07 Growing Roots成长的树根

When I was growing up,I had an old neighbor named Dr.Gibbs.He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known.He never yelled at us for playing in his yard.I remember him as someone who was a lot nicer than circumstances warranted.

在我还是小孩子的时候，我有一个老邻居叫吉布斯医生。他不像我所认识的任何一个医生。我们在他的院子里玩耍，他从不对我们大喊大叫。我记得他是一个非常和蔼的人。

When Dr.Gibbs wasn't saving lives,he was planting trees.His house sat on ten acres,and his life's goal was to make it a forest.

吉布斯医生不拯救人性命的时候就去种树。他的住所占地10英亩，他的人生目标就是将它变成一片森林。

The good doctor had s ome interesting theories concerning plant husbandry.He came from the“No pain,no gain”school of horticulture.He never watered his new trees,which flew in the face of conventional wisdom.Once I asked why.He said that watering plants spoiled them,and that if you water them,each successive tree generation will grow weaker and weaker.So you have to make things rough for them and weed out the weenie trees early on.

这个好医生对于如何持家有一番有趣的理论。他来自一个“不劳无获”的园艺学校。他从不浇灌他新种的树，这显然与常理相悖。有一次我问为什么，他说浇水会毁了这些树，如果浇水，每一棵成活的树的后代会变得越来越娇弱。所以你得把它们的生长环境变得艰苦些，尽早淘汰那些弱不禁风的树。

He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots,and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of moisture.I took him to mean that deep roots were to be treasured.So he never watered his trees.He'd plant an oak and,instead of watering it every morning,he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper.Smack！Slap！Pow！I asked him why he did that,and he said it was to get the tree's attention.

他还告诉我用水浇灌的树的根是如何的浅，而那些没有浇水的树的根必须钻入深深的泥土获得水分。我将他的话理解为：深根是十分宝贵的。

所以他从不给他的树浇水。他种了一棵橡树，每天早上，他不是给它浇水，而是用一张卷起的报纸抽打它。“啪！噼！砰！”我问他为什么这样做，他说是为了引起树的注意。

Dr.Gibbs went to glory a couple of years after I left home.Every now and again,I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I'd watched him plant some twenty-five years ago.They're granite strong now.Big and robust.Those trees wake up in the morning and beat their chests and drink their coffee black.

在我离家两年后，吉布斯医生就去世了。我常常经过他的房子，看着25年前我曾看着他种下的那些树。如今它们已是像石头般硬朗了。枝繁叶茂、生气勃勃。这些树在早晨醒过来，拍打着胸脯，啜饮着苦难的汁水。

I planted a couple of trees a few years back.Carried water to them for a solid summer.Sprayed them.Prayed over them.The whole nine yards.Two years of coddling has resulted in trees that expect to be waited on hand and foot.Whenever a cold wind blows in,they tremble and chatter their branches.Sissy trees.

几年前我也种下两三棵树。整整一个夏天我都坚持为它们浇水。为它们喷杀虫剂，为它们祈祷。整整9平方码大的地方。两年的悉心呵护，结果两棵树弱不禁风。每当寒风吹起，它们就颤抖起来，枝叶直打战。娇里娇气的两棵树。

吉布斯医生的树真是有趣。逆境和折磨带给它们的益处似乎是舒适和安逸永远无法给予的。

Funny things about those trees of Dr.Gibbs'.Adversity and deprivation seemed to beneft them in ways comfort and ease never could.

Every night before I go to bed,I check on my two sons.I stand over them and watch their little bodies,the rising and falling of life within.I often pray for them.Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy.But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer.

每天晚上睡觉前，我都要看看两个儿子。我俯视着他们那幼小的身体，生命就在其中起落沉浮。我总是为他们祈祷，总是祈祷他们的生活能一帆风顺。但后来我想是该改变我的祈祷词的时候了。

This change has to do with the inevitability of cold winds that hit us at the core.I know my children are going to encounter hardship,and I'm praying they won't be naive.There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere.

这改变是因为将吹在我们要害的不可避免的寒风。我知道我的孩子们将遇到困难，我祈祷他们不会太天真幼稚。在某些地方总会有寒风吹过。

So I'm changing my prayer.Because life is tough,whether we want it to be or not.Too many times we pray for ease,but that's a prayer seldom met.What we need to do is pray for roots that reach deep into the Eternal,so when the rains fall and the winds blow,we won't be swept asunder.

所以我改变了我的祈祷词。因为不管我们愿不愿意，生活总是艰难的。我们已祈祷了太多的安逸，但却少有实现。我们所需要做的是祈祷深植我们的信念之根，这样我们就不会被雨打风吹所伤害。

单词解析Word Analysis

yell[jel]vt.&vi.叫喊，大声叫；叫喊着说

例Something brushed past Bob’s face and he let out a yell.

有什么东西从鲍勃的脸上扫过，他大叫了一声。

circumstance[ˈsɜ：kəmstəns]n.环境，境遇；事实，细节

例Recent opinion polls show that 60 percent favor abortion under certain circumstances.

最近的民意调查显示，60%的人赞成在某些情况下可以堕胎。

husbandry[ˈhʌzbəndri]n.农业；资源管理，妥善管理

例They depended on animal husbandry for their livelihood.

他们以畜牧业为生。

horticulture[ˈhɔ：tɪkʌltʃə（r）]n.园艺（学）；园艺学家

例We’ll even cover more complex topics such as horticulture and hydroponics gardening.

