世界500强CEO访谈 第66期:联邦快递弗雷德里克史密斯 世界将会改变(2)

 　　Reporter: How did you learn those things?

　　记者：您是怎样学习到那些事情的呢？

　　Smith: Through a lot of hard knocks. Learning when to stand up, when to sit down, when to shut up and when not to. I had a couple of uncles that were very helpful to me, but I was not around them every day. But in the summers and so forth¹ they were very good to me in terms of teaching me a few things about life. Certainly, my coaches were very important to me. My high school football coach was very important to me, in setting me straight on a few things.

　　史密斯：通过很多次的碰壁之后， 我自己学会了什么时候应该起来， 什么时候应该坐下，什么时候应该保持沉默，而什么时间应该说话。我还有几个叔叔，他们都对我帮助很多，但是我并不是每天都跟他们在一起的。但是在夏天或者是其他的一些时间时，他们会教我一些有关生活方面的知识。当然， 我的教练们对我的人生也很重要，我在高中的足球教练对我很重要，教会我看清很多事情。

　　Reporter: What did you learn from your high school football coach?

　　记者：您从高中时的足球教练那里学到了什么？

　　Smith: He was a little guy who was a great football player at Georgia Tech, and he just was indefatigable². He just would never, ever say die. He absolutely proved to me that persistence³ was a very big part of making it in life. I never forgot that lesson.

　　史密斯：他是佐治亚理工学院的一名出色的足球运动员，他有着不屈不挠的精神品质，他从来不会说放弃。他也确实证明给我看，坚持不懈的品质对于一个人的生活是多么重要。我永远都不会忘记他教给我的东西。

　　Reporter : Do you have siblings⁴?

　　记者：您有兄弟姐妹吗？

　　Smith: I have a half-brother and had another half-brother who passed away. I had an adopted sister and a half-sister, but I never lived with them.

　　史密斯：我有一个同母异父的兄弟，还有一个同母异父的兄弟已经去世了。我有一个收养的妹妹，还有一个同母异父的妹妹，但是我从没跟他们生活在一起过。

　　Reporter: How did you get along with your brothers and sisters?

　　记者：您是怎样与您的兄弟姐妹相处呢？

　　Smith: Well, my middle brother and I used to try to beat the devil out of one another on a regular basis. Just kid stuff. He was about five or six years older than I was. And then of course, like most siblings, we grew up and got to be very close. I thank goodness for my big brother, who always mediated⁵ between the two of us.

　　史密斯：我与我二哥经常互相痛打，那些只是小孩子的一些玩法，他比我大大约五六岁。当然与其他的兄弟姐妹一样，我们一起长大，关系也很亲密。我非常感谢我的大哥，因为他总是会在中间协调我和二哥之间的矛盾。

　　Reporter: Did you think being a younger brother affected⁶ you in any way?

　　记者：您认为作为兄弟中较小的一个，这从某些方面对您产生了一定的影响吗？

　　Smith: Perhaps it did, but the age differences were so great that it wasn't to the extent that it might be with brothers who are closer in age.

　　史密斯：也许是有的，但是我们的年龄差别很大，所以并不像年龄相仿的兄弟那样影响很大。

　　Reporter: Were there any important experiences that influenced you or inspired you as a youngster?

　　记者：当您还是一名少年的时候，有对您影响很大或者是很激励您的一些重要的经历吗？

　　Smith: I don’t think that there was any one incident that had changed my life. It was simply the observation of a lot of people that I admired. I synthesized a lot of things from my coach, my uncles, my teachers in a certain area. When I was a student, I had a marvelous English teacher who opened my eyes to the fact there’d been a lot of people on this planet before my time who might have a thing or two to say that were of use. So, I got a lot of things from a lot of people. I picked and chose.

　　史密斯：我认为并没有改变了我人生的事件。我只是会去观察那些我仰慕的人。我将我的教练、叔叔和老师身上的优点进行整合。学生时代我有一位很了不起的英语老师，是他开阔了我的眼界，他告诉我在这个世界上有很多前人对我们的世界作出了一定的贡献。所以我从很多人的身上学到了很多东西， 我对其进行了挑选。

　　Reporter: What kind of a student were you?

　　记者：您以前是一个怎样的学生呢？

　　Smith: I was a good student. I liked to read enormously. I loved history. It was not difficult for me to make good grades.

　　史密斯：我是一个好学生，我喜欢进行广泛的阅读，我喜欢历史。而且对于我来说，学习上取得一个好的分数并不是一件难事。

　　Reporter: Were there any books that were important to you or had significant influence on you when you were a kid?

　　记者：孩提时代，有什么书籍对您产生了很重要的影响吗？

　　Smith: I read a lot of history, and still do, as a matter of fact. I remember reading a very famous book called Death Be Not Proud, that affected me a lot. It’s about a young boy who had a brain tumor⁷ and how he handled that. I read an awful lot about famous people, the generals and the presidents, and things of that nature.

　　史密斯：我以前读过很多历史方面的书籍，实际上我现在仍然会看很多那方面的书。我记得我读过一本很有名的书， 名字叫做〈死神，你莫骄傲 >，它带给我很多的影响。那讲的是有关于一个得脑瘤的小男孩如何应对他的病的故一。 我还读过很多有关于名人、 将军、总统以及这一类人的书籍。

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 indefatigable   

adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的

参考例句：

• His indefatigable spirit helped him to cope with his illness.他不屈不挠的精神帮助他对抗病魔。
• He was indefatigable in his lectures on the aesthetics of love.在讲授关于爱情的美学时，他是不知疲倦的。

3 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

4 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

5 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。