Lift Oneself by the Bootstraps——自力更生

** succeed by your own efforts// elevate yourself without any outside help

~~自力更生；依靠自己；獨立取勝；依靠自己的努力取得成功或出人頭地

~~ pull oneself up by one's bootstraps // self reliant // self-made man

!! James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) has the earliest example, “There were .. others who had forced their way to the top from the lowest rung by the aid of their bootstraps.”

（最早的例子出現在1922年James Joyce的《尤利西斯》：“有些人依靠自己，從最低的梯級上到頂端”。）

!! Straps at the back near the top of boots are to help to put on tightly-fitted boots. When doing so you might feel you are lifting yourself upward, which must have inspired the saying.

（靴子背後頂部的帶子可幫助穿上緊身的靴子。這樣做時，您可能會覺得自己在拉高自己，這一定啟發了這句諺語。）

>> Mr. Mak, lifted himself by his bootstraps. He never asked for pocket money from his parents. As a child, he relied on red-envelope money during Chinese New Year. As a teenager, he worked on odd jobs and saved the earnings, which allowed him to establish company and to pay for three years of college tuition.

（麥先生一向自力更生，從不向父母索取零錢，兒童時靠利市錢，青少年時靠兼職賺錢及儲蓄，該儲蓄創辦了公司及交了三年大學學費。）

>> Although the beggar is blind, he pulls himself up by his bootstraps. He plays and sings, and moves passers-by to give him money.

（該乞丐雖然是瞎子，但他依靠自己，又彈又唱感動途人給他金錢。）

學勤進修教育中心英語專科導師

李啟文 教授