Most prodigies never make that leap. They apply their extraordinary abilities in ordinary ways, mastering their jobs without questioning defaults and without making waves. In every domain they enter, they play it safe by following the conventional paths to success.
1.make the leap：leap表示跳跃，make the leap可以引申理解为成功、进行决定性的一跃，在本句中承接上文“很少一部分人能成为改写该领域的人物”，“Most prodigies never make that leap”我认为可以理解为“大多数的神童都没有做到这一步”。
例句：Few people successfully make the leap from television to the movies.
2.apply：这里用了apply的“使用”一意，to use something such as a method, idea, or law in a particular situation, activity, or process，可以与use做同义替换。
例句：These ideas are often difficult to apply in practice. 这些想法往往很难付诸实践。
3.make waves：这个短语除了表示“制造问题、吸引别人的注意”，在美式英语中还有另一层含义。
朗文和牛津词典给出的含义都是：to be very active so that other people notice you, often causes problems. 而在剑桥字典中的美式英语板块中的解释为：to shock or upset people with something new or different. 我认为可以翻译为：用与众不同或新颖的东西震惊大众。显然，在本段中还是倾向美式英语中的释义。
例句：When I started the job, a friend told me not to make waves because the managers didn't like people to disagree with them.
4.play （it）safe：打安全牌，中规中矩，to be careful and not take risks.
例句：To play safe, I'd allow an extra ten minutes, just in case.
They become doctors who heal their patients without fighting to fix the broken systems that prevent many patients from affording health care in the first place. They become lawyers who defend clients for violating outdated laws without trying to transform the laws themselves. They become teachers who plan engaging algebra lessons without questioning whether algebra is what their students need to learn. Although we rely on them to keep the world running smoothly, they keep us running on a treadmill.
5.violate：违反、违背，to disobey or do something against an official agreement, law, principle etc.
例句：34 protesters were arrested for violating criminal law. 34名抗议者因违反刑法而被逮捕。
6.outlated：过时的，守旧的，if something is outdated, it is no longer considered useful or effective, because something more modern exists.可以与old-fashioned做同义替换。
例句：His writing style is now boring and outdated. 他的写作风格如今已显得乏味而过时了。
7.engaging：吸引人的，动人的，pleasant and attracting your interest.
可以说：an engaging smile
8.treadmill：treadmill是跑步机，还可以引申为枯燥无味的工作，work or a way of life that seems very boring because you always have to do the same things.这里的run on a treadmill也指在原地踏步。
网友评论