America`s Beauty Is In Its Diversity

America is built on the idea of freedom, and there is no exception for Muslim women. I believe in the freedom of religion and speech. But mostly, I believe it’s OK to be different, and to stand up for who and what you are. So I believe in wearing the hijab.

美国是建立在自由理念上的，对穆斯林女性也没有例外。我相信宗教和言论自由。但在大多数情况下，我更相信有差异，能表明你是谁，这不错。因此我相信带面纱。

The hijab is a religious head covering, like a scarf. I am Muslim and keeping my head covered is a sign of maturity and respect toward my religion and to Allah’s will. To be honest, I also like to wear it to be different. I don’t usually like to do what everyone else is doing. I want to be an individual, not just part of the crowd. But when I first wore it, I was also afraid of the reaction that I’d get at school.

面纱是一种类似头巾的，宗教性的蒙头装饰。我是一个穆斯林。覆盖我的头部是成熟的标志和对我信仰的尊重，是安拉的意愿。实话讲，我也喜欢带它来显得与众不同。我不喜欢做每人都在做的事情。我想成为一个个体，而不仅是群体的一部分。但当我第一次带时，我也被我到学校的反应吓坏了。

I decided on my own that sixth grade was the time I should start wearing the hijab. I was scared about what the kids would say or even do to me. I thought they might make fun of me, or even be scared of me and pull off my headscarf. Kids at that age usually like to be all the same, and there’s little or no acceptance for being different.

我自己决定六年级时我应该开始带面纱。我害怕伙伴们会说什么甚至他们会做什么。我想 他们也许会取笑我，或者甚至会害怕我并扯下我的头巾。那个年龄的孩子们总喜欢都一样，几乎没有不同，也不接受与众不同。

On the first day of school, I put all those negative thoughts behind my back and walked in with my head held high. I was holding my breath a little, but inside I was also proud to be a Muslim, proud to be wearing the hijab, proud to be different.

到校的第一天，我把一切负面想法抛在脑后，昂着头走进学校。我稍稍屏住呼吸，但内心里仍为我是一个穆斯林而自豪，为带头巾而自豪，为与众不同而自豪。

I was wrong about everything I thought the kids would say or even do to me. I actually met a lot of people because of wearing my head covering. Most of the kids would come and ask me questions—respectfully—about the hijab, and why I wore it.

我那些关于伙伴们会说些什么，做些什么的想法都错了。我确实因为我带了头巾而碰到很多人。大多数孩子会走过来并礼貌的问我关于面纱的问题，以及我为什么带它。

I did hear some kid was making fun of me, but there was one girl—she wasn’t even in my class, we never really talked much—and she stood up for me, and I wasn’t even there! I made a lot of new friends that year, friends that I still have until this very day, five years later.

我也听到有人嘲笑我，但有个女孩-她甚至不是我班的，我们从没说很多话-而她站出来为我辩护，我甚至不在那儿！那年我交了很多新朋友，而直到五年后的今天，他们仍然是我的朋友。

Yes, I’m different, but everyone is different here, in one way or another. This is the beauty of America.

是的，我与众不同，但这儿的每个人这里或者那里都有与众不同的地方。这就是美国之美。

I believe in what America is built on: all different religions, races and beliefs. Different everything.

我相信美国建国所基：不同的宗教，不同的种族，不同的信仰。所有的不同。

Accomplishing Big Things in Small Pieces

聚沙成塔

我的背包中总带着一个魔方。快速地解出魔方往往是一场谈话很好的引子而且能给女孩儿们留下出奇地印象。在纽约的地铁里，威彻斯特郡的田径运动会上，巴黎的咖啡馆中，我都曾被要求解魔方。通常我都会要求人们先试试。人们往往将魔方在手中转一下，心不在焉地移动几次，然后就窘迫地递还回来。他们甚至不知道从哪里开始。对于我，学习阅读就是如此。因为有阅读困难症，对我来说，字母和词汇无序地杂混在一起，一切都没有意义。

解魔方让我相信有时为了向前必需退后几步。当我四年级后必须离开公立学校时，这就是我生活的真实反映。承认这点让人尴尬，但我仍然不能一贯地将我的全名拼写对。

五年级时，我来到一所专门教“语言处理紊乱”学生的新学校。作为一名新生，我必须从头开始。记住代表字母的符号，组成单词的 因素。接下来我花了四年时间去学习怎样才能学会和找到办法，让我有能力沟通自己的思想和表达自己的智力，能够回到地区高中。

