中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
走在喧囂的街道上，站在擁擠的地鐵里，坐在高壓的辦公室里，似乎總有一腔怨氣揮之不去，從外部到內(nèi)在同時積壓著我們并不算堅韌的心靈，生活變得面目可憎。然而，環(huán)境誠然難以改變，你卻有另外一種姿態(tài)可以選擇……
By David J. Pollay
王倩 選 胡曉凱 譯
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Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, for an instant, you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly she/he can get back her/his focus on what’s important. Five years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a taxicab in Indianapolis. Here’s what happened: I hopped in a taxi and we took off for Indianapolis Airport. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And, I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.” “Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did.” So this was it: The “Law of the Garbage Truck.” I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do it anymore.” I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie The Sixth Sense, the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well, now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxi driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on. |
你是否曾讓一個差勁的司機、粗魯?shù)氖陶摺⒓饪痰睦习寤蛘哂掴g的下屬破壞了一天的心情？除非你是“終結(jié)者”，否則有那么一刻，你很可能會大為光火。然而，成功人士的標志就是她/他如何能迅速地將注意力轉(zhuǎn)移到重要的事情上。 這一課我是在五年前學(xué)到的。當時，我正坐在印第安納波利斯的一輛的士的后座上，下面就是事情的經(jīng)過： 我跳進一輛的士，趕往印第安納波利斯機場。我們正在路上正常行駛，突然，一輛黑色的車從停車位插到我們前面。我那輛車的司機猛踩剎車，車打滑了，最后差幾英寸就會撞上前車的車尾！ 前車的司機，就是那個差點釀成一樁大交通事故的家伙，居然猛回頭沖我們破口大罵。我這輛車的司機卻只是微笑著沖那個家伙揮揮手。我是說，他的態(tài)度很友好。 于是我問道，“您為什么要這樣？那個家伙差點弄壞您的車，把咱倆都送到醫(yī)院！”下面是我那位司機的回答，現(xiàn)在我把它稱之為“垃圾車法則”。 “許多人都像垃圾車一樣。他們四處跑，裝滿了垃圾，裝滿了沮喪、怒氣和失望。當他們的垃圾堆積起來時，就需要一個地方傾倒。如果你允許，他們會把垃圾倒在你身上。當有人想這么做的時候，不要把它視作個人恩怨。你只需微笑，揮揮手，祝他們好運，然后繼續(xù)前行。你會為自己這樣做感到高興的。” 這就是我所謂的“垃圾車法則”。我開始回想，有多少次我讓垃圾車從我身上碾過? 在辦公室，在家里，在大街上，有多少次我曾把他們丟下的垃圾又扔到其他人身上？ 在那一天，我告訴自己，“我再也不那么做了”。 我開始看見垃圾車了。就像電影《第六感》中那個小男孩所說的“我看見死人了”。現(xiàn)在，“我看見垃圾車了”。我看到他們裝著垃圾，我看到他們把垃圾卸下。就像我那位司機一樣，我并不把它視為個人恩怨；我只是微笑，揮手，祝他們好運，然后繼續(xù)前行。 （來源：英語學(xué)習(xí)雜志） |
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Vocabulary: 1. curt: 唐突無禮的。 2. insensitive: 感覺遲鈍的，麻木不仁的。 3. Terminator: 終結(jié)者，出自好萊塢著名導(dǎo)演詹姆斯?卡梅隆（《阿凡達》的導(dǎo)演）同名科幻系列影片《終結(jié)者》，這里指機器人。 4. set back on one's heels: 使某人困窘，使某人狼狽。 5. Indianapolis: 印第安納波利斯（美國印第安納州首府）。 6. slam: 砰地放下。 7. skid: 打滑。 8. whip: 一下子猛地移動。 9. bad words: 猥褻的話。 |
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