英语小达人 386 A Pair of Socks(1)

 　　A Pair of Socks一双袜子One fine afternoon I was walking along Fifth Avenue, when I remembered that it was necessary to buy a pair of socks. Why I wished to buy only one pair is unimportant. I turned into the first sock shop that caught my eye, and a boy clerk who could not have been more than seventeen years old came forward. "What can I do for you, sir?" "I wish to buy a pair of socks." His eyes glowed. There was a note of passion in his voice. "Did you know that you had come into the finest place in the world to buy socks?" I had not been aware of that, as my entrance had been accidental. "Come with me," said the boy, ecstatically. I followed him to the rear of the shop, and he began to haul down from the shelves box after box, displaying their contents for my delectation.

　　一个明朗的下午，我走在第五大街上，忽然想起得买双短袜。至于为什么我只买一双，那是无关紧要的。我看到第一家袜子店，便走了进去，一个年纪不到17岁的少年店员向我迎来。“您要什么，先生？”“我想买双短袜。”他的眼睛闪出光芒，话语里含着激情。“您是否知道您来到的是世上最好的袜店？”这我倒没有意识到，因为我是偶然走进来这家商店的。“请跟我来，”那少年欣喜若狂地说。我随他来到店堂后部，少年从货架上拖下一个又一个盒子，把里面的袜子展示在我面前，让我赏鉴。

　　"Hold on, lad, I am going to buy only one pair!" "I know that," said he, "but I want you to see how marvelously beautiful these are. Aren't they wonderful?" There was on his face an expression of solemn and holy rapture¹, as if he were revealing to me the mysteries of his religion. I became far more interested in him than in the socks. I looked at him in amazement². "My friend," said I, "if you can keep this up, if this is not merely the enthusiasm that comes from novelty, from having a new job, if you can keep up this zeal³ and excitement day after day, in ten years you will own every sock in the United States." (To be continued)“等等，小伙子，我只要买一双！”“这我知道，”他说。“不过，我想让您看看这些袜子有多漂亮，真是好看极了！”他脸上洋溢着庄严和神圣的狂喜，像是在向我启示他所信奉的宗教的玄理。我对他的兴趣远远超过了对袜子的兴趣。我诧异地望着他。“我的朋友，”我说，“如果你能一直这样热情，如果这热情不只是因为你感到新奇，或因为得到了一个新的工作——如果你能天天如此，把这种热忱和激情保持下去，不消十年，你会成为全美国的短袜大王。”（待续）

1 rapture   

n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜

参考例句：

• His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
• In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。

2 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

3 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。