弱點還是優勢

Weakness Or Strength

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. There was one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, but he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move. “Sensei,” the boy finally said, “shouldn’t I be learning more moves?” “This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. “No,” the sensei insisted, “let him continue.” Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. “Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?” “You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

【助讀詞匯】

◇judo n. 柔道

◇sensei 日語中“先生”的讀音

◇tournament n. 比賽，錦標賽

◇deftly adv. 靈巧地，熟練地

◇time-out n.1.（工作等中的）休息時間，（競賽中的）暫停

◇referee n. 裁判員；推薦人

◇intervene vi. 干擾，阻撓，阻止

◇opponent n. 敵手，對手；反對者

◇critical adj. 決定性的，關鍵性的，危急的

◇resume vi. 重新開始，中斷后繼續

◇summon vt. 召喚，傳喚；鼓起，振作

【參考譯文】

弱點還是優勢

有時候，你最大的弱點能成為你最強的力量。有個10歲的男孩，決定去學柔道，盡管他在一次車禍中喪失了左臂。男孩在一位年老的日本柔道大師手下學藝。男孩學得很好，但是他不明白，為什么訓練了3個月，大師只教了一個動作。“老師，”男孩終于開口了，“我是否應該多學些動作？”“這是你唯一懂得的動作，也是你唯一需要知道的動作。”大師回答道。男孩還是不太懂，但是他相信大師，不斷地訓練。

幾個月之后，大師帶男孩參加第一次錦標賽。讓男孩感到驚訝的是，他很輕松地贏得了頭兩場比賽。事實證明，第三場是要更難些，但是較量了一段時間后，他的對手失去了耐心，轉而進攻，男孩則靈巧地用他唯一的動作贏得了這場比賽。男孩進入了決賽，盡管仍然為自己的成功感到驚奇。這一次，他對手更大、更強、更有經驗。有那么一會兒，男孩眼看要被打敗了。考慮到男孩可能會受傷，裁判叫了暫停。正當裁判要暫停這場比賽時，大師阻止了。“不要，”大師堅持著，“讓他繼續。”很快，比賽繼續了，男孩的對手犯了一個致命的錯誤：他卸下了防守。男孩立即拿出他的那一招將對手絆倒。男孩贏得了那場比賽，贏得了錦標賽。他是冠軍。回家途中，男孩和大師回顧了每場比賽的每一個動作。最后，男孩鼓起勇氣，問了大師在他腦海盤旋的問題。“老師，我只學了一招，為什么我能贏？”“有兩個原因，”大師回答道。“首先，你差不多掌握了柔道里最難的一招；其次，唯一能克制這一招的招式是，你的對手抓住你的左臂。”

【人生啟迪】

有時候，你最大的弱點能變成你得天獨厚的優勢，就像故事里小男孩一樣，雖然車禍奪走了他左臂，但是仍然可以學習柔道，并能贏得比賽。在我們的生活里，請不要因為被上帝關上了某扇門就放棄尋找出口，思考并利用自己的特點，來“贏”得生活。