小弗罗多（Frodo）原本平静祥和的生活因为一枚象征黑暗权力的魔戒而被颠覆。他不得不和伙伴山姆（Sam）一起，踏上毁灭戒指、保全人类的艰辛之旅途。在又一次死里逃生之后，Frodo开始动摇、灰心，他想他们是不可能完成这样艰巨的使命了，下面摘录的即是Sam表达的感想。这也应该是《指环王》三部曲的作者借Sam之口说出的整部电影的中心所在。

　　F: I can't do this, Sam.
　　S: I know. It's all wrong. By rights, we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you don't want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
　　
　　But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. These were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something evne if you were too small to understand.
　　
　　But I think, Mr. Frodo. I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turing back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
　　F: What are we holding on to, Sam?
　　S: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fight for.

重点讲解

　　当Frodo说他不能完成这个任务的时候，Sam并没有马上接口说，你能行。他肯定了Frodo的想法，他说，整件事情本身就是个错误，按理，我们根本就不该在这里。副词短语by rights表示的是，正当地，应该地。

　　但是，当他们已经陷于摧毁魔戒的艰难道路，已经置身于不知道结果、也不敢知道结果的故事里，这些已经到来的黑暗与危险就是真正至关重要的。不及物动词matter的意思就是，有关系的，要紧的。因为世界已经不可能回到从前。

　　但是，Sam话锋一转，虽然没有允诺一个必定幸福的结局，但所有不快终将过去（a passing thing），阳光终将照耀，即使我们太渺小、还不能完全理解这些已经发生或即将发生的事情。句型too…to就是“太……而不能……”。

　　但是，Sam接着说，故事里的人们不是没有机会退缩的，他们有许多机会可以走回头路（chance of turning back），只是他们没有。他们仍在继续前进（keep doing，继续不断地做某事）。因为，他们在坚持着什么。词组hold on to表示的就是，继续，坚持。

　　我们在坚持什么呢？Frodo问Sam，什么事是我们需要忍受如此艰辛去坚持的呢？答案就是——这世上毕竟是有些美好的东西、美好的感情、美好的事物的，它们值得我们为之战斗（there's some good in this world and it's worth fight for）。