异类之不一样的成功启示录 第93期:生活让你努力尝试各行各业

 　　Lesson Number Three: The Garment Industry and Meaningful Work第三课：服装业和有意义的工作In 1889, Louis and Regina Borgenicht boarded an ocean liner in Hamburg bound for America.

　　1889年，路易斯（Louis）和瑞吉娜·鲍各尼特（ReginaBorgenicht）在汉堡港登上了远赴美国的客轮。

　　Louis was from Galacia, in what was then Poland. Regina was from a small town in Hungary.

　　路易斯来自格拉西亚（Galacia），当时属于波兰管辖。瑞吉娜则来自匈牙利的一个小镇。

　　They had been married only a few years and had one small child and a second on they way.

　　他们刚结婚几年，有了一个小孩，他们的第二个宝宝还在妈妈的肚子里。

　　For the thirteen day journey, they slept on straw mattresses¹ on a deck above the engine room, hanging tight to their bunk² beds as the ship pitched and rolled.

　　在这13天的旅途中，他们睡在轮机舱甲板上用稻草铺成的床上，当船颠簸的时候，他们不得不把床铺紧紧绑起来。

　　They knew one person in New York: Borgenicht's sister, Sallie, who had immigrated³ ten years before.

　　他们认识纽约的一个人：10年前移民到美国的鲍各尼特的姐姐莎莉。

　　They had enough money to last a few weeks, at best.

　　还好，他们的钱足够他们坚持几星期。

　　Like so many immigrants to America in those years, theirs was a leap of faith.

　　就像在这些年里移民到美国的其他移民一样，他们的一切都处于难以预料的境遇。

　　Louis and Regina found a tiny apartment on Eldridge Street, in Manhattan's Lower East Side, for $8 a month.

　　路易斯和瑞吉娜在纽约东部贫民区的埃尔德里奇街（EldridgeStreet）租了一个小公寓，他们一个月需要8美元支付房租。

　　Louis then took to the streets, looking for work.

　　路易斯四处寻找工作，

　　He saw peddlers and fruit sellers and sidewalks crammed⁴ with pushcarts⁶.

　　他看到了街道上到处都是小商贩和卖水果的人，He saw noise and activity energy that dwarfed⁷ what he had come from in the Old World.

　　还有那些拥挤在街边的推手推车吆喝的小贩。这些嘈杂的人流让那些过去的世界在他眼中变得模糊。

　　He was first overwhelmed, then invigorated.

　　他变得欢欣鼓舞。

　　He went to his sister's fish store on Ludlow Street and convinced her to give him a consignment⁸ of herring on credit.

　　他去了他姐姐在洛得洛街（LudlowStreet）的鱼店，并说服姐姐借给他托运鲱鱼的本钱。

　　He set up shop on the sidewalk with two barrels of fish, hopping⁹ back and forth¹⁰ between them, chanting in German:For frying. For baking. For cooking. Good also for eating. Herring will do for ever meal. And for every class!

　　他装了满满的2桶鱼，在人行道旁反反复复用德语叫卖着：煎的，烤的，炒的，炖的，吃着爽口，顿顿回味，人人都喜欢！

　　By the end of the week, he had cleared $8. By the second week, $13. Those were considerable sums.

　　那个周末，他赚了8美元。第二周，他赚了13美元。这个收入还不错。

　　But Louis and Regina could not see how selling herring on the street would lead to a constructive¹¹ business.

　　但夫妻俩觉得，做这个生意，看不到能有什么长远发展。

　　Louis then decided¹² to try being a pushcart⁵ peddler. He sold towels and tablecloths¹³, without much luck.

　　路易斯决定推着手推车去做生意。他卖毛巾和桌布，但运气不大好，He switched to notebooks, then bananas, then socks and stockings. Was there really a future in pushcarts?

　　于是又转做笔记本生意，之后是卖香蕉、短袜和长袜。干手推车小贩真能有前途吗？

　　Regina gave birth to a second child, a daughter, and Louis's urgency grew.

　　这时瑞吉娜又生了第二个孩子，是一个女儿，路易斯的生活压力越来越大。

　　He now had four mouths to feed.

　　现在他得养活4口人了。

 

1 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

2 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

3 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

4 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

5 pushcart   

n.手推车

参考例句：

• He peddled fish from a pushcart.他推着手推车沿街卖鱼。
• Children of slum dwellers play under a pushcart in New Delhi,India.印度新德里，贫民窟的孩子们在一辆手推车下玩耍。

6 pushcarts   

n.手推车( pushcart的名词复数 )

参考例句：

7 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 consignment   

n.寄售；发货；委托；交运货物

参考例句：

• This last consignment of hosiery is quite up to standard.这批新到的针织品完全符合规格。
• We have to ask you to dispatch the consignment immediately.我们得要求你立即发送该批货物。

9 hopping   

n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The clubs in town are really hopping. 城里的俱乐部真够热闹的。
• I'm hopping over to Paris for the weekend. 我要去巴黎度周末。

10 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。

11 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

12 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。

13 tablecloths   

n.桌布，台布( tablecloth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）
• At the moment the cause of her concern was a pile of soiled tablecloths. 此刻她关心的事是一堆弄脏了的台布。 来自辞典例句