只要有決心，一根手指也可以成就一座大橋

Determination
決心

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
1883年，一個(gè)極富有創(chuàng)意的工程師，名叫約翰羅布林，他受到啟發(fā)想要建造一所壯觀宏偉的大橋能夠連接紐約與長(zhǎng)島。然而全世界的建筑學(xué)家都任務(wù)這是不可能的壯舉，勸羅布林打消這個(gè)主意。這是不可能完成的，這是不現(xiàn)實(shí)的，在此之前從沒(méi)有過(guò)先例。

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son, Washington, an up-coming engineer, that the bridge, in fact, could be built.
羅布林始終無(wú)法抹去他心中這座橋的樣子。他每時(shí)每刻地思考并且在心中深深地相信這是可以被完成的。他不得不要與其他人分享他這個(gè)夢(mèng)。經(jīng)過(guò)多次的討論和勸說(shuō)，他終于使他的兒子華盛頓——一個(gè)未來(lái)的工程師確信，這座橋是可以完成的。

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
在合作的初期，父親和兒子共同思考，它如何完成，如何才能克服重重障礙。在強(qiáng)烈的激動(dòng)和興奮，以及非凡的挑戰(zhàn)面前，他們開(kāi)始雇傭工作人員，開(kāi)始建造夢(mèng)想的橋梁。

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway, a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk, talk, or even move.
工程進(jìn)行地很順利，然而僅僅幾個(gè)月后，一場(chǎng)悲慘的意外當(dāng)場(chǎng)奪走了約翰羅布林的生命，華盛頓也受了重傷，大腦受損，導(dǎo)致他不能再走路、說(shuō)話(huà)、甚至是移動(dòng)。

“We told them so.”
“我告訴過(guò)他們的”

“Crazy men and their crazy dreams.”
“瘋狂的人只會(huì)做瘋狂的夢(mèng)”

“It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”
“這真是個(gè)愚蠢的幻想”

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap, Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge, his mind as sharp as ever.
所有人都發(fā)表了消極評(píng)論并且一致感覺(jué)到既然只有死去的羅布林是唯一知道大橋該怎樣建成的，那么這項(xiàng)工程一定會(huì)被廢棄。然而，盡管殘疾，但是華盛頓卻從沒(méi)有氣餒，并且始終燃燒著強(qiáng)烈的渴望想要完成這座橋，他的頭腦和從前一樣敏銳。

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in hospital, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
他試圖激勵(lì)并且把自己的熱情傳遞給他的朋友們，但是他們都被這個(gè)任務(wù)嚇到了。他躺在醫(yī)院的床上，陽(yáng)光透過(guò)窗戶(hù)。微風(fēng)吹拂著白白的窗簾，讓他能夠看一會(huì)外面的天空和樹(shù)梢。

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was to move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this finger, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
似乎有一個(gè)信息向他傳遞著不要放棄。突然他想到了一個(gè)辦法，他唯一能做的就是移動(dòng)他的手指，他覺(jué)得盡可能地利用它，通過(guò)移動(dòng)手指，他緩慢的把交流的代碼傳遞給他的妻子。

He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was underway again.
他輕拍著妻子的手臂，指示她他希望再次打電話(huà)給工程師們。然后他用同樣的辦法輕拍她的手臂高速工程師該怎么做。看上去很愚蠢，但是這個(gè)方法讓工程得以繼續(xù)進(jìn)行。

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a?tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
13年來(lái)華盛頓靠著輕拍妻子的手臂發(fā)出指示，直到大橋最終建成、現(xiàn)在，雄偉的布魯克林橋屹立著，它的榮耀都在向著一個(gè)一個(gè)男人不屈不撓的精神和在任何情況都不被打敗的決心致敬。它也同樣是在向工程師們和整個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)致敬，以及他們對(duì)一個(gè)被半個(gè)世界認(rèn)為是瘋子的男人的忠心。同樣，它也是向著一個(gè)充滿(mǎn)愛(ài)和奉獻(xiàn)的妻子致敬，13年來(lái)始終如一日地成為傳遞著丈夫和工程師們信息的紐帶。

>>Reading check
Pre-reading
1. When facing huge obstacles, do you usually choose to persist or to give up?
2. Is it always wiser to persist than to give up?

While-reading
1. What facts showed the determination of the father and son?
2. What is one of the symbolic meanings of the Brooklyn Bridge?

After-reading
Finish the following moral of the story with proper words.
Often we face __1__ in our day-to-day life. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem __2__ can be realized with __3__, no matter what the __4__ are.?

本期題目：

How long did this bridge completed ?

A 10 years

B 13 years

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