英语PK台 第500期:一枚改变命运的耳环

 　　Around twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. I could not find satisfying work and I found this especially difficult as I had a lot of experience and a Master's degree.

　　大约二十年前，我住在西雅图，经历着人生中非常艰难的时光。我找不到满意的工作，尤其是我经历丰富还手握一个硕士学位，这感觉尤其令人难熬。

　　To my shame I was driving a school bus to make ends meet and living with friends. I had lost my apartment. I had been through five interviews with a company and one day between bus runs they called to say I did not get the job. I went to the bus barn like a zombie of disappointment.

　　说来惭愧，我靠着开校车这份工作来勉强维持生活，然后在朋友家蹭住。我已经没有了自己的公寓。我在一家公司面试了五次，然后有一天，我在出车途中被告知无法得到这份工作。我走进车库时，如同一个失魂落魄的僵尸。

　　Later that afternoon, while doing my rounds through a quiet suburban¹ neighbourhood I had an inner wave—like a primal² scream—arise from deep inside me and I thought "Why has my life become so hard?" "Give me a sign, I asked... a physical sign—not some inner voice type of thing."

　　那天下午晚些时候，当我例行出车经过一个安静的郊外街区时，内心突然一阵涌动——如同一声原始的尖叫，从内心深处升腾起来，我想：“我的生活为何如此艰难？”“给我一个信号好吗？”我恳求道，“一个看得见摸的着的信号，而不是什么内在的声音启示你之类虚幻的东西。”

　　Immediately after this internal scream I pulled the bus over to drop off a little girl and as she passed she handed me an earring³ saying I should keep it in case somebody claimed it. The earring was stamped metal, painted black and said 'BE HAPPY'.

　　就在这声内心的尖叫刚过去，我停下校车，放下一个小姑娘，就在她经过我身旁时，她递给我一只耳环，说让我先保存着以防万一有人来认领。这个耳环是金属片质地，黑色，上面写着：“请快乐一点”。

　　At first I got angry—yeah, yeah, I thought. Then it hit me. I had been putting all of my energies into what was wrong with my life rather than what was right! I decided⁴ then and there to make a list of 50 things I was grateful for.

　　一开始我很愤怒，是的，是的。我想。随后，它真正击中了我，原来我把所有的精力投诸到我的生活为什么一团糟上，而不是感恩那些顺境上。当即我就决定列一个表写出让我感激的人生50件事。

　　At first it was hard, then it got easier. One day I decided to up it to 75. That night there was a phone call for me at my friend's house from a lady who was a manager at a large hospital. About a year earlier I had submitted a syllabus⁵ to a community college to teach a course on stress management. (Yup, you heard me.) She asked me if I would do a one-day seminar for 200 hospital workers. I said yes and got the job.

　　一开始有些难，慢慢地就容易多了。有一天我决定要扩增到75条。那天晚上，在朋友家有一个电话找我，来电者是一位女士，她是一家大医院的经理。大约一年前，我曾向社区大学提交了一份教授压力管理的课程提纲。（呵呵，就是你听到的没错）她问我是否可以为200个医院员工做一个一天的研讨会。我说没问题就接下了这个活。

　　My day with the hospital workers went very well. I got a standing⁶ ovation⁷ and many more days of work. To this day I KNOW that it was because I changed my attitude to gratitude⁸.

　　和医院员工相处这天过得非常顺利，我获得了他们长时间地起立鼓掌，然后我又多得到了几天的工作。直到此时，我终于明白了，一切都是因为我改变了心态，心怀感激。

　　Incidentally, the day after I found the earring the girl asked me if anyone had claimed it. I told her no and she said "I guess it was meant for you then."

　　更巧的是，就在我拿到耳环的第二天，那个女孩儿问我是否有人认领它。我告诉她没有，然后她说：“那么我想它也许就是为你准备的。”

　　I spent the next year conducting training workshops all around the Seattle area and then decided to risk everything and go back to Scotland where I had lived previously⁹. I closed my one-man business, bought a plane ticket and got a six-month visa from immigration. One month later I met my wonderful English wife and best friend of 15 years now. We live in a small beautiful cottage, two miles from a paved road in the highlands of Scotland.

　　接下来第二年的时间，我都用来在西雅图各地办培训专题讨论会，然后决定孤注一掷回到以前居住过的苏格兰。我结束了我的单身生意，买了一张机票，并从移民局获得了六个月的签证。一个月后，我就遇到了我那位理想的英国妻子，她也是我十五年的好友。我们定居在一个距大路约两英里远的苏格兰高地的一个美丽的小村舍中。

　　'THE ONLY ATTITUDE IS GRATITUDE' has been my motto for years now and yes, it completely changed my life.

　　“感恩是唯一的心态”多年来已经成为了我的座右铭，是的，它彻头彻尾地改变了我的人生。

1 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

2 primal   

adj.原始的；最重要的

参考例句：

• Jealousy is a primal emotion.嫉妒是最原始的情感。
• Money was a primal necessity to them.对于他们，钱是主要的需要。

3 earring   

n.耳环，耳饰

参考例句：

• How long have you worn that earring?你戴那个耳环多久了？
• I have an earring but can't find its companion.我现在只有一只耳环,找不到另一只了。

4 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。

5 syllabus   

n.教学大纲，课程大纲

参考例句：

• Have you got next year's syllabus?你拿到明年的教学大纲了吗？
• We must try to diversify the syllabus to attract more students.我们应该使教学大纲内容多样化，可以多吸引学生。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 ovation   

n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌

参考例句：

• The hero received a great ovation from the crowd. 那位英雄受到人群的热烈欢迎。
• The show won a standing ovation. 这场演出赢得全场起立鼓掌。

8 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。