Hold Your Own Fate

王秀凤

漫漫人生路，有谁能说自己是踏着一路鲜花、一路阳光走过来的？又有谁能够放言自己以后不会遭遇挫折和打击？如果因为一时的受挫就轻易地退出“战场”，半途而废，到头来懊悔的只能是你自己。命运把握在自己的手中！

A jobless man wanted very much to have the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. “You have passed the test，”he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the form to fill in and the date when you may start.” The man replied， “But I don’t have a computer， neither an e-mail.” “I’m sorry，” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail， that means you are not living. ①And anyone who isn’t living cannot have the job.”

The man left with no hope at all. ②He didn’t know what to do with only $10 in his pocket. He thought and thought. Then he went to the supermarket and bought 10 kilos of tomatoes. He sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours， he had 20 dollars. He repeated the operation three times， and started to go early every day， and returned home late. Shortly， he bought a cart， then a truck， then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later， the man was one of the biggest food retailers in the US.

One day， one of his friends asked him for his e-mail. He said， “I haven’t got one.” His friend couldn’t believe his ears. “Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail？” The man thought for a while and replied， “Yes， I’d be an office boy at Microsoft！”

精彩译文

把握住你自己的命运

一个失业的人非常想在微软谋求一个“勤杂工”的工作。人事经理面试他，然后看着他打扫地板作为一个测试。他说，“你已经通过了测试，给我你的e-mail地址，我将给你邮去要填的表格并通知你可能上班的日期。”该男子回答说，“但是，我没有电脑，也没有电子邮箱。”“很遗憾，”人事经理说， “如果你没有一个电子邮箱，这意味着你没有活着。没有活着的人是不能有这份工作的。”

这个男子绝望地离开了。他不知道如何利用他兜里仅剩的10块钱。他想了又想，然后，他去超市买了10公斤西红柿。他挨家挨户卖西红柿。不到2个小时，他就有20块钱。他每天开始早出晚归，重复买卖物品3次。很短的时间里，他买了个手推车，然后买了卡车，再后来他有了自己的运输车队（运货车队）。5年后，该名男子成为美国最大的食品零售商之一。

有一天，他的一个朋友问他要电子邮箱。他说，“我没有。”他的朋友简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。 “你想过要是当初你有一个电子邮箱会怎样吗？”他想了一会儿，回答说：“是的，我会是微软公司的一个员工。”

难点解读：

生词

1. position  n. 地位，职位

2. interview  vt. 面试

3. operation  n.操作，经营

4. cart   n.运货马车，手推车

5. delivery  n.传送，投递

6. vehicle  n.车辆

7. retailer  n.零售商

句型

1. And anyone who isn’t living cannot have the job.

没有活着的人是不能有这份工作的。

本句中的who isn’t living作anyone的定语，例如：

Anyone who breaks the laws will be punished.

任何人违法都会遭到惩罚。

2. He didn’t know what to do with only $10 in his pocket.

他不知道如何利用他兜里仅剩的10块钱。

do with 常与连接代词 what 连用，例如：

I don’t know how they deal with the problem.

= I don’t know what they do with the problem. 我不知道他們如何处理这个问题。