《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》69 Why Character Counts?

　　Unit 69
Why Character Counts?
Some time ago I was asked to consult for a bank that was having a problem with employee morale¹. "I don't know what's wrong," complained their young president. Bright and ambitious, he'd risen through the ranks only to see his institution faltering². He blamed his employees. "No matter what incentives³ I provide," he said, "they won't shake off this gloom." He was right. The atmosphere seemed poisoned with suspicion and lack of trust. But no one would tell me the source o this distrust. Finally the truth emerged. The boss, who was married, was having an affair with an employee. And everyone knew it.
It was obvious now that the company's poor performance was caused by his conduct. But the greatest damage the man was doing was to himself. He was thinking only of his own gratification, disregarding long-term consequences. Moreover, he had violated the trust with his wife. In a word, his failing was one of character.
Today it is out of vogue⁴ to speak in terms of character. But there is no more essential aspect of any person. Character is made up of those principles and values that give your life direction, meaning and depth. These constitute your inner sense of what's right and wrong based not on the rules of conduct but on who you are. They include such trait as integrity, honesty, courage, fairness and generosity⁵ -- which arise from the hard choices we have to make in life. So wrong is simply in doing wrong, not in getting caught.
Yet some people wonder if our inner values matter anymore. After all, hasn't our noted⁶ bank executive succeeded in every visible way, despite his faults? This question demonstrates a quandary⁷ of our modern life. Many have come to believe that the only things we need for success are talent, energy and personality. But history has taught us that in the long run, who we are is more important than who we appear to be. During the nation's first century and a half, almost everything in the literature of success and self-help focused on what could be called the character ethic⁸. Such famous figures as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson made clear their belief that we can only experience true success and happiness by making character the bedrock of their lives.
After we moved into the industrial age, the basic view of success shifted to what we could call the personality ethic. Success becomes more a function of charm, skills and techniques that, at least on the surface, smooth the process of human interaction. Rather than struggle with thorny⁹ issues of right and wrong, we turned to making things run smoothly¹⁰. Some of that philosophy expressed itself with harmless but superficial maxims¹¹ such as "smiling wins more friends than frowning". Other ideas were clearly deceptive¹² -- faking interest in other's hobbies so they will like you, for instance.
With a value system based solely¹³ on skill and personality, we find heroes in athletes, musicians and in powerful business executives. But despite the admiration¹⁴ we feel for these achievers, we shouldn't necessarily look upon them as role model. While skill is certainly needed for success, it can never guarantee happiness and fulfillment. These come from developing character.
What become of the bank president who was involved sexually with an employee? He confessed to his wife, who forgave him. Then he called a meeting of his staff and addressed their morale problem. "I have found the cause of the problem," he said. "It is me. I'm asking you to give me another chance." It took time, but eventually employee morale -- a sense of openness, optimism and trust -- improved. In the end the executive was finding his own path to character.

1 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 Vogue   

n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的

参考例句：

• Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
• Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。

5 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 quandary   

n.困惑，进迟两难之境

参考例句：

• I was in a quandary about whether to go.我当时正犹豫到底去不去。
• I was put in a great quandary.我陷于进退两难的窘境。

8 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

9 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

10 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

11 maxims   

n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Courts also draw freely on traditional maxims of construction. 法院也自由吸收传统的解释准则。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• There are variant formulations of some of the maxims. 有些准则有多种表达方式。 来自辞典例句

12 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

13 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

14 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。