学文网年轻就是要敢于梦想。就像来自非洲东南部小国马拉维的“驭风少年”威廉·坎宽巴一样，即便所有人都认为你疯了，你也要有敢于坚持的执着，即便追逐梦想的路上困难重重，你也要有不轻言放弃的毅力。相信自己，战胜困难，成功就会向你招手。
The extraordinary true story of a Malawian teenager who transformed his village by building electric windmills out of junk is the subject of a new book， The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Self-taught William Kamkwamba has been feted1） by climate change campaigners like Al Gore2） and business leaders the world over. His against-all-odds3） achievements are all the more remarkable considering he was forced to quit school aged 14 because his family could no longer afford the $80-a-year fees. When he returned to his parents' small plot of farmland in the central Malawian village of Masitala， his future seemed limited. But this was not another tale of African potential thwarted4） by poverty.
新书《驭风少年》讲述的是一个非比寻常的真实故事：一位马拉维少年利用废物造出了风车发电机，让他所在的村庄焕然一新。这位自学成才的少年就是威廉·坎宽巴，像阿尔·戈尔这样的应对气候变化的活动家和全球商界领袖们都对他交口称赞。坎宽巴14岁时因家里无力给他续交80美元一年的学费被迫辍学，有鉴于此，他冲破重重困难取得的那些成就才更显不凡。当坎宽巴辍学回到马拉维中部的马斯塔拉村，回到父母耕种的那几亩薄田时，他的未来似乎黯淡无光。然而，这并不是又一个非洲可能的未来栋梁被贫困打倒的故事。
Defence Against Hunger
The teenager had a dream of bringing electricity and running water to his village. And he was not prepared to wait for politicians or aid groups to do it for him.
The need for action was even greater in 2002 following one of Malawi's worst droughts， which killed thousands of people and left his family on the brink of starvation. Unable to attend school， he kept up his education by using a local library. Fascinated by science， his life changed one day when he picked up a worn textbook and saw a picture of a windmill.
Mr. Kamkwamba told the BBC News website： "I was very interested when I saw the windmill could make electricity and pump water. I thought， 'That could be a defence against hunger. Maybe I should build one for myself.'"
When not helping his family farm maize5）， he plugged away at6） his prototype7）， working by the light of a paraffin8） lamp in the evenings. But his ingenious project met blank looks in his community of about 200 people. "Many， including my mother， thought I was going crazy，" he recalls. "They had never seen a windmill before."
对抗饥饿
少年坎宽巴梦想着能让自己的村庄通上电和自来水。而且，他并没有准备坐等那些***府官员或救助团体去帮他实现这个梦想。
2002年马拉维发生旱灾之后，对这一行动的需求变得愈发急迫。那场旱灾是马拉维历史上最严重的旱灾之一，共造成数千人死亡，也让坎宽巴一家处于饥荒的边缘。因为上不起学，坎宽巴就利用当地一家***书馆自学。一天，痴迷科学的坎宽巴随手拿起一本旧教科书翻阅，看到了一张画着风车的***片，他的人生从此改变。
坎宽巴告诉英国广播公司新闻网说：“当我看到风车可以发电和抽水时，我便产生了浓厚的兴趣。我想，‘风车也可以用来对抗饥饿。或许我应该为自己造一个风车。’”
没帮家里耕作玉米的时候，坎宽巴就埋头捣鼓自己的风车，借着一盏煤油灯夜夜苦干。他的这个工程很有新意，但马斯塔拉村上上下下约两百口人却对此茫然不解。“很多人，包括我妈妈，都觉得我精神要出问题，”坎宽巴回忆说，“他们之前从没见过风车。”
Shocks
Neighbours were further confused about the youngster spending so much time searching rubbish tips. "People thought I was smoking marijuana9），" he said. "So I told them I was only making something for juju10） [magic]. Then they said： 'Ah， I see.'"
Mr. Kamkwamba， who is now 22 years old， knocked together11） a turbine12） from spare bicycle parts， a tractor fan blade and an old shock absorber， and fashioned blades from plastic pipes， flattened by being held over a fire.
"I got a few electric shocks climbing that [windmill]，" says Mr. Kamkwamba， pitifully recalling his months of diligent work.
Shocks
Neighbours were further confused about the youngster spending so much time searching rubbish tips. "People thought I was smoking marijuana9），" he said. "So I told them I was only making something for juju10） [magic]. Then they said： 'Ah， I see.'"
Mr. Kamkwamba， who is now 22 years old， knocked together11） a turbine12） from spare bicycle parts， a tractor fan blade and an old shock absorber， and fashioned blades from plastic pipes， flattened by being held over a fire.
"I got a few electric shocks climbing that [windmill]，" says Mr. Kamkwamba， pitifully recalling his months of diligent work.
