A Good Piece of Advice
一则忠告
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcoming. Week by week her list grew： I was very thin, I wasn't a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to bear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
在我大约12岁的时候，我有一个敌人，那是一个女孩，她总喜欢指出我的缺点。一周又一周过去了，我的错误清单上的内容也越来越多：我太瘦，不是个好学生，喜欢讲话，太骄傲，等等。这些，我都尽量忍着。 可终于有一天，我气得忍无可忍，就哭着跑去找我父亲。
He listened to me quietly. Then he asked, “Are the things she says true or not? Jane, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like? Well, you now have the girl's opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
他静静地听我把话讲完，然后问道：“她说的这些是对的还是错的？简，你有没有想过你到底是个怎样的人？瞧，你现在就有了那女孩对你的看法。去把她所说的列一个清单，并把对的加以标注。还要注意她说 的别的东西。”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn't change, like being very thin. But a good number I could and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.
我照做了。令我吃惊的是，我发现她说的约有一半都是对的。有些我改变不了，比如太瘦。但有许多我能改变，而且突然间，我想改变。第一次，我有了一个相当清晰的自画像。
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That's just for you,” he said, “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you'll find it will be of help to you. Don't shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know. It is the right thing to do.”
我把那张列表拿给父亲，他却不看。“那是给你自己的，”他说你比任何人都更了解真实的自己。但你还得学会听取别人意见，而不只是愤怒地充耳不闻，感到受到了伤害。当有人对你说的某些话是对的，你会发现对你会有帮助的。不要闭目塞听，要听他们所讲的一切，记住对的，做你所了解的事。这样做就对了。”
Daddy's advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I've never had a better piece of advice.
在许多重要时刻，父亲的忠告一次一次在我耳边响起。在我的一生中，再没有听到比这更好的建议了。