古德明《征服英语》之英语军事故事，古德明，香港英语教育作家，他开了一个《征服英语专栏》，在专栏中专门用英语写了世界近代史上的军事小故事，用英语讲述历史中那些惊心动魄的战争。
成功仅凭运气 ？
The ancient Greek world was divided into a thousand independent city states, of which Athens was the most famous. When Themistocles of Athens was the most renowned leader in all Greece, a politician from the small town of Larissa said to him, "A great deal of your fame arises from the accident of your birth in Athens. Had you been born in Larissa, you would not have grown great."
"Nor you, had you been born in Athens," Themistocles replied.
狄密斯托克利说：「先生若生于雅典，亦何能有今日成就。」
【解说】狄密斯托克利统治雅典期间，军事上多所建树，特别重海军；公元前四八○年率领希腊海军大败入侵的波斯，希腊得免沦亡，厥功至伟。后来他被政敌流放，客死亚洲。
Famous、renowned都是「着名」，意思没有大分别，但famous比renowned通用得多，renowned则是较庄严的用语，称许含义也比famous强，常用来形容传奇式人物，例如：（ 1 ） She is the daughter of the renowned boxer Muhammad Ali （ 她 是 着 名 拳 师 阿 里 的 女 儿 ） 。 （ 2 ） Egypt is renowned for its ancient ruins （ 埃 及 以 其 古 见 称 ） 。 和 famous 一 样 ， renowned 之 后 可 用 for 字 带 出 着 名 的 原 因 。
