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.
As I left his office, my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud, "How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?"
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 9)imaginary game.
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.
生活的一课
每当我遇到挫折时，母亲就会说：“一切都会好的。如果你坚持下去，总有一天会有好事发生。你会认识到，如果没有以前的挫折就不会有现在的一切。”
母亲是对的，发现这个时是在1932年，我刚从大学毕业。我已决定试着在电台找个事儿做，然后争取做体育节目的播音员。我搭便车到了芝加哥，挨家电台地敲门推销自己--但每次都被拒绝了。
在一个播音室里，一位好心的女士告诉我，大的广播电台是不会冒险雇佣没经验的新手的。“去乡下找一家给你机会的小电台吧，”她说。
我搭车来到我的家乡，那是伊利诺斯州的迪克森。在迪克森当时还没有电台播音员这样的工作，父亲说，蒙哥马利·沃德开了一家新商店，想雇请一个本地的运动员管理店里的体育部。我中学时曾在迪克森打过橄榄球，出于这个原因我去申请了这份工作。工作听起来挺适合我的，但是我没被聘用。
我的沮丧心情一定表现出来了。“一切总会好的，”母亲提醒我说。爸爸给我买了一辆汽车找工作用。我试到爱荷华州达文波特的WOC电台去求职。那里的电台节目负责人是一个很棒的苏格兰人，名叫彼得·麦克阿瑟，他告诉我他们已经雇到播音员了。
离开他办公室时，我愤怒极了。我大声地说：“一个连在电台都找不到工作的家伙又怎么能成为体育节目的播音员呢？”
等电梯时，我听见麦克阿瑟喊道：“你说什么体育？你了解橄榄球吗？”接着他让我站到麦克风前，请我解说一场想象中的比赛。
在回家的路上--以后也有很多次地，我思考着母亲的那句话：“如果你坚持下去，总有一天会有好事发生。如果没有以前的挫折，就不会有现在的一切。”
我常想，如果我当年得到了蒙哥马利·沃德的那份工作，我的人生之路又会怎样走呢？
注释：
1) carry on 坚持
2) previous a. 以前的
3) announcer n. 广播员
4) hitchhike v. 搭便车
5) turn down 拒绝
6) inexperienced a. 无经验的
7) thumb v. 作搭车姿势
8) athlete n. 运动员
9) imaginary a. 想像的
★★《2003年05月号-第40期-Disc02-04》★★
A Great Friendship
-- Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison met in 1776. Could it have been any other year? They worked together starting then to 1)further the American Revolution and later to shape the new 2)scheme of government. From that work sprang a friendship perhaps 3)incomparable in 4)intimacy and the trustfulness of 5)collaboration and 6)indurations. It lasted 50 years. It included pleasure and 7)utility but over and above them, there were shared purpose, a common end and an enduring goodness on both sides. Four and a half months before he died, when he was 8)ailing, debt-ridden, and worried about his 9)impoverished family, Jefferson wrote to his longtime friend. His words and Madison's reply remind us that friends are friends until death. They also remind us that sometimes a friendship has a bearing on things larger than the friendship itself, for has there ever been a friendship of greater public 10)consequence than this one?
"The friendship which has 11)subsisted between us now half a century, the harmony of our political 12)principles and pursuits have been sources of constant happiness to me through that long period. It's also been a great 13)solace to me to believe that you're 14)engaged in 15)vindicating to 16)posterity the course that we've pursued for preserving to them, in all their purity, their blessings of self-government, which we had assisted in acquiring for them. If ever the earth has beheld a system of administration 17)conducted with a single and 18)steadfast eye to the general interest and happiness of those committed to it, one which, protected by truth, can never know 19)reproach, it is that to which our lives have been devoted. Myself, you have been a 20)pillar of support throughout life. Take care of me when dead and be assured that I shall leave with you my last 21)affections." (Feb 17, 1826)
A week later Madison replied--
"You cannot look back to the long period of our private friendship and political harmony with more 22)affecting 23)recollections than I do. If they are a source of pleasure to you, what aren't they not to be to me? We cannot 24)be deprived of the happy 25)consciousness of the pure devotion to the public good with which we 26)discharge the trust committed to us and I 27)indulge a confidence that 28)sufficient evidence will find its way to another generation to ensure, after we are gone, whatever of justice may be 29)withheld 30)whilst we are here."
