佚名/Anonymous

　　Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold. If it is possible for leaves and clay and wood and hair to have their value multiplied a hundred, yea a thousandfold by man, cannot I do the same with the clay which bears my name?

　　I am likened to a grain of wheat which faces one of three futures. The wheat can be placed in a sack and dumped in a stall until it is fed to swine. Or it can be ground to four and made into bread. Or it can be placed in the earth and allowed to grow until its golden head divides and produces a thousand grains from the one.

　　I am likened to a grain of wheat with one difference. The wheat cannot choose whether it be fed to swine, ground for bread, or planted to multiply. I have a choice and I will not let my life be fed to swine nor will I let it be ground under the rocks of failure and despair to be broken open and devoured by the will of others.

　　To grow and multiply it is necessary to plant the wheat grain in the darkness of the earth and my failures, my despairs, my ignorance, and my inabilities are the darkness in which I have been planted in order to ripen. Now, like the wheat grain which will sprout and blossom only if it is nurtured with rain and sun and warm winds, I too must nurture my body and mind to fulfll my dreams.

　　Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.

　　The height of my goals will not hold me in awe though I may stumble often before they are reached. If I stumble I will rise and may falls will not concern me for all men must stumble often to reach the hearth. Only a worm is free from the worry of stumbling. I am not a worm. I am not an onion plant. I am not a sheep. I am a man. Let others build a cave with their clay. I will build a castle with mine.

　　I will commit not the terrible crime of aiming too low. I will do the work that a failure will not do. I will always let my reach exceed my grasp. I will always raise my goals as soon as they are attained. I will always strive to make the next hour better than this one. I will always announce my goals to the world. Yet, never will I proclaim my accomplishments. Let the world, instead, approach me with praise and may I have the wisdom to receive it in humility.

　　Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.

　　One grain of wheat when multiplied a hundredfold will produce a hundred stalks. Multiply these a hundredfold, ten times, and they will feed all the cities of the earth. Am I not more than a grain of wheat?

　　今天，我要加倍提升自己的价值。如果桑叶、黏土、柏树、羊毛经过人的创造，可以成百上千倍地提高自身的价值，那么，由黏土构成的我们为什么不能呢？

　　我把自己的命运比做一颗麦粒，要面临三种不同的道路。麦粒可能被装进麻袋，丢进牲畜棚，等着喂猪；也可能被磨成面粉，做成面包；还可能撒在土壤里，让它生长，直到金黄的麦穗不断衍生，结出上千颗麦粒。

　　我和麦粒唯一的区别在于：麦粒没有选择的权利，任凭被喂猪或被磨碎做成面包，或是被种下，生长繁衍。我却有选择的自由。我绝不会让我的生命成为喂猪的饲料，也不会让它在失败与绝望的岩石下煎熬，任人调遣。

　　为了让麦粒生长、结实，将其种植在黑暗的泥土中是必需的，我的失败、绝望、无知、无能便是那黑暗的泥土，我必须牢牢扎根于泥土中，等待成熟。现在，就像麦粒在阳光雨露与和风的哺育下发芽、开花一样，我也要锻炼自己的身心，去实现梦想。

　　今天，我要加倍提升自己的价值。

　　高远的目标不会让我有丝毫畏惧，即使在达到目标的过程中可能屡受挫折。摔倒了，再爬起来，这不会让我有丝毫迟疑，因为每个人在抵达目标之前都须历尽艰辛。只有小爬虫不必担心摔倒。而我不是小爬虫，不是洋葱，不是绵羊。我是一个堂堂正正的人。随便别人用他们的黏土造穴吧，我要用自己的双手建造一座城堡。

　　我绝不犯严重的错误——放低目标。失败者不敢做的事才是我发挥的舞台。我不止步于我的能力范围，目标达到后紧接着就是一个更高的目标。我要竭尽全力地使下一刻比此刻更好。我要常常向世人宣布我的目标，可我绝不炫耀我的成绩。让世人来称赞我吧，但愿我能明智而谦恭地接受它们。

　　今天，我要加倍提升自己的价值。

　　一颗麦粒繁衍之后，可以变成成千上万的麦子，将这些麦苗继续繁衍百倍，如此十次，便能供养世界上所有的城市。难道我不比一颗麦粒强吗？

　　W词汇笔记

　　multiply['m?ltiplai]v.乘；增加；繁殖

　　例 The only way on earth to multiply happiness is to divide it.

　　世界上唯一成倍地增加幸福的办法是与人分享。

　　dump[d?mp]v.倾倒；倾卸

　　例 There are special places where you can dump things you don't want.

　　有一些指定的地方，你可以把不需要的东西倒在那里。

　　stall[st?:l]n.货摊；畜栏；托词

　　例 A pile of straw in a stall is a bed, properly regarded.

　　如果正确看待的话，窝棚里的稻草堆就是一张床。

　　devour[di'vau?]v.毁灭；吞食；凝视

　　例 We watched the flames devour the entire building.

　　我们看着火苗吞噬了整座大楼。

　　S小试身手

　　现在，就像麦粒在阳光雨露与和风的哺育下发芽、开花一样，我也要锻炼自己的身心，去实现梦想。

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　　高远的目标不会让我有丝毫畏惧，即使在达到目标的过程中可能屡受挫折。

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　　我不止步于我的能力范围，目标达到后紧接着就是一个更高的目标。

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　　P短语家族

　　……and my inabilities are the darkness in which I have been planted in order to ripen.

　　in order to：为了；以便；想要

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　　I will always raise my goals as soon as they are attained. as soon as：一……就……

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