智慧背囊 浮华背后-10-吸取一个教训，赢得一份礼物

[00:02.88]Learn a Lesson, Find the Gift吸取一个教训，赢得一份礼物
[00:07.02]Tom Peterson worked for many years to build a solid business
[00:10.86]selling television sets, stereo systems, and home appliances.
[00:15.00] He gave people good value, a full satisfaction guarantee,and friendly service.
[00:21.26]With the help of his wife Gloria, who handled the books,
[00:24.66]Tom developed an excellent reputation.
[00:27.70]He was proud of his high percentage of repeat customers.
[00:31.32]About five years ago, Tom was approached by the owners of a competing company, Stereo Super Stores.
[00:38.23]They wanted him to buy them out.
[00:40.83] The price was very attractive.
[00:43.35]Everything looked good.
[00:45.32]Before making his final decision Tom asked Gloria what she thought about the purchase.
[00:51.22]She told him that even though the numbers looked good it didn’t feel right to her.
[00:56.58]However, Tom was so self-confident and so convinced that this was a rare opportunity,
[01:03.15] he went ahead and made the purchase.
[01:05.77] Within months he discovered that he had made a big mistake.
[01:10.47] He had paid much too much for a dying company.
[01:14.74] He tried as hard as he could to make it work out, but he couldn’t turn things around.
[01:20.42] He was forced into bankruptcy¹.
[01:23.05] He was about to lose everything, including his original business.
[01:27.75]Tom was embarrassed, but he is a survivor².
[01:31.58] He looked at his situation.
[01:33.44] He decided³ to openly admit his mistake and,
[01:37.22] rather than getting bogged⁴ down in lawsuits⁵,
[01:40.15]he would focus his energies on saving and rebuilding his original business.
[01:44.97] He saw also that he had made a mistake by not listening to his wife,
[01:49.89] and that he needed to learn from this experience.
[01:53.38] Tom played up his mistake in judgment⁶.
[01:56.67] He dealt with the crisis in a way that delighted many people and increased their respect for him.
[02:03.01] Old customers flocked into his store.
[02:06.18] He and Gloria adapted to changes in retailing⁷ and have built an even better business than before.
[02:13.29]In the business world, it is natural for businessmen to gain and lose.
[02:17.78] Only those who regard their mistakes as gifts and learn from them attract endless profits.

1 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

2 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 retailing   

n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词)

参考例句：

• career opportunities in retailing 零售业的职业机会
• He is fond of retailing the news. 他喜欢传播消息。 来自《简明英汉词典》