him to be elected prime minister.

4 He achieved fame for his wit, wisdom, civic duty, and abundant courage in his refusal to surrender during the miserable dark days of World War II. (Para. 1)

Meaning: He became well-known because of his intelligence, wisdom, responsibility of a citizen, and remarkable courage in his refusal to give up during the most painful days of the Second World War.

5 His amazing determination helped motivate his entire nation and was an inspiration worldwide. (Para. 1)

Meaning: He was determined to win the war, which inspired the British people and the world as well.

2 Toward the end of his period as prime minister, he was invited to address the patriotic young boys at his old school, Harrow. The headmaster said, \our time, will be here in a few days to address you, and you should obey whatever sound advice he may give you.\kilos of him, and gave this short, clear-cut speech: \Never give up! Never, never, never, never!\ 2 在他首相任期即将结束时，他应邀前往母校哈罗公学，为满怀报国之志的同学们作演讲。 校长说：“年轻的先生们，当代最伟大的演说家过几天就会来为你们演讲，他提出的任何中 肯的建议，你们都要听从。” 那个激动人心的日子终于到了。 温斯顿爵士站了起来——他 只有 5 英尺 5 英寸高，体重却有 107 公斤。他作了言简意赅的讲话：“年轻人，要永不放弃。 永不放弃！永不放弃！永不，永不，永不，永不！”

6 Toward the end of his period as prime minister, he was invited to address the patriotic young boys at his old school, Harrow. (Para. 2)

Meaning: As his period as prime minister was coming to an end, he was invited to give a speech to the students who loved their country, at his old school, Harrow School.

3 Personal history, educational opportunity, individual dilemmas — none of these can inhibit a strong spirit committed to success. No task is too hard. No amount of preparation is too long or too difficult. Take the example of two of the most scholarly scientists of our age, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison. Both faced immense obstacles and extreme criticism. Both were called \to learn\his teacher whipped him repeatedly for asking too many questions. Einstein didn't speak fluently until he was almost nine years old and was such a poor student that some thought he was unable to learn. Yet both boys' parents believed in them. They worked intensely each day with their sons, and the boys learned to never bypass the long hours of hard work that they needed to succeed. In the end, both Einstein and Edison overcame their childhood persecution and went on to achieve magnificent discoveries that benefit the entire world today.

3 个人经历、教育机会、个人困境，这些都不能阻挡一个全力以赴追求成功的、有着坚强意 志的人。 任务再苦，准备再长，难度再大，都不能让他放弃自己的追求。 就以本时代最有 学问的两位科学家——阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦和托马斯·爱迪生为例，他们都曾面临巨大的障 碍和极端的批评，都曾被说成“不开窍”，被老师当成笨蛋而放弃。 托马斯·爱迪生还曾逃 学，因为老师嫌他问的问题太多而经常鞭打他。 爱因斯坦一直到将近 9 岁才能流利地说话， 学习成绩太差，有些人认为他都已经学不好了。 然而，这两个男孩的父母都相信他们。 他 们坚持不懈地每天和儿子一起努力，孩子们也了解到，要想成功，就绝不要怕付出长期而艰 辛的努力。 最终，爱因斯坦和爱迪生都摆脱了童年的困扰，进而作出了造福当今全世界的 伟

大发现。

7 Personal history, educational opportunity, individual dilemmas — none of these can inhibit a strong spirit committed to success. (Para. 3)

Meaning: Personal experience, educational background or individual difficult situations — nothing can prevent a person with a strong will from succeeding.

8 No task is too hard. No amount of preparation is too long or too difficult. (Para. 3)

Meaning beyond words: A person with a strong will is not fearful of any difficult task and is willing to put in lots of time and hard effort to get prepared for his goal. Sentence structure note: “No ? too ? ” 是一种强调句型。 例如： No job is too small. 没有任何一种工作是微不足道的。

9 Take the example of two of the most scholarly scientists of our age, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison. (Para. 3)

Meaning: The two most learned scientists of our age, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, are typical examples.