杰斐逊参加起草的《独立宣言》宣告了美国的成立，麦迪逊提出三权分立的原则，被美国人称为“宪法之父”。这两届美国总统之间还有一份深厚的友情，不但影响了美国历史的进程，更令彼此终生受益。
伟大的友谊
--托马斯·杰斐逊和詹姆斯·麦迪逊
托马斯·杰斐逊和詹姆斯·麦迪逊相识于1776年。为什么偏偏是这一年呢？当时他们开始共同努力推动美国革命，后来又一同为政府拟订新草案。在这些合作中孕育出的友谊是亲密无间、信诚以托、坚不可摧的。这份友谊维持了五十年。当中包含有欢乐，有协作，他们更志同道合地朝共同的目标迈进，历经多年从不间断地令彼此受益。在离开人世前四个半月时，杰斐逊重病在身，债台高筑，并为家庭的贫困感到忧心如焚，于是他提笔给这位知交好友写了封信。从他的信以及麦迪逊的回复中，我们可以看到：这两个朋友是一生之交；并且有时候，他们之间的友情意义之大更超越了友情本身，这份友谊给大众带来的深远影响是前所未有的。
“你我之间的友谊迄今已经走过了半个世纪，我们在政治原则与追求上取得的协调在过去的漫漫岁月中为我带来了源源不断的快乐。我感到一大安慰的是，我相信你还在兢兢业业地致力于造福子孙后代的事业--这份事业我们曾为他们争取过，我们也努力要把他们透明自治的优良体制流传下去。希望这世界上有一种治理制度，在执行的时候专门有坚定不移的一只眼睛来审视它，监护大众利益和为之奋斗者的幸福，建立在真理基础上的制度将永远与责难无缘，我们一生所致力的也正在这里。我自己，还有你，毕生都为此鼎力支持。请你照顾我的身后之事，也请相信，我的友情永远和你同在。”（1826年2月17日）
一个星期后，麦迪逊写了回信--
“在过去的漫长岁月中，你我的友谊与一致的政治观，总令我在回想时心中无比感动。它们为你带来欢乐，对我又何尝不是如此？我们肩负人民的信任，为大众福利鞠躬尽瘁，从中获得的幸福感是难以泯灭的。我坚信，无论当前对我们的评判怎样，我们的一切贡献，身后的下一代人必将给予公断。”
注释:
1) further v. 促进
2) scheme n. 计划，方案
3) incomparable a.无与伦比的
4) intimacy n. 亲密
5) collaboration n. 协作
6) indurations n. 坚固，硬化
7) utility n. 效用，利用
8) ailing a. 生病的，景况不佳的
9) impoverished a. 穷困的
10) consequence n. 结果
11) subsist v. 存在
12) principle n. 原则，法则
13) solace n. 安慰
14) engage in 从事于，参加
15) vindicate v. 维护，表白
16) posterity n. 子孙，后裔
17) conduct v. 管理，引导
18) steadfast a. 坚定的
19) reproach n. 责难
20) pillar n. 重要的支持者
21) affection n. 友爱
22) affecting a. 感动的
23) recollection n. 回忆
24) be deprive of 被剥夺
25) consciousness n. 意识，知觉
26) discharge v. 履行，放出
27) indulge v. 沉溺，放纵
28) sufficient a. 充分的
29) withhold v. 抑制，阻止
30) whilst conj. 同时
★★《2003年05月号-第40期-Disc02-05》★★
Life Could Be Worse
让生活换一种风景
For the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed.
纳税--是因为我有一份工作。
For the 1)mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been 2)surrounded by friends.
派对后要收拾打扫--因为我身边有好多朋友啊。
For the clothes that fit a little too 3)snug, because it means I have enough to eat.
原本合身的衣服现在有点紧了--那是我足食无忧嘛。
For a 4)lawn that needs 5)mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.
草坪该剪了，窗户要抹了，水沟还没修--那是因为我有一个家。
For the teenager who is not doing dishes but is watching TV, because that means he is at home and not on the streets.
小孩子不刷碗，却在看电视--因为他有家可依，不用流落街头。
For the parking spot I find at the far end of the 6)parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and that I have transportation.
停车场只剩远远的角落有空位--因为我走得了路，我还拥有交通工具。
For the 7)punk rock band that is noisy, because it means that I can hear.
朋克乐队吵翻了天--那意味着我听力不错。
For the pile of 8)laundry and 9)ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.
成堆衣服要洗要烫--我的衣服可多了。
For weariness and 10)aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.
一天下来腰酸背疼--因为我有能力勤奋工作。
For my alarm that goes of in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive. And finally...
闹钟清早就响--那意味着我还活着。还有就是……
For too much e-mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.
