翅膀斷了，心仍飛翔

Broken wings, flying heart

He lost his arms in an accident that claimed his father’s life—who was the main source of support for the family. Since then, he has had to depend on the arms of his younger brother. For the sake of taking care of him, his younger brother became his shadow, never leaving him alone for years. Except for writing with his toes, he was completely unable to do anything in his life.

One late night, he suffered from diarrhea and had to wake up his younger brother. His younger brother accompanied him into the toilet and then went back the dorm to wait. But being so tired, his younger brother fell asleep, leaving him in the toilet for two hours till the teacher on duty discovered him. As the two brothers grew up together, they had their share of problems and they would often quarrel. Then one day, his younger brother wanted to live separate from him, living his own life, as many normal people do. So he was heart-broken and didn’t know what to do.

A similar misfortune befell a girl, too. One night her mother, who suffered from chronic mental illness disappeared. So her father went out looking for her mother, leaving her alone at home. She tried to prepare meals for her parents, only to overturn the kerosene light on the stove, resulting in a fire which took her hands away.

Though her elder sister who was studying in another city, showed her willingness to take care of her, she was determined to be completely independent. At school, she always studied hard. Most of all she learned to be self-reliant. Once she wrote the following in her composition: “I am lucky. Though I lost my arms, I still have legs; I am lucky. Though my wings are broken, my heart can still fly.”

One day, the boy and the girl were both invited to appear on a television interview program. The boy told the TV host about his uncertain future at being left on his own, whereas the girl was full of enthusiasm for her life. They both were asked to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. The boy wrote: My younger brother’s arms are my arms, while the girl wrote: broken wings, flying heart.

They had both endured the same ordeal, but their different attitudes determined the nature of their lives. It is true that life is unpredictable. Disasters can strike at any time. How you handle misfortune when confronted with it, is the true test of your character. If you choose only to complain and escape from the ordeal, it will always follow you wherever you go. But if you decide to be strong, the hardship will turn out to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise.

【助讀詞匯】

◇diarrhea  n. 痢疾，腹瀉

◇chronic  adj. 慢性的，延續很長的

◇kerosene  n. 煤油，火油

◇ordeal  n. 嚴酷的考驗，苦難的經歷

◇unpredictable  adj. 不可預知的，無法預見的

【參考譯文】

翅膀斷了，心仍飛翔

在一次事故中，他家中作為頂梁柱的父親永遠地離去了，他也因此失去了雙手。從那時起，他只能依靠弟弟的手生活。為了照顧他，弟弟多年來一直形影不離地跟在他的身邊，他除了學會了用腳趾頭寫字之外，生活上完全不能自理。

一天夜里，他因為腹瀉于是不得不叫醒了弟弟。弟弟幫著他進了廁所后，就回宿舍等候。但是因為太過勞累，弟弟睡著了，留他在廁所里等了整整兩個小時，直到查夜的老師發現他。隨著兩兄弟慢慢長大，他們也有煩惱和爭執。終于有一天弟弟要離開他過自己正常的生活，就像很多正常人一樣，為此，他很傷心，不知如何是好。

無獨有偶，另一個女孩也有著同樣的遭遇。一天夜里，長期患有精神病的媽媽突然不見了，爸爸去找媽媽，家中便只留下她一人。她想要做好飯菜等爸爸媽媽回來吃，卻不小心將灶臺上的煤油燈打翻，結果雙手便被大火奪走了。

雖然在另一個城市讀書的姐姐愿意照顧她，可倔強的她一定要獨立生活。在學校，她總是刻苦努力，最重要的是她學會了生活自理。她曾在一篇作文里寫道：“我很幸運，雖然我失去了雙手，但我還擁有一雙腳；我很幸運，雖然翅膀斷了，但我的心仍然可以飛翔……”

有一天，男孩和女孩都被一家電視臺邀請參加一個電視節目采訪。面對主持人，男孩表現出了對前途的迷茫，而女孩則對生活充滿了熱情。主持人要求他們用腳趾分別在一張白紙上寫一句話。男孩寫的是：弟弟的手便是我的手。女孩卻寫下了：翅膀斷了，心也要飛翔。

他們倆都經受了同樣的苦難，但不同的人生態度卻決定了他們生活的本質。是的，人生總是變幻的，苦難總是在不知不覺中驟然降臨。如何應對苦難，是對你的性格的真正考驗。面對苦難，如果選擇抱怨與逃避，苦難就永遠如影隨形；但如果選擇堅強，苦難便會化作甘泉，滋潤美好的希望。

【人生啟迪】

生活從來都不是一帆風順的，它充斥著各種各樣的苦難，但是面對苦難，又有多少個人能夠堅強面對呢。更多的人只是在不停地抱怨生活得不公，為什么自己會遭遇到如此的不幸，其實生活對待每個人都是公平的，記得有句話叫做，態度決定一切，其實面對生活中的苦難，很多時候只要我們堅強的面對，就會發現，其實美好的希望就在苦難的背后，當苦難過去，總會迎來美好的明天。