8.Similarly, don?t think for a moment that a proven American salesperson can be sent to Great Britain and be expected to sell there, since it?s the same language. In nine out of ten cases, he or she will fail. The ones who succeed are multicultural people with the rare ability to gain
acceptance from British customers. 同样，千万不要以为因为语言相同，一位老资格的美国推销员就可以被派往英国，并期望他在那儿打得开销路。他或她十有八九会失败。成功的是具有赢得英国顾客认同这一非凡才能的多元文化人。
9.And don?t fall for the myth that a candidate?s knowledge of superficial behavior like shaking hands or bowing is a sure sign of multiculturalism. An American businessman arriving in Japan is immediately aware of the cultural differences, even in the first hour. It only takes a few days to learn when to take off his shoes or how to eat with chopsticks — but he?ll still feel like a bull in a china shop — and an exceptionally clumsy bull at that. Even moving as carefully as he can, he still finds himself sending all the china crashing to the floor and offending people right and left. A monocultural person gives up at this point, because even if he?s ready to learn about another culture intellectually, he refuses to penetrate it emotionally. A multicultural person swallows his pride, learns from his blunders and in the end manages to get in touch with the spirit of the new culture, not just its superficial details.也不要轻信这样的神话：求职者对像握手或鞠躬这类表面举止的了解，就一定是多元文化素养的标志。一个美国商人一到日本，甚至在第一个小时内，就会马上意识到文化上的差异。 他只需几天就能学会什么时候脱鞋或怎样用筷子吃饭---但他仍会感到自己就像闯入瓷器店里的一头公牛， 而且是一头极其笨拙的公牛。即使他尽可能小心地走动，他仍会发现自己将所有的瓷器都撞到地上，并冒犯四周的人。一个单一文化人会在此刻放弃，因为即使他在理智上已愿意学习另一种文化，在感情上他也会拒绝渗入其中。一个多元文化人，会抑制其自尊心，从错误中吸取教训，并最终设法接触到这种新文化的精神，而不仅仅是其表面的细节。 第四单元 Text A、Turning failure into Success 化失败为成功
Vicky — beautiful, talented, very bright, voted \— got a promising job with a large company after graduation. Then, after two years without promotions, she was fired. She suffered a complete nervous breakdown. \\felt I was a failure.\维姬——才貌双全、聪明伶俐在大学里曾被选为“最有可能成功的人士”---毕业后在一家大公司找到一份很有前途的工作。然而过了两年她非但没有得到提升反而被解雇了。她的精神完全崩溃了。“这真叫人害怕”她后来告诉我说“我以前样样都那么顺利因此对遭受拒绝时应如何处理毫无经验。我觉得自己是个失败者。”维姬的反应是某种常见现象的一个极端例子。
Our society places so much emphasis on \we don't always recognize is that what looks like failure may, in the long run, prove beneficial. When Vicky was able to think coolly about why she was fired, for example, she realized that she was simply not suited for a job dealing with people all the time. In her new position as a copy editor, she works independently, is happy and once again \
我们的社会如此推崇“成功” 以至于我们认为凡失败都是坏事。我们往往认识不到看似失败的东西也许从长远来看大有裨益。比如当维姬得以冷静地思考自己被解雇的原因时她便认识到自己只是不适合做老是跟人打交道的工作而已。在文字编辑这一新的岗位上她独挡一面心情愉快又一次“成功”了。
People are generally prone to what language expert S. I. Hayakawa calls \
orientation.\We assume that everyone is either a success or a failure when, in fact, infinite degrees of both are possible. As Hayakawa points out, there's a world of difference between \
times\
a complex, living, changing human being. They can only describe the situation at a particular time and place.
