如果你已經(jīng)為人父母，你便了解在第一個(gè)孩子出生之前的那種期待——甚至是帶點(diǎn)恐懼的心情。今天的科技發(fā)展讓人們能夠提前發(fā)現(xiàn)很多問題，因此父母可以放下憂慮，或者做好準(zhǔn)備以應(yīng)對(duì)并發(fā)癥。

然而，事情總有例外。

這是關(guān)于一個(gè)年輕男子的真實(shí)故事，他的名字叫尼克·武伊契奇。以世俗標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來看，尼克出生時(shí)患有嚴(yán)重的身體殘疾；不過在他看來，自己是完好無缺的。事實(shí)上，尼克說過，若你無法去做想做或需要去做的事情，那樣才叫殘疾。多年來他的殘疾一直給他帶來很大的挑戰(zhàn)，不過現(xiàn)在他幾乎在生活的所有領(lǐng)域都有所成就。尼克也說過，其實(shí)很多人患有“心理殘疾”，使他們不能在生命中成就偉績。尼克很勇敢，可說是當(dāng)今世界上最鼓舞人心的一個(gè)榜樣。尼克想為有心人講一個(gè)故事，你準(zhǔn)備好了嗎？

大約27年以前，在澳大利亞的墨爾本市，一個(gè)名叫鮑里斯·武伊契奇的年輕牧師和他的妻子杜什卡正在等待第一個(gè)孩子的降生。一切資料都顯示懷孕很正常，胎兒似乎也很健康。然而，1982年12月4日，在這個(gè)孩子呱呱墜地的那一刻，他們的感受卻無法言喻——孩子沒有手，也沒有腳。這對(duì)父母事前沒有收到任何提醒，也沒有時(shí)間讓自己準(zhǔn)備好應(yīng)對(duì)這個(gè)看似絕望的情況。甚至連醫(yī)生們也深感愕然，無法解釋這樣的事為什么會(huì)發(fā)生、到底是如何發(fā)生的。

尼克的父母悲傷而茫然，甚至懷疑這個(gè)孩子能否活下來。但測試結(jié)果證明尼克是一個(gè)健康的嬰兒，只不過恰好沒有四肢。

五年過去了，尼克該上學(xué)了。你也許會(huì)想一個(gè)沒有手腳的人如何能夠應(yīng)付這件事。這要?dú)w功于一張?zhí)刂齐妱?dòng)椅，他可以用殘缺不全的腿（他稱之為“雞腿”）操作這把椅子。他很喜歡上學(xué)，很想像其他孩子一樣融入學(xué)校的環(huán)境。但是當(dāng)一個(gè)人與別人的區(qū)別如此之大時(shí)，他又如何能做到這一點(diǎn)呢？雖然尼克外表看起來和別人很不一樣，但他的內(nèi)心和其他孩子沒有區(qū)別。他只想被愛，想知道一切都會(huì)很順利。可惜事與愿違，大多數(shù)情況下，事情并不是那么順利。

人——甚至孩子，有時(shí)候可以相當(dāng)殘酷無情。尼克必須忍受各種掙扎和虐待——從被別人盯著看到被欺負(fù)。尼克努力保持積極樂觀的態(tài)度，努力去交朋友，然而有時(shí)壓力實(shí)在太大。他常常不去上學(xué)，待在家里，暫時(shí)躲避痛苦和折磨。他還經(jīng)歷過憤怒和抑郁的時(shí)刻，甚至想過結(jié)束自己的生命。幸運(yùn)的是，在生命中這段無比黯淡難熬的日子里，尼克的家人是他獲得無盡安慰和勇氣的源泉。

尼克乞求上帝讓他長出手腳，隨后他開始意識(shí)到自己的故事可以激勵(lì)千千萬萬人，并為自己的生命心存感恩。他想讓世界看到，如果沒手沒腳的他可以面對(duì)并且克服各種挑戰(zhàn)，那么其他人也同樣可以克服他們所面臨的任何難題。