10 Both were called \to learn\and written off as idiots by their teachers. (Para. 3) Meaning: Both of them were labeled as boys with learning difficulties and described as stupid by their teachers.

11 They worked intensely each day with their sons, and the boys learned to never bypass the long hours of hard work that they needed to succeed. (Para. 3)

Meaning: They spent lots of time and energy helping their sons each day, and the boys learned that without long hours of hard work success will be impossible.

12 In the end, both Einstein and Edison overcame their childhood persecution and went on to achieve magnificent discoveries that benefit the entire world today. (Para. 3)

Meaning: At last, both Einstein and Edison conquered the prejudice against them in their childhood and made impressive achievements from which the whole world benefits today.

4 Consider also the heroic example of Abraham Lincoln, who faced substantial hardships, failures and repeated misfortunes in his lifetime. His background was certainly not glamorous. He was raised in a very poor family with only one year of formal education. He failed in business twice, suffered a nervous breakdown when his first love died suddenly and lost eight political elections. Later in life, he suffered profound grief over the tragic death of three of his four children. Yet his strong will was the spur that pushed him forward, strengthening his optimism, dedication and determination. It intensified and focused his efforts and enabled him to triumph over the overwhelming failures and profound difficulties in his life. A hundred years later, people from around the world commend Abraham Lincoln as the greatest American president of all time.

4 再如亚伯拉罕·林肯这个英雄的典范，他一生面临了无数艰辛、失败和接二连三的不幸。 他的出身和经历真是一点也算不上光鲜。 他在一个非常贫困的家庭长大，只受过一年正规 教育。 经商两度失败，初恋爱人的突然离世也使他精神崩溃，还在八次政治选举中落马。 此后，他的四个孩子有三个不幸去世，令他悲痛欲绝。 然而，坚强的意志鞭策着他，推动 他前进，使他更加乐观、投入、坚毅。 这让他得以全力以赴，一次次战胜生命中的巨大困 难和挫折。 一百年之后，世界各地的人们都赞颂亚伯拉罕·林肯，认为他是有史以来最伟 大的美国总统。

13 His background was certainly not glamorous. (Para. 4) Meaning: His background was actually very plain.

14 He failed in business twice, suffered a nervous breakdown when his first love died

suddenly and lost eight political elections. (Para. 4)

Meaning: He tried to run a business twice, neither of which was successful. He experienced a serious emotional and psychological collapse when his first love died suddenly, and he failed in eight political elections.

15 Yet his strong will was the spur that pushed him forward, strengthening his optimism, dedication and determination. (Para. 4)

Meaning: However, his strong will motivated him to go forward and made him more optimistic, dedicated, and determined.

16 It intensified and focused his efforts and enabled him to triumph over the overwhelming failures and profound difficulties in his life. (Para. 4)

Meaning: It made his efforts stronger and more focused, and enabled him to defeat a large number of failures and serious difficulties in his life.

17 A hundred years later, people from around the world commend Abraham Lincoln as the greatest American president of all time. (Para. 4)

Meaning: Now, people around the world praise Abraham Lincoln as the greatest American president of all time.

5 Just like Churchill and Lincoln, only those who \a committed and focused will and spirit, will find their endeavors successful. Many artists, statesmen, writers and inventors have had the same experience. They achieved prosperity because they possessed a fierce will to keep preparing and working and a passion to succeed. They attained success, not because it was easy, but because they had the will to overcome profound obstacles and to work diligently in the pursuit of their goals.

5 与丘吉尔和林肯一样，只有那些“执著地追求成功”的人，那些保持始终如一的精神意志 的人，才会通过自身的努力，获得成功。 许多艺术家、政治家、作家和发明家都有同样的 经历。 他们之所以能取得这样的成就，是因为他们拥有强烈的意愿，不懈地准备、奋斗， 并保持对成功的激情。 他们取得了成功，并不是因为成功很容易，而是因为他们拥有克服 重重障碍的意志，为了追求目标而勤奋努力。

18 Just like Churchill and Lincoln, only those who \their eyes on the prize\those who uphold a committed and focused will and spirit, will find their endeavors successful. (Para. 5) Meaning: Just like Churchill and Lincoln, only those who stay focused on their goal and concentrate their will and spirit on their work, will finally achieve success through their sustained efforts.

