Unit 8: Adversity Zooming In: An Integrated English Course Click here

It is said that childhood obstacles and hardships restrain one’s growth and development. But with the examples of many eminent people, the author makes it clear that adversity is the cradle of success. hardships Detailed Reading Home Click here

Did You Have a Tough Childhood? Jill Ammon-Wexler Many claim unhappy and terrible childhood experiences “damage” people in their adult years. But is this necessarily true? Actually, just the opposite seems to be true. Intense difficulties, hardships and major obstacles are actually often major contributors to success. It is true that difficult childhoods do leave some people wounded and disadvantaged. But for others, a tough childhood actually drives them to remarkable achievement and success!claimdisadvantaged Home

In a classic book entitled Cradles of Eminence, researchers reviewed the childhood family life of 700 of the world’s most successful people. Their goal was to identify the early experiences that contributed to the remarkable achievements of these successful people. All of their “research subjects” are widely known for their personal accomplishments. Their names are easily recognizable: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, etc. ” Home

What they discovered is truly fascinating! Three-quarters of these successful people (525 of the 700) came from deeply troubled childhoods. They had endured extreme poverty, broken homes, and even parental abuse. Over one-fourth (199 of the 700) had to deal with very serious physical handicaps such as deafness, blindness or crippled limbs. And over 80% of those who became successful writers and playwrights had watched their own parents struggle with intense psychological dramas. Home

Anna E. Roosevelt, a former US “First Lady” provides an excellent example. Anna lost her parents at the age of 10, and had a very unpleasant childhood. As a young girl she was painfully aware of being very homely. And her childhood writings reveal she never had a sense of “belonging” anywhere, or to anyone. But as she matured, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt refused to remain “disadvantaged”. She hauled herself up by her own bootstraps and began to strive for a higher, more powerful consciousness. Home

After marrying Franklin D. Roosevelt, she ended up courageously nursing her husband through crippling polio. Then when he was elected to the US Presidency in the depth of the The Great Depression, Mrs. Roosevelt quickly transformed the position of First Lady. As First Lady, she became an outspoken supporter for the disadvantaged people of all races, religions and countries. At the same time, she helped her husband manage the White House and raised six children. After her husband’s death, she spent the remainder of her life as a highly respected American spokesperson to the United Nations. At her death, this shy, disadvantaged, homely and withdrawn young woman had become one of the most loved and respected women of her entire generation Home

Why did this happen? Eleanor Roosevelt made a personal choice to lift herself beyond her perceived “limitations”. She displayed a tough, unyielding courage, tempered by remarkable self-control and self-discipline. Obstacles and hardships do NOT have to lead to failure. Scientific evidence has proven that “well-being” is NOT always an advantage for either plants or animals. Where there is no challenge, obstacle or hardship, growth and development is often limited. Biologists refer to this as the “adversity principle”. Consider Lou Gehrig: Lou was such a clumsy kid that the boys in his neighborhood wouldn’t let him play on their baseball team. But he tapped into his resources of inner courage and determination. Lou Gehrig is today listed in the baseball “Hall of Fame” as one of the greatest ball players of all time. Home

Then there was Woodrow Wilson, who couldn’t read until he was ten years old. Wilson went on in his life to become the twenty-eighth President of the United States. Thomas Edison was deaf. Booker T. Washington was born in slavery, and a “club foot” crippled Lord Byron. The famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson had tuberculosis. Alexander Pope had a hunchback. Yet each of these individuals became famous historic figures in spite of their handicaps. Home

Helen Keller, who could not hear or see, transformed an entire nation when she graduated with honors from college. She is still a source of inspiration for millions. Then there’s Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven began to lose his hearing in his 20s, and was completely deaf by 50. Yet he created some of the world’s most beautiful music. Beethoven was once overheard shouting at the top of his voice, “ I will take life by the throat!” Your attitude toward any perceived personal “handicap” determines its impact on your life. This IS your life! Why not make it all it can be? To become all we can be, we MUST stop making excuses. Use any personal adversity or perceived limitations to do what Beethoven did: Grab life by the throat! And this is a good day to take action to claim more of your true potential. Get past your “old stuff”, my friend, and fire yourself up! If not now, when? Home

