只青蛙掉进鲜奶桶中。
A frog fell into the milk bucket.
第一只青蛙说：“这是命。”
The first frog said, "this is life."
于是它盘起后腿，一动不动地等待着死亡的降临。
Then it gathered its hind legs and waited motionless for death.
第二只青蛙说：“这桶看来太深了，凭我的跳跃能力，是不可能跳出去了。
The second frog said, "this barrel looks too deep. I can't jump out with my jumping ability.
今天死定了。”
It's all over."
于是，它沉入桶底淹死了。
So it went down to the bottom of the barrel and drowned.
第三只青蛙打量着四周说：“真是不幸！
The third frog looked around and said, "what a misfortune!
但我的后腿还有劲，我要找到垫脚的东西，跳出这可怕的桶！”
But my back legs are still strong, and I'll find something with a foot cushion and jump out of this terrible bucket!"
于是，这第三只青蛙一边划一边跳，慢慢地，奶在它的搅拌下变成了奶油块，在奶油块的支撑下，这只青蛙奋力一跳终于跳出了奶桶。
So the third frog paddled and jumped. Slowly, the milk changed into butter under the whip.
正是明确的目标——“要找到垫脚的东西，跳出这可怕的桶”救了第三只青蛙的命。
It was a clear goal - "to find the foot pads, jump out of this terrible bucket" - that saved the third frog's life.
这个故事曾激励过一代又一代历经磨难的犹太人。
This story has inspired generations of chastened jews.
二战期间，有一个犹太女人，眼睁睁看着德国纳粹党把她3个月大的小婴儿摔死，并把她和她丈夫关进集中营里，从此两地相隔，不通音讯。
During world war ii, there was no communication between a jewish woman who watched the nazis slam her 3-month-old baby to death and lock her and her husband in a concentration camp.
她在集中营里受到惨无人道的虐待，德国兵动不动就把她打得血流满面，过着地狱般的生活，未来一片晦暗。
She was subjected to inhuman abuse in the concentration camps, and the German soldiers often beat her to the blood, leading a hellish life, and the future was bleak.
有一天，她突然看到集中营外面走过一个小女孩，拿着一朵花。
One day, she suddenly saw a little girl walking outside the camp with a flower.
当时她想道：“有朝一日，我也要拿着一朵花，在外面的世界走！”
"One day," she thought, "I will take a flower and go out into the world."
就是这个小小的心愿，使她重新点燃生命的火花，坚强地活了下去。
It was this little wish that made her rekindle the spark of life and live strong.
终于在3年后，德国战败时，离开了集中营，跟她丈夫团圆了。
Finally, three years later, after Germany's defeat, she left the camp and reunited with her husband.
我们现在的生活比这位女士好得多，物质文明的发达，各方面都提供我们莫大的便利，为什么现代人反而觉得心里很空虚？
Our life is much better than this lady's now, the material civilization is developed, all aspects provide us great convenience, why do modern people feel the heart is empty instead?
觉得每天的生活只是一连串的呆板和无奈呢？
Think everyday life is just a series of mechanical and helpless?
那是因为我们没有明确的生活目标所致。
That's because we don't have a clear purpose in life.
我们每一个人都有自己独特的一面，都有自己独特的想法和做法，用不着处处跟别人比较，或迎合别人的要求。
Each of us has our own unique side, our own unique ideas and practices, and we don't have to compare ourselves to others all the time or cater to others' demands.
天生我才必有用，各人有各人的目标。
I was born to be useful, each with his own purpose.
一件事情，只要自己认为很有意义、很重要，就是一个值得努力的目标。
One thing, as long as you think it is meaningful and important, is a worthy goal.
例如完成一件很艰巨的工作，或亲手烘制一个蛋糕与朋友分享，都是一种成就，可以带来无限的喜悦。
For example, finishing a difficult job or baking a cake and sharing it with friends are achievements that can bring infinite joy.
马尔登认为，人生没有一帆风顺的，也没有十全十美的人。
Life, according to malden, is neither easy nor perfect.
如果始终念念不忘过去的失败，而错过许多生活乐趣，实在是很可惜的。
It would be a pity to miss out on so much joy in life by dwelling on past failures.
我们的眼睛生在前面，就是要我们往前看，替未来打算的。
Our eyes are born ahead of us, to look ahead and plan for the future.
那么如何迎接未来的挑战呢？
So how to meet the challenges of the future?
马尔登提出一个新构想，叫做“速成的自信”——以过去小小的成功为基础，把这种快乐的感觉用在别的事情上，由小而大，由近而远，一点一滴增加我们的自信，发挥天赋的成功本能，这样还有什么目标达不到呢？
Malden came up with a new idea, called "instant confidence" -- based on small successes of the past, using that happy feeling for something else, from small to big, from near to far, little by little, to increase our self-confidence, to exert our natural instinct for success.
一朵小花可以激发一个人的求生本能，活着离开集中营。
A single flower can activate a person's survival instinct to leave the concentration camp alive.
现代的社会更充满无数的新鲜与刺激。
The modern society is full of freshness and excitement.
我们没有看过、没有听过的事情太多了，每一样都等着我们去探索，每一天都是新奇活泼的另一天。
There are so many things that we haven't seen or heard about, and everything is waiting to be explored. Every day is another day of novelty and activity.
你必须设定对你有意义的目标；
You must set goals that are meaningful to you.
你必须知道何去何从。
You have to know where to go.
假如现在没有通畅的公路，即使你有一辆崭新的流线型汽车，又有什么用？
What use would it be if you had a new, streamlined car, even if there were no open roads?
閱讀更多 袁老師英語 的文章
