高职大二英语课文翻译

The First McDonald's Restaurant

Even though the first McDonald's restaurant sold only hamburgers and French fries, it still becam e a cultural symbol.Now, in the Southern California city of Downey, people are trying to save the first McDonald's restaurant in history.McDonald's, though, says the building should be torn down.

Built in 1953, the restaurant in Downey, California, is the oldest of all the Golden Arches in America, and has the earliest McDonald's building design.

Many people have good memories of that old McDonald's.These people are angry that the building is now in danger of being destroyed, along with their memories.

McDonald's explains that the building was damaged in an earthquake, and therefore needs to be torn down.Many people in the town of Downey don't agree with this line of thinking, though.

One woman says, "I think it's terrible. They are using the earthquake as an excuse. It's a big lie."

Another Downey resident remarks, "I am so upset. They don't respect the public at all. They haven't even tried. They could do som e small repairs and m ake it a good restaurant again."

McDonald's m anagers say the restaurant is losing money at that location. There is no room for a drive-thru window, or for seating inside.After the earthquake, they say it was im possible to fix.The m anagers want to build a copy of this building at another location instead.

Building inspectors, on the other hand, say that the structure can be repaired, but that it will be expensive.Many people say that McDonald's can certainly afford to pay that amount.Som e think that McDonald's real reason for wanting to close down the restaurant has nothing to do with m oney.

Modern McDonald's restaurants often have a sign claiming that a m an named Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's restaurant in Illinois in 1955.The truth, however, is that Mr. Kroc actually learned the fast food business from Dick and Mac McDonald in https://www.360docs.net/doc/742385243.html,ter, Mr. Kroc bought their restaurants.Thus, m any people in Downey think McDonald's is trying to change history, though the com pany denies this.

To local historians, this explanation m akes total sense.One historian said, "We should not rewrite the past. Ray Kroc did not invent McDonald's. The McDonald brothers did."

These days, a group of historians want the building to be added to the National Register of Historic Places so that the city of Downey will be able to stop McDonald's from tearing the building down.The McDonald's m anagers are very angry, and have abandoned the structure.

Everyone hopes that the McDonald's m anagers and the people of Downey will soon find peace.The building is still there, but boards cover the windows.Even so, people drive by to rem ember their McDonald's, taking pictures of a m oment in history before it gets taken away.

第一家麦当劳餐馆

虽说第一家麦当劳餐馆只售汉堡包和薯条，它还是成为了一种文化象征。如今，在加州南部唐尼市，人们正努力保住历史上第一家麦当劳餐馆。然而，麦当劳却称这幢房子应该拆掉。

坐落于加州唐尼的这家餐馆建于1953年，是美国所有带双拱形金色标志的建筑中历史最久的，它的设计也是麦当劳最早的建筑设计。

许多人对那家老餐馆有着美好的回忆。这些人想到餐馆连同他们美好的回忆一起将被摧毁，感到很气愤。

麦当劳方面解释说，那家老店在一次地震中遭到损坏，因此必须拆掉。不过，唐尼的许多人却不同意这种说法。

有位女士说：“我认为这件事太可怕了。他们在利用那次地震作借口。这是一个极大的谎言。

另一位唐尼市居民说：“我非常难过。他们一点也不尊重公众的意见，甚至都没试着这样做。他们可以稍加修理，使它再成为一家好餐馆。”

麦当劳的经理们说餐馆设在那个位置一直在亏本。那儿没有地方可以开辟“免下车外卖窗口”，里面也没有地方安排座位。他们说，那次地震后这个餐馆就没办法修了。不过那些经理们想在其他位置按原餐馆再仿造一家。

但是房屋检修人员说该建筑是可以修理的，不过费用很高。许多人说这个费用麦当劳当然承受得起。有人认为麦当劳想关闭这家餐馆的真正原因与金钱无关。

现代的麦当劳餐馆常常有一个牌子，声称有个叫雷·克罗克的男人于1955年在伊利诺伊州创办了首家麦当劳餐馆。然而事实是，克罗克先生的快餐生意实际上是从唐尼市的迪克·麦当劳和麦克·麦当劳那里学来的。后来克罗克先生买下了他们的餐馆。因此，尽管公司竭力否认，唐尼镇的许多人还是认为麦当劳是想篡改历史。

