你犯过最美好的错误是什么

 　　What's the Best Mistake You've Ever Made?

　　你犯过最美好的错误是什么

　　I sent a job application to the wrong email address. It was 1997, I was a kid working tech support at a local ISP called jps.net. I knew C and had taught myself Perl during downtime. I was applying for a Programmer I position at the university where my dad worked. I sent my resume¹ along with a really long university application. Instead of sending the packet to [email protected], I sent it to [email protected]. A few days later, the head of the NOC called me into his office. Before I really had time to be nervous, he started interviewing me. He gave me a page of a C program and asked me what it did. I didn't really get it at first, so I went through line by line explaining it. I recognised the port for POP3 and get host by addr() and the guy seemed to be getting more and more excited. In one of the funnier cases of title inflation², they called me “staff programmer”. That's one rank up from senior³ programmer. I was 17.

　　我把工作申请发错邮箱地址。那是在1997年，我还是个孩子，在当地一家互联网服务供应商工作。我在停工期自学了C语言和Perl代码，当时我申请了我父亲所工作的大学的编程员工作。我将我的简历连同学校超长的申请表一起发送了过去，结果发去的地址是[email protected]，而不是[email protected]，几天后，NOC 的老板打电话让我去他的办公室。我还处在惶恐不安时，他开始对我进行面试。他给了我一张C语言编程并问我怎么做。其实一开始我并不懂，所以我逐行解释。后来我发现了端口3，并通过地址获取主机，他开始变得越来越兴奋了。最有趣的是他们还给我取了个头衔是“高级程序员”，那是对高级程序员的称呼，那时我才17岁。

　　你犯过最美好的错误是什么.jpg

　　I asked the wrong woman on a date. I have a problem remembering names and faces. There was a girl at school I had been chatting with during lunch breaks, Vicki. There was another that I had met and spoken to exactly once during an outdoor cookout at the school (college) Marie.

　　我搞错了约会对象，我记不住人名和脸。有一个叫做薇姬的女生，我们曾在午饭时间交谈过。还有另外一个女生名叫玛丽，曾谋面过并在学校组织的户外野炊聊过天。

　　I had an occasion⁴ where I was performing, the event included a dinner and dancing and I could bring a date

　　我有一个重要场合需要出席，期间将举行晚宴、跳舞，我还可以带一个女伴。

　　I planned to ask Vicki as I had spent more time with her and felt I knew her better.

　　我打算约上薇姬，主要是我和她更熟点。

　　I am rushing between classes and I am stopped by a girl who says Hi. Vicki. I surprise her by asking her to accompany me to my event. She says yes and I get out my note pad⁵ to write down her number and write the name Vicki. She says “That's not my name.” I apologize for my memory glitch⁶ and ask her what her name is. Marie. Then it dawned on me, I had just asked out the wrong girl. But she had said yes and I was a gentleman so I would not back out.

　　由于急着去上课，我在一个女生面前停下，对她说：嗨，薇姬。我约她和我一起去那个聚会，似乎让她有点惊讶。她答应了，于是我拿出笔记本记下她的号码和她的名字薇姬。她说那不是她的名字。我为我的过失道歉，并问她叫什么。她回答我是玛丽。我明白了，我约错女生了。但是她答应了，作为一个绅士我不能收回我的话。

　　We went on the date. We both fell in love that night. We were engaged⁷ three weeks later. That was 38 years and one son ago. We are still together. And yes, she knows the story.

　　我们如期赴约。在那晚我们坠入爱河。三周之后我们订了婚，事情过去已经三十八年了，我们还有了一个儿子。如今我们还在一起，是的，她也知道这个故事。

1 resume   

v.（中断后）继续，恢复；n.摘要，简历

参考例句：

• We'll stop now and resume at two o 'clock.我们现在停下来，到两点再干。
• My resume shows that I have the right qualifications for the job.我的简历表明我正符合这项工作的条件。

2 inflation   

n.胀大，夸张，通货膨胀

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• The inflation of the airbed took several minutes.给空气床垫充气花了几分钟时间。

3 senior   

adj.年长的；资格较老的，地位较高的；n.年长者，前辈；大学高年级学生

参考例句：

• My brother is senior to me by two years.我哥哥比我年长两岁。
• They are senior students.他们是高年级学生。

4 occasion   

n.场合，时机，机会，诱因，理由；vt.惹起，引起

参考例句：

• Her dress was too showy for such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，她的服装过分华丽了。
• Her tears were fought back on such an occasion.在这种场合下她忍住了眼泪。

5 pad   

n.垫，衬垫；便签本，印色盒

参考例句：

• She made a brief note on the telephone pad.她在电话通讯簿上记下简短的话。
• Each student should have a pencil and pad.每个学生应该有一支铅笔和一个便签本。

6 glitch   

n.干扰；误操作，小故障

参考例句：

• There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。
• It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

7 engaged   

a.having agree to get married

参考例句：

• They are engaged in talks with the Irish government. 他们正忙着与爱尔兰政府谈判。
• The old lady engaged herself in making clothes for her children. 这位老太太忙着为孩子们做衣服。