TED英语演讲稿不幸也许是个机会演讲稿.docx

TED英语演讲稿不幸也许是个机会演讲稿.docx

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TED英语演讲稿不幸也许是个机会演讲稿

TED英语演讲稿：

不幸也许是个机会

简介：

残奥会短跑冠军AimeeMullins天生没有腓骨，从小就要学习靠义肢走路和奔跑。

如今，她不仅是短跑选手、演员、模特，还是一位稳健的演讲者。

她不喜欢字典中“disabled”这个词，因为负面词汇足以毁掉一个人。

但是，坦然面对不幸，你会发现等待你的是更多的机会。

I'dliketosharewithyouadiscoverythatImadeafewmonthsagowhilewritinganarticleforItalianWired.IalwayskeepmythesaurushandywheneverI'mwritinganything,butI'dalreadyfinishededitingthepiece,andIrealizedthatIhadneveronceinmylifelookeduptheword"disabled"toseewhatI'dfind.

Letmereadyoutheentry."Disabled,adjective:

crippled,helpless,useless,wrecked,stalled,maimed,wounded,mangled,lame,mutilated,run-down,worn-out,weakened,impotent,castrated,paralyzed,handicapped,senile,decrepit,laid-up,done-up,done-for,done-incracked-up,counted-out;seealsohurt,uselessandweak.Antonyms,healthy,strong,capable."Iwasreadingthislistoutloudtoafriendandatfirstwaslaughing,itwassoludicrous,butI'djustgottenpast"mangled,"andmyvoicebroke,andIhadtostopandcollectmyselffromtheemotionalshockandimpactthattheassaultfromthesewordsunleashed.

Youknow,ofcourse,thisismyraggedyoldthesaurussoI'mthinkingthismustbeanancientprintdate,right?

But,infact,theprintdatewastheearly1980s,whenIwouldhavebeenstartingprimaryschoolandforminganunderstandingofmyselfoutsidethefamilyunitandasrelatedtotheotherkidsandtheworldaroundme.And,needlesstosay,thankGodIwasn'tusingathesaurusbackthen.Imean,fromthisentry,itwouldseemthatIwasbornintoaworldthatperceivedsomeonelikemetohavenothingpositivewhatsoevergoingforthem,wheninfact,todayI'mcelebratedfortheopportunitiesandadventuresmylifehasprocured.

So,Iimmediatelywenttolookupthe2019onlineedition,expectingtofindarevisionworthnoting.Here'stheupdatedversionofthisentry.Unfortunately,it'snotmuchbetter.Ifindthelasttwowordsunder"NearAntonyms,"particularlyunsettling:

"whole"and"wholesome."

So,it'snotjustaboutthewords.It'swhatwebelieveaboutpeoplewhenwenamethemwiththesewords.It'saboutthevaluesbehindthewords,andhowweconstructthosevalues.Ourlanguageaffectsourthinkingandhowweviewtheworldandhowweviewotherpeople.Infact,manyancientsocieties,includingtheGreeksandtheRomans,believedthattoutteracurseverballywassopowerful,becausetosaythethingoutloudbroughtitintoexistence.So,whatrealitydowewanttocallintoexistence:

apersonwhoislimited,orapersonwho'sempowered?

Bycasuallydoingsomethingassimpleasnamingaperson,achild,wemightbeputtinglidsandcastingshadowsontheirpower.Wouldn'twewanttoopendoorsfortheminstead?

OnesuchpersonwhoopeneddoorsformewasmychildhooddoctorattheA.I.duPontInstituteinWilmington,Delaware.HisnamewasDr.Pizzutillo,anItalianAmerican,whosename,apparently,wastoodifficultformostAmericanstopronounce,sohewentbyDr.P.AndDr.Palwaysworereallycolorfulbowtiesandhadtheveryperfectdispositiontoworkwithchildren.

Ilovedalmosteverythingaboutmytimespentatthishospital,withtheexceptionofmyphysicaltherapysessions.Ihadtodowhatseemedlikeinnumerablerepetitionsofexerciseswiththesethick,elasticbands--differentcolors,youknow--tohelpbuildupmylegmuscles,andIhatedthesebandsmorethananything--Ihatedthem,hadnamesforthem.Ihatedthem.And,youknow,Iwasalreadybargaining,asafiveyear-oldchild,withDr.Ptotrytogetoutofdoingtheseexercises,unsuccessfully,ofcourse.And,oneday,hecameintomysession--exhaustiveandunforgiving,thesesessions--andhesaidtome,"Wow.Aimee,youaresuchastrongandpowerfullittlegirl,Ithinkyou'regoingtobreakoneofthosebands.Whenyoudobreakit,I'mgoingtogiveyouahundredbucks."

Now,ofcourse,thiswasasimpleployonDr.P'sparttogetmetodotheexercisesIdidn'twanttodobeforetheprospectofbeingtherichestfive-year-oldinthesecondfloorward,butwhatheeffectivelydidformewasreshapeanawfuldailyoccurrenceintoanewandpromisingexperienceforme.AndIhavetowondertodaytowhatextenthisvisionandhisdeclarationofmeasastrongandpowerfullittlegirlshapedmyownviewofmyselfasaninherentlystrong,powerfulandathleticpersonwellintothefuture.

