Understanding ideas

The Well that Changed the World

改变世界的井

As a six-year-old Canadian schoolboy, Ryan had trouble believing the words spoken by his teacher that many people in developing African countries couldn’t get enough clean water. He looked across the classroom at the drinking fountain. It was very close—only ten steps away. So, Ryan asked himself, “Why do some African children have to walk ten kilometres to get water every day? And why is the water so dirty that it makes them sick?” Young Ryan thought, “Life is easy for me, but hard for those people. Why don’t I help?”

年仅六岁的加拿大小学生瑞安难以相信老师所说的话：在欠发达的非洲国家，许多人都喝不到足够的干净的水。他的目光掠过教室，望向对面的喷泉式饮水器，它是那么近——只有十步之遥。因此，瑞安问自己：“为什么有些非洲儿童每天要步行十公里去取水？为什么他们会因为喝了不卫生的水而生病？”年幼的瑞安想道：“我的生活很舒适，但他们的生活却那么艰难，我为什么不去帮帮他们呢？”

At first, his plan was to earn money to build a single well somewhere in Africa. He cleaned windows and did gardening for his family and neighbours. He soon reached his first target of $70, but when he gave the money to a charity, he was told that it actually cost $2,000 to build a well. Seventy dollars was only enough for a hand pump. Ryan understood that a hand pump wouldn’t help the children. What they needed was a well dug near their homes.

起初，他的计划是赚钱在非洲挖一口井。通过帮助家人和邻居们擦窗户、做园艺，他很快就达到了他的第一个目标——70美元，但当他把这笔钱捐给慈善机构时，他才得知挖一口井实际上需要花费2,000美元。70美元只够买一个手压泵。瑞安明白一个手压泵帮不了非洲的孩子们。他们需要的是一口离家不远的井。

Two thousand dollars was a lot of money, but Ryan didn’t give up. He was determined to help other children have clean water. He started to ask for help from his classmates and neighbours and persuaded them to donate money. At the same time, a friend of Ryan’s mother helped make his story go public. After several months, Ryan had raised the $2,000, with which a well was built near a primary school in Uganda. The children at the school no longer needed to walk for hours to get water. They were grateful to him and invited him to visit.

2,000美元可是一笔大数目，但是瑞安并没有放弃。他下定决心要帮助其他孩子获得干净的水。他开始向同学和邻居求助，说服他们捐款。与此同时，在瑞安妈妈的一位朋友的帮助下，瑞安的事为公众所知了。几个月后，瑞安筹集了2,000美元，在乌干达一所小学附近建造了一口井。这所学校的孩子们再也不用走几小时的路去打水了。他们非常感激瑞安，并邀请瑞安前来参观。

In Uganda, Ryan at last saw the finished well with his own eyes. But that was not all. He also saw hundreds of delighted students who had turned out to welcome him. They sang and danced happily. Some even offered him food and gifts. At first Ryan was nervous, but soon a great warmth filled him. He really had made a difference for these children. He broke into a joyful smile.

在乌干达，瑞安终于亲眼看到了打好的井。不仅如此，他还看到了几百名学生兴高采烈地欢迎他。他们高兴地唱歌跳舞。有的学生还为他送上了食物和礼物。一开始瑞安还有点紧张，但很快他就感到一阵温暖。他真的改变了这些孩子的生活。他突然笑了起来。

Later, Ryan’s experience led him to set up a foundation to encourage more people to help. Many inspired people gave him their support. Ryan’s foundation continues to attract support from more and more people, so the work of building more wells can go on. Today, over 800,000 people in 16 countries across Africa have benefited from the life-changing gift of clean, safe water.

后来，这段经历促使瑞安建立了一个基金会，以鼓励更多的人提供帮助。许多深受鼓舞的人都给与瑞安支持。瑞安的基金会不断吸引着越来越多的人给予帮助，从而使打井事业能够继续。如今，这份能改变人一生的礼物——干净卫生的水——已经惠及了非洲16个国家的80多万人。

Now, as an adult, Ryan says that the question to ask is not “Why don’t I help?”, but “How can I help today?”. This insight grew from the determined attitude of a six-year-old boy who had the courage and perseverance to make his dream a reality.

