银行家懂得复利的威力：一笔小钱，只要利息不断滚动，几十年后便会变成一笔可观的财富。
Bankers understand the power of compound interest: let a small sum keep rolling over, and in a few decades it becomes a considerable fortune.
其实，习惯也遵循着同样的法则。
Habits, in fact, obey the very same law.
每天读书二十分钟，一年下来就是一百多个小时，相当于啃完十几本厚书。
Twenty minutes of reading a day adds up to over a hundred hours a year — enough to chew through a dozen thick books.
反之，每天熬夜刷手机一小时，日积月累，透支的便是整个人的精力与健康。
Conversely, an hour of late-night scrolling every day, accumulated over months and years, overdraws your entire store of energy and health.
习惯的可怕之处在于，它的效果在短期内几乎察觉不到，无论好坏，都要等到多年以后才会显现。
The frightening thing about a habit is that its effects are nearly invisible in the short run; good or bad, they only reveal themselves years later.
英国自行车队曾经默默无闻，新教练上任后不追求宏大的改革，只要求每个环节改进百分之一，几年后这支队伍竟横扫了奥运会的奖牌。
The British cycling team was once an obscure squad; its new coach pursued no grand reforms, demanding only a one-percent improvement in every detail — and within a few years the team was, astonishingly, sweeping Olympic medals.
可见，决定人生走向的，往往不是那些轰轰烈烈的大决定，而是每天不起眼的小选择。
Clearly, what determines the course of a life is seldom the grand, dramatic decisions, but the unremarkable little choices made every day.
习惯是时间开给我们的复利账户，今天存入什么，明天便收获什么。
A habit is a compound-interest account that time opens in our name: whatever you deposit today, you will harvest tomorrow.
🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now —
teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.
Key words 生词
复利fùlìcompound interest
透支tòuzhīto overdraw; to overdraft
日积月累rì jī yuè lěito accumulate over days and months
默默无闻mò mò wú wénobscure; unknown to the world
横扫héngsǎoto sweep (a competition); to rout
轰轰烈烈hōng hōng liè liègrand and spectacular; vigorous
Grammar note 语法点
反之
'Conversely; on the other hand' — a formal connector that introduces the opposite case of what was just said. 例：每天读书使人进步；反之，每天熬夜刷手机透支健康。
多运动有益健康；反之，久坐不动则伤害身体。— Exercise benefits health; conversely, sitting still all day harms the body.
无论…，都…
'No matter / regardless of A, B holds.' 无论 is followed by a question word or paired alternatives like 好坏、多少. 例：无论好坏，都要多年以后才会显现。
无论遇到什么困难，他都不放弃。— No matter what difficulties he runs into, he never gives up.
Check yourself 小测验
1. What did the new coach of the British cycling team demand?
2. According to the text, what makes habits frightening?
3. What does the text say usually determines the course of a life?