你是天生的大英雄吗?

A tendency to frame events positively and expect good outcomes is another hallmark of heroes, says Jeremy Frimer, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Winnipeg. In a 2010 study, 25 Canadians who had won awards for risking their lives to save others were asked to tell stories about their lives. Heroes were more likely to 'take something that's bad and turn it into something that's good,' says Dr. Frimer, a co-author of the study with Lawrence Walker, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, and others. In an example from another study, Dr. Frimer says, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer described the disease as 're-energizing her creative side,' saying her return to creating art was 'a gift that came from the tragedy.''
加拿大温尼伯格大学(University of Winnipeg)心理学助理教授杰瑞米•弗利默(Jeremy Frimer)认为，从积极的方面想事情并期待良好的结果是英雄的另一个特征。在2010年的一项研究中，研究人员让25位曾因冒着生命危险救助他人而获得奖励的加拿大人讲述他们生活中的故事。弗利默博士称，英雄更有可能会“承担不好的事情，然后把它转变为好事。”她与不列颠哥伦比亚大学(University of British Columbia)的心理学教授劳伦斯•沃克(Lawrence Walker)及其他研究者联合撰写了这份研究报告。弗利默博士还提到，在另一项研究中，一位被诊断患有乳腺癌的女士说这个疾病重新“激活了她具有创造力的一面”，并称她重新开始艺术创作是“这个悲剧送给她的一个礼物”。

When Stephen St. Bernard came home from work last month to his Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment building, neighbors had gathered outside. A 7-year-old child had squeezed out of her family's third-floor apartment window and was dancing on the air-conditioning unit outside, some 25 feet above the pavement.
史蒂芬•圣伯纳德(Stephen St. Bernard)今年53岁，是纽约大都会运输署(Metropolitan Transportation Authority)的一名巴士司机。7月的某一天，家住纽约布鲁克林的圣伯纳德下班后回到自己所住的公寓楼，发现楼外聚集了一群邻居。原来，一个七岁大的孩子从位于三层的家里的窗户钻了出来，站在屋外的空调机上跳舞，距离路面大约有25英尺高。

All Mr. St. Bernard was thinking, he says, was 'maybe I can catch her,' says the 53-year-old bus driver for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 'The weight of the child, how hard she was going to hit me - none of that crossed my mind,' he says. 'I was just hoping, praying, 'God, please don't let me miss.''
圣伯纳德说，当时他心里只想着“也许我能接住她”。他说，“那个孩子有多重，她会对我造成多大力量的撞击——我脑中完全没想到这些事情。我只是希望并祈祷‘上帝，千万别让我失手了。’”

As he moved beneath the window, the girl slipped and plummeted into his outstretched arms with an estimated 600 pounds of force, nearly ripping his arm off. He has had surgery to repair the torn muscles, tendons and nerves and will need months of painful physical therapy. But in describing the incident, he focuses on the fact that the child escaped injury or death. 'Not a scratch was on that baby,' he says.
就在他冲到窗户下面的时候，那个女孩脚下一滑，接着就坠入了他张开的双臂中，当时的冲力估计达到600磅，几乎使他的胳膊折断。后来，他做了手术来修复拉伤的肌腱和神经，并且还要接受数个月痛苦的物理治疗。但是，在谈到这件事情时，他所关注的只是那个女孩并没有受伤或是丧命。他说，“那个孩子一点伤都没有。”

Heroic people also tend to have a strong sense of ethics and above-average coping skills - a belief in their ability to tackle challenges and beat the odds, research shows. On the battlefield in Afghanistan last January, Navy nurse James Gennari knew, when he saw an injured Marine arrive on a stretcher at his medical facility, that standard procedures wouldn't work. The Marine had a live rocket-propelled grenade embedded in his body, from his thigh through his buttocks. A surgeon told Lt. Cmdr. Gennari he didn't have to intervene; a bomb squad could remove the grenade.
研究表明，英勇之人常常也具有强烈的道德感和高于常人的应对能力——他们相信自己能够应对挑战并取得出乎意料的成功。去年1月，在阿富汗战场上，一名受伤的海军陆战队队员躺在担架上被送到了海军护理人员詹姆斯•杰纳里(James Gennari)所工作的医院。杰纳里少校明白常规的治疗程序是起不了作用的：这名士兵的体内有一枚未爆炸的火箭推进榴弹，横穿了他的大腿和臀部。一名外科医生告诉杰纳里少校他不用管这件事，拆弹小组会取出那枚榴弹。

But Lt. Cmdr. Gennari stepped up to the stretcher, took the Marine's hand and told him, 'I promise you, no matter what, I won't leave you until that thing is out of your leg,' ' Lt. Cmdr. Gennari says. He administered a sedative so an explosives specialist could pull out the bomb. It was later detonated in a huge blast outside the base. Lt. Cmdr. Gennari kept the Marine alive by pumping a manual respirator during a power failure on a helicopter flight to another camp. He was awarded a Bronze Star for valor this month.
但杰纳里少校走向了担架，握着那名海军陆战队士兵的手对他说道，“我向你保证，无论发生什么，我都不会扔下你，直到那东西从你腿里取出来为止。”他给这名士兵打了镇静剂好让拆弹专家把榴弹取出来。后来，这枚榴弹在基地外被引爆造成了大爆炸。在用直升机把这名士兵送往另外一个营地时，杰纳里少校还在停电期间利用手控呼吸器来维持他的生命。今年8月，杰纳里少校因为自己的英勇行为被授予了铜星勋章。

Values that inspire heroism are often taught in childhood; 'children who grew up watching their parents stick their necks out for others, are likely to do the same,' says Dr. Hupp.
英雄们往往在儿童时期就学习到了那些激发英勇行为的价值观。赫普博士称，“那些在成长期间看到父母对他人给予帮助的儿童，长大后可能也会效仿他们。”

Lt. Cmdr. Gennari says his parents taught him 'that every good thing that happens to you is a blessing, and you're supposed to give back.' His father Gilbert, a Staff Sergeant in the Army who won a Bronze Star in the Korean War for meritorious service, taught him that 'a man's word is a measure of his character,' he adds. Thus when he gave the Marine his word that he wouldn't leave him, he says, 'that was the way it was going to be.'
杰纳里少校说，他的父母教导他说“你遇到的每一件好事都是一种恩惠，你应该要予以回报。”他还说，他的父亲吉尔伯特(Gilbert)——+曾在朝鲜战场上担任陆军上士，曾立功获得铜星勋章——教育他“一个人的承诺会反映出他的人品。”因此，他说，当他和那名海军陆战队士兵说不会扔下他时，他就会这么去做。