一双袜子A Pair of Socks

 　　A Pair of Socks

　　One fine afternoon I was walking along Fifth Avenue, when I remembered that it was necessary to buy a pair of socks. I turned into the first sock shop that caught my eye, and a boy clerk who could not have been more than seventeen years old came forward. “What can I do for you, sir?” “I wish to buy a pair of socks.” His eyes glowed. There was a note of passion in his voice. “Did you know that you had come into the finest place in the world to buy socks?” I had not been aware of that, as my entrance had been accidental. “Come with me,” said the boy, ecstatically. I followed him to the rear of the shop, and he began to haul down from the shelves box after box, displaying their contents for my delectation.

　　“Hold on, lad, I am going to buy only one pair!” “I know that,” said he, “but I want you to see how marvelously beautiful these are. Aren’t they wonderful?” There was on his face an expression of solemn and holy rapture¹, as if he were revealing to me the mysteries of his religion. I became far more interested in him than in the socks. I looked at him in amazement². “My friend,” said I, “if you can keep this up, if this is not merely the enthusiasm that comes from novelty, from having a new job, if you can keep up this zeal³ and excitement day after day, in ten years you will own every sock in the United States.”

　　My amazement 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 deign⁴ 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 intimacy⁵.

　　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 apathetic⁶ 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 incompetent⁷; then he saw younger clerks who had more zest⁸ in their work, promoted over him. He became sour. That was the last stage. His usefulness was over.

　　I have observed this melancholy⁹ 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 impersonal¹⁰ as a telephone.

　　一双袜子

　　一个晴朗的下午,我沿第五大街而行,忽然想起需要买双袜子?我拐进看到的第一家袜店,一个不到17岁的少年售货员迎上来:“先生,我能为您效劳吗?” “我想买双短袜?” 他双眸满是热情,声音饱含激情:“您知道您来到了世界上最好的袜店吗?”我倒并未意识到这点,我不过是随便进来的? “随我来,”男孩欣喜若狂地说?我跟着他往里走?他开始从货架上拽下一个又一个盒子,向我展示里面的袜子,让我欣赏?

　　“停一停,孩子,我只买一双!”“我知道,”他说,“但我想让您瞧瞧这些袜子是多么漂亮?令人赞叹!难道它们不棒吗!”他的脸色庄严而虔诚,就像是在向我透露他的信仰中的奥秘似的?我对他远远超过了对袜子的兴趣?我吃惊地打量着他?“我的朋友,” 我说,“如果你能这样保持下去,如果这热情并不仅仅缘于新奇,缘于找到份新工作,如果你能日复一日地保持这种热心和激情,不出十年,全美的每一双袜子都将是从你手中卖出去的?”

　　我对他推销时的自豪与欣喜所感到的诧异,读者诸君当不难理解?在很多店铺,顾客不得不等待有人来招呼?当终于有个售货员肯屈尊理你,那样子又让你感觉像是打扰了他?他不是陷于讨厌被人搅扰的深思之中,就是和女售货员嬉戏调笑;而你不适时的插入打断了他们的亲昵,为此你感觉好像需要道歉似的?

　　他显示出对你和他拿着工资去卖的东西毫无兴趣?然而,就是这样一个如此冷漠的售货员,或许当初也是满怀希望和热情开始工作的?天天枯燥乏味的苦差事令他不堪忍受,新鲜感磨去了,惟一的乐趣只能在工作之外找到?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?随后,看到比他年轻?工作热情比他高的售货员得到了提拔,在他之上,他于是变得烦躁刻薄?此时便到了他职业生涯的最后阶段?他不再有用了?

　　我观察到,很多职业中的太多人在人生道路上都有这种可悲的堕落?由此我得出结论:机械地应付差事是离失败最近的路?大中小学里的许多教师,似乎比他们最最迟钝的学生还要呆滞;他们似乎也搞搞教学,却毫无人的感情,就如同一部电话机?

1 rapture   

n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜

参考例句：

• His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
• In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。

2 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。

3 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。