活到老學到老的勵志爺爺：91歲識字98歲出書

For those faced with a struggle, Captain James Arruda Henry's story is nothing short of inspirational.
對那些陷入困境苦苦爭鬥的人來說，老船長詹姆斯·阿魯達·亨利的故事無疑是鼓舞人心的。

The 98-year-old retired lobsterman has become a first-time author, having written and published his autobiography after learning to read at the incredible age of 91. And his manuscript, entitled 'In a Fisherman's Language', even has Hollywood calling.
他在91歲高齡纔開始讀書認字，現在，這位98歲高齡的老漁夫第一次成爲了一名作者，完成並出版了自己的自傳。他的手稿題爲“以漁夫之言”，已經被好萊塢製片人相中。

As ABC affiliate WTNH reports, Mr Henry, of Mystic, Connecticut, spent most of his life without even his closest family members suspecting he was illiterate. Forced to quit school in the third grade to take odd jobs, he kept the secret close to his chest - only confiding in his late wife.
根據ABC旗下的WTNH電視臺報道，神祕的亨利老先生是康涅狄格州人，在他生命的大半時間，即便是最親近的家人都不知道他是文盲這件事情。亨利在小學三年級時就被迫退學，打零工掙錢。他一直把這個祕密埋藏在心底——只告訴過他已故的妻子。

Mr Henry's granddaughter, Marlisa McLaughlin, told the station how he used tricks, like waiting for others to order at restaurants first, or asking waiters how much he owed at restaurants, to avoid the issue.
亨利老先生的孫女，梅麗莎·麥克勞林女士向我們講述了他的小伎倆，比如下館子的時候，他總是讓別人先點餐，或者問服務員應該付多少錢，避免別人發現他不識字的祕密。

A family dispute in his 90s, she said, sparked his initiative to reclaim his education. 'He signed a document he could not read about where he was going to go live,' Ms McLaughlin said, declining to offer further detail.
在他90歲時，一次家庭糾紛激發了老先生重拾課本的念頭。“他稀裏糊塗簽署了一份文件，那份文件規定了他的住處，可他根本就看不懂。”麥克勞林女士不願透漏更多的細節。And then, after hearing about George Dawson, a son of slaves who learned to read at age 98 and went on to write a book of his own, entitled 'Life Is So Good' at age 101 - Mr Henry took up reading.
後來，他聽說了喬治·道森的故事：一位奴隸的兒子，98歲時開始學習閱讀，101歲時寫出了自傳《生命如此美好》——亨利先生也重新拾起了課本。

'I said if he can do it, I'm gonna try,' Mr Henry said. Starting with his name, he eventually moved on to the ABC's and children's books.
“如果他能做到，我也要試一試。” 亨利先生說。從自己的名字開始，他認全了24個字母，直到能閱讀兒童讀物。

He put them down for four years after the tragic loss of his wife. But eventually he went back to reading and with the help of his tutor, Mark Hogan, began to log his life.
痛失妻子後，他的學習耽擱了四年。但最終他又重新回來，並在老師馬克·霍根的幫助下開始記錄自己的生活。

As WTNH reports, he wrote about his family's voyage from Portugal to the U.S., how he went on to captain a lobster boat and serve on the National Guard, his many journeys at sea and how he was unable to save another fisherman who had fallen overboard. He became a carpenter and a plumber, and even a professional boxer - and eventually built his own home in Stonington Borough.
他寫下了自己的故事：如何隨家人從葡萄牙乘船來到美國，怎樣成爲一艘捕蝦船的船長，又怎樣加入了國民警衛隊，許多次的航海曆程，以及他是怎樣眼睜睜目睹另一位漁民摔落海中，又無能爲無法救援。他做過木匠，管道工，甚至當過職業拳擊手——最後，他把家安在了斯托寧頓小鎮。

His life stories have become so popular, in fact, nearly 800 copies were sold in the first two weeks of the book's release last month. One thousand more have since been printed as requests for the book flood in from as far as Germany. And now even Hollywood producers have approached Mr Henry about optioning the rights to his life story for a big screen adaptation.
他的生活傳奇非常受歡迎，事實上，這本書上月剛剛上架，短短兩週之內就賣出近800本。出版社甚至收到了來自德國讀者的圖書訂單，現在圖書已經加印了一千多冊。而好萊塢製片人也在與亨利先生接觸，希望能把他的故事搬上大熒幕。

According to WTNH, the family also now has a book agent and a deal in the works to publish a second edition that would include a hardcover version. Ms McLaughlin said a textbook publisher has approached the family about featuring her grandfather's story in one of its books - and Kindle and Amazon want to offer an e-version.
根據報道，現在家裏已經找來一位圖書代理，並正準備出版包括精裝本在內的第二版。麥克勞林女士說，有家教科書出版社已經與他們聯繫，希望能把她祖父的故事編入課本——亞馬遜也希望能推出這本書的電子版。

Meanwhile, the family says they are reconnecting and closer than ever as a result of Mr Henry's late-life endeavour. 'Everyone has a story,' Ms McLaughlin said, adding of her grandfather's: 'It teaches that when you're down and out, never give up.'
與此同時，亨利先生的家人說，在亨利先生晚年努力之下，家庭成員之間的關係變得比之前更爲融洽親密了。“每個人都有一個故事。”麥克勞林女士說道，祖父的故事告訴我們，“在你潦倒失意時，永遠不要放棄。”