与众不同的父亲（译作）

      我和姐姐在英格兰的一个小村庄长大。父亲是一名郁郁不得志的律师，但我始终觉得他与众不同。

      他从不批评我们，而是用赞许激发出我们最好的一面。他常说："浇灌花朵，它们就会绽放；不浇水，它们就会枯萎。" 记得小时候我曾恶语评价他人，父亲当即告诉我："每当你说出伤人的话，照见的都是你自己。" 他解释说，若能从他人身上看到长处，就会得到美好的回馈。从那时起，无论是在生活还是后来经营公司中，我都努力践行这个原则。

      父亲也始终对他人充满理解。十五岁时我创办杂志。投入大量时间后，校长让我做出选择：要么继续学业，要么退学办刊。我决定退学时，父亲像天下所有尽责的父亲那样试图劝阻我。但当他明白我去意已决时，说道："理查德，二十三岁那年，我父亲说服了我从事法律。这个决定让我抱憾终生——我本想成为生物学家，却没有坚持追逐梦想。既然你清楚自己想要什么，就去实现它吧。"

      后来，我的那份小小的刊物果然发展成了英国全国性的青年杂志——《学生》。如今，我与妻子已经育有两个子女，我觉得我们正在以父亲养育我的方式，将他们抚养成人。

（注：文题为笔者所添加）

附：英文原文

    My sister and I grew up in a little village in England. Our father was a struggling  lawyer, but I always knew he was special.

    He never criticized us, but used praise to bring out our best. He'd say, “If you pour water on flowers, they flourish. If you don't give them water, they die.” I remembered as a child I said something unkind about somebody, and my father said：“ Any time you say something unpleasant about somebody else, it's a reflection of you.” He explained that if I looked for the best in people, I would get the best in return .From then on I've always tried to follow the principle in my life and later in  running my company.

    Dad's also always been very understanding . At 15, I started a magazine. It was taking up a great deal of my time, and the headmaster of my school gave me a choice: stay in school or leave to work on my magazine.

    I decided to leave, and Dad tried to sway me from my decision, as any good father would. When he realized I had made up my mind, he said, “Richard, when I was 23, my dad persuaded me to go into law. And I've always regretted it. I wanted to be a biologist, but I didn't pursue my dream . You know what you want. Go fulfill it. ”

    As it turned out, my little publication went on to become Student, a national magazine for young people in the U. K.. My wife and I have two children, and I'd like to think we are bringing them up in the same way Dad raised me.