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The little country schoolhouse was heated by an oldfashioned, pot-bellied stove. A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.

那所小小的乡村小学依靠一个旧式的圆肚火炉取暖。一个小男孩每天早晨提前到校，在老师和同学们到校之前负责生好炉子，把教室烘得暖暖的。

One morning, they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames. They dragged the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building more dead than alive. He had major burns over the lower half of his body and was taken to the nearby county hospital.

一天早晨，老师和同学们来到学校后，发现校舍被一片火海吞没。他们从着火的校舍里把那个不省人事、近乎死亡的小男孩拖了出来。他的下半身严重烧伤，人们把他送到了附近的乡村医院里。

From his bed the dreadfully burned, semi-conscious little boy faintly heard the doctor talking to his mother. The doctor told his mother that her son would surely die—which was for the best, really—for the terrible fire had devastated (破坏) the lower half of his body.

这个被严重烧伤、处于昏迷状态的小男孩躺在病床上，模模糊糊地听到医生正在和他的母亲说话。医生告诉母亲她的儿子必死无疑了—那样也许最好，真的—因为可怕的大火已经烧毁了他的下半身。

But the brave boy didn't want to die. He made up his mind that he would survive. Somehow, to the amazement of the physician, he did survive. When the mortal (致死的) danger was past, he again heard the doctor and his mother speaking quietly. The mother was told that since the fire had destroyed so much flesh in the lower part of his body, it would almost be better if he had died, since he was doomed to be a life-time cripple with no use at all of his lower limbs.

可是，这个勇敢的小男孩不想死，他决心活下来。令那位医生感到惊讶的是，不知何故，他真的活下来了。在他的危险期过去后，他又听到那位医生在和他的母亲低声交谈。他的母亲被告知，由于大火烧坏了他下半身太多的肌肉，他几乎生不如死，因为他下肢根本就无法动弹，注定只能一生残疾。

Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple. He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor (引起运动的) ability. His thin legs just dangled there, all but lifeless.

这个勇敢的小男孩再一次下定决心：他不会成为一个残疾人，他要走路！但不幸的是，他自腰部以下完全不能动弹。他的两条细腿只是悬在那儿，没有一点儿生命迹象。



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Ultimately he was released from the hospital. Every day his mother would massage (对……按摩) his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever.

终于，他出院了。他的母亲每天都会给他的两条细腿做按摩，但是，他完全感觉不到，也不能控制双腿，什么也不能做。可他要走路的决心仍然像以前一样坚定。

When he wasn't in bed, he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him.

他没躺在床上的时候，就坐在一辆轮椅里。在一个阳光明媚的日子里，他的母亲用轮椅推着他到外面的院子里呼吸新鲜空气。这一天，他没有像往常一样坐在那儿，而是从轮椅上扑到了地上。身后拖着自己的两条腿，他爬过了草坪。

He worked his way to the white picket (尖木桩) fence bordering their lot. With great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then, stake (桩) by stake, he began dragging himself along the fence, resolved that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence. There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in those legs.

他一直爬到围着自家院子的白色尖桩篱栅处，使出浑身的力气，扶着篱栅站了起来。然后，他拖着双腿，开始沿着那道篱栅一个篱笆桩接一个篱笆桩地挪动，下定决心一定要能走路。从那天开始，他每天都这样做，后来，那道篱栅的旁边被他磨出了一条绕院子一圈的光滑小路。他唯一希望的就是让自己的双腿恢复活力。



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Ultimately through his daily massages, his iron persistence and his resolute determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk haltingly (蹒跚地)—and then to walk by himself—and then to run.

终于，在他的每日按摩、钢铁一样的意志和坚定的决心的共同作用下，他真的能站起来了；接着，他开始一瘸一拐地行走；然后，他可以稳稳当当地自己走路；再后来他可以跑步了。

He began to walk to school, then to run to school, to run for the sheer joy of running. Later in college he made the track team.

他开始走路去学校，然后跑着去学校，因为奔跑会给他带来纯粹的喜悦。后来，他上了大学，参加了田径队。

Still later in Madison Square Garden this young man who was not expected to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run—this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world's fastest mile!

再后来，在麦迪逊广场花园(位于纽约曼哈顿区，是美国著名的室内体育馆)，这个先是被认为无法生还、继而又被判定不能行走更没有希望跑步的年轻人—这个有决心的年轻人，格伦• 坎宁安博士，跑出了世界最快的速度！