英语励志美文精华 32

Do You Know Your Special Talent?

by Anne Heywood

What I am about to say may appear to be plugging my own business, but it's what I know best ... and I believe it deeply and sincerely.

I believe that every human being has a talent - something that he can do better than anyone else. And I believe that the distinction between so-called "creative" talents and ordinary run-of-the-mill talents is an unnecessary and man-made distinction. I have known exterminators, typists, waitresses and machinists whose creative joy and self-fulfillment in their work could not be surpassed by Shakespeare's or Einstein's.

When I was in my teens, I read a quotation¹ from Thomas Carlyle: "Blessed is he who has found his work. Let him ask no other blessness." At the time I thought that was a pretty grim and dreary² remark, but I know now that Mr. Carlyle was right. When you find the thing that you can do better than anything else in the world, then all the wonderful by-products fall in line - financial security, happy personal relationships, peace of mind. I believe that until you find it your search for the by-products will be in vain.

I also believe that in the process of searching, no experience is ever wasted, unless we allow ourselves to run out of hope. In my own case I had thirty-four different jobs before I found the right one. Many of these jobs were heart-breakingly difficult. A few of them involved working with unscrupulous and horribly unpleasant people. Yet, in looking back, I can see that the most unpleasant of these jobs, in many cases, give me the biggest dividends³ - the most valuable preparation for my proper life work.

And I have seen this happen in the destinies of hundreds of people. Periods which they thought were helpless, dark and of no possible practical value turned out to be the most priceless experiences they ever had. One of my friends is a famous package designer for American industry. She was just given a promotion⁴ for which she competed with six well-qualified designers. Her past, like all of ours, had its good times and its bad times. One of the worst of the bad times was a period when she lost her husband and was left with two small children to support. She took a clerking job in a grocery store because her apartment was on the floor above it and between customers she could run up and keep an eye on the babies. It was a two-year period of great despair, during which she was constantly on the verge⁵ of suicide. Yet the other day when she told me of her promotion to the top package design post, she exclaimed in astonishment⁶, "And do you know that the single factor which swung it in my favor was I alone had over-the-counter experience with the customers who buy our packaged foods!"

When people talk about the sweet uses of adversity, I think they unduly⁷ stress a grim and hopeless resignation, a conviction that, like unpleasant medicine, it is somehow "good for us." But I think it is much more than that. I know that the unhappy periods of our lives offer us concrete and useful plus values, chief among them a heightened understanding and compassion⁸ for others. We may not see it at the time, we may consider the experience entirely⁹ wasted, but, at Emerson says, "The years teach much which the days never know."

1 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

2 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

3 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

4 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

5 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

6 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

7 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

8 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。