2005年NPR美国国家公共电台九月-There Is No Job More Important Than Paren
时间：2019-01-08 作者：英语课 分类：2005年NPR美国国家公共电台
英语课
The simplest way to say it is this: I believe in my mother.
My belief began when I was just a kid. I dreamed of becoming a doctor.
My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and submit to her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse 1. My mother was illiterate 2; she had only received a third-grade education.
Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.
When I entered high school I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student, but I didn't care. I was getting the high fives and the low fives and the pats on the back. I was cool.
One night my mother came home from working her multiple jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, "Okay, I'll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want."
I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating 3 money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.
I also realized that immediate 4 gratification wasn't going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation.
I went back to my studies and became an A-student again, and eventually I fulfilled my dream and I became a doctor.
Over the years my mother's steadfast 5 faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I had to perform extremely difficult surgical 6 procedures or when I found myself faced with my own medical scare.
A few years ago I discovered I had a very aggressive form of prostate cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine 7. My mother was steadfast in her faith in God. She never worried. She said that God was not through with me yet; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in my spine turned out to be benign 8; I was able to have surgery and am cured.
My story is really my mother's story -- a woman with little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job more important than parenting. This I believe.
My belief began when I was just a kid. I dreamed of becoming a doctor.
My mother was a domestic. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and submit to her written book reports. She would mark them up with check marks and highlights. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse 1. My mother was illiterate 2; she had only received a third-grade education.
Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.
When I entered high school I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student to a C-student, but I didn't care. I was getting the high fives and the low fives and the pats on the back. I was cool.
One night my mother came home from working her multiple jobs and I complained about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, "Okay, I'll give you all the money I make this week scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the Italian knit shirts you want."
I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating 3 money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.
I also realized that immediate 4 gratification wasn't going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual preparation.
I went back to my studies and became an A-student again, and eventually I fulfilled my dream and I became a doctor.
Over the years my mother's steadfast 5 faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I had to perform extremely difficult surgical 6 procedures or when I found myself faced with my own medical scare.
A few years ago I discovered I had a very aggressive form of prostate cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine 7. My mother was steadfast in her faith in God. She never worried. She said that God was not through with me yet; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in my spine turned out to be benign 8; I was able to have surgery and am cured.
My story is really my mother's story -- a woman with little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe. There is no job more important than parenting. This I believe.
n.诡计，计策；诡计
- The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。
adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲
- There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
- I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲，今天也认字了。
分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给
- Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
- A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。
adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的
- His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
- We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的
- Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
- He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。
adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的
- He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
- All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。
n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊
- He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
- His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。