It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats
地狱周的周三 你要划桨到泥滩
and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing cold
并在极度严寒的环境下生存15个小时
the howling wind and the incessant pressure to quit from the instructors
风呼啸着 教官则不断怂恿你退出
As the sun began to set that Wednesday evening
周三晚上日落的时候
my training class having committed some "egregious infraction of the rules" was ordered into the mud
我们班被认为"过分地违反了规定" 被惩罚进入泥沼中
The mud consumed each man till there was nothing visible but our heads
我们整个人都沉入泥中 只剩头露在外面
The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit
教官告诉我们 只要有五个人退出 我们就可以离开
only five men, just five men and we could get out of the oppressive cold
只要五个人 五个人就够了 我们就能离开刺骨严寒的泥潭
Looking around the mud flat it was apparent that some students were about to give up
环顾泥滩 有些学员似乎有了放弃的念头
It was still over 8 hours till the sun came up, 8 more hours of bone chilling cold
在太阳出来之前 我们至少还要经历八个小时的严寒
The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud
到处都可以听到学员牙齿打颤的声音和难耐的呻吟
it was hard to hear anything
声音之大 让你听不到任何别的声音
and then one voice began to echo through the night
这时 一个声音在夜空中响起
one voice raised in song
这是一首歌的声音
The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm
跑调很厉害 但唱得很有激情
One voice became two and two became three
一个声音变成两个 两个变成三个
and before long everyone in the class was singing
不久 所有人都开始唱起来
The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing
教官威胁我们 如果再唱 就需要在泥中待更长时间
but the singing persisted
但没人停下来
and somehow, the mud seemed a little warmer
泥倒显得温暖了一些
the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away
风也显得小了一些 黎明似乎也近了一些
If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world
如果要我说人生中最重要的东西是什么
it is the power of hope
我会说是希望的力量
The power of one person, Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela
一个人的力量 华盛顿 林肯 金 曼德拉
and even a young girl from Pakistan Malala
甚至那位巴基斯坦少女 马拉拉
one person can change the world by giving people hope
一个人就能通过希望改变这个世界
