True HeightLook at the following two sayings and then see if the story of Michael Stone bears out the points they make. The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.- Molire When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.- Charles A. Beard 读一读以下两则名言，想一想迈克尔斯通的故事是否印证了其间的道理。 障碍越是巨大，逾越它也就越感自豪。莫里哀 只有天空漆黑时，你才可以看到星星。查尔斯A比尔德 David Naster 1 His palms were sweating. He needed a towel to dry his grip. The sun was as hot as the competition he faced today at the National Junior Olympics. The pole was set at 17 feet. That was three inches higher than his personal best. Michael Stone confronted the most challenging day of his pole-vaulting career. 真正的高度 大卫纳史特 他手心在出汗。他需要用毛巾把握竿的手擦干。太阳火辣辣的，与他今天在全国少年奥林匹克运动会上所面临的竞争一样热烈。 横杆升到了17英尺。比他个人的最高纪录高出3 英寸。迈克尔斯通面临的是其撑竿跳高生涯中最具挑战性的一天。 2 The stands were still filled with about 20,000 people, even though the final race had ended an hour earlier. The pole vault is truly the highlight of any track and field competition. It combines the grace of a gymnast with the strength of a body builder. It also has the element of flying, and the thought of flying as high as a two-story building is a mere fantasy to anyone watching such an event. 尽管赛跑决赛一小时前就已经结束，看台上仍然观众满座，足有20,000人上下。撑竿跳高确实是所有田径比赛中最精彩的项目。它融合了体操运动员的优雅与健美运动员的力量。它还具有飞翔的特征，对观看该项目比赛的观众来说，飞跃两层楼的高度简直是一件不可思议的事情。 3 As long as Michael could remember he had always dreamed of flying. Michaels mother read him numerous stories about flying when he was growing up. Her stories were always ones that described the land from a birds-eye view. Her excitement and passion for details made Michaels dreams full of color and beauty. Michael had this one recurring dream. He would be running down a country road. As he raced between golden wheat fields, he would always outrun the locomotives passing by. It was at the exact moment he took a deep breath that he began to lift off the ground. He would begin soaring like an eagle. 迈克尔自从能记事起就一直梦想着飞翔。从小到大，母亲给迈克尔念过无数关于飞翔的故事。她的故事总是从高空俯瞰描述大地。她对细节的激情和酷爱使得迈克尔的梦境色彩缤纷、绚丽无比。迈克尔总是重复做着一个梦。他在乡间大路上飞奔。当他奔跑在金色的麦田之间时，总是把开过的机车一路甩在身后。就在他深深吸上一口气的瞬间，他开始从地面一跃而起，就像一头雄鹰那样开始翱翔。 4 Where he flew would always coincide with his mothers stories. Wherever he flew was with a keen eye for detail and the free spirit of his mothers love. His dad, on the other hand, was not a dreamer. Bert Stone was a hard-core realist. He believed in hard work and sweat. His motto: If you want something, work for it! 他飞越的都是母亲故事里描述的地方。无论他飞向何方，他都怀着母爱所赐予他的自由精神，用敏锐的目光观察入微。可他的父亲却不是个梦想家。伯特斯通是个彻头彻尾的现实主义者。他信奉的是努力与苦干。他的格言是：要想有所收获，就得努力工作！ 5 From the age of 14, Michael did just that. He began a very careful training program. He worked out every other day with weightlifting, with some kind of running work on alternate days. The program was carefully monitored by Michaels coach, trainer and father. Michaels dedication, determination and discipline was a coachs dream. Besides being an honor student and only child, Michael Stone continued to help his parents with their farm chores. Mildred Stone, Michaels mother, wished he could relax a bit more and be that free dreaming little boy. On one occasion she attempted to talk to him and his father about this, but his dad quickly interrupted, smiled and said, You want something, work for it! 从14岁起，迈克尔就是这么做的。他开始按非常周密的计划训练。他每隔一天进行举重训练，其它的日子做些跑步训练。训练计划由迈克尔的教练、训练员兼父亲严加督导。迈克尔的投入、执着、自律正是每一个教练所梦寐以求的。迈克尔在学校是位优秀生，在家是个独生子，但他仍帮助父母在自家的农场上干些杂活。迈克尔的母亲米尔德里德斯通希望他能更放松些，还是做那个“自由幻想”的小男孩。有一次，她试图跟他及其父亲好好谈一下，可当父亲的马上就打断了她，笑着说：“要想有所收获，就得努力工作！” 6 All of Michaels vaults today seemed to be the reward for his hard work. If Michael Stone was surprised, excited or vain about clearing the bar at 17 feet, you couldnt tell. As soon as he landed on the inflated landing mat, and with the crowd on its feet, Michael immediately began preparing for his next attempt at flight. He seemed unaware of the fact that he had just beaten his personal best by three inches and that he was one of the final two competitors in the pole-vaulting event at the National Junior Olympics. 迈克尔今天跃过的所有高度显然都是对他刻苦努力的回报。迈克尔斯通在成功跃过17英尺的横杆时是感到惊讶、激动还是得意，人们无从知晓。迈克尔身体刚刚落在充气垫上，观众还没坐下，他马上就开始准备下一次飞跃。他似乎并未意识到自己刚刚把个人最好成绩提高了3英寸，已经是全国少年奥林匹克运动会撑竿跳高项目最后两名决赛者之一。 7 When Michael cleared the bar at 17 feet 2 inches and 17 feet 4 inches, again he showed no emotion. As he lay on his back and heard the crowd groan, he knew the other vaulter had missed his final jump. He knew it was time for his final jump. Since the other vaulter had fewer misses, Michael needed to clear this vault to win. A miss would get him second place. Nothing to be ashamed of, but Michael would not allow himself the thought of not winning first place. 当迈克尔成功跃过17英尺2英寸和17英尺4英寸高度的横杆时，他仍没有流露出丝毫感情。他仰面躺着，听到观众在叹息，他知道另一位撑竿跳运动员最后一跳没有成功。他知道自己最后一跳的时刻到了。由于那位运动员失败次数较少，迈克尔这一跳只有成功才能获胜。这一次跳不过就会使自己落到第二名。那也丝毫无愧，但迈克尔决不让自己产生哪怕一丝与冠军无缘的念头。 8 He rolled over and did