名人励志英语演讲 第146期:感觉失败及寻找幸福(8)

 　　And sometimes I wouldn't read the copy, and I'd be--because I wanted to be spontaneous--and I'd come across a list of words I didn't know and I'd mispronounce. And one day I was reading copy and I called Canada "Cah-Nah-Dah". And I did just that. I cracked myself on the air. And I decided¹, this Barbara thing's not going too well. I should try being myself.

　　由于想要更自然而不照本宣科，所以有时我会遇到一些不认识的词，甚至还会发错音。有一天我居然把“加拿大”念成了“卡——那——大”。我真的念错了，我差点儿崩溃，于是我决定，模仿芭芭拉并不是好事，我要做回我自己。

　　But at the same time, my dad was saying, "Oprah Gail, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. You'd better keep that job." And my boss was saying, "This is the nightly news. You're an anchor, not a social worker. Just do your job."

　　但那时我爸爸却对我说：“奥普拉·盖尔，这是你一生的机会。你最好继续做那份工作。”我的老板也说：“这是晚间新闻。你是播报员，不是社工。还是做你的本职工作吧。”

　　So, I was juggling² these messages of expectation and obligation and feeling really miserable³ with myself. I'd go home at night and fill up my journals, because I've kept a journal since I was 15--so I now have volumes of journals. So, I'd go home at night and fill up my journals about how miserable I was and frustrated⁴. Then I'd eat my anxiety. That's where I learned that habit.

　　我辜负了这些期待和责任，感觉自己很糟糕。晚上回到家后我会记日记。自从15岁时我就开始记日记了——现在我已经有好几卷日记了。我晚上回到家后，我会记录下我是多么不幸，多么沮丧。然后独自一人将忧愁吞噬。这一切已经成为我的习惯。

　　And after eight months, I lost that job. They said I was too emotional. I was too much. But since they didn't want to pay out the contract, they put me on a talk show in Baltimore. And the moment I sat down on that show, the moment I did, I felt like I'd come home. I realized that TV could be more than just a playground, but a platform for service, for helping⁵ other people lift their lives. And the moment I sat down, doing that talk show, it felt like breathing. It felt, it felt right. And that's where everything that followed for me began.

　　8个月后我失去了那份工作。他们说我太情绪化了，过头了。但因为他们不想付违约金，就让我去巴尔的摩主挂一档脱口秀节目。从我开始主持那档节目的一刻开始，我便有了无拘无束的感觉。我意识到电视不应该仅仅是一个娱乐场，更应该是一个以服务为目的的平台，以帮助他人更好地生活。当我坐下来开始主持节目时，就感觉像呼吸一样自在，感觉好极啦。而那才是我工作真正开始的时候。

　　And I got that lesson. When you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid.

　　于是我得到了这个教训，当你从事自己喜爱的工作时，那种感觉棒极了，每天都像在领奖金，不管赚多少钱。

　　重点讲解：

　　1. come across

　　偶然发现；偶然遇见；

　　eg. I came across a group of children playing.

　　我碰到一群正在玩耍的小孩。

　　eg. We like to identify and celebrate women's success whenever we come across it.

　　每当女性取得成功，我们都会表示认同并予以颂扬。

　　2. fill up

　　装满；填写；填充；

　　eg. I fill up the tank with gasoline about once a week.

　　大约每个星期我加满一箱汽油。

　　eg. We fill up our lives with meaningless tasks.

　　我们终日忙忙碌碌，过得毫无意义。

　　3. pay out

　　支付，花费（通常指一大笔钱）；（保单）赔付，偿付；

　　eg. Many policies pay out only after a period of weeks or months.

　　很多保单在几周或几个月后才得以赔付。

　　eg. He had paid out good money to educate his daughter at a boarding school.

　　他花了很多钱让他的女儿在寄宿学校受教育。

　　4. be meant to do sth.

　　原本打算的；理应的；

　　eg. I can't say any more, it's meant to be a big secret.

　　我再也无可奉告了，这本是重大的秘密。

　　eg. Parties are meant to be fun.

　　派对就是为了乐和一下。

　　5. regardless of

　　不顾；不管；不论；

　　eg. She is determined⁶ to do regardless of all consequences.

　　她不顾一切后果，决心这样做。

　　eg. Regardless of whether he is right or wrong, we have to abide⁷ by his decisions.

　　不管他正确与否，我们都得服从他的决定。

　　名人简介：

　　堕落天使

　　作为一名黑人，奥普拉少时的生活与别人一般无二。她1954年出生于美国南方密西西比州的一个单亲家庭，生活异常困顿，几乎整日处于颠沛流离的状态。与别的黑人少年一样，奥普拉曾一度自甘堕落。在她日后的金牌节目“奥普拉脱口秀”中，奥普拉曾面对3300万观众坦承了自己那段不光彩的历史：吸毒，堕胎，甚至还生下过一名不久就夭折的女婴。奥普拉的生父曾对女儿说：“有些人让事情发生，有些人看着事情发生，有些人连发生什么事情都不知道。”于是极度空虚的奥普拉想知道自己生命中究竟会有什么事情发生。

　　奥普拉自幼就有与生俱来的说话技巧和不俗的记忆力，她发现自己的言谈很容易带动别人的情绪，于是17岁的奥普拉先是参加了当地的一次选美比赛，后又凭着自己的三寸不烂之舌与不错的运气，在19岁那年被当地一家电台聘为业余新闻播音员，从此涉足传媒界。大学毕业后，奥普拉成为巴尔的摩一家电视台的正式播音员。然而她早期的电视生涯并不顺利。由于奥普拉在播报新闻时无法保持客观中立的态度，她的情绪往往随播报的内容忽喜忽忧，因此常常招致观众的批评。好在台里慧眼识珠，给她安排了一个早间的谈话节目，才使她如鱼得水，不久她就成为当地小有名气的女主持。1983年，奥普拉结识了生命中的伯乐——“A.M.芝加哥”电台的老板丹尼斯·施瓦逊。当时施瓦逊正在物色一名出色的脱口秀主持人，以其提高以前访谈节目的收视率。尽管电视台的多数人对聘用一名黑人来主持节目深表怀疑，但施瓦逊还是力排众议，以23万美元的年薪将奥普拉招至麾下。出人意料的是，仅仅一个月，奥普拉访谈节目的收视率就超过了从前，从此一发而不可收，奥普拉直登“美国最当红脱口秀主持人”的宝座。

1 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。

2 juggling   

n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was charged with some dishonest juggling with the accounts. 他被指控用欺骗手段窜改账目。
• The accountant went to prison for juggling his firm's accounts. 会计因涂改公司的帐目而入狱。

3 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。