“我之所以到这，当然是无事不登三宝殿。但是，我明白，像他这样的公司，

were to hire a boy of my antecedents. And while he congratulated me on my progress,

雇用一个像我这样的人的概率是微乎其微的。当他吹捧我取得的成绩的时候，

I should understand he certainly couldn't offer me a job.

我心里就已经明白，他实际上不大可能给我这个饭碗。

But they all enjoyed seeing me and all that."

但他们自始至终，还是热情地接待了我。

It is clear from the transcript of Bickel's reminiscences that his interviewer doesn't quiet know what to do with that information.

对比克尔求职的这段追忆，后来那些采访他的人显然都觉得有点迷惑不解。

Bickel was by the time was the interview at the height of his reputation.

比克尔接受这些记者采访的时候，正是他声誉最高的时期，他的身影常出现在最高法院，

He had argued cases before the Supreme Court. He had written brilliant books.

在那里，他力辩群雄，他写了很多风靡一时的书箱。

Mudge Rose saying no to Bickel because of his "antecedents" was like the Chicago Bulls turning down Michael Jordan because they were uncomfortable with black kids from North Carolina. It didn't make any sense.

而默基·罗斯律师事务所对比克尔说“不”，只是因为比克尔的出身，就像当年芝加哥公牛队拒绝接收来自北卡罗来纳州的黑人孩子麦克尔·乔丹一样。没有任何其它说得过去的理由。

"But for stars?" the interviewer asked, meaning, Wouldn't they have made an exception for your?

“但是对名人也这样吗？”采访者问他，意思是“难道他们不会破例吗？”

Bickel:"Stars, schmars..."

比克尔说：“名人，schmars……”

In the 1940s and 1950s, the old-line law firms of New York operated like a private club.

20世纪四五十年代，纽约那些老牌律师事务所的运营方式就像一个私人俱乐部。

There were all headquartered in downtown Manhattan, in and around Wall Street, in somber, granite-faced buildings.

他们的总部都设在市中心的曼哈顿，在华尔街或其周边用大理石砌成的沉重严肃的写字楼里。

The partners at the top firms graduated from the same Ivy League schools, attended the same churches, and summered in the same oceanside villages on Long Island. They wore conservative gray suits.

顶级公司的合伙人都是常春藤联盟学校的毕业生，他们参加同一个教会，都在长岛的海边度假。他们穿保守的灰色套装，

Their partnerships were known as "white-shoe" firms in apparent appearance to the white bucks favored at the country club or a cocktail party,

他们所在的公司被称为“白鞋”公司（”whiteshoe”firm）显然，“白鞋”指的是出现在乡村俱乐部或鸡尾酒会的白色绅士鞋。

and they were very particular in whom they hired.

这些公司对所雇用的人员十分挑剔。

As Erwin Smigel wrote in The Wall Street Lawyer, his study of the old-line New York legal establishment,

就像艾文·斯米格尔（ErwinSmigel）在《华尔街律师》（TheWallStreetLawyer）一书中对纽约旧式法律公司所做的研究说的那样，

they were looking for: lawyers who are Nordic, have pleasing personalities, and "clean-cut" are graduates of the right schools, have the right social background, and experience in the affairs of the world,appearances, and are endowed with tremendous stamina. A former law school dean, in discussing the qualities students needed to obtain a job, offers a somewhat more realistic picture.

这些公司寻找：来自北欧的律师，这些人性格随和，穿着整洁体面，毕业于“合适的学校”，具有“合适的”社会背景及参与国际事务经验，且精力充沛，极具耐心。一位法学院前院长在一次谈论法学院的学生找工作时应该具备怎样的特点时，提出了更实际的要求。