1. fete [fe?t] vt. 给予……巨大荣誉；赞扬
2. Al Gore： 阿尔·戈尔（1948～），即小艾伯特·戈尔（Albert Gore， Jr.），曾在1993～2001年克林顿执***期间担任美国副总统，在2000年竞选总统失利后，一直致力于环保事业。2007年10月，戈尔与联合国***府间气候变化专门委员会同获当年度诺贝尔和平奖。同年，他参与制作的环保纪录片《难以忽视的真相》获得第79届奥斯卡金像奖的最佳纪录片奖。
3. against-all-odds： 排除万难取得成功
4. thwart [θw??t] vt. 使受挫折；挫败
5. maize [me?z] n. 玉米
6. plug away at： 拼命地干着；顽强地致力于
7. prototype [?pr??t?ta?p] n. 原型
8. paraffin [?p?r?f?n] n. 煤油
9. marijuana [?m?r??wɑ?n?] n. 大麻烟
10. juju [?d?u?d?u?] n. （西非土著的）物神，护符
11. knock together： 匆匆拼凑成，草草做成（或建成）
12. turbine [?t??ba?n] n. 涡轮机
The finished product—a 5-m tall blue-gum-tree wood tower， swaying in the breeze over Masitala—seemed little more than a quixotic13） tinkerer's14） folly15）.
But his neighbours' mirth16） turned to amazement when Mr. Kamkwamba scrambled up the windmill and hooked a car light bulb to the turbine. As the blades began to spin in the breeze， the bulb flickered to life and a crowd of astonished onlookers went wild. Soon the whiz17） kid's 12-watt wonder was pumping power into his family's mud brick compound.
Electric Wind
Out went the paraffin lanterns and in came light bulbs and a circuit breaker， made from nails and magnets off an old stereo speaker， and a light switch cobbled18） together from bicycle spokes19） and flip-flop20） rubber.
Before long， locals were queuing up to charge their mobile phones.
Mr. Kamkwamba's story was sent hurtling21） through the blogosphere22） when a reporter from the Daily Times newspaper in Blantyre wrote an article about him in November 2006.
Meanwhile， he installed a solar-powered mechanical pump， donated by well-wishers， above a borehole23）， adding water storage tanks and bringing the first potable24） water source to the entire region around his village.
He upgraded his original windmill to 48-volts and anchored25） it in concrete after its wooden base was chewed away by termites26）. Then he built a new windmill， called the Green Machine， which turned a water pump to irrigate his family's field. Before long， visitors were traipsing27） from miles around to gawp28） at the boy whiz's "electric wind".
Cheetah Generation29）
As the fame of his renewable energy projects grew， he was invited in 2007 to the famous Technology Entertainment Design conference30） in Arusha， Tanzania. Onstage， the native Chichewa speaker narrated his story in halting31） English， moving hard-bitten venture capitalists and receiving a standing ovation32）. A glowing front-page portrait of him followed in The Wall Street Journal.
He is now on a scholarship at the elite African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg， South Africa. Mr. Kamkwamba—who has been flown to conferences around the globe to tell his life-story—has the world at his feet， but is determined to return home after his studies.
The home-grown hero aims to finish bringing power， not just to the rest of his village， but to all Malawians， only 2% of whom have electricity.
"I want to help my country and apply the knowledge I've learned，" he says. "I feel there's lots of work to be done."
Former Associated Press news agency reporter Bryan Mealer had been reporting on conflict across Africa for five years when he heard Mr. Kamkwamba's story. The incredible tale was the kind of positive story Mealer， from New York， had long hoped to cover. The author spent a year with Mr. Kamkwamba writing The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind， which has just been published in the US.
Mealer says Mr. Kamkwamba represents Africa's new "Cheetah Generation"， young people， energetic and technology-hungry， who are taking control of their own destiny.
"Spending a year with William writing this book reminded me why I fell in love with Africa in the first place，" says Mr. Mealer， 34. "It's the kind of tale that resonates33） with every human being and reminds us of our own potential."