如今，瑞安已长大成人，他不再问“我为什么不去帮助他们？”，而是“如今我该如何去帮助他们？”。这份领悟，始于一个有勇气和毅力实现梦想的六岁男孩那颗坚定不移的心。

Developing ideas

The Power of Good

善行的力量

“The British Schindler”: the life of Nicholas Winton

“英国辛德勒”：尼古拉斯·温顿的生平

It is August 1939, and a group of frightened children are boarding a train at Prague’s Wilson Station. Their heartbroken parents do not join them. Indeed, they fear they may never see their children again. But they know that their children will live. These are among the 669 children, most of them Jewish, that Nicholas Winton will go on to save from death at the hands of the Nazis.

1939年8月，一群心惊胆战的孩子们在布拉格的威尔逊车站登上列车。而他们伤心欲绝的父母却没有上车。事实上，他们害怕再也见不到自己的孩子了。但他们知道，孩子们会活下来。这些孩子大都是犹太人，他们是尼古拉斯·温顿即将从纳粹手里解救的669名儿童中的一部分。

Nicholas Winton was born on 19 May 1909 in London, to German-Jewish parents. The family later took British nationality. On leaving school, Winton worked in banks in Germany and France. He returned to Britain in 1931, where he worked in business.

尼古拉斯·温顿1909年5月19日出生于伦敦，父母是德裔犹太人。一家人后来加入了英国国籍。从学校毕业后，温顿先后在德国和法国的银行工作。他于1931年回到英国，从事商业工作。

In December 1938, a friend asked Winton to come to Prague to aid people who were escaping from the Nazis. In Prague, Winton saw people living in terrible conditions and whose lives were in danger. He decided to help transport children to safety in Britain. He established an office to keep records of the children, and then returned to Britain to find temporary homes for them. He used donated funds and his own money to pay the 50 pounds per child that the British government required. By August 1939, Winton had saved 669 children.

1938年12月，一个朋友请求温顿前往布拉格帮助那里的人们逃脱纳粹的迫害。在布拉格，温顿看到人们生活在恶劣的环境中，连生命都受到威胁。他决定帮助把孩子转移到英国安全的地方。他开设了一个办事处来记录孩子们的信息，然后回到英国为孩子们寻找寄养家庭。他用捐款和自己的钱来支付英国政府向每个孩子征收的50英镑的费用。截至1939年8月，温顿已经解救了669个孩子。

During World War II, Winton served as an officer in Britain’s Royal Air Force. He left the military in 1954. He then worked for international charities and for various companies. For the most part, he did not mention the children he saved, and his actions soon disappeared from people’s memories.

二战期间，温顿曾在英国皇家空军担任军官。他于1954年离开部队。之后他在一些国际慈善机构和多家公司工作过。他极少提及自己救孩子的事情，于是这些事渐渐淡出了人们的记忆。

That all changed in 1988 when his wife Grete found a forgotten journal at home. The journal contained photographs and names of the children and addresses of the families that took them in. She sent the journal to a newspaper, and that year Winton was seen on the British television programme That’s Life. At one point, the host asked people in the audience to stand up if Nicholas Winton had saved their lives. A shocked Winton watched as the majority of people rose to their feet. The programme brought his actions to public attention, and Winton became a respected figure around the world.

直到1988年，一切都发生了改变。他的妻子格蕾特在家中发现一本被遗忘的日记。日记里夹着孩子们的照片，上面记录着孩子们的名字以及寄养家庭的地址。她将日记寄给了一家报社。同年，温顿参加英国的一档电视节目《这就是生活》。节目中，主持人问在场有没有被温顿救过的人，如果有请起立。温顿震惊地看到在场的大多数人都站了起来。这个节目让他的善举为公众所了解，也让温顿被世界各地的人们所尊敬。

Later, Winton received various honours for his achievement, including a knighthood in , and the Czech government’s highest honour, the Order of the White Lion, in .

此后，温顿因其成就而获得了各种荣誉，其中包括获得爵士称号，以及获得捷克政府的最高荣誉“白狮勋章”。

Nicholas Winton passed away on 1 July , at the age of 106. As the Chinese saying goes, “A kind-hearted person lives a long life.”