散文:A Lesson Of Life 生活的啟示

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“everything happens for the best,”my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. "If you can carry on, one day something good will happen. And you'll realize that it wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."

每當我遇到挫折時,母親就會說:"一切都會好的。如果你堅持下去,總有一天會有好事發(fā)生。你會認識到,如果沒有以前的挫折就不會有現(xiàn)在的一切。"

Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932.I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station-and got turned down every time.

母親是對的,發(fā)現(xiàn)這個是在1932年,我剛從大學畢業(yè)。我已決定試著在電臺找個事兒做,然后爭取做體育節(jié)目的播音員。我搭便車到了芝加哥,挨個電臺地敲門推銷自己——但每次都被拒絕了。

In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn't risk hiring inexperienced person-"Go out in the sticks and find a small station that'll give you a chance,”she said.

在一個播音室里,一位好心的女士告訴我,大的廣播電臺是不會冒險雇用沒經(jīng)驗的新手的。"去鄉(xiāng)下找一家給你機會的小電臺吧,"她說。

I thumbed home to Dixon, Illinois. While there was no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father sad Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn't hired.

我搭車來到我的家鄉(xiāng),那是伊利諾斯州的迪克森。在迪克森當時還沒有電臺播音員這樣的工作,父親說,蒙哥馬利·沃德開了一家新商店,想雇請一個本地的運動員管理店里的體育部。我中學時曾在迪克森打過橄欖球,出于這個原因我去申請了這份工作。工作聽起來挺適合我的,但是我沒被聘用。

My disappointment must have shown. "Everything happens for the best," Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.

我的沮喪心情一定表現(xiàn)出來了。"一切總會好的,"母親提醒我說。爸爸給我買了一輛汽車找工作用。我試著到愛荷華州達文波特的woc電臺去求職。那里的電臺節(jié)目總監(jiān)是一個很棒的蘇格蘭人,名叫彼得·麥克阿瑟,他告訴我他們已經(jīng)雇到播音員了。

As I left his office, my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud,"How can a fellow get to be a sport announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?"

離開他辦公室時,我的挫折感達到了極點。我大聲地說:"一個連在電臺都找不到工作的家伙又怎么能成為體育節(jié)目的播音員呢?

I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, "What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?"Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.

等電梯時，我聽到麥克阿瑟喊道：”你說什么體育?你懂橄欖球嗎?”接著他讓我站到麥克風前面，請我解說一場想象中的比賽。

On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother's words: "if you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment" I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I’d gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.

在回家的路上——以后也有很多次的，我思考著母親的那句話：”如果你堅持下去，總要一天會有好事發(fā)生。如果沒有以前的挫折，就不會有現(xiàn)在的一切。”我常想，如果當年我得到蒙哥馬利·沃德的那份工作，我的人生之路又會怎樣走呢?