Note: keep one's eyes on the prize: stay focused on the end result; not let small problems get in the way of good results 执著地追求成功

e.g. I know it's difficult going to class after work, but just keep your eyes on the prize. At the end of next year, you'll have your MBA.

我知道下班之后再去上课是很困难的，但是你得坚持既定目标！明年底你就能获得 工商管理硕士了。

19 They achieved prosperity because they possessed a fierce will to keep preparing and working and a passion to succeed. (Para. 5)

Meaning: They made such great achievements because they had a strong will to persist in preparing and working, and they were eager to be successful.

20 They attained success, not because it was easy, but because they had the will to overcome profound obstacles and to work diligently in the pursuit of their goals. (Para. 5)

Meaning: They became successful not because it didn't need much hard work, but because they were strong-willed to defeat many great difficulties, and they worked extremely hard to realize their aims.

Sentence structure note: “not because ? but because” 是比较重要的平行结构句型，表示“不是因为?， 而是因为?”。这种句型一般否定前半部分，肯定后半部分，从而形成对比。

e.g. Sometimes plagiarism occurs not because students are trying to cheat, but because they have not been taught how to paraphrase accurately.

剽窃的存在有时不是因为学生想作弊，而是因为老师没有教他们如 何准确地转述。

e.g. I think markets move not because of an external force, but because the internal structures are either strengthening or weakening.

我认为市场的变化不是因为外部力量，而是因为其内部结构在加强或削弱。

6 After growing up on a cattle ranch without running water or electricity, Sandra Day O'Connor fought to achieve the best education possible. Consistently graduating at the top of her class, she worked her way into Stanford Law School, where she graduated with honors. But despite all of her hard work, Sandra Day O'Connor was still a woman in the 1950s. Even with the prestige of her degree from Stanford, she was rejected from the entire law circuit as firms preferred to hire less qualified men rather than risk hiring a female lawyer, which was unprecedented. Yet Sandra Day O'Connor refused to give up on her dreams. Through sheer persistence she was eventually nominated and then appointed the first woman Supreme Court Justice of the United States of America. There, she acted as a crucial vote on issues like abortion and women's rights.

6 桑德拉·戴·奥康纳成长于既没自来水也没电的养牛场，她努力学习以使自己接受到最好 的教育。 她的学习成绩在班上始终名列前茅，一路奋斗终于进入了斯坦福大学法学院，并 以优异的成绩从法学院毕业。 尽管奥康纳勤奋刻苦，但在 20 世纪 50 年代，她仍然受到女 人身份的制约。 即使斯坦福大学的学位有良好的声誉，她仍被整个法律界拒之门外，因为 事务所宁愿聘请才干稍逊的男性，也不愿冒险破例雇佣一位女律师。 然而，桑德拉·戴·奥 康纳并未放弃梦想。 她执著地坚持下去，终于得到提名并被任命为美国第一位女性最高法 院大法官。 她任职期间，对很多问题，例如堕胎和妇女权利，都起到了极为关键的作用。

21 After growing up on a cattle ranch without running water or electricity, Sandra Day O'Connor fought to achieve the best education possible. (Para. 6)

Meaning: After growing up on a cattle ranch where neither running water nor electricity was available, Sandra Day O'Connor struggled to get the best education she could.

22 Consistently graduating at the top of her class, she worked her way into Stanford Law School, where she graduated with honors. (Para. 6)

Meaning: After graduating as one of the best students from high school and college, she went on with her studies at Stanford Law School and graduated there with excellent performance.

23 Even with the prestige of her degree from Stanford, she was rejected from the entire law circuit as firms preferred to hire less qualified men rather than risk hiring a female lawyer, which was unprecedented. (Para. 6)

Meaning: Even with the educational background of world-famous Stanford University, she was refused by all the law firms, as they preferred to employ male lawyers even if they were less capable instead of taking the risk to employ a female lawyer, because this had never happened before.