电子邮件爆满啦--因为有这么多朋友在惦记着我呢。
注释：
1) mess n. 混乱，脏乱
2) surround v. 包围
3) snug a. 紧贴
4) lawn n. 草坪
5) mowing n. 割草
6) parking lot 停车场
7) punk n. 朋克
8) laundry n. 要洗的衣服
9) ironing n. 熨平衣服
10) aching a. 疼的
★★《2003年05月号-第40期-Disc02-06》★★
Norwegian Wood
Written by Haruki Murakami
I was thrity-seven then, 1)strapped in my seat as the huge 747 2)plunged through 3)dense cloud cover on approach to the Hamburg airport. Cold November rains 4)drenched the earth and lent everything the 5)gloomy air of a Flemish landscape: the 6)ground crew in rain gear, a flag 7)atop a 8)squat airport building, a 9)BMW billboard. So--Germany again.
Once the plane was on the ground soft music began to flow from the ceiling speakers: a sweet 10)orchestral cover version of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood". The melody never failed to send a 11)shudder through me, but this time it hit me harder than ever.
I bent forward in my seat, face in hands to keep my skull from splitting open. Before long one of the German 12)stewardesses approached and asked in English if I were sick. "No," I said, "just 13)dizzy."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Thanks."
She smiled and left, and the music changed to a Billy Joel tune. I 14)straightened up and looked out the plane window at the dark clouds 15)hanging over the North Sea, thinking of what I had lost in the course of my life: times gone forever, friends who had died or disappeared, feelings I would never know again.
The plane reached the gate. People began 16)unlatching their 17)seatbelts and pulling baggage from the storage 18)bins, and all the while I was in the meadow. I could smell the grass, feel the wind on my face, hear the cries of the birds. Autumn 1969, and soon I would be twenty.
...
True, given time enough, I can bring back her face. I start joining image - her tiny, cold hand; her straight, black hair so smooth and cool to the touch; a soft, rounded 19)earlobe and the 20)microscopic 21)mole just beneath it; the camel's hair coat she wore in the winter; her habit of looking straight into your eyes when asking a question; the slight trembling that would come to her voice now and then (as if she were speaking on a windy 22)hilltop) - and suddenly her face is there, always in profile at first, because Naoko and I were always out walking together, side by side. Then she turns to me, and smiles, and 23)tilts her head just a bit, and begins to speak, and she looks into my eyes as if trying to catch the image of a 24)minnow that has 25)darted across the pool of a 26)limpid spring.
I do need that time, though, for Naoko's face to appear. And as the years have passed, the time has grown longer. The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, then a full minute - like shadows 27)lengthening at 28)dusk. Someday, I suppose, the shadows will be swallowed up in darkness. There is no way around it: my memory is growing ever more distant from the spot where Naoko used to stand - ever more distant form the spot where my old self used to stand. And nothing but scenery, that view of the meadow in October, returns again and again to me like a 29)symbolic scene in a movie. Each time it appears, it delivers a kick to some part of my mind. "Wake up," it says. "I'm still here! Wake up and think about it. Think about why I'm still here." The kicking never hurts me. There's no pain at all. Just a hollow sound that echoes with each kick. And even that 30)is bound to fade one day. At the Hamburg airport, though, the kicks were longer and harder than usual, which is why I am writing this book: To think. To understand! It just happens to be the way I'm made. I have to write things down to feel I fully 31)comprehend them.
