为2007年全国残奥会（北京残奥会的全国预选赛）做准备。人们都期望他能晋级，然后在最高舞台上一显身手。qualifier n 预选赛；资格赛（qualify v 课标新增词 合格；具有资格+-ier）But a month before the National Games,Yang sustained a foot
15、 injury,caused by overtraining with fins(蹼泳),and had to stop training.Still injured and out of shape,he came sixth in the games and missed out on selection for the Paralympics.Defeat number two.但是在全运会前一个月，杨孟衡因带脚蹼过度训练导致脚部受伤，不得不中止训练。因伤病和身体状况不佳，杨仅在比赛中排名第六，与残奥会选拔擦肩而过第二次失败。sustain v 课标新增词 正式用语 遭受；蒙受out o
16、f shape 身体不健康；身体状况不佳miss out 失去（机会）“It was like lightning hitting me.The Paralympics was my motivation to stay positive.My future collapsed,”Yang said.“就像晴空霹雳，一直以来，残奥会都是我保持积极乐观的动力，但现在我的未来毫无希望。”杨孟衡说。collapse v 课标新增词 倒塌；崩溃It took him half a year to pull himself together.Now 17,he went back to normal s
17、econdary school.他花了半年时间振作起来，17岁时回到了普通中学上学。pull together 振作起来Yang found himself hopelessly behind his peers(同龄人)his seven years in sports school were spent running and swimming.He was now the third-worst student in his year.杨孟衡发现自己远远落后于同龄人在体校的七年时间都花在了跑步和游泳上。他是那当年成绩倒数第三的学生。“I failed as an athlete twic
18、e,and my only option now was schooling.I studied like crazy,not even wasting the time I was on the toilet,”he said.“作为一名运动员，我失败了两次，现在我唯一的选择是读书。我疯狂地学习，甚至上厕所的时间也不浪费。”他说。option n 课标新增词 选择schooling n 教育In six months,he was third-best in his year.Two years later,he achieved the coveted(梦寐以求的)title of Zhu
19、ang Yuan top scholar and was accepted into the elite Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou to study English.This,Yang says,was his first triumph.六个月后，杨孟衡在那届学生中名列第三。两年后，他斩获了梦寐以求的状元称号，并被位于广州的一流高校中山大学录取，就读英语专业。杨孟衡说，这是他的第一次胜利。title n 称号As a university student,he started delivering free lectures at schools
20、:“sharing my story,my methods of learning,motivating pupils to work harder”.作为一名大学生，他开始在学校公益演讲：“分享我的故事、我的学习方法，激励学生更加努力”。deliver v 发表motivate v 课标新增词 使有动力；激发；激励Gradually,he turned motivational speaking into a business.Yang set his sights on an MA at Peking University,ranked as one of Chinas best.He w
21、as turned down.Defeat number three.渐渐地，他把励志演讲当作一个职业。杨孟衡把目光投向了北京大学的硕士，北京大学是中国最好的大学之一。但他失败了第三次一败涂地。turn into 变成set ones sights on 以为奋斗目标turn down 拒绝He went back to Yunnan,enrolling in an MA at Yunnan University,and starting his own education company.The business failed.Defeat number four.他回到云南，在云南大学读完
22、硕士，接着创办了教育公司，但公司倒闭了第四次一败涂地。enroll v（使）加入（en-进入+roll 卷；册）Yang regrouped.He decided to go abroad for his postgraduate studies,but he needed money for tuition(学费).“My parents offered to sell their flat,but I could not accept that,”he said.杨孟衡重新振作起来，决定出国读研，但需要钱交学费。“我父母提出卖掉他们的房子，但我不能接受。”他说。regroup v 重整旗鼓
23、（re-+group）He returned to motivational speaking and published two books.Within two years,he earned enough for his tuition.Yang applied and was accepted by Cambridge University in England to do an MA in translation.This was his second triumph.他重回励志演讲讲台，出版了两本书。不到两年，他就赚够足够的钱交学费。杨孟衡申请英国剑桥大学，最终成功被录取，攻读翻译
24、硕士学位这是他的第二次胜利。He still trains regularly,together with his former roommate in sports school,Wang Jiachao,whose ambition of a Paralympic triathlon(铁人三项赛)title is now on hold after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were delayed for a year.杨孟衡仍然与体校室友王家超一起定期训练，在2020年东京奥运会推迟一年后，王家超暂时放弃了获得残奥会铁人三项冠军的梦想。together with
25、和on hold 中断；推迟delay v 推迟Wang,2012 Paralympic swimming champion,is introducing his old friend to triathlon.王家超，2012年残奥会游泳冠军，正向老朋友介绍铁人三项。“He is an excellent runner and swimmer,but cycling is a problem,”said Wang.“We are trying to think of some kind of prosthesis(假体)for him to hold the handlebars.”“他是一
26、名优秀的跑步和游泳运动员，但骑自行车不行，”王家超说。“我们正想办法为他制作出某种固定车把的假肢。”cycling n 骑自行车（cycle+-ing）think of 考虑handlebar n 车把（handle 把手+bar 条；棒）Is Yang thinking of the highest sporting stage again,this time in triathlon?“I have a family and a job,so going pro is not realistic at the moment,”he said,before adding,“But,I lik
27、e to push myself forward.I am competitive even now it is in my blood.”杨孟衡又在瞄准最高的运动舞台了吗，这次是铁人三项？“我有家庭和工作，所以现在成为职业选手不现实。”他说，随后补充道，“但是，我喜欢推着自己前进。即使现在，我也很好胜这是我的天性。”go pro 转为职业选手 pro adj 职业的；专业的（professional的缩写）at the moment 此刻；目前So far,the tally(得分)stands at four defeats and two triumphs.Being such an i
28、ndomitable(不屈不挠的)competitor,Yang must surely want to even the score.到目前为止，四次失败，两次胜利。作为一个不屈不挠的选手，杨孟衡肯定想扳平比分。stand at 达特定水平（或数量、高度等）stand v 用作系动词 达到数量even the score 结清宿怨；摆平（even v 形容词动化 使相等）词汇小测：中英互译excel _ board_ title_ afloat _regroup _deliver_admit_sustain _collapse _motivate _精通；擅长精通；擅长寄宿寄宿称号称号漂浮的
29、漂浮的发表发表重整旗鼓重整旗鼓接纳；录取接纳；录取倒塌；崩溃倒塌；崩溃遭受；蒙受遭受；蒙受使有动力；激发；激励使有动力；激发；激励motivation_ electrocute_ along with_ out of shape _on hold_miss out_stand at_even the score_be desined for_积极性；动力积极性；动力触电触电与与一起一起身体不健康；身体状况不佳身体不健康；身体状况不佳失去（机会）失去（机会）中断；推迟中断；推迟达特定水平（或数量、高度等）达特定水平（或数量、高度等）注定注定结清宿怨；摆平结清宿怨；摆平词汇小测：中英互译_ 追求追求_ 失败的失败的 _ 选择选择_ 残疾；障碍残疾；障碍_ 合格；具有资格合格；具有资格_振作起来振作起来_ 以以为奋斗目标为奋斗目标_ 拒绝拒绝_克服（困难、偏见等）；从（疾病、损失克服（困难、偏见等）；从（疾病、损失中）恢复过来中）恢复过来 turn downpursue flatoptionset ones sights onpull togetherqualifydisabilityget over