我們“正常人”總是把很多事情視為理所當(dāng)然，一有機(jī)會(huì)就心生抱怨，只要你想一想這一點(diǎn)，便會(huì)覺得很奇妙。多年來，尼克學(xué)會(huì)了照顧自己，自力更生。他能剃須、梳頭、刷牙、穿衣；他還會(huì)游泳、踢足球，甚至能用他的“雞腿”以每分鐘43個(gè)字的速度打字。

19歲時(shí)，尼克不僅獲得了會(huì)計(jì)和財(cái)務(wù)規(guī)劃的雙學(xué)位，還開始了他的勵(lì)志演講事業(yè)。23歲時(shí)，他獲得了“年度澳大利亞杰出青年獎(jiǎng)”提名——這在澳大利亞是無上的光榮。

從第一次演講開始，尼克便到世界各地講述自己的故事，激勵(lì)了從公司主管到小學(xué)生等成千上萬人?，F(xiàn)在，尼克是一位成功的股市和房地產(chǎn)投資商，同時(shí)還擔(dān)任自己公司的首席執(zhí)行官。

尼克還發(fā)行了兩張勵(lì)志DVD，一張叫做《生命更遠(yuǎn)大的目標(biāo)》，另一張叫做《沒手，沒腳，沒煩惱》。這兩張DVD我都看過了，非常神奇，令人驚嘆不已。尼克擁有親切的笑容，散發(fā)著孩子般的魅力，思維敏捷，幽默別具一格。你絕不會(huì)覺得：“哇，我真為這個(gè)人感到可惜。”絕不會(huì)如此，事實(shí)恰恰相反。你會(huì)想，雖然你的身體并沒有殘疾，但也許心靈上有所殘缺。他在27年的生命里所做的事情或許比大部分年齡是他兩倍的人所做的還要多。顯而易見，尼克對(duì)生命、對(duì)愛、對(duì)人都滿懷激情。他稱自己為“擁抱機(jī)器”。你可能會(huì)奇怪一個(gè)沒有手臂的人怎么去擁抱別人。只要見過他本人，你就會(huì)明白了。

無論外表如何，尼克都是那種令人心生喜愛的人，因?yàn)樗幸活w寬廣的心。尼克通過環(huán)球演講和發(fā)行DVD，“觸動(dòng)”了成千上萬人的生活。我向你保證，見過他、聽到他的信息并且牢記在心的大多數(shù)人從此改變了。我就是其中一個(gè)。然而，他不僅激勵(lì)你，還會(huì)敦促你去面對(duì)阻礙你追尋夢想的一切困難，鼓勵(lì)你去發(fā)現(xiàn)此生中更遠(yuǎn)大的目標(biāo)。

If youre a parent， you know the anticipation1， and perhaps even the fears you felt before your first child was born. With technology as it is today， so much can be discovered before hand. Fears can be laid to rest or plans can be made to accommodate2 complications3.

But it hasnt always been that way.

This is a true story about a young man named Nick Vujicic. According to the worlds standards， Nick was born with a severe4 physical disability. But in his mind， he is not disabled at all. In fact， Nick says that to be disabled you would have to be unable to do the things you want or need to do. As challenging as it has been for him over the years， he has managed to conquer nearly every aspect of his life. Nick also says there are many people with a disability “in their mind，” and thats whats preventing them from achieving great things in this life. Nick is courageous and arguably the most inspirational person alive. Nick has a story to tell for anyone who will listen. Are you ready to hear it？

A little over 27 years ago， in Melbourne， Australia， a young pastor5 named Boris and his wife Dushka Vujicic were expecting their first child. By all accounts6， the pregnancy7 was normal and the baby seemed to be healthy. There are no words to describe how they felt on December 4th， 1982， when their son came into the world—without any arms or legs. They were given no warning signs nor did they have time to prepare themselves for what seemed to be a hopeless situation. Even the doctors were in shock， unable to answer how or why this could have happened.

Nicks parents were devastated8 and confused. They even wondered whether or not he would survive. But tests proved that Nick was a healthy baby. He just didnt happen to have any limbs9.