做好的风车是一个五米高的蓝桉树木塔，会随着吹过马斯塔拉村的微风晃动，看上去就和某个不着调的工匠的滑稽拙作差不多。
但是当坎宽巴爬上风车，将一个汽车灯泡挂在涡轮机上时，邻居们刚开始还觉得好笑，继而变得十分惊讶。随着风车叶片开始在微风中转动，灯泡忽闪忽闪地亮了起来，围观的人群这下炸开了锅，个个震惊不已。很快，这位少年奇才12瓦的“神器”便开始为他家的泥砖房供电。
发电风车
坎宽巴一家就这样送走了煤油灯，迎来了电灯泡，也迎来了用旧立体声扬声器的螺丝和磁铁做成的电闸，以及用自行车辐条和人字拖上的橡胶做成的电灯开关。
没过多久，当地村民就开始在风车前排起长队等着给他们的手机充电了。
2006年11月，坎宽巴的事迹经布兰太尔市《每日时报》的一名记者撰文报道后，很快就在博客世界流传开来。
在此期间，坎宽巴将一些好心人捐赠的一个太阳能机械泵安装在村里的一口水井上，又添了一些储水罐，让他所在的整个村子有了首个饮用水水源。
坎宽巴将他原来风车的输电电压提高到了48伏，还把被白蚁啃噬坏的木制底座替换成了混凝土底座。之后，他又制造了一个名为“绿色机器”的新风车，用这个风车来驱动水泵抽水浇灌自家的田地。没多久，便有人走上好几英里专程来看这位少年奇才的“发电风车”。
“猎豹一代”
随着坎宽巴的可再生能源项目名气越来越大，他在2007年获邀出席了在坦桑尼亚阿鲁沙市举办的著名的TED大会。站在台上，坎宽巴用蹩脚的英语（他的母语是齐契瓦语）讲起了自己的故事，打动了那些一向冷峻的风险投资家，并获得了观众们的起立鼓掌。坎宽巴容光焕发的肖像随即上了《华尔街日报》的头版。
坎宽巴目前（编注：指2009年）正在南非约翰内斯堡一所顶尖的非洲领袖学院学习，该学院为其提供奖学金。坎宽巴曾飞往全球各地出席各种会议讲述自己的人生经历，虽然他可以选择去往世界的任何地方，但他还是决定在完成学业后重返故乡。
这位马拉维土生土长的青年才俊立下宏志，不仅要把电带给其村庄的其余村民，还要让所有的马拉维人都有电用。目前只有2%的马拉维人能用得上电。
“我想为祖国做贡献，把我学到的知识付诸实践，”他说，“我觉得我还有很多工作要去做。”
布赖恩·米勒是美联社的前新闻记者，他在听说坎宽巴事迹之前的五年时间里，一直在报道非洲大陆的冲突。坎宽巴这个不可思议的故事正是来自纽约的米勒早就想要报道的那种正面故事。跟坎宽巴相处一年后，米勒写出了《驭风少年》一书，最近（编注：指2009年）刚在美国出版。
米勒表示，坎宽巴代表着非洲新生的“猎豹一代”。他们年轻气盛，活力四射，痴迷科技，自己主宰着自己的命运。
“跟威廉相处一年创作这本书让我想起了为什么我当初会爱上非洲，”34岁的米勒说，“他的故事是那种能够引起每个人共鸣的故事，提醒我们自身也拥有潜力。”
13. quixotic [kw?k?s?t?k] adj. 不切实际的，空想的
14. tinkerer： 本是指美国漫威公司（Marvel）出品的漫画书中创造的“超级大坏蛋”这个虚拟角色，后用来指喜欢捣鼓小家具、小发明的人。
15. folly [?f?li] n. 耗费巨大而又无益的事；造价大而无用的怪异建筑物
16. mirth [m??θ] n. 欢乐，高兴
17. whiz [?w?z] n. 极其聪明的人；奇才
18. cobble [?k?bl] vt. 把……草率地（或匆忙地）拼凑起来（together）
19. spoke [sp??k] n. 辐条
20. flip-flop [?fl?pfl?p] n. （塑料或橡胶）平底人字拖鞋
21. hurtle [?h??tl] vi. 猛冲，飞驰
22. blogosphere [?bl?ɡ?sf??（r）] n. 博客世界，指由所有的网络日志构成的网络空间。
23. borehole [?b??h??l] n. （尤指为探寻水或石油而凿的）深狭洞
24. potable [?p??t?bl] adj. 适合饮用的
25. anchor [???k?（r）] vt. 使固定
26. termite [?t??ma?t] n. 【昆】白蚁
27. traipse [tre?ps] vi. 游荡；疲惫地走
28. gawp [ɡ??p] vi. 呆头呆脑地凝视，张嘴凝视（at）
29. Cheetah Generation： “猎豹一代”，指非洲新一代的年轻人。他们充满活力，机智勇敢，实事求是。他们追求人权，反对腐败。他们面对问题不再消极地等待***府来采取行动，而是积极出击。他们是非洲的希望，也是非洲社会未来的栋梁。
30. Technology Entertainment Design conference： 即TED大会，由美国人理查德·沃尔曼（Richard Wurman， 1935～）发起。大会每年邀请众多科学、设计、文学、音乐等领域的杰出人物登台演讲，分享他们关于技术、社会以及人类的思考和探索。演讲者观点独特，看法新颖，深受人们的欢迎。
31. halting [?h??lt??] adj. 结结巴巴的
32. ovation [???ve??n] n. 热烈鼓掌，欢呼
33. resonate [?rez?ne?t] vi. 共鸣
转载请注明出处学文网 » 驭风少年威廉·坎宽巴