我们甚至会包括更加复杂的课题，如园艺和无土栽培园艺。

spoil[spɔɪl]vt.损坏，糟蹋；溺爱，宠坏

例It’s important not to let mistakes spoil your life.

重要的是不要让错误毁了你的生活。

successive[səkˈsesɪv]adj.连续的，相继的；继承的，接替的

例Jackson was the winner for a second successive year.

杰克逊已经是连续第二年获胜了。

weenie[ˈwi：ni]adj.微小的，细小的

例So you have to make things rough for them weed out the weenie trees early on.

所以你得把它们的生长环境变得艰苦些，尽早淘汰那些弱不禁风的树。

shallow[ˈʃæləʊ]adj.浅的，肤浅的；表面的，皮毛的

例Put the milk in a shallow dish.

将牛奶倒入一个浅盘里。

granite[ˈgrænɪt]n.花岗石；坚毅，坚韧不拔

例Some part of project cases of granite foor tile and wall tile.

部分花岗岩地砖和墙砖的工程案例。

robust[rəʊˈbʌst]adj.精力充沛的；坚定的

例More women than men go to the doctor.Perhaps men are more

robust or worry less?

看医生的女性多于男性。也许男性更强壮或者顾虑要少一些？

tremble[ˈtrembl]vi.发抖；颤动；焦虑；轻轻摇晃

例His mouth became dry,his eyes widened,and he began to tremble all over.

他嘴唇发干，眼睛圆睁，全身开始颤抖起来。

chatter[ˈtʃætə（r）]vi.振动，打颤；唠叨

例She was so cold her teeth chattered.

她冻得牙齿咯咯响。

sissy[ˈsɪsɪ]adj.女人气的，柔弱的

例Far from being sissy,it takes a real man to accept that he is not perfect.

只有真正的男人才会接受自己并非完美无缺的事实，这绝不是什么女孩子气。

deprivation[ˌdeprɪˈveɪʃn]n.剥夺；丧失；免职，废止

例Millions more suffer from serious sleep deprivation caused by long work hours.

另外还有数百万人因工作时间过长而睡眠严重不足。

inevitability[ɪnˌevɪtə'bɪlətɪ]n.必然性；不可避免性

例They accept the inevitability of passing feelings.

他们能够接受这种情绪来临的必然性。

asunder[əˈsʌndə（r）]adv.分开地；分离地；成数部分（或数块）；化为碎片

例Your conscience,conviction,integrity,and loyalties were torn asunder.

你的良心、信念、正直和忠诚都被扯得粉碎了。

语法知识点Grammar Points

①He never yelled at us for playing in his yard.

本句中yell at sb.为固定搭配，表示“对……大呼小叫”。

例“Please don’t yell at me.”She began to sniffe.

“请不要对我大喊大叫。”她啜泣起来。

②He never watered his new trees,which flew in the face of conventional wisdom.

本句中，which引导的是一个非限定性定语从句，此处不能用that替代；

in the face of表示“面对”，与fow一起连用后表示“有悖于……”。

例The government wilted in the face of such powerful pressure.

政府面对如此大的压力，失去了信心。

He said that the decision few in the face of natural justice.

他说这个决定有悖天理。

③Every now and again,I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I’d watched him plant some twenty-fve years ago.

本句中的that引导宾语从句，此处that可省略；every now and again表示“有时，时时，偶尔”；walk by表示“在……旁边走过；走过……”；look at表示“看；审视；评判；接受”。

例You had to put a shilling in the meter every now and again.

你每隔一段时间就得往煤气表里放1个先令。

So the river is clear now and we like to walk by the riverside.

所以，现在河水清澈了。我们也喜欢在河边散步了。

Isn’t it fantastic?Just look at that！

这是不是棒极了？看看那个！

④But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer.本句中的have been thinking为现在完成进行时，表示“一直在想且持续到现在”。对比have been done为现在完成时，现在完成进行时有时有延续性，现在完成时往往没有。

例They have been widening the road.

他们在加宽马路，但尚未完工。

They have widened the road.

他们已经完成加宽马路。

⑤What we need to do is pray for roots that reach deep into the Eternal,so when the rains fall and the winds blow,we won’t be swept asunder.

本句中what引导主语从句，what引导部分在整个句子中做主语；that引导定语从句，先行词roots在从句中做主语，that不可省略；when引导时间状语从句。

经典名句Famous Classics

1.The world can be changed by man’s endeavor,and that this endeavor can lead to something new and better.No man can sever the bonds that unite him to his society simply by averting his eyes.He must ever be receptive and sensitive to the new；and have suffcient courage and skill to novel facts and to deal with them.

人经过努力可以改变世界，这种努力可以使人类达到新的、更美好的境界。没有人仅凭闭目、不看社会现实就能割断自己与社会的联系。他必须敏感，随时准备接受新鲜事物；他必须有勇气与能力去面对新的事实，解决新问题。

2.Having a calm smile to face with being disdained indicates kind of confdence.

被轻蔑的时候能平静地一笑，这是一种自信。

3.I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that,but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.

我知道我如果失败了，我不会后悔；但我知道我可能会后悔的是，没有去尝试。

4.Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.

永远记住，你自己要成功的决心比其他任何一件事都重要。

5.There is no pressure when you are making a dream come true.

当你在圆梦时，你就不会有压力。

读书笔记

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