异类之不一样的成功启示录 第97期:黄金机会

 　　To this day, the distinctive¹ buildings that you see when you walk down the lower half of Broadway in Manhattan, from the big ten and fifteen story industrial warehouses² that ran for twenty blocks below Time Square to the cast-iron lofts³ of SOHO and Tribeca, were almost all built to house coat makers⁴ and hat makers and lingerie manufactures and huge rooms of men and women hunched⁵ over sewing machines.

　　这栋独特的建筑依然耸立在曼哈顿百老汇的下半区，从时代广场上的20街的10到15层工业仓库到坚固的Soho和Tribeca阁楼，几乎都是为服装制造商、帽子制造商和女内衣制造商而建，巨大的男女服装制造间耸立着缝纫机器。

　　To come to New York City in the 1890s with a background in dress making or sewing or Schnittwaren Handlung was a stroke of extraordinary good fortune.

　　于1890年代来到纽约从事服装制造的人是财富的浓重一笔。

　　It was like showing up in Silicon⁶ Valley in 1986 with ten thousand hours of computer programming already under your belt.

　　就像1986年出现在硅谷的上万小时的计算机程序一样都在你的掌握中。

　　"There is no doubt that those Jewish immigrants arrived at the perfect time, with the perfect skills," says the sociologist⁷ Stephen Steinberg.

　　“毫无疑问，这些犹太移民在完美的时刻带着完美的技艺到来”，社会学家斯蒂芬·斯坦伯格说，

　　To exploit that opportunity, you had to have certain virtues⁸, and those immigrants worked hard.

　　“为了发现机会，你需要有特别的勇气，而这些移民工作努力。

　　They sacrificed. The scrimped and saved and invested wisely.

　　他们牺牲、他们精打细算、存钱并明智的投资。

　　But still, you have to remember that the garment industry in those years was growing by leaps and bounds.

　　但是，你需要记住的是这些年服装工业发展迅猛。

　　The economy was desperate for the skills that they possessed⁹."

　　经济发展需要他们拥有的技能。”

　　Louis and Regina Borgenicht and the thousands of others who came over on the boats with them were given a golden opportunity.

　　路易斯和瑞吉娜夫妇，及成千上万的其他一起来的人都得到了这个黄金机会。

　　And so were their children and grandchildren, because the lessons those garment workers brought home with them in the evenings turned out to be a critical for getting ahead in the world.

　　他们的孩子及子孙辈的人因这些服装工人晚上带回家的学问成为世界上的领先者，因而很重要。

　　The day after Louis and Regina Borgenicht sold out their first lot of forty aprons¹⁰, Louis made his way to H.B.Claflin and Company.

　　在第一次将四十个婴儿围嘴全部卖光之后，路易斯找到了克利夫林公司，

　　Claflin was a dry-goods "commision" house, the equivalent of Brandstatter's back in Poland.

　　克利夫林公司是一家销售“干货”的代理公司，相当于一家波兰的Brandstatter公司。

　　There, Borgenicht asked for a salesman who spoke¹¹ German, since his English was almost nonexistent.

　　由于路易斯不会讲英语，在那里他找到一个可以说德语的销售人员，

　　He had in his hand his and Regina's life savings¹², $125, and with that money, he bought enough cloth to make ten dozen aprons.

　　他用他与瑞吉娜的毕生积蓄-125美元，购买了足够做十打婴儿围嘴的布料，

　　Day and night, he and Regina cut and sewed.

　　无论是白天还是黑夜，他和瑞吉娜不停的裁剪和缝纫。

1 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

2 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

3 lofts   

阁楼( loft的名词复数 )； （由工厂等改建的）套房； 上层楼面； 房间的越层

参考例句：

• He lofts it into the air, and hugs his head in the deep secret embrace. 他抬手甩了出去，然后赶忙把头紧紧的抱了个密不透风。
• Spring Loaded Bed Loft-Lofts bed, freeing up extra storage space underneath. 弹性床铺抬高器---抬高床铺，释放更多床底下的空间。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

6 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

7 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

8 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

9 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

10 aprons   

围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份）

参考例句：

• Many people like to wear aprons while they are cooking. 许多人做饭时喜欢系一条围裙。
• The chambermaid in our corridor wears blue checked gingham aprons. 给我们扫走廊的清洁女工围蓝格围裙。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。