人们大多受到语言学家S?I?早川所谓的“双值定向”的影响。我们都说要看到一个问题的两个方面好像每个问题只有两面似的。我们以为每个人不是成功就是失败。而事实上成功和失败都可能有极多不同的程度。正如早川所指出的在“我失败了三次”和“我是个失败者”之间有着天壤之别。其实失败和成功这两个词不能用来合理地描述一个复杂的、活生生的、不断变化的人。它们只能描述某一特定时间某一特定地点的情况。 Obviously no one can be brilliant at everything. In fact, success in one area often precludes
success in another. A famous politician once told me that his career had practically destroyed his marriage. \hardly see my wife and kids. I've got power, money, prestige — but as a husband and father, I'm a flop.\
很显然没有哪个人能够样样事情都出类拔萃。事实上某一方面的成功常常会妨碍另一方面的成功。一位著名的政治家曾告诉我说他的事业几乎毁掉了他的婚姻。“我没有时间顾及家人”他解释说“我经常外出旅行。即使在家也难得与妻子儿女见面。我有权、有钱、有威望---但作为丈夫和父亲我却是个失败者。”
Certain kinds of success can indeed be destructive. The danger of too early success is particularly acute. I recall from my childhood a girl whose skill on ice skates marked her as \
material.\— every day after school and all weekend. Her picture often appeared in the papers, and the rest of us envied her glamorous life. Years later, however, she spoke bitterly of those early triumphs. \
never prepared myself for anything but the ice,\— and it's been downhill ever since.\
某些种类的成功有时候确实有毁灭性。过早成功的危害尤为严重。我记得在我小时候有个女孩其高超的滑冰技术表明她是“奥运人材”。当我们其余的人在玩耍、骑车、读书或悠闲地消磨时光时这个女孩却在滑冰---每天放学后以及整个周末都在滑。她的照片经常出现在报纸上我们都很羡慕她这种充满刺激的生活。然而若干年后她谈起早年那些非凡的成功时却不无酸楚。“除了滑冰我从来没准备做别的事情。”她说“我17岁时达到了顶峰----自那以后就一直在走下坡路。
Success that comes too easily is also damaging. The child who wins a prize for a carelessly - written essay, the adult who distinguishes himself at a first job by lucky accident faces probable disappointment when real challenges arise.
来之太易的成功也具有破坏性。因一篇匆匆写成的文章而获奖的孩子凭运气侥幸在第一份工作中即出人头地的成年人 当真正的挑战出现时都可能面临失望。
Success is also bad when it's achieved at the cost of the total quality of an experience. Successful students sometimes become so obsessed with grades that they never enjoy their school years. They never branch out into tempting new areas, because they don't want to risk their grade - point average.
以牺牲某种经历的整体质量为代价而获得的成功也是有害的。 成功的学生有时心里只想着分数而永远享受不到学校生活的乐趣。 他们从不扩大兴趣范围涉足诱人的新领域因为他们不想拿自己的平均积分点去冒险。
Why are so many people so afraid of failure? Simply because no one tells us how to fail so that failure becomes a growing experience. We forget that failure is part of the human condition and that \
为什么有这么多的人这么害怕失败呢? 完全是因为没有人告诉我们如何失败从而使失败成
为一种成长的经验。我们忘记了失败是人生的一部分忘记了“每个人都有失败的权利。” Most parents work hard at either preventing failure or shielding their children from the knowledge that they have failed. One way is to lower standards. A mother describes her child's hastily made table as \fails math, his teacher is unfair or stupid.
大多数家长不是竭力防止失败就是竭力不让孩子们知道他们已经失败。 一种办法是降低标准。孩子匆匆打成的桌子即使是制作粗糙而且摇摇晃晃做母亲的也称之为“棒极了!”另一种办法就是把过错推给别人。如果约翰数学不及格那准是老师不公平或者太蠢。 The trouble with failure - prevention devices is that they leave a child unequipped for life in the real world. The young need to learn that no one can be best at everything, no one can win all the time — and that it's possible to enjoy a game even when you don't win. A child who's not invited to a birthday party, who doesn't make the honor roll or the baseball team feels terrible, of course. But parents should not offer a quick consolation prize or say, \The youngster should be allowed to experience disappointment — and then be helped to master it. 防止失败的种种策略有问题 问题就在于它们使孩子对现实世界的生活毫无准备。年轻人需要认识到没有人能样样都是最好没有人能一直获胜---即使你没有获胜你也可能享受到比赛的乐趣。一个孩子没有受到参加生日庆祝会的邀请没有上光荣榜或进棒球队心里当然不好受。但是家长却不应该马上送上一份安慰奖或者说“没关系” 因为这实在是有关系的。应该让年轻人去经历失望---然后再帮助他们去战胜它。
Failure is never pleasant. It hurts adults and children alike. But it can make a positive contribution to your life once you learn to use it. Step one is to ask, \to blame someone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong, how you can improve. If someone else can help, don't be shy about inquiring.
失败从来就不是什么令人愉快的事情。它让成年人和孩子同样伤心。然而一旦你学会了去利用失败它就能对你的生活起到积极的作用。第一步是要问“我为什么失败了?”要抵制责怪别人的本能冲动问问自己做错了什么如何才能改正。如果别人能够给予帮助那就不要羞于询问。
When I was a teenager and failed to get a job I'd counted on, I telephoned the interviewer to ask why. \other people's time.\helpful, too. I don't think I've been late for anything since.