Intense difficulties, hardships and major obstacles are actually often major contributors to success Translate the sentence into Chinese Analyze the translation skill 重大的困难、艰辛和障碍，往往能造就成功。 The transformation of part of speech in English- Chinese translation is used here. We change the noun “contributors” in English into the verb phrase “ 造就 ” in Chinese Back

It’s true that difficult childhoods do leave some people wounded and disadvantaged. 1. Analyze the usage of “do” Here the word “do” is used for emphasis. 2. More examples: You do look nice in that hat. I do think she’s behaved badly. Back

… had watched their own parents struggle with intense psychological dramas. Translate this part of the sentence into Chinese. …… 目睹了自己的父母经历失和的一些戏剧 性场面。 Back

As a young girl she was painfully aware of being very homely. 1. Paraphrase the sentence. As a young lady she realized that she was not good-looking, about which she felt very upset. 2. Translate the sentence into Chinese. 少女时，她就痛苦地意识到自己长相平庸。 Back

She hauled herself up by her own bootstraps and began to strive for a higher, more powerful consciousness. 1. What can we learn from the sentence? Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was a great woman, who believed her future depended on her own endeavor. Back 2. Translate the sentence into Chinese. 她依靠自己的努力，着手提高自身的觉悟。

She displayed a tough, unyielding courage, tempered by remarkable self-control and self-discipline. 1. What is the function of this part of the sentence “tempered…self-discipline”? It is used to modify the word “courage”. 2. Translate the sentence into Chinese. 她非凡的自控和自律造就了坚强不屈的勇气 。 Back

Where there is no challenge, obstacle or hardship, growth and development is often limited. Analyze the structure of the sentence. The clause led by “where” is a subordinate clause and the subject of the main clause is “growth and development”. Back

But he tapped into his resources of inner courage and determination. Translate the sentence into Chinese. 但他最大限度地利用了内在的勇气和决心。 Back

I’ll take life by the throat! 1. Paraphrase the sentence. I will take a positive attitude to deal with my life. 2. Why did Beethoven shout out this sentence? Because he was then completely deaf but he didn’t want to yield to his fate. Back

Get past your “old stuff”, my friend, and fire yourself up! 1. What does “old stuff” refer to? It refers to the failures and hardships in the past. 2. Translate this sentence into Chinese. 忘记 “ 旧事 ” ，我的朋友，让自己振奋起来！ Back

hardship: n. sth. that makes your life difficult or unpleasant, especially a lack of money, or the condition of having a difficult life Many students are suffering severe financial hardships. 磨难接踵而来。 Hardships came one after another. Collocations: Back bear hardships endure hardships experience / go through hardships fear hardships suffer hardships

Back claim: v. state that sth. is true, even though it has not been proved The company claims that their product “makes you thin without dieting”. After the battle both sides claimed victory.

1. v. make sb. less likely to be successful or to put them in a worse situation than others The selective system does not seem to disadvantage those at the bottom of the class. Back disadvantage: 2. n. sth. that causes problems, or that makes sb. or sth. less likely to be successful or effective The main disadvantage of the material is that it fades in strong sunlight. Collocations: at a disadvantage put … at a disadvantage

Back drive sb. to sth.: The noises in my head have nearly driven me to suicide.

sth. important that you succeed in doing by your own efforts The test measures the children’s achievements in reading, spelling and maths. Collocation: Back achievement: n. belittle sb’s achievement academic achievement

Back identify: v. 1) recognize and correctly name sb. or sth. She identified the man as her attacker. Even the smallest baby can identify its mother by her voice. 2) recognize sth. or discover exactly what it is, what its nature or origin is, etc. They identified a number of problem areas.

