Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. There was one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, but he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move. “Sensei,” the boy finally said, “shouldn't I be learning more moves?” “This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know,” the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. “No,” the sensei insisted, “let him continue.” Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. “Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?” “You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

【助读词汇】

-judo n. 柔道

-sensei 日语中“先生”的读音

-tournament n. 比赛，锦标赛

-deftly adv. 灵巧地，熟练地

-time-out n.1.（工作等中的）休息时间，（竞赛中的）暂停

-referee n. 裁判员；推荐人

-intervene vi. 干扰，阻挠，阻止

-opponent n. 敌手，对手；反对者

-critical adj. 决定性的，关键性的，危急的

-resume vi. 重新开始，中断后继续

-summon vt. 召唤，传唤；鼓起，振作

【参考译文】

有时候，你最大的弱点能成为你最强的力量。有个10岁的男孩，决定去学柔道，尽管他在一次车祸中丧失了左臂。男孩在一位年老的日本柔道大师手下学艺。男孩学得很好，但是他不明白，为什么训练了3个月，大师只教了一个动作。“老师，”男孩终于开口了，“我是否应该多学些动作？”“这是你唯一懂得的动作，也是你唯一需要知道的动作。”大师回答道。男孩还是不太懂，但是他相信大师，不断地训练。

几个月之后，大师带男孩参加第一次锦标赛。让男孩感到惊讶的是，他很轻松地赢得了头两场比赛。事实证明，第三场是要更难些，但是较量了一段时间后，他的对手失去了耐心，转而进攻，男孩则灵巧地用他唯一的动作赢得了这场比赛。男孩进入了决赛，尽管仍然为自己的成功感到惊奇。这一次，他对手更大、更强、更有经验。有那么一会儿，男孩眼看要被打败了。考虑到男孩可能会受伤，裁判叫了暂停。正当裁判要暂停这场比赛时，大师阻止了。“不要，”大师坚持着，“让他继续。”很快，比赛继续了，男孩的对手犯了一个致命的错误：他卸下了防守。男孩立即拿出他的那一招将对手绊倒。男孩赢得了那场比赛，赢得了锦标赛。他是冠军。回家途中，男孩和大师回顾了每场比赛的每一个动作。最后，男孩鼓起勇气，问了大师在他脑海盘旋的问题。“老师，我只学了一招，为什么我能赢？”“有两个原因，”大师回答道。“首先，你差不多掌握了柔道里最难的一招；其次，唯一能克制这一招的招式是，你的对手抓住你的左臂。”

【人生启迪】

有时候，你最大的弱点能变成你得天独厚的优势，就像故事里小男孩一样，虽然车祸夺走了他左臂，但是仍然可以学习柔道，并能赢得比赛。在我们的生活里，请不要因为被上帝关上了某扇门就放弃寻找出口，思考并利用自己的特点，来“赢”得生活。