Never Too Late to Become What You Want to Be
Anonymous
梦想终有成真时
心灵寄语
人生在世，最怕的不是难以实现自己的梦想，而是没有属于自己的梦想。怀揣梦想的幸福的朋友啊！不要惧怕梦想难以实现，只要坚守自己的梦想，终有一天会梦想成真！
The first day of school our professor introduced a little old lady to us。
“Why are you in college at such a‘young’age？”I asked
later。She jokingly replied，“I’m here to meet a rich husband，
get married，have a couple of children，and then retire and travel。”
“No，seriously，”I asked。I was curious what may have motivated1her to be taking on this challenge at her age。“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one！”she told me。
We became instant friends。Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop。I was always listening to this“time machine”as she shared her wisdom2and experience with me。
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to make a speech to our football team。I’ll never forget what she taught us。As she began to deliver her prepared speech，she dropped her note card on the floor。A little embarrassed she simply said，“I’m sorry。This whiskey3is killing me！I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know。”As we laughed she cleared her throat and began，“We do not stop playing because we are old；we grow old because we stop playing。There are only four secrets to staying young，being happy，and achieving success。You have to laugh and find humor every day。You’ve got to have a dream。When you lose your dreams，you die。We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it！There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up。If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive4thing，you will turn twenty years old。Anybody can grow older。That doesn’t take any talent or ability。The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change。Have no regrets。The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did，but rather for things we did not do。The only people who fear death are those with regrets。”
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree。One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep。Over two thousand college students attended her funeral to honor the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be。
佚名
在开学的第一天，教授向我们介绍了一位小个子老太太。
我后来问她“你为什么这么‘年轻’ 还来上大学？”她开玩笑地回答：“我来是为了认识一个有钱的丈夫，然后结婚，生几个孩子，最后退休，到处游玩。”
“不，我是认真的。”我问道。我很好奇，能够让她在晚年还接受这样的挑战的动力到底是什么。“我一直梦想着上大学，现在我终于在读大学了！”她告诉我。
我们很快成了朋友。在随后的三个月里，我们每天放学一起走，不停地聊天。我总是倾听这个历经了岁月沧桑的老太太分享她人生的智慧和阅历。
学期结束的时候，我们邀请罗斯给我们的橄榄球队讲话。我永远都不会忘记她教给我们的。当她正要开始进行她事先准备好的演讲时，她把演讲稿掉在了地上。她有点儿尴尬，但只是说，“对不起。刚才喝的威士忌可真要命！看样子我没办法按我准备的稿子演讲了，那么就让我给你们讲讲我所知道的东西吧。”我们笑了起来，她清了清嗓子，开始了演讲：“我们并不是因为年老而不再玩耍；而如果停止玩耍我们才会变老。只有四个秘密可以让你永葆年轻，永远快乐，获取成功。你必须每天都大笑，寻找生活中的幽默。你必须拥有一个梦想。一旦失去了梦想，你虽然活着，却像死了一样。我们周围来来往往有很多人，他们已经‘死了’，自己却不知道。长大和成长之间有着巨大的差距。如果你现在十九岁，整整一年只是躺在床上什么都不做，你也还会到二十岁。每一个人都会长大，这不需要任何天赋和能力。而重要的是要从变化的世界中找寻机会，不断成长。不要留有遗憾。我们老年人通常不会为做过的事遗憾，而是为还没有做过的事感到遗憾。只有那些留有遗憾的人才惧怕死亡。”
年末时，罗斯结束了大学的学习，获得了学位。毕业后一星期，罗斯在睡梦中安详地离开了人世。两千多名大学生参加了她的葬礼，来纪念这位了不起的老人，她用自己的亲身经历告诉我们梦想终有成真时。
V
词汇空间
ocabulary
1.motivate v。 促进，激发
2.wisdom n。 智慧，学识
3.whiskey n。 威士忌（一种烈性酒）
4.productive adj。 生产的，多产的
文化链接
Culture Background
1.威士忌（Whiskey）
威士忌，据说是从英国爱尔兰的原住居民们所制出的“生命之水”而来。原来的成品因为是作为一种消除疲劳的滋补剂，所以比现在的更甜。威士忌有“麦芽威士忌”（MALT，苏格兰威士忌和爱尔兰威士忌二种）；“波本威士忌”（BOURBON）；“玉米威士忌”（CORN）三种。
2.橄榄球（Football）
橄榄球（Rugby football）起源于英国，原名为拉格比足球（Rugby football）。因为其球形很像橄榄，在中国即被称为“橄榄球”。NFL，就是美式橄榄球联盟（National Football League，缩写为NFL），是世界最大的职业美式橄榄球联盟。联盟由32支来自美国不同地区和城市的球队组成。
妙语拾珠
1.We do not stop playing because we are old；we grow old because we stop playing。
我们并不是因为年老而不再玩耍；而如果停止玩耍我们才会变老。
2.Anybody can grow older。That doesn’t take any talent or ability。The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change。
每一个人都会长大，这不需要任何天赋和能力。而重要的是要从变化的世界中找寻机会，不断成长。