挪威的森林
37岁的我端坐在波音747客机上,庞大的机体穿过厚重的夹雨云层，俯身向汉堡机场降落。11月砭人肌肤的冷雨，将大地涂得一片阴沉,使得身披雨衣的地勤工、呆然垂向地面的候机楼上的旗，以及BMW广告板等的一切的一切，看上去竟同佛兰德派抑郁画幅的背景一段。罢了罢了，又是德国，我想。
飞机刚一着陆，天花板扩音器中低声传出轻柔的背景音乐，那是一个管弦乐队演奏的甲壳虫乐队的《挪威的森林》。那旋律一如往日地使我难以自已。这一次，比往日还要强烈地摇撼着我的身心。
为了不使头脑胀裂，我弯下腰，双手捂脸。很快，一位德国空中小姐走来，用英语问我是不是不大舒服。我答说：“不要紧，只是有点晕。”
“真的不要紧？”
“不要紧的，谢谢。”我说。
她于是莞尔一笑，转身走开。音乐变成彼利·乔的曲子。我仰起脸，望着北海上空阴沉沉的云层，浮想联翩。我想起自己在过去人生旅途中失却的许多东西--蹉跎的岁月，死去或离去的人们，无可追回的懊悔。
机身停稳后，旅客解开安全带，从行李架中取出皮包和上衣等物。而我，仿佛依然置身于那片草地之中，呼吸着草的芬芳，感受着风的轻柔，谛听着鸟的鸣啭。那是1969年的秋天，我快满20岁的时候。
……
当然，只要有时间，我会忆起她的面容。我追忆着：那冷冰冰的小手，那流线型泻下的手感爽适的秀发，那圆圆的软软的耳垂及其紧靠底端的小小黑痣，那冬日里时常穿的格调高雅的驼绒大衣，那总是定定注视对方眼睛发问的惯常动作，那不时奇妙发出的微微颤抖的语声（就像在强风中的山岗上说话一样）--随着这些印象的叠涌，她的面庞突然自然地浮现出来。最先出现是她的侧脸，大概因为我总是同她并肩走路的缘故，最先想起来的每每是她的侧影。随之，她朝我转过脸，甜甜地一笑，微微地低头，轻轻地启齿，定定地看着我的双眼，仿佛在一泓清澈的泉水里寻觅稍纵即逝的小鱼的行踪。
但是，让直子的面影在我脑海中浮现出来，我总是需要一点时间。而且，随着岁月的流逝，所需的时间愈来愈长。这固然令人悲哀，但事实就是如此。起初5秒即可想起，渐次变成10秒、30秒、1分钟。它延长的那样迅速，竟同夕阳下的阴影一般，并将很快消融在冥冥夜色之中。哦，原来我的记忆正在同直子原来站立的位置步步远离，甚至逐渐远离自己一度战过的位置。而惟独风景，惟独那片10月草地的风景，宛如电影中的象征性镜头，在我的脑际反复推出。并且那风景执着地连连踢我的脑袋，说着：“起来，我可还在这里哟！起来，起来想想，思考一下我为什么还在这里。”不过这种踢法一点也不痛，一脚踢来，只是发出空洞的声响。甚至这声响或迟或早也将杳然远逝。但是在这汉堡机场，它们踢的比往常更长久、更有力：起来，理解我！惟其如此，我才动笔写这篇文字。我必需形诸文字，才能弄得水落石出。
注释:
1) strap v. 用皮带束住
2) plunge v. 投入，跳进
3) dense a. 密集的，浓厚的
4) drench v. 湿透
5) gloomy a. 黑暗的，阴沉的
6) ground crew 地勤人员
7) atop prep. 在顶上
8) squat v. 蹲坐
9) BMW即Bavarian Motor Works，德国宝马汽车公司
10) orchestral a. 管弦乐的，管弦乐队的
11) shudder n. 战栗，发抖
12) stewardess n. （轮船、飞机的）女乘务员
13) dizzy a. 晕眩的
14) straighten up 直起来
15) hang over 挂在……上，笼罩
16) unlatch v. 拔掉门栓
17) seatbelt n. 系于飞机座位上的安全带
18) bin n. 箱柜
19) earlobe n. 耳垂
20) microscopic a. 精小的
21) mole n. 胎记
22) hilltop n. 小山顶
23) tilt v. 使倾斜，使翘起
24) minnow n. 鲤科小鱼
25) dart v. 飞奔，刺，飞快的动作
26) limpid a. 清澈的
27) lengthen v. 延长，使变长
28) dusk n. 黄昏
29) symbolic a. 象征的
30) be bound to 必定的
31) comprehend v. 领会，理解
★★《2003年05月号-第40期-Disc02-07》★★
Speaking Sparkles (2)
妙语连珠
1. Well, let's say, you know, life is a constant learning process and I encourage everybody who is watching or 1)participating to constantly think about lifetime learning because it is really, truly important to do that. Let me just, in a simple way, what I say, if I ever come back in a second life, I'm going to be Mick Jagger, I'm going to be a rock and roll player. So, I had those 2)aspirations but I couldn't, I failed, I flunked piano, so that didn't work. I played football, baseball, basketball; I flunked all those, so that didn't work. Then I decided, "What am I going to do when I grow up?" and I decided: business.
生命是不断学习的过程，我鼓励每个观看或参与的人去不断想着终身学习，因为那的确很重要。如果我可以再活一次，我会做迈克尔·杰克逊那样的人，我会当摇滚歌手。我曾经有那些抱负，但我做不到，我钢琴弹得很差劲，我打橄榄球、棒球、篮球都很差劲，所以我做不到那些。于是我就想长大后我该做什么好呢？我做了选择--经商。
--Verizon电讯（500强）的首席执行官Charles R. Lee 接受电视台采访时透露自己是“迫于无奈”才选择经商
2. How can you have 3)differentiation top 20, middle 70 and throw out the bottom 10 and have team work? Teams do that everyday! A 20 game winner, a 50 home run 4)hitter, they get more money than the other players on the team and the bottom ten get traded or thrown out and yet, they're still a team. That's what business is.
