But the brave boy didn’t want to die. He made up his mind that he would survive. Somehow， to the amazement of the physician， he did survive. When the mortal danger was past， he again heard the doctor and his mother speaking quietly. The mother was told that since the fire had destroyed so much flesh in the lower part of his body， it would almost be better if he had died， since he was doomed to be a lifetime cripple with no use at all of his lower limbs.
Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple. He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down， he had no motor ability.
His thin legs just dangled there， all but lifeless. Ultimately he was released from the hospital. Every day his mother would massage his little legs， but there was no feeling， no control， nothing. Yet his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever. When he wasn’t in bed， he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air.
This day， instead of sitting there， he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass， dragging his legs behind him. He worked his way to the white picket fence bordering their lot. With great effort， he raised himself up on the fence. Then， stake by stake， he began dragging himself along the fence， resolved that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence. There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in those legs. Ultimately through his daily massages， his iron persistence and his resolute determination， he did develop the ability to stand up， then to walk haltingly， then to walk by himself—and then—to run. He began to walk to school， then to run to school， to run for the sheer joy of running. Later in college he made the track team. Still later in Madison Square Garden this young man who was not expected to survive， who would surely never walk， who could never hope to run—this determined young man， Dr. Glenn Cunningham， ran the world’s fastest mile！
一座鄉村校舍靠一種老式的大腹陶製煤爐取暖。一個小男孩的工作就是每天早早來到學校，在老師和同學們到校前把爐子生好，讓屋子暖和起來。
一天早上，老師和同學來到學校，看到房子起火了。他們把昏迷的小男孩從煙火彌漫的教室拉出來時，小男孩已奄奄一息。他被燒得麵目全非，下半身傷勢尤為嚴重，人們把他送到最近的鄉村醫院。他昏迷著躺在**，聽到了醫生和媽媽的談話。醫生告訴媽媽，他肯定活不了多久——要是這樣，那最好不過了——要知道，他的下半身肌肉已被可怕的大火燒壞了。
但這個勇敢的小男孩不想死，他下定決心要活下去。讓醫生驚訝的是，他竟真的活了下來。脫離生命危險後，他又聽到醫生小聲地告訴媽媽，大火燒掉了他下半身那麽多肌肉，生不如死，因為他下肢已經燒得沒用了，注定要終生殘廢。
他不想成為殘疾，他要走路。勇敢的小男孩再一次下定決心，他要學會走路。不幸的是，他的腰部以下都失去了知覺。
他那兩條孱弱的腿在褲管裏打晃，了無生機。最終，他出院了。媽媽每天都給他按摩小腿，但它沒有知覺，小腿根本不受大腦支配。他不在**時，就坐在輪椅上。然而，他要學會走路的決心絲毫未減。一個晴朗的日子，媽媽把輪椅推到院內，讓他呼吸新鮮空氣。
這一天，他沒有一直坐在輪椅裏，而是爬了出來。他艱難地拖著兩條腿，穿過草地，努力挪到包圍著他們院子的白色尖樁柵欄處，費了好大勁兒，扶著柵欄站了起來。然後，他開始沿著柵欄，一個木樁一個木樁地向前挪動兩條腿。他下定決心要學會走路。他開始每天都這樣做，最後居然在柵欄邊走出了一條平整的小路。沒有什麽事比給自己的腿注入生命更讓他鬥誌昂揚了。最後，通過每天的按摩，憑借鋼鐵般的意誌和堅定的決心，他最終站了起來，從蹣跚學步到獨立行走——直至跑步！開始，他步行上學，然後，為了體驗跑步的快樂，他開始跑步上學。後來，上大學時，他組織了田徑隊。再後來，在麥迪遜廣場花園，這個意誌堅強，曾被認為不能活下來、肯定不能走路、永遠別指望會跑步的年輕人——格倫？坎寧安博士，他的奔跑速度竟打破了世界紀錄！
心靈小語
沒有做不成的事，隻有沒想到的事。這個世界總是給我們奇跡，而那奇跡不是上天賜予的，而是那麽一批勇敢的、有鬥誌的人應該得到的回報。這個世界沒有預言家，自己的命運掌握在自己手裏。
記憶填空
1. One morning they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in__. They dragged the unconscious little__ out of the flaming building more dead__ alive. He had major bums over the lower half of his body and was taken to a__ county hospital.
2. When he wasn’t in bed， he was confined to a__. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some__ air.
3. Ultimately through his daily massages， his__ persistence and his resolute determination， he did develop the ability to__ up， then to walk haltingly， then to walk by himself—and__—to run.
佳句翻譯
1. 勇敢的小男孩再一次下定決心，他要學會走路。不幸的是，他的腰部以下都失去了知覺。
譯______________
2. 然而，他要學會走路的決心絲毫未減。
譯______________
3. 沒有什麽事比給自己的腿注入生命更讓他鬥誌昂揚了。
譯______________
短語應用
1. He made up his mind that he would survive.
make up mind：決意
造______________
2. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence.
start to do：開始做某事；開始做（另一件事）
造______________
學會接受
Cooperate with the Inevitable
戴爾·卡耐基 / Dale Carnegie
The late Booth Tarkington always said， “I could take anything that life could force upon me except one thing： blindness. I could never endure that.”
Then one day， when he was along in his sixties， Tarkington glanced down at the carpet on the floor. The colors were blurred. He couldn’t see the pattern. He went to a specialist. He learned the tragic truth： he was losing his sight. One eye was nearly blind； the other would follow. That which he feared most had come upon him.
And how did Tarkington react to this “worst of all disasters？” Did he feel： “This is it！ This is the end of my life？” No， to his amazement， he felt quite gay. He even called upon his humor. Floating “specks” annoyed him； they would swim across his eyes and cut off his vision. Yet when the largest of these specks would swim across his sight， he would say， “Hello！ There’s Grandfather again！ Wonder where he’s going on this fine morning！”
How could fate ever conquer a spirit like that？ The answer is it couldn’t. When total blindness closed in， Tarkington said， “I found I could take the loss of my eyesight， just as a man can take anything else. If I lost all five of my senses， I know I could live on inside my mind. For it is in the mind we see， and in the mind we live， whether we know it or not.”