If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was hard or inconvenient. If we want light, we must conquer darkness.
假如我又回到了童年,我做事要更有毅力,决不因为事情艰难或者麻烦而撒手不干,我们要光明,就得征服黑暗。
Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “There are only two creatures,” says a proverb, “who can surmount the pyramids—the eagle and the snail.”
毅力在效果上有时能同天才相比。俗话说:“能登上金字塔的生物,只有两种——鹰和蜗牛。”
If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once. The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we began early enough. I often hear grown up people say “I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so”, and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.
假如我又回到了童年,我就要养成专心致志的习惯;有事在手,就决不让任何东西让我分心。我要牢记:优秀的滑冰手从不试图同时滑向两个不同的方向。如果及早养成这种专心致志的习惯,它将成为我们生命的一部分。我常听成年人说:“虽然我希望能集中注意听牧师讲道或读书,但往往做不到。”而原因就是年轻时没有养成这种习惯。
If I were a boy again, I would look on the cheerful side. Life is very much like a mirror: if you smile upon it, it smiles back upon you; but if you frown and look doubtful on it, you will get a similar look in return. Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner, but of all that come in contact with it. “Who shuts love out, in turn shall be shut out from love.”
假如我又回到了童年,我就要事事乐观。生活犹如一面镜子:你朝它笑,它也朝你笑;如果你双眉紧锁,向它投以怀疑的目光,它也将还以你同样的目光。内心的欢乐不仅温暖了欢乐者自己的心,也温暖了所有与之接触者的心。“谁拒爱于门外,也必将被爱拒诸门外。”
If I were a boy again, I would school myself to say no more often. I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect, and decline doing an unworthy act because it is unworthy.
假如我又回到了童年,我就要养成经常说“不”字的习惯。一个少年要能挺得起腰,拒绝做不应该做的事,就因为这事不值得做。我可以写上好几页谈谈早年培养这一点的重要性。
If I were a boy again, I would demand of myself more courtesy towards my companions and friends, and indeed towards strangers as well. The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long, and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.
假如我又回到了童年,我就要要求自己对伙伴和朋友更加礼貌,而且对陌生人也应如此。在坎坷的生活道路上,最细小的礼貌犹如在漫长的冬天为我们歌唱的小鸟,那歌声使冰天雪地的寒冬变得较易忍受。
Finally, instead of trying hard to be happy, as if that were the sole purpose of life, I would, if I were a boy again, still try harder to make others happy.
最后,假如我又回到了童年,我不会力图为自己谋幸福,好像这就是人生唯一的目的;与之相反,我要更努力为他人谋幸福。