Thisisanexampleofhowadultsinpositionsofpowercanignitethepowerofachild.But,inthepreviousinstancesofthosethesaurusentries,ourlanguageisn'tallowingustoevolveintotherealitythatwewouldallwant,thepossibilityofanindividualtoseethemselvesascapable.Ourlanguagehasn'tcaughtupwiththechangesinoursociety,manyofwhichhavebeenbroughtaboutbytechnology.Certainly,fromamedicalstandpoint,mylegs,lasersurgeryforvisionimpairment,titaniumkneesandhipreplacementsforagingbodiesthatareallowingpeopletomorefullyengagewiththeirabilities,andmovebeyondthelimitsthatnaturehasimposedonthem--nottomentionsocialnetworkingplatformsallowpeopletoself-identify,toclaimtheirowndescriptionsofthemselves,sotheycangoalignwithglobalgroupsoftheirownchoosing.So,perhapstechnologyisrevealingmoreclearlytousnowwhathasalwaysbeenatruth:

thateveryonehassomethingrareandpowerfultoofferoursociety,andthatthehumanabilitytoadaptisourgreatestasset.

Thehumanabilitytoadapt,it'saninterestingthing,becausepeoplehavecontinuallywantedtotalktomeaboutovercomingadversity,andI'mgoingtomakeanadmission:

Thisphraseneversatrightwithme,andIalwaysfeltuneasytryingtoanswerpeople'squestionsaboutit,andIthinkI'mstartingtofigureoutwhy.Implicitinthisphraseof"overcomingadversity"istheideathatsuccess,orhappiness,isaboutemergingontheothersideofachallengingexperienceunscathedorunmarkedbytheexperience,asifmysuccessesinlifehavecomeaboutfromanabilitytosidesteporcircumnavigatethepresumedpitfallsofalifewithprosthetics,orwhatotherpeopleperceiveasmydisability.But,infact,wearechanged.Wearemarked,ofcourse,byachallenge,whetherphysically,emotionallyorboth.AndI'mgoingtosuggestthatthisisagoodthing.Adversityisn'tanobstaclethatweneedtogetaroundinordertoresumelivingourlife.It'spartofourlife.AndItendtothinkofitlikemyshadow.SometimesIseealotofit,sometimesthere'sverylittle,butit'salwayswithme.And,certainly,I'mnottryingtodiminishtheimpact,theweight,ofaperson'sstruggle.

Thereisadversityandchallengeinlife,andit'sallveryrealandrelativetoeverysingleperson,butthequestionisn'twhetherornotyou'regoingtomeetadversity,buthowyou'regoingtomeetit.So,ourresponsibilityisnotsimplyshieldingthosewecareforfromadversity,butpreparingthemtomeetitwell.Andwedoadisservicetoourkidswhenwemakethemfeelthatthey'renotequippedtoadapt.There'sanimportantdifferenceanddistinctionbetweentheobjectivemedicalfactofmybeinganamputeeandthesubjectivesocietalopinionofwhetherornotI'mdisabled.And,truthfully,theonlyrealandconsistentdisabilityI'vehadtoconfrontistheworldeverthinkingthatIcouldbedescribedbythosedefinitions.

Inourdesiretoprotectthosewecareaboutbygivingthemthecold,hardtruthabouttheirmedicalprognosis,or,indeed,aprognosisontheexpectedqualityoftheirlife,wehavetomakesurethatwedon'tputthefirstbrickinawallthatwillactuallydisablesomeone.Perhapstheexistingmodelofonlylookingatwhatisbrokeninyouandhowdowefixit,servestobemoredisablingtotheindividualthanthepathologyitself.

Bynottreatingthewholenessofaperson,bynotacknowledgingtheirpotency,wearecreatinganotherillontopofwhatevernaturalstruggletheymighthave.Weareeffectivelygradingsomeone'sworthtoourcommunity.Soweneedtoseethroughthepathologyandintotherangeofhumancapability.And,mostimportantly,there'sapartnershipbetweenthoseperceiveddeficienciesandourgreatestcreativeability.Soit'snotaboutdevaluing,ornegating,thesemoretryingtimesassomethingwewanttoavoidorsweepundertherug,butinsteadtofindthoseopportunitieswrappedintheadversity.SomaybetheideaIwanttoputoutthereisnotsomuchovercomingadversityasitisopeningourselvesuptoit,embracingit,grapplingwithit,touseawrestlingterm,maybeevendancingwithit.And,perhaps,ifweseeadversityasnatural,consistentanduseful,we'relessburdenedbythepresenceofit.

Thisyearwecelebratethe200thbirthdayofCharlesDarwin,anditwas150yearsago,whenwritingaboutevolution,thatDarwinillustrated,Ithink,atruthaboutthehumancharacter.Toparaphrase:

It'snotthestrongestofthespeciesthatsurvives,norisitthemostintelligentthatsurvives;itistheonethatismostadaptabletochange.Conflictisthegenesisofcreation.FromDarwin'swork,amongstothers,wecanrecognizethatthehumanabilitytosurviveandflourishisdrivenbythestruggleofthehumanspiritthroughconflictintotransformation.So,again,transformation,adaptation,isourgreatesthumanskill.And,perhaps,untilwe'retested,wedon'tknowwhatwe'remadeof.Maybethat'swhatadversitygivesus:

asenseofself,asenseofourownpower.So,wecangiveourselvesagift.Wecanre-imagineadversityassomethingmorethanjusttoughtimes.Maybewecanseeitaschange.Adversityisjustchangethatwehaven'tadaptedourselvestoyet.

Ithinkthegreatestadversitythatwe'vecreatedforourselvesisthisideaofnormalcy.Now,who'