In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, a coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the enjoyment of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months later a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
“We told them so.”
“Crazy men and their crazy dreams.”
“It's foolish to chase wild visions.”
Everyone felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. One day, as he was lying on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their teamwork, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
【助读词汇】
-inspire vt. 给……以灵感
-spectacular adj. 壮观的
-feat n.功绩
-obstacle n. 障碍(物)
-crew n. 全体工作人员
-scrap vt. 废弃
-handicap n. 残废，弱智，缺陷
-daunt vt. 使胆怯，使气馁
-flimsy adj. 轻而薄的
-indomitable adj. 坚忍不拔的
-tangible adj. 可触摸的，有形的
【参考译文】
1883年，一个名叫John Roebling的很有创意的工程师突发灵感想要建一座宏伟大桥，把纽约和长岛连起来。但是，全世界的桥梁建造专家都认为这是不可能完成的，他们让Roebling把这个想法抛之脑后。这是不可能做到的，一点都不实际，这是历史上从来没有做到过的。
但是Roebling却无法无视他脑海中已经成形的大桥，他一直都在想着这件事并深知这是可以做到的。他得要有人来和他一起分享这个梦想。经过很多的讨论和说服工作，他终于成功地让儿子华盛顿，一个未来的工程师，相信那座大桥事实上是可以建成的。
父子俩是第一次合作，他们想好了如何把完成桥的建造，如何克服障碍。他们面临的巨大挑战让他们感到无比的兴奋和鼓舞，也十分的陶醉。他们组建了自己的工作组就开始修建他们的梦幻之桥了。
工程开始时十分顺利，但是开工仅几个月，一个悲剧性意外就夺走了John Roebling的生命，华盛顿也受了伤，大脑受到伤害，从此就不能走路，不能说话，甚至不能动弹。
“我们早告诫他们这样的结果了。”
“疯子和疯狂的梦想。”
“追求疯狂的梦想，这太愚蠢了。”
每个人都认为这个项目应该被废弃掉，因为只有Roebling父子才知道如何建造这座大桥。而华盛顿尽管身残，可他仍然有强烈的愿望想要完成大桥，他的思维也一如既往的敏锐。
他试着让自己的热情激励并传递给自己的朋友，但他们被这巨大的任务给吓倒了。一天，当他躺在医院的病床上时，阳光穿过窗户涌了进来，微风吹开柔软的白色窗帘，他在那一瞬间看到了窗外的树顶和蓝天。
这似乎给他传来了一个信息，叫他不要放弃。突然，他想到了一个办法。他所能做的只是移动一个手指，于是他决定好好利用这根手指。通过移动手指，他慢慢地形成了一套与妻子沟通的密码。
他若用那根手指碰触妻子的手臂，就表示他想要她再一次打电话给工程师们。然后他用同样的方法，轻叩妻子的手臂，告诉工程师们做什么。这看起来很笨，但是工程又一次动工了。
13年，华盛顿通过轻叩妻子的手臂发出各种指令，直到大桥终于完工。今天，伟大的布鲁克林大桥骄傲地耸立着，它是对一个人坚忍不拔的精神的胜利和不被环境打败的决心的礼赞。这也是对工程师们和他们的合作精神以及对一个被半个世界的人认为是疯子的人信任的礼赞。它还是一座为13年来一直耐心为自己丈夫解码信息并告诉工程师们怎么做的妻子的爱和奉献而塑的一座有形的纪念碑。
【人生启迪】
他可以顶着全世界人的冷嘲热讽和不信任，一意孤行；他可以在遭受了那样的悲剧之后仍然不放弃自己的梦想，并努力克服各种障碍实现自己的梦想，这需要多么大的坚韧和决心啊！让我们反省一下自己，多少次我们面临困难而退缩，还找尽各种借口为自己的懦弱开脱？从现在开始，让我们相信，不管是多么遥远的梦想，只要我们可以坚持到底，并积极努力，我们就可以实现自己的梦想！