英语小达人 387 A Pair of Socks(2)

 　　My amazement¹ at his pride and joy in salesmanship will be easily understood by all who read this article. In many shops the customer has to wait for someone to wait upon him. And when finally some clerk does deign² to notice you, you are made to feel as if you were interrupting him. Either he is absorbed in profound thought in which he hates to be disturbed or he is skylarking with a girl clerk and you feel like apologizing for thrusting yourself into such intimacy³.

　　我对这少年做买卖的自豪感和喜悦的心情觉得惊异，读者对此当不难理解。因为在许多商店，顾客得静候店员的招呼。当一个店员终于屈尊注意到你，他那种模样会让你觉得你在打扰他。他不是沉浸在沉思中，恼恨别人打断他的思路，就是在同女店员嬉笑聊天，让你感到不该打断了如此亲昵的谈话，反要向他道歉似的。

　　He displays no interest either in you or in the goods he is paid to sell. Yet possibly that very clerk who is now so apathetic⁴ began his career with hope and enthusiasm. The daily grind was too much for him; the novelty wore off; his only pleasures were found outside of working hours. He became a mechanical, not inspired, salesman. After being mechanical, he became incompetent⁵; then he saw younger clerks who had more zest⁶ in their work, promoted over him. He became sour. That was the last stage. His usefulness was over.

　　无论对你，或是对他领了报酬专门来出售的货物，他都毫无兴趣。然而就是这么个无动于衷的店员，可能当初也是怀着希望和热情开始他的职业的。年复一年枯燥乏味的苦差使叫他无法忍受；新奇感被磨掉了；只在工作之余，他才能找到一点欢乐。他成了一个机械的、没有干劲的售货员；机械呆板之后便是笨拙无能；他看到那些工作热情比他高的年轻店员晋升，超过了他，他开始烦躁不安。他已走到最后一站，已全无价值。

　　I have observed this melancholy⁷ decline in the lives of so many men in so many occupations that I have come to the conclusion that the surest road to failure is to do things mechanically. There are many teachers in schools and colleges who seem duller than the dullest of their pupils; they go through the motions of teaching, but they are as impersonal⁸ as a telephone.

　　各行各业都有许许多多人在生活的道路上走下坡路，意气消沉。我见得太多了，便得出了一个结论：机械地干工作必然导致失败。一些学院和学校里面许多教师，几乎比他们最迟钝的学生还要呆板；他们也进行教学活动，但就像一台电话机一般，丝毫没有一点人情味。

1 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

2 deign   

v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事)

参考例句：

• He doesn't deign to talk to unimportant people like me. 他不肯屈尊和像我这样不重要的人说话。
• I would not deign to comment on such behaviour. 这种行为不屑我置评。

3 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

4 apathetic   

adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的

参考例句：

• I realised I was becoming increasingly depressed and apathetic.我意识到自己越来越消沉、越来越冷漠了。
• You won't succeed if you are apathetic.要是你冷淡，你就不能成功。

5 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

6 zest   

n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣

参考例句：

• He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
• He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

7 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

8 impersonal   

adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的

参考例句：

• Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远，没有人情味。
• His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。