Five years had passed. It was time for Nick to start school. You might wonder how a person without arms or legs could get around. Well， Nick had help from his specially fitted motorized10 chair that he could control with his partial11 foot. （He calls it his “chicken drumstick.”） He enjoyed school and wanted to fit in and be like the other kids， but how does one do that when you are so different？ Even though Nick looked different on the outside， he felt the same as any other kid on the inside. He just wanted to be loved and to know that everything was going to be okay， but everything was not okay， most of the time.

People， even children， can be cruel and unkind. And Nick had to endure12 all kinds of struggles and mistreatments， from being gawked13 at to being bullied14. Nick tried to keep a positive15 outlook16， and he tried to make friends， but at times the pressure was just too much. He would often stay home from school just to avoid the pain and suffering for a while. He even went through bouts17 of anger and depression in which he thought about ending his own life. Fortunately， Nicks family members were an endless source of comfort and encouragement during this very dark time in his life.

After begging God to grow arms and legs， Nick began to realize that his story was inspirational to many， and that he was thankful to be alive. He wanted to show the world that if he could face and overcome challenges without any arms or legs， then there was a good chance others could overcome whatever they were facing as well.

Its amazing when you think about how many things we “normal” people take for granted18 and complain about whenever we get a chance. Over the years， Nick has learned how to take care of himself and basically live on his own. He can shave， comb his hair， brush his teeth， get dressed； he can swim， play soccer， and he can even type 43 words per minute with his little “chicken drumstick.”

By the age of 19， Nick had not only earned a double degree in accounting and financial planning， he had also started his motivational19 speaking career20. By the age of 23， Nick was nominated21 for the Young Australian of the Year Award， which is a large honor in Australia.

Since his first speaking engagement， Nick has traveled the world telling his story and motivating millions of people—from corporate executives22 to elementary school children. Now， Nick is also a successful stockmarket and real estate23 investor24， and he is the CEO25 of his own company.

Nick has also produced two motivational DVDs. One is called Lifes Greater Purpose and the other is No Arms， No Legs， No Worries. I have seen both. They are nothing short of amazing and inspirational. Nick has an endearing smile， boyish charm， quick wit26 and quirky27 sense of humor. In no way do you leave feeling like， “Wow， I feel sorry for that guy.” No， its actually the other way around. You wonder if you are not the one disabled， at least mentally anyway. He has probably done more in his 27 years of life than most people twice his age. It is quite evident that Nick has a passion for life， for love and for people. He calls himself the “hugging machine.” You might wonder how someone without arms can hug. Well， youll just have to see him in action.

Nick is the kind of person you cant help but love， no matter what he looks like on the outside， because he has such a big heart. Through his speaking career and with the distribution of his DVDs， Nick has “touched” millions of peoples lives. I guarantee you， most who have seen him， heard his message and taken it to heart， have been changed forever. I know I have. And yet he will more than inspire you， he will challenge you to face whatever it is that is holding you back from realizing your dreams， and he will encourage you to discover your greater purpose in this life.

單詞卡片··

1）anticipation n.預(yù)想，期待

2）accommodate v.使適應(yīng)，調(diào)節(jié)

3）complication n.并發(fā)癥

4）severe a.嚴(yán)重的

5）pastor n.（主管教堂的）牧師

6）By all accounts據(jù)大家所說

7）pregnancy n.懷孕

8）devastate v.使毀滅，破壞

9）limb n.（四）肢，手足

10）motorize v.使機(jī)動(dòng)化

11）partial a.部分的

12）endure v.忍耐，忍受

13）gawke v.呆視

14）bully v.威嚇，以強(qiáng)凌弱

15）positive a.正面的，積極的

16）outlook n.觀點(diǎn)，看法

17）bout n.一回，一次

18）take for granted 想當(dāng)然，認(rèn)為理當(dāng)如此

19）motivationa a.激發(fā)積極性的

20）career n.事業(yè)。職業(yè)

21）nominate v.提名

22）executive n.經(jīng)歷主管人員

23）real estate 房地產(chǎn)

24）investor n.投資者

25）CEO首席執(zhí)行長官（Chief Executive Officer）

26）wit n.智慧，才智

27）quirky a.古怪的，多變的