十二月
On Ambition
Guidance for Reciting
Ambition makes people diligent；nothing is difficult to a man whose ambition fires.
We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch，the country of our birth or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not，most of us，choose to die；nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within all this realm of choicelessness，we do choose how we shall live：courageously or in cowardice，honorably or dishonorably，with purpose or in drift. We decide what is important and what is trivial in life. We decide that what makes us significant is either what we do or what we refuse to do. But no matter how indifferent the universe may be to our choices and decisions，these choices and decisions are ours to make. We decide. We choose. And as we decide and choose，so are our lives formed. In the end，forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.
Notes
1.epoch [5i：pRk，5epRk] n. （新）纪元，（新）时代
2.realm [relm] n. 王国，领域
论抱负
诵读导言
抱负使人勤勉；对于雄心万丈的人来说，世上没有难成的事。
我们无法选择出生。我们无法选择父母。我们无法选择出生的历史时期和国家，无法选择成长的环境。我们中的大部分人不会选择死亡，也无法选择死亡的时间和条件。但在这很少有选择余地的范围内，我们可以选择怎样生活：是勇敢还是怯懦，是正直还是卑鄙，是胸怀大志还是随波逐流。我们可以决定生活中哪些事是重要的，哪些事情是不重要的。我们通过有所为又有所不为显示出自己的重要性。不论这个世界对我们的选择和决定表现得多么漠然，这些选择和决定毕竟是由我们自己做出的。我们决定，我们选择。我们的决定和选择构成了我们的生活。说到底，抱负的意义在于创造自己的命运。