在我十几岁的时候我没能得到我指望得到的那份工作于是我便打电话给对我进行面试的人询问原因。他告诉我说“因为你迟到了10分钟。浪费别人时间的雇员我们可要不起。” 这番解释让我消除了疑虑(我并非作为一个人而遭到拒绝)并且使我获益匪浅。从那以后我再也没有为任何事迟到过。
Success, which encourages repetition of old behavior, is not nearly as good a teacher as failure. You can learn from a disastrous party how to give a good one, from an ill-chosen first house what to look for in a second. Even a failure that seems total can prompt fresh thinking, a change of direction.
成功鼓励人们重复过去的行为因而远不及失败这个老师来得好。你可以从一次极糟的晚会中学会如何举办一次成功的晚会 从第一次不当的选房中学到下次选房时要注意些什么。即使一次看似彻底的失败也能激发新的思路引起方向的改变。
A friend of mine, after 12 years of studying ballet, did not succeed in becoming a dancer. She was turned down by the ballet master, who said, \it.\
What else can I do?\where she's both competent and useful.
我的一位朋友学了12年的芭蕾却未能成为一名舞蹈家。一位芭蕾舞大师拒绝了她说“你永远也成不了舞蹈家。你没有舞蹈家的身材。”在这类情况下利用失败的方法就是勇敢地审时度势问一问“我还剩下些什么? 我还可以做些什么别的?”我的朋友收起了舞鞋转而搞起了舞蹈疗法一个她不仅胜任而且对别人也有帮助的领域。
Though we may envy the assurance that comes with success, most of us are attracted by courage in defeat. There is what might be called the noble failure — the special heroism of aiming high, doing your best and then, when that proves not enough, moving bravely on. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said: \every day, and the more falls he gets, moves faster on....I have heard that in horsemanship — a man will never be a good rider until he is thrown; then he will not be haunted any longer by the terror that he shall tumble, and will ride whither he is bound.\
虽然我们也许会羡慕随着成功而来的自信但我们大多数人都敬佩面对失败时的勇气。有一种失败可以称作崇高的失败---即胸怀大志竭尽全力而在这被证明不够时仍勇往直前这样一种独特的英雄主义。正如拉尔夫?沃尔多?爱默生所说的“一个人的成功是由多次失败组成的因为他每天都在进行试验、冒险他跌倒的次数越多前进的速度也越快...我听说在骑术中---一个人要被摔下马背后才会成为好骑手那样他才不再因怕坠马而老是提心吊胆才会任意纵马驰骋。” Text B、失败? 不! 只是暂时的挫折而已
1.If you could come to my office in California to visit with me today, you would see that one side of the room is occupied by a beautiful old-fashioned soda fountain with nine leather-covered seats. Unusual? Yes. But if that soda fountain could speak, it would tell you a story about the day I almost lost hope and gave up. 如果今天你能到加利福尼亚我的办公室来作客，你就会看到房间的一边摆着一台漂亮的老式冷饮柜和九张皮革座椅。很特别是吗?是很特别。但是如果那冷饮柜能开口说话，它一定会告诉你我曾经几近绝望甚至差点放弃的那段往事。
2.It was a recession period after World War II and jobs were scarce. My husband had purchased a small dry cleaning business with borrowed money.We had two darling babies, a tract house, a car and all the usual monthly payments. Then the bottom fell out. There was no money for the house payments or anything else. 那时正是二战后的一段衰退期，工作很难找。我丈夫借钱买下了一家小型干洗店。我们有两个可爱的小宝贝，一幢房产商成片开发的住宅，一辆汽车，还能打点每月的各种日常开支。可后来境况恶化了。我们没有钱来支付房子的分期付款或其他费用了。
3.I felt that I had no special talent, no training, no college education. I didn't think much of myself. But I remembered someone in my past who had thought I had a little ability --- my high school English teacher. She had inspired me to take a course in journalism and named me advertising manager and feature editor of the school paper. I thought, \Column' for the small weekly newspaper in our rural town, maybe I could earn that house
payment.\我觉得自己没有什么特殊才能，没受过培训，也没有受过大学教育。我觉得自己没以什么大本事。但我记得过去曾有人认为我有点能力---我的高中英语老师。她曾鼓励我学新闻，并指定我当校报的广告部经理和特写编辑。我想：“现在如果我能为我们乡镇的每周小报主持“购物者专栏’，我也许能赚到房子的分期付款。”
4.I had no car and no one to look after my two children. So I took them with me to the newspaper office, pushing them before me in an old broken-down baby stroller with a big pillow tied in the back. The wheel kept coming off, but I hit it back on with the heel of my shoe and kept going.I
was determined that my children would not lose their home as I often had as a child. 我没有汽车，也没有人帮我照看我的两个孩子。所以我去报社只好将他们带上，放在一辆破旧的婴儿小