I am George Washington

I am George Washington BRAD MELTZER illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos

我是乔治·华盛顿，布拉德·梅尔策，克里斯托弗·埃利奥普洛斯配图

I am George Washington.

我是乔治·华盛顿。

You know what one of the hardest things in life is? Being the first. When you're the first to try something new, there's no one to show you the way. But when I was little, I wasn't the first. I was the fourth of nine children. THAT'S A LOT OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS. HOW DO YOU THINK I LEARNED TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE FIGHTING? When I was really little, I lived at a place called Mount Vernon, which had a huge river running through the backyard and unexplored forests in every direction. AT FIVE YEARS OLD. THIS WAS THE WORLD I KNEW IF YOU WANTED TO EXPLORE THE FOREST, YOU HAD TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO GO INSIDE. THINK YOU'RE BRAVE ENOUGH TO GO IN THERE, GEORGE? NOT YET. BUT SOON.

你知道人生最难的一件事是什么吗？ 成为第一。当你是第一个尝试新事物的人，没有人给你指路。 但在我小的时候，我不是第一个。 我是家里九个孩子中的老四。 那可是很多兄弟姐妹啊。 你以为我是怎么学会和打架的人打交道的？ 当我很小的时候，我住在一个叫芒特弗农的地方，那里有一条大河从后院流过，四面八方都是未开发的森林。 五岁的时候。这就是我所知道的世界如果你想探索森林，你必须是第一个进去的人。 你觉得你有勇气进去吗，乔治？ 还没有。但很快。

People will tell you that I was a perfect boy. They'll say I didn't tell a lie after I chopped down a cherry tree. But that cherry tree story isn't true. Like most boys back then, I liked swimming... fishing... and riding horses. I was a decent athlete, but nothing spectacular. Mostly, I was an ordinary kid. I liked books, and even liked to dance. I was great at it. In school, my best subject was math. I was pretty good at writing, but I was always a terrible speller. YOU SPELLED "BEGINNING" WRONG. AND "HARVEST" too. DON'T YOU REALIZE I'M GOING TO BE ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST LEADERS? I BELIEVE THAT ALMOST AS MUCH AS I BELIEVE YOU'RE A GREAT DANCER.

人们会告诉你我是一个完美的男孩。 他们会在我砍了一棵樱桃树后说我没有说谎。 但樱桃树的故事不是真的。 像当时大多数男孩一样，我喜欢游泳…… 钓鱼……还有骑马。 我是个不错的运动员，但没什么了不起的。 大多数时候，我是一个普通的孩子。 我喜欢读书，甚至喜欢跳舞。 我做得很好。在学校，我最好的科目是数学。 我很擅长写作，但我的拼写总是很糟糕。 你把“ beginning ”拼错了。 还有“HARVEST”。难道你没意识到我将成为世界上最好的领导者之一吗？ 我相信这一点，就像我相信你是个很棒的舞者一样。

But remember when I said that it's hard to be the first? It's easier when there's someone showing you how it's done. THIS IS MY BROTHER LAWRENCE. HE WAS FOURTEEN YEARS OLDER THAN ME. NO ONE HAD A BIGGER IMPACT ON MY LIFE. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING? MY MILITARY UNIFORM. SO I CAN FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY. YOU LIKE IT? IT'S AMAZING. I loved hearing the stories of his adventures. Thanks to my brother, I knew I wanted to serve in the military.

但还记得我说过做第一很难吗？ 当有人告诉你怎么做的时候就容易多了。 这是我弟弟劳伦斯。 他比我大十四岁。 没有人对我的生活有更大的影响。 你穿的是什么？我的军装。 这样我才能为我们的国家而战。 你喜欢吗？令人惊奇的。 我喜欢听他的冒险故事。 多亏了我哥哥，我知道我想参军。

Soon, though, I saw how uncertain life could be. When I was eleven, my dad died. We couldn't afford proper schooling so my brothers had to teach me at home. I didn't go to high school or college. But I was committed to learning and building myself. YOU SPELLED IT WRONG. THEN I'LL DO IT AGAIN. AS A BOY, I COPIED ALL THE RULES FROM A BOOK OF VIRTUES. THERE WERE 110 IN ALL. #11: DON'T GNAW YOUR NAILS. #12: DON'T STAND TOO CLOSE TO PEOPLE WHEN TALKING, OR YOU'LL SPIT ON THEM. #100: DON'T USE A FORK OR KNIFE TO CLEAN YOUR TEETH. INSTEAD, USE A TOOTHPICK. THE MOST IMPORTANT WAS THE FIRST ONE. EVERY ACTION DONE IN COMPANY OUGHT TO BE DONE WITH SOME SIGN OF RESPECT. I GUESS THAT ONE COVERS SPITTING ON PEOPLE TOO.

然而，很快，我就看到了生活是多么的不确定。 我十一岁的时候，我爸爸去世了。 我们负担不起正规的教育费用，所以我的兄弟们不得不在家里教我。 我没有上过高中或大学。 但我致力于学习和提升自己。 你拼错了。那我再来一次。 当我还是个孩子的时候，我从一本美德书上抄下了所有的规则。 总共有110个。11 .不要咬指甲。 说话的时候不要站得离别人太近，否则你会朝他们吐口水。 #100：不要用刀叉清洁牙齿。 相反，使用牙签。最重要的是第一个。 在别人面前做的每一件事都应该表现出一些尊重。 我想这条也包括向人吐口水。