Living Life to the Fullest, Even with Disabilities▼ 突破困境把握人生 —— 蕾貝卡•亞歷山大 One woman lets nothing stand in the way of her dreams. 有一位女性不讓任何事情阻擋她實現夢想。
Some say that disabilities only limit us if we allow them to. However, physical disabilities such as the loss of a limb or being unable to walk can be extremely difficult to overcome▼. Yet there are people like Rebecca Alexander, who not only survive, but do very well in the face of difficulties every single day. Rebecca Alexander is almost completely blind and deaf due to a rare disease that started when she was young. She also had a rough childhood because her parents went through a painful divorce▼ and her brother suffered from mental illness. In spite of these difficulties, Alexander was determined not to let these disadvantages▼ determine her life's path. To date, Alexander has taken part in a number of hard physical and mental challenges that many thought she could never finish. Bungee jumping▼, skydiving▼, and long-distance cycling▼ are just three of her amazing achievements. Alexander has also put herself against extreme athletes in the Civilian Military Combine — one of the hardest obstacle courses▼ around. To learn more about her story, check out the book she wrote, Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found, and be encouraged by her fearless search for greatness.
有人說，只有自己讓殘疾限制自己時我們才會受限。不過，像失去一隻手腳或者無法行走這種身體上的殘疾是極難克服的。可是也有像蕾貝卡•亞歷山大這樣的人，他們不但生存了下來，而且每一天在面對困難時都能處理得很好。 蕾貝卡•亞歷山大因為從小得了一種罕見的疾病而幾乎全盲且全聾。她也有一段艱苦的童年，因為她的父母親經歷了痛苦的離婚過程，而且她的弟弟也罹患了心理疾病。儘管遭逢這些困境，蕾貝卡•亞歷山大仍下定決心不要讓這些劣勢來左右她人生的道路。 到目前為止，蕾貝卡•亞歷山大已參與了不少許多人認為她絕不可能完成的艱難的身體及心理挑戰。高空彈跳、高空跳傘和長程騎單車這三件事還只是她驚人成就的一部分。蕾貝卡•亞歷山大也在 Civilian Military Combine 這個世上最困難的一個障礙賽跑裡和極限運動選手一較高下。想要知道更多有關她的故事的話，可以看看她寫的《灰暗中的璀璨：無論如何都要活在當下，把今天刻在回憶裡》這本書，讓她那追尋不平凡的無畏精神來鼓舞自己一下。
extremely adv. 非常地，極度，極其 Carl is extremely honest, so he would never cover something up on purpose. 卡爾非常誠實，所以他絕對不會刻意隱瞞事情。
in the face of... 面對……（問題或困難等） Sandra is very calm in the face of danger. 珊卓在面對危險時都很冷靜。
rough a. 艱難的，難受的 Maggie is having a rough time at her new job. 梅姬的新工作做得很不順利。
suffer from... 蒙受……（痛苦、困難、疾病等） suffer vi. & vt. 受苦 Michelle suffered from depression after she gave birth to her son. 蜜雪兒生下兒子後便罹患憂鬱症。 * depression n. 憂鬱症
mental a. 心理的，精神的 Artist Vincent van Gogh showed signs of mental illness in his later years. 畫家文森•梵谷在他晚年時顯現出心理疾病的徵兆。
in spite of... 儘管／雖然…… In spite of the rain, the campers had a great time together in the woods. 儘管下了雨，樹林裡的露營客還是一起玩得很開心。
be determined to V 下定決心做…… determine vt. 決定，支配 Jenny was determined to quit her bad habit of staying up late. 珍妮下定決心改掉她熬夜的壞習慣。 Our spending is determined by our budget. 我們的開銷取決於我們的預算。
greatness n. 偉大，不凡 Edison's greatness as an inventor is beyond question. 作為一位發明家，愛迪生的偉大無庸置疑。
▼ disability n. 殘障，傷殘 ▼ overcome vt. 克服；戰勝 ▼ divorce n. 離婚 ▼ disadvantage n. 不利條件，劣勢 ▼ bungee jumping n. 高空彈跳 ▼ skydiving n. 特技跳傘，高空跳傘 ▼ cycling n. 騎自行車 ▼ obstacle course n. 障礙賽跑；障礙賽賽場
字尾 -less 的用法 本文 "... and be encouraged by her fearless search for greatness." 中的 fearless 為複合形容詞，表『無畏的』，它是由名詞 fear（恐懼）加上表示字尾 -less（沒有……的）組合而成的。另外，字尾 -less 也可表『不……的；不可能……的』，相關字如 harmless（無害的）和 countless（數不盡的，無數的）。例：
To be a soldier, you must be fearless. （想當一個軍人，你一定要無懼任何事情。）
This kind of snake is harmless to humans. （這種蛇對人類是無害的。）
The teacher has taught countless students. （這位老師桃李滿天下。）