我用了四周时间学会解魔方——和魔方发明者Erno Rubik发明魔方用的时间一样多.现在我可以很容易地解出3x3x3，4x4x4，和5x5x5的专家级魔方。我发现，在魔方就要解出来之前，问题看上去仍是毫无头绪，然后突然你就可以发现答案。我相信过程来自于突然的跳跃。

在我玩儿魔方的早期，我是如此灰心丧气，甚至把魔方拆开再重新组装起来。我相信有时你必须看得更深，必须从意想不到的角度去看问题，才能找到答案。我发现自己可以边解魔方边谈话或者干别的。我的大脑中一定还有独立的部分在工作时能处理信息。

魔方教会我要想成就大事，把它分解为许多小的部分将会有所帮助。花很多时间去思考，去努力发现关联和模式，这是十分重要的。我相信惊奇就在眼前。魔方和我，我们觉不只是我们两部分的简单相加。

就像一篇很难的课文或者有时就像生活本身，魔方会是令人泄气的谜题。所以我在背包里放一个魔方，提醒我不管面对什么阻碍，我都能够实现我的目标。

我说过解魔方能给女孩儿们留下出奇地印象了吗？

William Wissemann在Hastings-on-Hudson, NY长大.现在是Bard College的大一学生, 他正在学习经济，计算机科学和摄影。不在学校的时候，Wissemann和自己的母亲和妹妹生活在一起。

A Kind and Generous Heart

A Kind and Generous Heart
一颗仁慈而慷慨的心
NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, July 6, 2008.

我从儿子那里学到我的信仰。我相信无私奉献。

8年前，我13岁的儿子达斯汀得了重病，他的心脏扩大到原来的两倍。它的医学学名，原发性心肌炎，对一个伤心的母亲来说，已经不重要了。几个月里，达斯汀都要靠生命支撑系统来维持生命。我们只能被迫站在一边，看着他慢慢衰弱下去。当他的朋友们在外面玩儿棒球，和女孩子吹牛，睡在自己的床上的时候，我的儿子却只能躺在医院的病床上，身上连着维持心脏跳动的机器。作为一个母亲，悲伤过后我的第一反应是愤怒，我许下这样的承诺：“主啊，拿我的生命去换他的吧。我已经活过而他还有许多事情需要做。”

我周围的人都盼着会有一颗心脏，但这让我感到生气和困惑。因为我知道，如果那样的话就意味着其他人的孩子会失去生命。谁又会盼着这种事情发生呢？

我仍清楚记得我们接到有颗心脏的电话的那个早晨。我们站在达斯汀的病房里，看着他们给他做手术前的准备，这一刻我们体验到了什么是苦乐参半，这意味着有人正在永别。他父亲和我似乎一起认识到什么。我们站在那儿，充满了希望和爱。我们一起跪下，哭泣着，为他们祈祷。我们感谢他们奉献这无私的礼物。

让我们感到惊奇的是，只过了10天，达斯汀就回到了阔别多月的家中。他在医院中长到了14岁，在如此年轻的时候就在生命中体验到了重生的感觉。过去的两年中，他上了高中，学会了开车，并有了第一个女朋友。他花时间和家人在一起，也花时间在户外，那里是他真正喜欢去的。他用他全新的心去做好事，去无家可归者的收容所做义工，帮助年纪大的人。他还成为了一名非常忠诚的年轻基督徒。

达斯汀16岁的时候，他新的心脏停止了跳动。是的，很不幸，但是我们必须把这看作是一个奇迹，就像它本来就是的那样。我们又得到了宝贵的两年时间和他在一起，而如果没有器官捐献，这本来是不可能的。我们多了些照片，多了些记忆。而且知道了他能够体验少年时光中那些最激动人心的时刻和里程碑，我们获得了极大的满足。

当他去世时，对我们来说是困难的，我们知道回报会是达斯汀的愿望。他的眼睛捐献给了那些想看的人，那些从来没有见过他们深爱的家人长得什么样的人。我相信，有一天我会见到其他人的儿子或者女儿的脸庞，我会看到那些天蓝色的眼睛回望着我-那就是无私奉献的证据。

A Priceless Lesson In Humility （关于谦卑的宝贵一课）

A Priceless Lesson In Humility

关于谦卑的宝贵一课

by Felipe Morales

原文

Network engineer Felipe Morales was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 1974, and immigrated with his family to Tampa, Fla., in 1990. He now lives with his wife and children in Rowlett, Texas, where he enjoys playing and coaching soccer.

