句子使用了“Do not fail to”双重否定结构以加强语气，并通过“or”连接两个并列分句，构成了典型的条件后果句式。
On one evening, after having a few drinks, he summoned his sixteen-year-old son to his side. Looking at his son's youthful face, he was struck with a sudden realization: "Isn't this just who I was at sixteen?" The scene of his own father's dying words flashed through his mind, and he murmured to himself, filled with self-reproach:
"Why didn't I listen to those words?"
Tears streamed down his cheeks as he spoke. His son stood before him, trying to comfort him wisely: "Dad, you're drunk. Go to bed early."
"I am not drunk. I need to tell you what your grandfather told me on his deathbed. You must remember it well."
"Dad, what kind of words are so serious?"
"When your grandfather was dying, he warned me: 'Do not fail to strive in your youth, or you will achieve nothing in old age.' I didn't listen, nor did I truly understand. As a result, it took me a lifetime to grasp the meaning of this simple sentence, but it was too late."
"Isn't that something everyone knows?"
"Yes, but not everyone is willing to strive and work hard from a young age. You must acquire knowledge and skills while you are young, or else you will end up as I did, with nothing to show for it in old age. You must take this warning seriously. I hope you will be a good person and ensure that your future descendants achieve success, so that you won't have to pass this down as a final testament."
"If one does not strive in youth, one will only grieve in old age." This is a cliché that many find tiresome. Yet, despite elders repeating it over and over, most teenagers do not truly understand it, or even hear it in, which is truly regrettable.
This single sentence condenses the truth distilled by countless predecessors after enduring multiple failures and trials.
在一个夜晚，他小酌几杯，带着几分酒意将十六岁的儿子叫到身边。看着眼前青涩的模样，他心中一惊，不禁感叹：“这不就是当年的我吗？”脑海中浮现出父亲临终前交代遗言的场景，他满含自责地喃喃自语：
“我怎么就没把那句话听进去呢。”
说着，泪水顺着脸颊滑落。儿子站在面前，懂事地安慰道：“爸爸，您喝醉了，早点休息吧！”
“我没醉。我要把你爷爷当年交代给我的话告诉你，你一定要牢牢记住。”
“爸爸，什么话这么慎重？”
“当年你爷爷临终时告诫我，千万不可‘少壮不努力，老来没成就’。那时我没听进去，也没真正听懂。结果我耗费了一生的精力，才体会到这句话的深意，可惜为时已晚。”
“这句话不是人人皆知吗？”
“是啊，但并非每个人都愿意从年轻时就开始奋发向上。一定要在年轻时就学好本领，否则老了就像我一样一无是处。你一定要认真对待这句话。希望你好好做人，将来让儿孙都能成才，不必再把这句话当作遗言来交代了。”
“少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。”这是一句令人厌烦的熟语，然而尽管长辈们一再提起，多数青少年却并未真正理解，甚至听而不闻，实在可惜。
因为这一句话，凝聚了多少前人历经多次失败试炼后所总结出的真理。
"Hope, when accompanied by hard work, allows one to soar like a tiger with wings."
"The path you choose, you must finish even if you have to crawl."
"By refusing to settle for mediocrity, one can play a magnificent symphony."
"Tireless perseverance can conquer any peak in the world."
"Strive upward; the stars are hidden deep within your soul."