在当地的历史学家看来，这种解释颇有道理。有位历史学家说：“历史不容篡改。雷·克罗克没有创建麦当劳。创建麦当劳的是麦氏兄弟。”

这些天来，一群历史学家希望将该处建筑列入国家历史文物保护单位名册，这样，唐尼镇就能使麦当劳免遭拆除。麦当劳的经理们非常恼火，因而将房屋弃置一旁。

人人都希望麦当劳经理们与唐尼的居民很快达成一致。房子仍在，但窗子用木板封了起来。即便如此，人们仍开车前来纪念他们的麦当劳，想抢在它被拆除前拍照留念，留下历史上的珍贵一刻。

Our Changing Lifestyle: Trends and Fads

These days, lifestyles have a tendency to change so fast. It is m ore than just clothing and hairstyles that are in style one year and out of date the nex t; i t's a whole way of living.

One year, people wear hats and blue jeans; they drink white wine and eat at Japanese restaurants; for ex ercise they run several m iles a day.The next year, however, everything has changed:wom en wear long skirts; people drink expensive water from France, and eat at Italian restaurants; everyone seem s to be exercising at health clubs.

Alm ost nothing in m odern life gets away from the influence of fashion:food, m usic, exercise, books, languages, m ovies, furniture, and even nam es go in and out of fashion.The interests that people follow can change very qui ckly.

In the United States, even people can be "in" or "out".Am ericans enjoy following the lives of fam ous people: actors, sports heroes, well-known artists, politicians, and the like.But Am ericans also pay a lot of attention to people who have no special ability at all. In 1981, for exam ple, an unknown elderly wom an appeared in a TV advertisement

in which she looked at a very sm all ham burger and complained loudly, "Where's the beef?" These three words m ade her fam ous. Suddenly she appeared in magazines and newspapers, and on TV shows.She was imm ediately popular. She was "in".However, this kind of fame does not last long.Such people are fam ous for a very short tim e—they are fads.

What causes such fads to com e and go?Although clothing designers influence fads in fashion because they want to m ake m oney, this desire for m oney doesn't explain fads in other areas, such as language. For exam ple, why have teenagers in the past twenty-five years used—at different tim es—the words groovy or awesome in conversation instead of sim ply saying wonderful? According to an expert in popular culture, people who follow fads are not foolish or vain; they sim ply want to be part of som ething new and creative.

Fads are not lim ited to the United States, however.Fads are comm on in any country that has a strong economy (e.g. Britain, Japan, and Germ any).However, in the United States, there is an additional reason for fads: m ost Am ericans seem to feel that som ething is wrong if there isn't frequent change in their lives.

It's som etim es difficult to see the difference between a fad and a trend.A fad lasts a very short tim e and is not very im portant. A social trend, however, survives a long tim e and becom es a true part of m odern cul ture.The use of personal com puters, for exam ple, is a trend; a fad, on the other hand, could be the use of certain types of com puter gam es.

Who knows what changes in lifestyle will happen next?

我们不断变化的生活方式：潮流和时尚

如今，生活方式有种迅速变化的趋势。迅速变化的不仅仅只是一年流行而第二年就过时的服饰和发型，而是整个生活方式。

曾几何时，人们戴帽子，穿牛仔裤，喝白葡萄酒，到日本餐馆就餐，每天跑几英里健身。但到了第二年，所有这一切都变了：妇女们穿长裙，人们喝昂贵的法国进口水，到意大利餐馆就餐，似乎每个人都在健身俱乐部里锻炼身体。

现代生活中几乎没有什么能逃过时尚的影响：食品、音乐、运动、书籍、语言、电影、家具，甚至名字都会经历时髦或者过时的过程。人们追随的兴趣爱好会很快地改变。

在美国，甚至人也可以变得时尚或者过时。美国人喜欢追随名人的生活方式：演员、体育明星、著名艺人、政治家等。但是美国人也十分注意一点特殊才能都没有的人。比如，1981年，一位名不见经传的老妇人出现在一个电视广告里，她看着一只很小的汉堡包，大声抱怨道：“牛肉呢？”这三个字使她成了名。一时之间，她在杂志、报纸和电视上频频亮相，一下子大受欢迎，成了时尚。但是，这种名声并不持久。这种人只是在很短的一段时间里为众人所知——他们只是时尚。

