(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Assal Ravandi knows service. First, as a soldier in the United States Army in Afghanistan. Now, as a soldier for soldiers at the organization she founded: Academy of United States Veterans.
But Ravandi insists that her service has not been selfless.
"Serving has always made me feel good and therefore, I consider it to be a self-serving act in a way, while it's still helping others. So, service was something that I thought I would end up doing one way or another."
Ravandi was born in Tehran, Iran. She came with her family to the United States at age 13. She thinks her decision, years later, to join the United States Army was partly inspired by the life she left.
"I come from a place where people get killed, prosecuted, imprisoned for every ounce of freedom that they want in life and at the end, when all the blood is shed, and all the people that are imprisoned – you still don't have it."
Ravandi was 29 when she entered the military. Basic training is always difficult. Ravandi found it especially hard. She was surrounded by enlistees years younger than she. But she says, the experience taught her a lot, especially about herself.
"The system was incredibly comprehensive and it taught me a lot physically, emotionally, mentally. My favorite part in the basic training experience that I had was marksmanship. I loved shooting my weapon, and I soon learned that I was physically more capable than I thought I was."
But marksmanship did not turn out to be Ravandi's most important skill during her deployment in Afghanistan. She says, there, her native language, Farsi, proved a more powerful weapon in the effort to serve and protect. Farsi is very similar to Dari, the most common language spoken in Afghanistan.
"I was asked to teach infantry soldiers the Farsi language. The Farsi that I taught was to build relationships. So, the first thing that I would teach them, it was in Dari dialect, which is the primary language of Afghanistan, and I would say, after you meet someone tell them ‘Beysar khosh shodam,' which means it is nice to meet you. And I think that kindness and that notion, that gesture, can bring people together."
Assal Ravandi was recognized for her work in teaching Farsi to infantry soldiers. Her battalion commander presented her with a medal.
Ravandi's duty in Afghanistan and the Army had a major impact on her. After she left military service she found that nothing else measured up to the work she did as a soldier.
"I felt so privileged, so honored to serve in the United States military. I think until I actually got there, I didn't know it was everything that I ever wanted and to be honest with you, I don't remember who I was before I was a soldier."
Returning to civilian life was not easy for Ravandi.
"I kind of lost myself after my military service. I didn't know what I was going to do. I was just going through the motions, just going through life and I started to suffer from post-traumatic stress."
However, Ravandi did know what she wanted back from Army life.
"The one thing that I missed the most, that could make me feel better was the community and camaraderie in the United States military."
So, she recreated it outside of the military by founding the Academy of United States Veterans. The group provides public and media relations support to veteran service organizations, veterans programs and veteran-owned businesses.
Its motto? "We serve those, who serve those, who served!"
Assal Ravandi says she does not think her story would have been possible in any other country in the world. She still expresses wonder that, in her words, "freedom is something that is just given to you" in the United States.
"I take a lot of joy in this incredible life. This opportunity that's been given to me and to wake up every day and to know that I have put all the effort, all the thought, all the energy into something and in the end it was worthwhile."
重点解析
1.end up doing以…而告终
Usually we end up doing work dictated by our life situation and economic needs.
通常我们不愿再去做的工作多半取决于我们的生活状况和经济需求。
2.turn out to be结果是
If Spain falls into crisis, then all current mechanisms for dealing with the crisis will turn out to be inadequate.
如果西班牙陷入危机降临，那么所有与当前的危机处理机制，会变成是不够的。
3.bring together集合；使…团结起来
These are needed to bring together scientists, entrepreneurs, regulators and other stakeholders to support and deliver research and its benefits.
需要这种系统从而把科学家、企业家、管理者和其他利益攸关方集合起来，从而支持并提供研究及其收益。
4.similar to与……相似
You should end up with something similar to what I have below.
操作结束后，你应该会得到与下图相似的结果。
5.to be honest说实话
To be honest, I was surprised he knew where I was, we moved so often.
