Prologue

When I was a young man just out of law school and eager to get on with my life, on a whim¹ I briefly² put aside my reading preference for fiction and history and bought one of those how-to books: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein. The books main point was the necessity of listing short-, medium-, and long-term life goals, then categorizing them in order of their importance, with the A group being the most important, the B group next, and the C the last, then listing under each goal specific activities designed to achieve them. I still have that paperback³ book, now almost thirty years old. And Im sure I have that old list somewhere buried in my papers, though I cant⁴ find it. However, I do remember the A list. I wanted to be a good man, have a good marriage and children, have good friends, make a successful political life, and write a great book.

Whether Im a good man is, of course, for God to judge. I know that I am not as good as my strongest supporters believe or as I hope to become, nor as bad as my harshest⁵ critics assert⁶. I have been graced beyond measure by my family life with Hillary and Chelsea. Like all families lives, ours is not perfect, but it has been wonderful. Its flaws⁷, as all the world knows, are mostly mine, and its continuing promise is grounded in their love. No person I know ever had more or better friends. Indeed, a strong case can be made that I rose to the presidency⁸ on the shoulders of my personal friends, the now legendary⁹ FOBs.

My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift peoples spirits, and to bring them together. Thats the way I kept score.

As for the great book, who knows? It sure is a good story.

1 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 paperback   

n.平装本，简装本

参考例句：

• A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
• Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。

4 cant   

n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔

参考例句：

• The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。
• He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。

5 harshest   

adj.刺耳的( harsh的最高级 )；粗糙的；严厉的；残酷的

参考例句：

• Cheating deserves our harshest condemnation. 作弊理应受到我们最严厉的谴责。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fannie and Freddie's harshest critics want the companies shut down. 对两房抱有最严厉意见的人，希望两家公司停业关门。 来自互联网

6 assert   

vt.断言，声称，维护，坚持

参考例句：

• I choose rather to hesitate my opinion than to assert it roundly.我宁可犹疑地表示我的意见而不愿直率地断言这件事。
• You must assert yourself or they will continue to bully you.你必须维护自己的权利，否则他们还会欺负你。

7 flaws   

n.缺点( flaw的名词复数 )；错误；裂痕

参考例句：

• The argument is full of fundamental flaws. 这段论述充满根本性的错误。
• His remark is full of contradictions and flaws. 他的话前后矛盾，破绽百出。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

9 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。