网络工程师Felipe Morales1974年生于洪都拉斯的Tegucigalpa，并于1990年和他的家庭移民到佛罗里达的Tampa市。现在他和他的妻子孩子一起生活在德克萨斯的Rowlett，享受着踢足球和教足球的乐趣。

“Living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am, where I have been and lose sight of where I want to be going.”

“美国中产阶级的生活方式让我轻易地忘掉我的过去，忘掉我是谁，我来自哪里，而忽略我想去哪。”

All Things Considered, December 15, 2008

A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C. I saw many of our nation's treasures, and I also saw a lot of our fellow citizens on the street — unfortunate ones, like panhandlers and homeless folks.

几年前，我去华盛顿特区观光旅游，看到了国家的很多财富，也看到了街上的许多同胞——一些不幸的人们，如乞丐、无家可归者。

Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, "Can you help me?" When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended. In a natural reflex, I reached in to my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her. I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar.

在罗纳德.里根中心外面站着时，我听到一个声音说，“能帮帮我吗？”回头一看，是一个瞎老太婆正伸着她的手。条件反射般地，我伸入我的口袋，掏出所有的零钱放在她手里，根本没看她一眼。被一个乞丐打扰让我不耐烦。

But the blind woman smiled and said, "I don't want your money. I just need help finding the post office."

但瞎女人笑了，她说，“我不要你的钱。我只需要些帮助来找到邮局。”

In an instant, I realized what I had done. I acted with prejudice — I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be.

我立刻意识到我干了什么。我有偏见——我以己之心来断人。

I hated what I saw in myself. This incident re-awakened my core belief. It reaffirmed that I believe in humility, even though I'd lost it for a moment.

我恨我看到的自我。这件事情重新唤醒我的核心信念。它再次确认了我相信谦卑，即使我曾经片刻丢失这个信念。

The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant. I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S. at the age of 15. I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, no-nonsense mother. Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, roofer, cashier, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.

我忘记的事情是我是一名移民。15岁时我离开洪都拉斯来到美国，带着两个行李箱和我的兄弟姐妹，还有我的强壮实际的母亲一起开始了新的生活。这些年，我刷过盘子，盖过屋顶，当过机械师，披萨外送司机，还从事过很多卑微的工作，最终成为一个网络工程师。

In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice. I remember a time, at age 17 — I was a busboy, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me. I have also witnessed the same treatment of family and friends, so I know what it's like, and I should have known better.

我自己的生活中，就经历过很多次明显的带偏见的行为。我记得有一次，17岁的时候，我是一个餐馆工，我听到一个父亲对他儿子说如果他在学校里不好好学习的话，他就会像我一样。我也见到过我的家庭和朋友也碰到过类似的事情，因此我知道这是什么滋味，并且我还应该知道得更深。

But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going. That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my self-induced blindness. She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open.

但现在，美国中产阶级的生活方式让我轻易地忘掉我的过去，忘掉我是谁，我来自哪里，而忽略了我想去哪。在华盛顿特区街上的盲妇治好了我自我导致的瞎眼病。她使我回想起我对谦卑的信念并常让我的眼睛和我的心敞开着。

By the way, I helped that lady to the post office. And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson.

顺便说说，我帮助那位女士去了邮局。希望以本文来感谢她教我的这宝贵的一课。

A Taste Of Success（品尝成功）

（NPR：This I Believe）November 6, 2008节目的翻译

原文

A  Taste  Of  Success

品尝成功

When I say I believe all children can learn, people sometimes misunderstand.

当我说所有孩子都能学习时， 人们有时会曲解我的意思。

Because I have been working with poor, minority children in Harlem for the last 25 years, some people think I am talking about good kids in bad environments — that if you give a bright kid from a poor family a good educational support system, he or she can succeed. That's absolutely true, but that's not what I mean.

因为我已在哈勒姆同穷孩子和少数族裔孩子一起整整工作了25 年，有人以为我说的是处于恶劣环境下的好孩子 —— 如果一个来自贫困家庭的聪明孩子得到 好的教育资助，他就能成功。这当然对，但这不是 我要说的 。

You see, I truly believe that all kids can learn. I believe it; I've seen it; I've even tasted it.

你要明白，我真心相信所有孩子都可以学习。 我相信这点，我看到过，甚至我还品尝到过。

Back in 1975, when I was coming out of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, I worked in a summer camp in Ossipee, N.H., for kids with the absolute toughest problems: emotionally disturbed kids, autistic kids, oppositional ADHD kids, kids that everyone — even their parents — had given up on.