说实话，我感到惊讶的是他知道我在哪里，我们搬家搬得这么勤。
6.put effort into对某事付出很大力气
“You need to choose the strategy wisely, ” Lyubomirsky says in her Greater Good talk. “You need to be motivated, committed to it, and put effort into it.
“你要明智地选择正确的策略”，索尼娅•柳博米尔斯基在她Greater Good中的谈话上说，“你需要动力，投入，为之付出努力，就像实现生活中的其他目标一样。”
参考译文
阿萨勒·拉瓦蒂知道什么是服役。起初，她是美国驻阿富汗军队的一名士兵。现在，她是自己成立的美国退伍军人学会中的一名士兵，为退伍军人服务。
但是阿萨勒·拉瓦蒂坚持认为她的服役不能算作是无私的。
“服役总是让我感觉很好，因此，在某种程度上来说，这是一种自私的行为，尽管服役总是在帮助他人。所以，最终我还是会做跟服役有关的事情。”
拉瓦蒂出生于伊朗德黑兰。她13岁时随家人来到美国。她认为，多年后她决定加入美国军队，部分是受到了她离开后的生活的启发。
“我来自这样一个地方，那里的人们为了生活中的每一分自由而被杀害、起诉、监禁。当所有的血都流尽了，所有的人都被关进了监狱——你是还没有自由。”
拉瓦蒂参军时29岁。基础训练总是困难的。对拉瓦蒂来说尤其困难。她周围都是比她小几岁的士兵。但是她说，她从这次经历中学到了很多东西，特别是关于她自己。
“这个系统非常全面，它教会了我很多身体上、情感上和精神上的东西。在基础训练中，我最喜欢的部分是射击。我喜欢用枪射击，很快我就发现我的身体比我想象的更有能力。”
但是，枪法并不是拉瓦蒂在阿富汗服役期间的最重要的技能。她说，在那里，她的母语波斯语被证明是服役和保护的更有力武器。波斯语和达里语非常相似，达里语是阿富汗最常用的语言。
他们要求我教步兵波斯语。我教的波斯语是用来建立关系的。所以，我要教他们的第一件事，是用达里方言，这是阿富汗的主要语言，我会教他们说，当你遇到某人后，就跟她们说‘Beysarkhoshshodam’，意思是很高兴见到你。我认为这种善意，这种观念，这种姿态，可以让人们走到一起。”
阿萨勒·拉瓦蒂因向步兵教授波斯语而受到表彰。她的营长给她颁发了一枚奖章。
拉瓦蒂在阿富汗和军队的职责对她产生了重大影响。退役后，她发现没有什么能比得上她作为一名士兵所做的工作。
“我感到很荣幸，很荣幸能在美国军队服役。我想在我真正到达那里之前，我并不知道这是我想要的一切，说实话，我不记得我当兵之前是谁了。”
回到平民生活对拉瓦蒂来说并不容易。
“我在服兵役后迷失了自我。我不知道我要做什么。我只是做做样子，过着正常的生活，然后我就开始遭受创伤后压力的折磨。
然而，拉瓦蒂知道她想从军队生活中得到什么。
“我最怀念的一件事，能让我感觉更好的是美国军队里的社区和同志情谊。”
因此，她在军队之外重新创建了美国退伍军人学会。该组织为退伍军人服务组织、退伍军人项目和退伍军人企业提供公共和媒体关系支持。
组织的口号是什么？“我们为军人服务，为给军人服务的组织服务！”
阿萨勒·拉瓦蒂认为自己的故事在美国之外的任何国家都不会发生。现在她仍然对一件事感到惊讶，用她自己的话来说就是“在美国，自由就是上天赐给你的东西”。
“我在这不可思议的生活中获得了很多快乐。我得到的这次机会，还有每天醒来时，我发现我已将所有的努力、所有的想法、所有的能量都用在这件事情上，而且最终这一切都是值得的。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
