"How Perseverance, Passion, and Pluck Take You from Ordinary to Extraordinary"

1. 外教领读

2. 英文原文

Success doesn’t come overnight and patience is essential to meeting your goals.

Did you know that Van Gogh only sold one painting before he died? It might come as a shock since his paintings have wowed art lovers across the world and fetched record-breaking prices. But even though he didn’t get recognition during his lifetime, Van Gogh still produced over 2,000 paintings!

How?

Through dedication and grit.

That’s because most projects take a long time to make real progress and even longer to find success. As a result, many people lose motivation and patience halfway through and simply give up. But there’s another option.

But some people will feel that as they get older, less is possible. Therefore, it’s essential that as you age, you keep your motivation up and never settle. Instead, make productive use of your time by planning every year. Don’t let a “not-yet” attitude rule your decisions and never feel like you’re too old to do the things you’re passionate about. You aren’t too old, and you never will be.

For instance, Captain James Henry, who was raised on a farm but went on to become a fisherman, didn’t learn to read until he was 92. Not just that, but he wrote an autobiographical bestseller called In A Fisherman’s Language at the ripe age of 98.

Success means learning from your experiences and adapting to new ones.

We’ve all experienced failure and everyone knows it can be tough. However, it’s not your failures that define you, but what you do with them. For instance, even star poker players are dealt losing hands some of the time, but the best of them know how to learn from their mistakes and grow through them.

And it’s not just true for card players. Regardless of what you do, over the course of your career you’ll inevitably face failure and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, but every single one of these challenges is a chance to learn and improve.

This way of thinking enables people with grit to accomplish what seems impossible and conquer any challenge they meet. In other words, they don’t fail, they fail forward. For instance, early on, Oprah Winfrey was demoted from her first job as a television anchor because her boss didn’t think she was “made for TV.” But obviously she didn’t give up. She was determined to succeed and we all know how she turned out: one of the biggest TV stars in history.

3. 单词解析

1.overnight  [ˌoʊvərˈnaɪt]  一夜之间 adj./ adv.

He became a millionaire overnight.

他一夜之间就成了百万富翁。

2.essential  [ɪˈsenʃl]  基本的；必要的 adj.

Money is not essential to happiness.

金钱对于幸福并非必不可少。

3.Van Gogh  梵高（荷兰画家）

4.come as a shock  让人非常震惊

5.wow  [waʊ]  博得……称赞 v.

He wowed audiences around the country with his new show.

他以他的新节目博得了全国各地观众的交口称赞。

6.fetch  [fetʃ]  取来；卖得 v.

to fetch help/a doctor 去请人帮助；去请医生

The painting is expected to fetch $10 000 at auction.

这幅画预计拍卖可得 10 000 元。

7.record-breaking  [ˈrekərd breɪkɪŋ]  破纪录的 adj.

8.dedication  [ˌdedɪˈkeɪʃn]  （对某项事情的）全身心投入，奉献 n.

I admire his dedication to the job.

我佩服他的敬业精神。

9.make progress  取得进展

10.motivation  [ˌmoʊtɪˈveɪʃn]  动力；积极性 n.

Jack is an intelligent pupil, but he lacks motivation.

杰克是一个很聪明的学生，但学习不够主动。

11.option  [ˈɑːpʃn]  选择权 n.

Going to college was not an option for me.

上大学不是我可以选择的道路。

12.age  [eɪdʒ]  成熟；变老 v.

13.productive  [prəˈdʌktɪv]  富有成效的 adj.

a productive meeting 有成效的会议

14.rule  [ruːl]  统治，管理；支配

The pursuit of money ruled his life.

对金钱的追求支配着他的生活。

15.raise  [reɪz]  养育 v.

16.go on to do  接着做、进而做

She went on to become a successful surgeon.

她后来成了一名成功的外科医生。

17.fisherman  [ˈfɪʃərmən]  渔夫 n.

18.autobiography  [ˌɔːtəbaɪˈɑːɡrəfi]  自传 n.

autobiographical  [ˌɔːtəˌbaɪəˈɡræfɪkl]  自传的；自传体的 adj.

19.bestseller  [ˌbestˈselər]  畅销书 n.

20.ripe  [raɪp]  熟的，成熟的 adj.

21.adapt  [əˈdæpt]  (使)适应 v.

It's amazing how soon you adapt.

你这么快就适应了，真是令人惊奇。

It took him a while to adapt himself to his new surroundings.

他过了好一阵子才适应了新环境。

22.define  [dɪˈfaɪn]  定义 v.

The term ‘mental illness’ is difficult to define.

“精神病”这个词很难下定义。

23.poker  [ˈpoʊkər]  扑克牌 n.

Can you play poker ?

你会玩扑克吗？

24.deal  [diːl]  发牌 v.

Whose turn is it to deal?

该谁发牌了？

He dealt me two aces.

他给我发了两张A牌。

25.hand  （分给游戏者的）  一手牌

a  good/bad hand

拿到一手好牌、坏牌

26.regardless of  [rɪˈɡɑːrdləs]  不管怎样 adv.

The law requires equal treatment for all, regardless of race, religion, or sex.

法律规定人人平等，无论种族﹑宗教或性别。

27.course  [kɔːrs]  进程，过程 n.

an event that changed the  course of history

改变了历史进程的事件

28.inevitable  [ɪnˈevɪtəbl]  必然的，不可避免的（事情） adj./n.

It was inevitable that  there would be job losses.

裁员已是不可避免的事。

29.inevitably  [ɪnˈevɪtəbli]  不可避免地 adv.

Inevitably, the press exaggerated the story.

新闻界照例又夸大了这件事。

30.insurmountable  [ˌɪnsərˈmaʊntəbl]  不能克服的；不能超越的 adj.

surmount  [sərˈmaʊnt]  克服，越过 v.

She was well aware of the difficulties that had to be surmounted.

她很清楚必须克服哪些困难。

31.obstacle  [ˈɑːbstəkl]  障碍物，绊脚石 n.

A lack of qualifications can be a major obstacle to finding a job.

学历不足可能成为谋职的主要障碍。

32.enable  [ɪˈneɪbl]  使能够；使成为可能 v.

The loan enabled Jan to buy the house.

贷款使简有能力买下这房子。

33.conquer  [ˈkɑːŋkər]  战胜，征服 v.

The only way to conquer a fear is to face it.

克服恐惧的唯一方法是正视恐惧。

34.demote  [diːˈmoʊt]  使降级；使降职 v.

The sergeant was demoted to private.

这名中士被降为列兵。

(promote 升值)

35.anchor  [ˈæŋkər]  新闻节目主播

36.be made for  生来适合做某事

37.be determined to succeed  决心要成功

38.turn out 最终结果是，以...结局收场

It was a difficult time, but eventually things turned out all right.

那段时期很困难，不过最后还是好起来了。