從失敗中吸取教訓

When watching Michael Jordan playing， people don't only see a man who gives a new definition to team sports achievement these days， but also a formidable1 opponent to anyone who see each game as a competition of determination. Now recognized as a surprising winning record scorer， it was failure which spurred2 Michael to strive3 for the best. \"I know that fear is an obstacle for some people， but for me it is just an illusione4… Failure always makes me try harder on the next opportunity\".

When he was young， he loved basket ball very much and did a pretty good job in extracurricular5 activities. The little league team became aware that he had talent6 for team sports. They noticed how good he was in ball throw.

The High School coach came to know Michael through his brother Larry and invited Michael to the basket ball summer camping prior to his enrollment7 to High School. He， together with a close friend of him， was asked to try to qualify for the university team group. Everyone in the camp admired Michael's speed and skill， but the coach was discouraged by the possibility that Michael would not reach the minimum8 height required. The coach thought it might be good for Michael to play in the university junior team group for a year to get more training time. So when the list of names of the university team was announced， Michael's mates9-all of them were 198 cm in height-were in the list， but Michael was not.

It was the very moment so deeply imprinted on Michael's life. He stared at the alphabetically10 arranged list of names， read and reread the J list several times， feeling sure his coach had mistakenly left his name out. Later he admitted that when he got home that day， so disappointed and ashamed， he wept.Fortunately his mother came to his side and gave him some important advices.\"She said that the best thing I could do is to prove to the coach that he had madea mistake\"， recalled Michael. \"And， leaving my disappointment behind， I startedto improve my performance\".

Michael reluctantly11 rejoined the junior university team squadron12. But while he was recognized as a dedicated player， he changed his training intensity. Michael's sport instructor， Ruby Sutton， was the first to notice that change: \"Usually I arrive at school between 7:00 a. m. and 7:30 a. m. Michael was there before me. Each time I came in and opened the door， I heard the sound of ball bouncing13， in autumn， in winter， in summer. Almost every morning I had to ask him to leave the court\". Knowing that his lack of height made him unqualified for the university team， he often tried to get taller by hanging from a horizontal bar.

At the beginning of the first year， Michael's height increased by 10 cm. His large hands gave him the advantage of catching and holding ball better and now he was able to do slam dunks14. His coach was delighted with Michael's height and now they just could no longer ignore his talent. When eventually he was admitted into the university team， he brought something that would inspire every coach， team mates and fans during his career: \"You can achieve incomparable level of skill through incomparable spirit and commitment\".

Behind his competence and spirit， lies the secret: to always appreciate failure and take advantage of it for some goodness. Through the following years Michael used to motivate15 himself by reflecting on his failure: \"Whenever I achieve some success but feel so tired， I often come to think to give up and leave everything. But then I close my eyes and see again that list that didn't include my name. Usually by doing that my spirit is revived16\".

當觀看邁克爾·喬丹的比賽時，人們看到的不僅僅是一個重新詮釋團隊運動成績的運動員，還看到了把每一場比賽都當作意志的競技的強大對手。現在，邁克爾·喬丹被人們看成是能夠不斷給人驚喜的頭號得分手，然而，正是因為失敗才讓他這樣不斷努力、爭取最好的結果。“我知道恐懼是一些人的絆腳石，但是對我來說，它不過是錯覺……失敗總是可以讓我更加努力，抓住下一個機會。”

邁克爾·喬丹從小就喜歡打籃球，并且在籃球比賽中表現出色。少年聯盟球隊發現邁克爾·喬丹具有這種團隊運動所需的天賦，他的投籃也非常優秀。

一所高中的教練通過喬丹的哥哥拉里認識了邁克爾·喬丹，并在邁克爾到這所高中報名之前，邀請他參加籃球夏季訓練營;要求邁克爾與他的一個好朋友盡全力取得進入高校隊的資格。訓練營里的每個人都羨慕邁克爾的速度與球技。然而，邁克爾可能達不到要求的最低身高，這令教練非常沮喪。教練認為讓邁克爾去高校青年隊接受一年的訓練，或許對他有益。因此，當宣布高校隊成員名單時，所有身高在1米98以上的隊友均榜上有名，唯獨沒有邁克爾的名字。

這一時刻深深地印在邁克爾的生命中。他盯著按照姓名字母順序排列的名單，一遍又一遍地查看以字母J為首的名單，他認為一定是教練不小心將他的名字遺漏了。后來，邁克爾承認，那天當他回到家后，感到既失望又羞愧，因此還哭了很久。幸運的是，他的母親來到他的身邊，給了他一些重要的建議。她說:“現在，你最應該做的事情就是去證明教練犯了一個很大的錯誤。”之后，邁克爾將所有的失望統統拋在腦后，開始努力學習、不斷提高自己的球技。

雖然很不情愿，但是邁克爾還是重新回到少年隊。然而，盡管人們認為他已經是一個不錯的籃球選手，他仍然不斷增加訓練強度。邁克爾的運動指導員盧比·薩頓第一個發現邁克爾增加了訓練強度:“我通常都是上午7點至7點半之間到學校，而邁克爾已經在我之前就到學校了。每次當我走進訓練場，打開門的時候，我都能聽到拍籃球的聲音，無論春夏秋冬。幾乎每個早晨，都是在我的命令下，邁克爾才不得不離開訓練場。”得知是因為身高不夠而沒有資格進入高校隊，邁克爾便常常將自己吊在單杠上，希望能長高一些。

在進入少年隊的頭一年年初，邁克爾的身高長了10厘米。大手是他最大的優勢，他能夠更好地接住、抓住籃球，現在他還可以飛身灌籃。邁克爾的教練對他的身高很滿意，此時，再也無法對邁克爾的天賦視而不見了。最終，邁克爾進入高校隊，在他的籃球生涯中，他帶來了一些可以激勵每一位教練、隊友與球迷的東西:“憑借無比的精神與決心，你就可以擁有無人能及的技術水平。”

在他的能力與精神背后隱藏著一個秘密:要永遠感激你碰到的失敗，并且好好利用它。接下來的歲月里，邁克爾常常用他碰到的失敗來激勵自己:“每當我取得一些成功卻感到疲憊時，我常常想放棄一切。但是，當我閉上眼睛，再一次看到那個不包括我名字的名單時，便又重新振作起精神來了。”

注釋:

1.formidable adj.強大的，令人敬畏的

2.spur v.鞭策，刺激

3.strive v.努力，奮斗，力爭，斗爭

4.illusion n.幻想

5.extracurricular adj.課外的，業余的

6.talent n.天才，才干，才能

7.enrollment n.登記，注冊，入學

8.minimum adj.最小的，最低的 n.最小值，最小化

9.mate n.助手，伙伴

10.alphabetically adv.按字母順序地

11.reluctantly adv.不情愿地，勉強地

12.squadron n. 一群，一隊

13.bounce v.(使)反跳，彈起，彈跳 n.(球)跳起，彈回

14.slam dunk [籃球]灌籃，扣籃

15.motivate v. 激發

16.revive v.(使)蘇醒，(使)復興，(使)復活