这要回到1975年，那时我刚从哈佛教育学院毕业， 在新罕布什尔州奥西皮市的一个夏令营与一些有严重问题的孩子在一起。这些孩子有的有情绪障碍，有的有自闭症，有的有注意力缺陷过动症，有的令所有人 都放弃了希望，甚至他们的父母。

One of the things that I and the staff would do is cook with the kids. These children didn't know baking powder from table salt, but once they had eaten a warm biscuit out of the oven, smeared with melted butter and a drizzle of maple syrup, they were very motivated to learn how to make some more.

我和我的同事要做的事情之一是与孩子们一起做饭。这些孩子们并不知道如何烘烤加了食盐的面粉，但 当他们一旦品尝了刚刚出炉，抹着融化的牛油和细细的枫糖浆的热饼干，就开始非常积极地想学习如何做更多的饼干。

Suddenly, kids who couldn't sit still or focus were carefully eyeballing ingredients as we measured them out, learning the simple math and spelling lessons we could slip in along the way. By the end of the summer, I remember parents breaking down and crying when they saw the progress their children had made.

突然间，当我们在配料的时候，这些无法安静地坐着或集中注意力的孩子们瞪大眼睛非常仔细地观察配料，并学习我们顺便插入的简单算术和拼写。我记得当夏天结束，父母们看到孩子所取得的进步的时候都止不住哭了。

The biscuits, by the way, were delicious, and I can still remember the taste of them today — and more importantly, I still remember the lesson they taught me: that if we, the adults, can find the right motivation for a child, there's hope for that child's education.

顺便说一下，饼干很好吃，我至今还记得它们的味道 — — 更重要的是，我还记得他们给我的经验教训：如果我们，大人，能找到对孩子适当的诱导，那么孩子的教育就有希望。

Today, I run two charter schools and a series of educational programs, and we work with over 10,000 kids a year. I make sure that every single one of my staff understands that I don't accept excuses about kids not learning. You can't blame the kids. In my shop, if a child does not succeed, it means the adults around him or her have failed.

现在我管理着两所政府特许学校和一系列教育计划，每年和超过一万名孩子在一起工作。我确信我的每一个员工都明白我绝不接受孩子们不学习这样的接口。你不能怪孩子。在我这儿，如果一个孩子没能成功，就意味着他周围大人的失败。

That's because the kids with the really tough problems are not going to suddenly start teaching themselves. I believe that we adults have to help them, and that starts with looking hard at each child, finding out what excites them and exploiting that excitement shamelessly.

这是因为有真正严重问题的孩子不会一下子开始教会他们自己。我相信我们大人必须帮助他们，而这开始于仔细观察每一个孩子，找出什么令他激动，然后毫不客气地使用它。

When I was growing up poor in the south Bronx, one of four boys raised by a single mom, I probably looked like I was heading nowhere, hanging out on the street with my friends and getting into fights and trouble. And I would have ended up dead or in jail like many of my friends if it had not been for a couple of teachers and family members who saw something underneath my teenage tough-guy act. They spotted my fascination with reading, starting with Green Eggs and Ham and later with Manchild in the Promised Land, and they made sure I had great books to read.

在布郎克斯区南部的贫困中长大，由一个带着4个孩子的单身母亲抚养，与朋友们在街上晃荡，打架，惹麻烦，我看上去似乎无路可走。如果不是因为一些老师和家人看到在我十几岁顽固外表下面的某些东西，我将会以死亡结束或者像我的许多朋友那样进监狱。他们发现了我对阅读的狂热，一开始是“Green Eggs and Ham”（绿鸡蛋和火腿），然后是“Manchild in the Promised Land”，他们总是能保证我有很棒的书来读。

Because of that, I have dedicated my life to going back into the most devastated communities in America and making sure kids like me don't get written off.

正因如此，我把一生都投回到美国环境最糟糕的社区里面，保证象我一样的孩子不再被视为无可救药。

My first taste of success came way back at that summer camp in Ossipee, N.H. It came with a plate of steaming, hot biscuits that tasted so good I believe they could have brought a tear to your eye.

我第一次品尝成功追溯到新罕布什尔州奥西皮市的那个夏令营。它跟一盘尝起来是那么棒的热气腾腾的饼干一起到来，我相信他们一定也让你热泪盈眶。