Back abuse: 1. n. cruel or violent treatment of sb. Child abuse is a punishable offense. 2. v. deliberately use sth. for the wrong purpose or for your own advantage Many of the kids are abusing drugs. Collocation: abuse one’s authority / power

Back handicap: n. 1) if sb. has a handicap, a part of their body or their mind has been permanently injured or damaged. Babies of alcoholic mothers can be born with a severe degree of handicap. 耳聋可以说是严重的残疾。 Deafness can be called a serious handicap. 2) a situation that makes it difficult for sb. to do what they want I found not having a car quite a handicap in the country.

Back mature: 1. v. become fully grown or developed Humans take longer to mature than most other animals. She matured her novel by constant revision. 2. adj. fully grown and developed The human brain isn’t fully mature until about age 25.

Back haul / pull oneself up by one’s (own) bootstraps: improve oneself or one’s situation by one’s own efforts, without help from anyone else I respect anyone who hauls / pulls himself up by his own bootstraps.

Back consciousness: n. sb.’s ideas, feelings, or opinions about politics, life, etc. The experience helped to change her political consciousness.

Back nurse sb. / sth. through (sth.): take special care of sb. or sth., esp. during a difficult situation He bought the hotel in 1927 and managed to nurse it through the depression. Tom nursed his brother through the examination.

Back in the depth(s) of: when a bad feeling or situation is at its worst level in the depth of winter in the depths of despair

Back depression n. 1)a long period during which there is very little business activity and a lot of people do not have jobs The stock market crash marked the start of a severe depression. 2) a feeling of sadness that makes you think there is no hope for the future He has been suffering from depression since his wife died last year.

Back remainder n. the part of sth. that is left after everything else has gone or been dealt with The boy ate some of the candy and gave the remainder away. The remainder must be paid by the end of June. 该词经常与定冠词 the 连用。 NB:

Back limitation n. qualities that stop sb. or sth. from being as good or as effective as you wish they could be Despite the limitations of the survey, it did suggest some general trends. It’s a good little car, but it has its limitations.

Back temper: 1. v. strengthen through experience or hardship These are the soldiers who had been tempered by combats. 2. n. a tendency to become angry suddenly or easily His wife left him because of his violent temper. Collocations: fly into a temper keep one’s temper lose one’s temper

Back refer to sb. / sth. as: mention or speak about sb. or sth. as He likes to be referred to as “Doctor Khee”. The speaker referred to him as an up-and-coming politician.

Back tap into: use or take what is needed from sth. such as an energy supply or an amount of money We should try our best to tap into our recent developments in technology. People are tapping into the power supply illegally.

Back source: n. a thing, place, activity, etc. that you get sth. from For me, music is a great source of enjoyment. Is that well the source of all the cases of infection? CF: source, origin & root source origin root 这些名词均有 “ 起源，起因，根源 ” 之意。 指某事或者某物的来源出处，但更多指抽 象事物的根源或来源。 强调指事物的起源或由来，也指人的出身。 通常指问题产生的原因或根源。

Back make excuses: give a reason to explain careless or offensive behaviour You’re always making excuses for not helping me. 他总为迟到找借口。 He’s always making excuses for being late.

Back grab v. 1) take hold of sb. or sth. with a sudden or violent movement A young man grabbed her handbag as she was walking across the park. 2) take an opportunity, accept an invitation, etc. immediately I think you should grab your chance to travel while you’re young. 3) quickly and suddenly put out your hand to try and catch or get sth. He grabbed at the boy, but could not save him from falling.

Back stuff n. (informal) used when you are talking about things such as substances, materials, or groups of objects when you do not know what they are called, or it is not important to say exactly what they are I don’t know how we’re going to get all this stuff into the car. He’s a good lecturer as he really knows his stuff. 他是个出色的演讲者，因为他确实很懂行。

Back fire sb. up: make sb. become very excited, interested, or angry 我们得鼓起劲来，不然这次比赛就没有获胜的希望 。 We had an argument about it and she got all fired up. We have to get fired up for this game or we have no hope of winning.