01 Adrift 逆境求生
In 1982，Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was floating in a life raft, alone. When three fishermen found him seventy-six days later（the longest anyone has survived a shipwreck on a life raft alone）, he was still alive.
1982年，史蒂文·卡拉汉乘船独自穿越大西洋的时候，帆船因撞击沉了。他依靠救生筏在海面上漂浮着。七十六天之后，当三个渔夫发现他的时候，他还活着（这是在船只失事中个人依靠救生筏最后获救的最长时间纪录）。
His account of how he survived is fascinating. But the thing that caught my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no point in continuing the struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his life raft was punctured and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to fix it, it was still leaking air. Giving up would have seemed the only sane option.
关于自己是如何幸存下来的，他的说法很有意思。但是最引我注意的是，当所有的希望全部破灭，当没有理由再继续坚持，当他遭受那么大的痛苦，当他拖着虚弱的身体在一周多时间里还没能修好漏气的救生筏时，他是如何坚持下来的。看上去放弃才是唯一明智的选择。
When people survive these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in similarly desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the guts to carry on in spite of overwhelming odds.
从这种环境中幸存下来的人，他们的毅力和信念鼓励他们继续坚持。在这种令人绝望的环境中，很多人都屈服了或者发疯了。但是幸存者的毅力和信念让他们满怀勇气，即使面对无法抗拒的趋势也要坚持下去。
“I tell myself I can handle it,” wrote
卡拉汉在他的叙述中写道：“我告诉自己我可以的。
Callahan in his narrative.“Compared to what others have been through, I’m fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over, building up fortitude ...” I wrote that down after I read it. It struck me as something important. And I told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed far off or when my problems seemed too overwhelming. And every time I’ve said it, I have always come back to my senses.
与那些经历灾难的人相比，我是幸运的。我一遍遍地告诉自己，以此来建立信念。”我读完这些话后就写了下来。这些话深深地震撼了我。当我的目标看起来非常遥远的时候，或者当我面临的困难难以抗拒的时候，我也曾告诉自己这些。每一次我这样说的时候，我总会重新回到理智的状态中。
The truth is our circumstances are only bad compared to something better. But others have been through much worse. I’ve read enough history to know you and I are lucky to be where we are, when we are, no matter how bad it seems to us compared to our fantasies. It’s a sane thought and worth thinking.
确实，我们身处的环境总是跟好的比起来才显得非常糟糕。但是总是有一些人经历着更加糟糕的事情。我读过很多历史资料，明白了无论现实跟幻想比起来有多残酷，其实我们都很幸运，处在这个时代、做自己本身这个人。这个观点非常明智，也很令人深思。
So whatever you’re going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Compared to what others have been through, you’re fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the rough spots with a little more fortitude.
所以，无论你将要经历什么困境，告诉自己你可以的。与其他人经历的那些相比，你是幸运的。不断这样告诫自己，这会帮你增添毅力，克服困境。
单词解析 Word Analysis
life raft n.救生筏
例 The life raft was buoyed up by two airtight oil drums.
救生筏是用两只密封的油桶浮起来的。
shipwreck[ˈʃɪprek]n.遇难船；海难；船只失事
例 The whole family perished in a shipwreck.
这一家人在一次海难中全部丧生。
puncture[ˈpʌŋktʃər]v.刺穿；削弱
例 Our tires do not puncture easily.
我们的轮胎不易爆破。
guts[gʌts]n.内脏；勇气（只用复数）
例 It takes a lot of guts to do so.
你这样做很需要勇气。
odds[ɑːdz]n.概率；可能性；差别；投注赔率；让步；优势
例 His odds are very poor after he sprained his wrist.
他扭伤了手腕，获胜的可能性极小。
narrative[ˈnærətɪv]n.故事；叙述
例 His adventure made an interesting narrative.
他的冒险是个有趣的故事。
fortitude[ˈfɔːrtətuːd]n.刚毅；坚毅；不屈不挠
例 I know that my body lacks the fortitude and courage of a strapping young man, and that I cannot find my niche in life.
我知道我身上缺少一个男子汉所应该有的刚毅和果敢，顶不起一片天空。
fantasy[ˈfæntəsi]n.幻想
例 He is unable to divorce fantasy from reality.
他不能将幻想与现实分开。
语法知识点 Grammar Points
这个句子中有一结构“sb.be doing when ...”，表示“当……的时候发生了……”。
例 I was doing my homework when Mary called me.
当我做作业的时候，玛丽打电话给我。
这个句子比较长，让我们逐步分析。第一个that引导的是定语从句，先行词是thing, that在从句中做主语。catch one’s eye是固定搭配，表示“吸引某人注意力”，注意eye要用单数。was后面是how引导的表语从句。这里有两个固定搭配：1.manage to do sth.设法成功做某事。2.keep sb.doing让某人一直做某事。
例 Disguising himself as an old man, he managed to make his way through the enemy lines.
他化装成一个老头儿，设法通过了敌人的封锁线。
The police keep the traf fic moving.
警察使交通畅通无阻。
后面是四个由when引导的时间状语从句。其中，第二个从句里有一个句型是“there be/seems/seemed no point in doing sth.”，表示“没有理由做某事，做某事没用”。最后一句中，注意单词leak的用法。leak的基本含义是“漏”，指由于包装破损或没有妥善包装而引起内部物质的外泄，通常是指液体或气体，引申可指新闻或秘密等。leak可做及物动词，也可做不及物动词。用作及物动词时，后接名词做宾语。
句中no matter how就相当于however，后面引导的是让步状语从句。
例 No matter how hard he may try, he will not succeed.
不管他怎么努力去干都不会成功的。
No matter how many prototypes we make, we just cannot get it right.
不管做多少次样品，我们都无法满意。
还要注意compare的用法。句中是“compare to”，意思是“同……相比”，一般用于两个不同性质的事物比较。而compare with的意思是“把……跟……比较”，一般用于两个同类事物之间，着重区别。
例 We may well compare the little girl to a kitten.
我们可能把这个小姑娘比作小猫来看待。
She compares me with my sister.
她把我和我妹妹进行比较。
经典名句 Famous Classics
1. Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength.
忧虑不会消除明天的麻烦，只会消除今天的力气。
2. As selfishness and complaint cloud the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision.
自私和抱怨是心灵的阴暗，愉快的爱则使视野明朗开阔。
3. All things will come round to him who will but wait.
只要耐心肯等待，一切都会按时来。
4. Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
忍耐是痛苦的，但它的果实是甜蜜的。
5. Zeal without knowledge is fire without light.
热情而无知，犹如无光之火。
6. The man who has made up his mind to win will never say “impossible”.
凡是决心取得胜利的人是从来不说“不可能的”。
7. It is not the fine coat that makes the gentleman.
使人成为君子的并不是讲究的衣着。