讀點好英文:Extra Good Luck 好運符——一張兩美元鈔票
Extra Good Luck 好運符——一張兩美元鈔票
·Derek·
I keep a two-dollar bill in my wallet that was given to me by my mother when I was six years old.
I am not superstitious but the bill goes with me wherever I go. My mother gave it to me so that luck would follow me everywhere.
She looked at me and said，“I want you to carry this two-dollar bill for extra good luck.”
“Thanks mom，”I replied，“I will keep it close to me always.”
Every morning I would get dressed and my two-dollar bill went into my pocket. My mother passed away when I was 17 years old and I remembered taking out my two-dollar bill.I held it in my hand for the longest time and knew that she would be watching over me the rest of my life.
Each time I felt I had a crisis on my hands, I could reach for my two-dollar bill and set it on the table. I would stare at it for several hours and could always come up with a solution.
When I applied for my first job, I was thirty years old and very shy. The thought of being interviewed for a job was scary but I had to work.On my first interview, as I sat in the waiting room, I noticed there were five women ahead of me.All of the women were younger and very well dressed.One of them was impeccabIe in her blue striped suit with matching purse and shoes.I knew I was up against women better qualified by looking at the length of their resumes.
Ms Martin, the office manager, summoned me into her office.
“What makes you feel you are quaIified for this job?”she asked.
“I really need this job and there is nothing I can not do.”I responded.
She asked me a series of questions and the interview was over. As I exited her office, I turned around and said，“Ms Martin, I know that I am not qualified like your other applicants, but please give me a chance.I learn quickly and can be a very productive member of your team.”
I thanked her and went home exhausted. Oh well, I thought, tomorrow would be another day.
That evening as I was getting ready for bed, I received a phone call from Ms Martin.
“Gina，”she said，“you were not the most qualified appIicant, but you have so much confidence in yourself that we decided to give you a chance to prove yourself.”
I screamed out loud, was jumping all over the room in disbelief. I could hear Ms Martin laughing in the background and suddenly I realized that Ms Martin was still on the line.
“Thank you, Ms Martin, you will not regret this decision.”I said and hung up the phone.
I got my wallet and took out my two-dollar bill.
“Thanks mom, I am going to make it.”I said out loud so my mother could hear me.
At that instant, I remembered the time she pulled all of us into the living room and said，“You are all brilliant in my mind, but if you fail once, don't give up. Don't fear failure.It is a way of getting us to try harder.You will succeed, I promise.”
I still think of mom every day and still keep my two-dollar bill in my wallet. At a family reunion years later, I found out that my brothers and sisters all had a two-dollar bill in their wallet.
We all laughed and talked about how speciaI this gift from mom had been to each and ever had reinforced the confidence mom had instilled one of us. It led in us.
德里克
我的錢夾里一直保存著一張兩美元的鈔票，那是我6歲時媽媽給的。
我不迷信，但無論到哪里，我都隨身帶著它。媽媽希望這張兩美元鈔票能讓我事事順利。
當(dāng)時，她看著我說：“帶上這兩美元吧，它會帶給你好運?！?/p>
“謝謝媽媽，”我說，“我會永遠(yuǎn)帶著它?！?/p>
每天早上穿好衣服后，我就將它裝進(jìn)口袋。17歲那年，媽媽去世了。當(dāng)時，我掏出那張兩美元鈔票，久久地攥在手中。我知道，媽媽會一直關(guān)注我以后的生活。
每每遇到棘手問題，我就拿出那張鈔票，放在桌上，一連幾小時盯著它，最終總能想出解決的辦法。
第一次找工作時我已經(jīng)30歲了，又有些羞怯。一想到要面試，我就很害怕，但我必須得工作。第一次面試時，在等候室里，除了我還有五位女性求職者。她們都比我年輕，并且衣著考究。其中一位穿著藍(lán)色條紋套裝，配以類似風(fēng)格的錢包和鞋子，簡直太完美了。我很清楚，光看履歷的長度，我就不是這五位女士的對手了。
業(yè)務(wù)經(jīng)理馬丁太太把我叫進(jìn)辦公室。
“你覺得你能勝任這份工作的理由是什么？”她問道。
“我很需要這份工作，而且，也沒有我做不來的事?！蔽掖鸬?。
回答完一連串的問題后，面試結(jié)束了。在我邁出辦公室前，我轉(zhuǎn)身對馬丁太太說：“馬丁太太，我知道自己并不如其他人優(yōu)秀，但是，請您給我一個機會。我學(xué)習(xí)能力很強，會成為公司優(yōu)秀的一員。”
謝過馬丁太太，等回到家時，我已經(jīng)疲憊不堪了。我想：算了，沒有關(guān)系，明天又是新的一天。
當(dāng)晚，我正準(zhǔn)備睡覺，突然接到馬丁太太的電話。
“吉娜，”她說，“你雖不是面試者中最出色的，但你對自己充滿信心，因此我們決定給你一個展現(xiàn)自己的機會?！?/p>
我簡直難以相信這是真的，我激動得大叫起來，興奮地在房間里又蹦又跳。電話那頭傳來馬丁太太的笑聲，我這才意識到電話還沒掛。
“馬丁太太，謝謝您！我不會讓您失望的。”說完，我掛斷了電話。
我掏出錢夾，拿出了那張兩美元的鈔票。
“謝謝您，媽媽，我的好運來了?！蔽掖舐暤卣f，媽媽應(yīng)該聽得到。
那一刻，我想起了媽媽說的一番話。當(dāng)時她把我們拉到客廳里說：“在媽媽眼里，你們都很棒。但無論做什么事情，失敗了，千萬別放棄。失敗并不可怕，我們可以化失敗為動力。我相信，你們一定能夠成功?！?/p>
我時刻都想念著媽媽，那兩美元也依然珍藏在我的錢夾里。多年后，在一次家庭聚會上，我才發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們兄弟姐妹的錢夾里都各有一張兩美元的鈔票。
我們都笑了，談?wù)撝鴭寢屬浻栉覀兊倪@份特殊禮物。她在我們心底播下了自信的種子，而這兩美元讓這粒種子迅速茁壯地成長起來。
Practising&Exercise 實戰(zhàn)提升篇
核心單詞
superstitious[,sju：p?'sti??s]adj.迷信的
scary['ske?ri]adj.膽小的；提心吊膽的
impeccabIe[im'pek?bl]adj.無懈可擊的；無缺點的
quaIify['kw?lifai]v.使具有資格；使合格
exhausted[ig'z?：stid]adj.耗盡的，用完的；筋疲力竭的
appIicant['?plik?nt]n.申請人；求職者
speciaI['spe??l]adj.特別的，特殊的
實用句型
On my first interview, as I sat in the waiting room, I noticed there were five women ahead of me.
第一次面試時，在等候室里，除了我還有五位女性求職者。
①這里是由as引導(dǎo)的時間狀語從句。
②ahead of在……之前。類似的表達(dá)還有g(shù)o ahead先走。
翻譯練習(xí)
1.會議提出了許多問題。（come up）
2.他申請休假。（apply for）
3.我真希望自己能戒酒。（give up）
