精美英文欣赏:好运符 - 一张两美元钞票(下)

She asked me a series of questions and the interview was over.

回答完一连串的问题后，面试结束了。

As I exited her office, I turned around and said, 'Mrs. Martin, I know that I am not qualified¹ like your other applicants³, but please give me a chance.

我正要迈出办公室时，转过身对马丁太太说：“马丁太太，我知道自己并不如其他人优秀，但是，请您给我一个机会。

I learn quickly and can be a very productive⁴ member of your team.'

我接受能力很强，会成为公司优秀的一员。”

I thanked her and went home exhausted⁵. Oh well, I thought, tomorrow would be another day.

谢过马丁太太后，回到家时，我已经疲惫不堪了。我心想，算了，没有关系，明天又是新的一天。

That evening as I was getting ready for bed, I received a phone call from Mrs. Martin.

当晚，我正准备睡觉时，突然接到了马丁太太的电话。

'Gina,' she said 'you were not the most qualified applicant², but you have so much confidence in yourself that we decided⁶ to give you a chance to prove yourself.'

“吉娜，”她说，“你虽不是应试者中最出色的，但你对自己充满信心，因此我们决定给你一个展示自己的机会。”

I screamed out loud, was jumping all over the room in disbelief.

我简直难以相信这是真的，我激动得大叫起来，兴奋得在房间里又蹦又跳。

I could hear Mrs. Martin laughing in the background and suddenly I realized that Mrs. Martin was still on the line.

电话那头传来马丁太太的笑声，我这才意识到我们还在通话。

'Thank you Mrs. Martin, you will not regret this decision,' I said and hung up the phone.

“马丁太太，谢谢您！我不会令您失望的。”说完，我挂断了电话。

I got my wallet and took out my two dollar bill.

我掏出钱夹，拿出了那张两美元钞票。

'Thanks mom, I am going to make it,' I said out loud so my mother could hear me.

“谢谢您，妈妈，我的好运来了。”我大声地说，妈妈应该听得到。

At that instant, I remember the time she pulled all of us into the living room and said,

那一刻，我想起了妈妈说的一番话，她把我们拉到客厅里说：

'You are all brilliant in my mind, but if you fail once don't give up.

“在妈妈眼里，你们都很棒。无论做什么事情，失败了，千万别放弃。

Don't fear failure. It is a way of getting us to try harder. You will succeed, I promise.'

失败并不可怕，我们可以化失败为动力。我相信，你们一定能够成功。”

I still think of mom everyday and still keep my two dollar bill in my wallet.

我时刻都想念妈妈，那两美元也依然珍藏在我的钱夹里。

At a family reunion years later, I found out that my brothers and sisters all had a two dollar bill in their wallet.

多年后，在一次家庭聚会上，我才发现，我们兄弟姐妹的钱夹里都各有一张两美元钞票。

We all laughed and talked about how special this gift from Mom had been to each and everyone of us. It had reinforced the confidence Mom had instilled⁷ in us.

我们都笑了，谈论着妈妈赠给我们的这份特殊礼物。她在我们心底播下了自信的种子，而这两美元让这粒种子迅速茁壮地成长起来。

1 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

2 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

3 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

4 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

5 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 instilled   

v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Nature has instilled in our minds an insatiable desire to see truth. 自然给我们心灵注入了永无休止的发现真理的欲望。 来自辞典例句
• I instilled the need for kindness into my children. 我不断向孩子们灌输仁慈的必要。 来自辞典例句