英語(yǔ)美文名人勵(lì)志故事26:Mattie Stepanek勵(lì)志詩(shī)寫作與和平研究的故事
26. Boy's Heartsongs
26. 男孩的心聲
Mattie Stepanek is wheeling around his living room like any ll-year-old boy on an electric scooter. But Mattie's "scooter" is his life station-an electric wheelchair. He suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a ventilator supplying his oxygen. Mattie, wise beyond his years, has become the newest rage in the publishing world with his tiny volume of inspiring poems, Heartsongs, and its sequel, Journey Tbrough Heartsongs.
11歲的馬蒂·斯特潘涅克像其他任何一個(gè)同齡的孩子一樣開著踏板車在客廳里轉(zhuǎn)來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)去。但他卻終生要坐在這輛車上一輛電動(dòng)輪椅。他患有一種罕見(jiàn)的肌肉萎縮癥，靠吸氧器供氧。與同聾令人相比，馬蒂聰穎過(guò)人，他那本薄薄的勵(lì)志詩(shī)集《心聲》及續(xù)集《心聲之旅》已掀起了出版界的最新風(fēng)暴。
I'm a bit surprised," Mattie says. "I never thought my message would get out so quickly."
“我感到有點(diǎn)兒驚訝，”馬蒂說(shuō)，“沒(méi)想到我的觀點(diǎn)傳播得這么快。”
He is a poet who calls himself a peacemaker.
這位詩(shī)人自稱是和平使者。
Mattie's life has been filled with surprises---good and bad. He has almost died more than once, was named the National Goodwill Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. A precocious child who has already studied at a local community college, his goal is to major in peace studies and writing.
他的生活里意外之事總是接連不斷，禍福皆有。他不止一次地與死神擦肩而過(guò)，曾被任命為全國(guó)肌肉萎縮癥協(xié)會(huì)親善大使，現(xiàn)在智慧、超常的馬蒂已在社區(qū)大學(xué)就讀，主修和平研究與寫作。
"He lives on the edge. It could be one day or one year," his mother says. Three of Mattie's siblings already have died of the disease. "We've been given the gift of time. He's spending these days living, not dying." Meanwhile, Mattie continues what he calls his "peace work," with a possible speaking tour in the works. "We need to win the war on terrorism with words, not bombs," he says. "We need to sit down and listen to our heartsongs. We need to stop fighting over things that don't matter, things like land and money," Mattie says.
“他生活在生命的邊緣，可能還能再活一天，也可能是一年，”他母親說(shuō)，馬蒂兄弟姐妹中已有三人因肌肉萎縮癥而相繼離開了人世。“我們很幸運(yùn)他能活到今天，這些日子他活得很有意義，而不是在等死。”同時(shí)，馬蒂還在繼續(xù)從事著他的“和平事業(yè)”，并有可能做一次有關(guān)的巡回演講。“要贏得反恐戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的勝利，我們需要的是語(yǔ)言，而不是炸彈，”他說(shuō)，“我們需要坐下來(lái)傾聽(tīng)我們的心聲，不再為土地、金錢這些無(wú)足輕重的東西爭(zhēng)奪不休。”
He has already become a pro at the celebrity game, taking interviews into his own hands.
對(duì)名人生活他已習(xí)以為常，在各種采訪中駕輕就熟。
