新标准大学英语4 课文原文及翻译 下载本文

enough to cover the first month’s substantial was expensive, and I just about had enough money over to treat myself to something. Why not get a CD or maybe a plant to cheer up the flat? I thought.

如果你问我,我会说,在你没有钱的时候花钱简直是易如反掌。我开始考虑如何花掉第一个月的工资。我住的那套公寓很贵,我的钱只够支付第一个月的生活费,而且我还有足够的钱来犒劳自己。为什么不买一张CD或者一盆植物来让你的公寓焕然一新呢?我想。

It was my birthday on payday. Apart from Mike and Tony, I didn’t have any friends in London. Seeing that I didn’t have a boyfriend either, you can understand why I began to feel sorry for myself. So I ordered myself some flowers, and asked for them to be sent with a little card, saying “With all my love, Anon.” The highlight of my birthday would be the confused look in the florist’s eyes when he delivered them.

发薪日那天是我的生日。除了迈克和托尼,我在伦敦没有任何朋友。既然我也没有男朋友,你就能理解为什么我开始自怨自艾了。于是我给自己订了一些花,并要求送花的人送上一张小卡片,上面写着“我爱你,不久”。

Later that week, Tony came in as usual and sat down at the bar. “What’s wrong with you? Where’s that smile gone today?” I talked to him about … well, about pretty well everything, money, the master’s, my birthday, the lot. He sympathized with me.

那个星期的晚些时候,托尼像往常一样进来,坐在酒吧里。“你怎么了?”今天你的笑容哪里去了?“我跟他谈了……嗯,差不多谈了所有的事情,钱、主人的生日、我的生日等等。他很同情我。

Tony got up from his stool, and went over to talk to some of the others. Remember: The Salisbury is right in the heart of the City, so all the customers were in banking or insurance or the stock market. Next day he turned up with cheques to the value of $20000. “This is a loan for you to set up your business. The only collateral you have is my trust in you that one day, you’ll pay us back- if you can. And if you can’t, too bad, that’s the finance business for you. But I think you will.”

托尼从凳子上站起来,走过去和其他人交谈。记住:索尔兹伯里就在市中心,所以所有的客户都在银行、保险或股票市场。第二天他带着价值两万美元的支票来了。“这是你创业的贷款。你唯一的抵押品就是我对你的信任,总有一天,你会还我们钱的——如果你可以的话。如果你做不到,那太糟糕了,这就是你的金融业务。但我想你会的。”

I didn’t say anything for fear that I was going to cry. What were the odds on anyone being so nice?

我什么也没说,怕自己会哭。谁能对我这么好?

And the flowers? I redirected them to my mum, and they arrived for her on my birthday. She deserved them, don’t you think?

和花吗?我把它们转寄给了我妈妈,它们在我生日那天到了。她活该,你不觉得吗?

If you ask me, looking back after all these years, you only need one or two breaks in your life to succeed. The fact that the rest is hard work doesn’t matter – it’s still worth it.

如果你问我,回顾这些年来,你只需要在你的生活中休息一两次就能成功。剩下的就是努力工作的事实并不重要——它仍然是值得的。

After a year working at The Salisbury, I got a place at the LSE, did my master’s and found a job in an investment bank. I invested the $20000, and sold out before the 2008 crash. I paid back Tony and the other investors, with ten per cent annual interest, and set up my own firm. It exceeded all my expectations and is still a thriving business.

在索尔兹伯里工作了一年之后,我在伦敦政治经济学院(LSE)找到了一个职位,完成了硕士学位,并在一家投资银行找到了一份工作。我投资了这2万美元,在2008年股市崩盘前就把它卖光了。我偿还了托尼和其他投资者10%的年息,建立了自己的公司。它超出了我所有的预期,仍然是一个蓬勃发展的业务。

Tony wrote me a thank-you note. He’d been in a car accident, and couldn’t walk. The money I paid back would allow him to adapt his house so he could move around it in his wheelchair. This is what he wrote:

托尼给我写了一封感谢信。他出了车祸,不能走路。我还的钱可以让他改造他的房子,这样他就可以坐在轮椅上四处走动了。他是这样写的:

“Thirty-five years in banking, and I’ve never made a better investment than the loan to you. You’ve repaid the money with interest, and my trust in you and your honesty 100-fold. If you ask me, investing in people gives the best return you can ever hope for.”

“我在银行干了35年,从来没有比贷款给你更好的投资了。你已经连本带利还了钱,我对你的信任和你的诚实是我的100倍。如果你问我,我的回答是,投资于人的回报是你所能期望的最高的。”

If you ask me, he’s right. What do you think?

依我看,他是对的。你觉得怎么样?

Reading across cultures / P20 Resumes across cultures

You can’t go anywhere without it. And we’re not talking about the latest fashion accessory, or your student travel card, or even a satellite navigator. No, we’re talking about the humble resume – the single most important document you need when applying for a job anywhere. In the UK, average university graduate sends out 70 resumes before their first job.

没有它你哪儿也去不了。我们说的不是最新的时尚配饰,也不是你的学生证,甚至不是卫星

导航仪。不,我们说的是不起眼的简历——在任何地方申请工作都需要的最重要的文件。在英国,大学毕业生在找到第一份工作之前平均要投递70份简历。

The resume (or CV in British English, which comes from the Latin curriculum vitae, or “course of your life”) is a concise list of your work and / or educational experiences, together with any other personal information you think a potential employer should have about you. With increasing job mobility, and more people seeking to about you. With increasing job mobility, and more people seeking to work in another country, it is an important means of cross-cultural communication. But be warned – there are slight differences how you should present the resume – and yourself – as you move from one country to another.

简历(或CV in British English,源自拉丁语curriculum vitae,意为“你的人生历程”)是你工作和/或教育经历的简明列表,以及你认为潜在雇主应该了解的有关你的任何其他个人信息。随着工作流动性的增加,越来越多的人想要了解你。随着工作流动性的增加,越来越多的人希望到另一个国家工作,这是跨文化交流的重要手段。但要注意的是,当你从一个国家搬到另一个国家时,你应该如何展示简历以及你自己都有细微的不同。

In the US, for example, a “hard sell” approach is the norm. Positive self-evaluation is essential – so don’t be shy about why you’re the best candidate for the job. In Britain, it is quite common to include information about experiences unrelated to the job you are applying for, to give a more “rounded” idea of your personality. But the British, it seems, sometimes overdo it. A recent survey showed that 26 per cent of British people “embellish” their resume, compared with a worldwide average of 14 per cent; in other words, they don’t tell the truth. But the truth has the habit of coming out in the job interview!

例如,在美国,“硬推销”是一种常态。积极的自我评估是必要的,所以不要害羞为什么你是这份工作的最佳人选。在英国,为了让面试官更全面地了解你的性格,求职者通常会附上一些与应聘工作无关的经历信息。但英国人似乎有时做得过头了。最近的一项调查显示,26%的英国人会“美化”自己的简历,而全球平均水平为14%;换句话说,他们没有说实话。但真相有在面试中显露的习惯!