是什么使这种时尚来得快也去得快？尽管时装设计师影响时装潮流为的是赚钱，但这种赚钱的欲望并不能解释其他方面的时尚，例如语言。比如，为什么青少年在过去25年里的不同时代中，谈话时使用“groovy（帅呆了）”或者“awesom e（太棒了）”这样的词，而不只说“wonderful（好极了）”了呢？据一位流行文化专家说，追随时尚的人并不是愚蠢或爱慕虚荣；他们只是想成为富有创造性的新事物的一部分。

不过，时尚并不只是美国才有。任何经济强国（如英国、日本、德国）都有时尚。但是，在美国，时尚发生另有原因：大多数美国人似乎觉得，如果他们的生活没有发生频繁的变化，那一定有什么地方不对劲了。

有时候很难区别时尚和潮流。时尚持续时间很短，也不太重要。但是一种社会潮流能长时间存在，并且真正成为现代文化的一部分。比如说，使用个人电脑是一种潮流，而使用某种电脑游戏只可能成为一种时尚。

谁知道今后的生活方式又会发生什么样的变化呢？

My First Job

My first real long-term job, though, was at a local diner called Mel's Place. I worked there for seven years and learned so m any lessons, especially from a fellow wai tress. Helen was in her 60s, had red hair, and tons of self-respect—som ething I was really lacking.I looked up to Helen because she was doing what she loved—serving people—and nobody did it better. She m ade everyone sm ile and feel good, custom ers and fellow-workers alike.

I also learned how im portant i t is to take pride in life's little achievements: when I helped out in the kitchen, for exam ple, nothing m ade m e feel better than preparing the eggs and serving them just the way the custom ers wanted.

Being a waitress really changed m y life. One of m y regular custom ers, Fred Hasbrook, a salesman, always ate the sam e thing every day. As soon as I saw him walking towards the diner, I would put his order in wi thout him even needing to ask.

Thanks to the confidence I pi cked up from Helen, I dream ed of having m y own restaurant one day. Unfortunately, when I called m y parents to ask them to lend m e the m oney, they said, "We just don't have it."

The next day, Fred saw m e and asked, "What's wrong, Sunshine? You're not sm iling today." I shared m y dream wi th him and said, "Fred, I know I could do so m uch m ore if som ebody would just have faith in m e."

He walked over to som e of the other regulars at the diner, and then gave m e $50,000 the very next day—along with a note that I still have. It reads, "Good people with a dream should have the opportunity to m ake it com e true."

I quickly went to a bank, where the m oney was invested for m e. In the meantime, I continued working at the diner, m aking plans for the restaurant I would one day open.Sadly, the m oney was not invested well, and I lost it all.

At that tim e, I found m yself thinking about what i t would be like to be a stockbroker, and decided to apply for a job at the bank. Even though I had no experience, I was hired and ended up doing qui te well. Eventually, I even paid Fred and m y custom ers back the $50,000, plus 14-percent annual interest.Five years later, I was able to open m y own firm.

Recently, I received a thank-you note from Fred that will forever be printed on m y heart. He had been sick, and wrote that the m oney I sent him had helped to cover his mounting m edical bills.His letter read, "I'm so glad I invested in you."

I'm so glad I had that first job.

我的第一份工作

我第一份真正长久的工作其实是在本地的一个叫“梅尔之家”的小餐馆当服务员。我在那儿干了七年，学到很多东西，尤其是从一位女服务员海伦那里学到了很多。海伦六十多岁，红头发，自尊心很强——这是我当时真正缺乏的东西。我敬佩海伦，因为她在做她所热爱的事——接待顾客——而且

没人比她做得更好。她使每一个人，无论是顾客还是同事，都面带笑意，心情愉快。

我还学到了重要的一点，那就是为生活中取得的小小成就感到自豪。比如，我在厨房里帮忙的时候，没有什么比完全按照顾客希望的方式做好鸡蛋、给他们端上更让我感到高兴的了。

当女服务员确实改变了我的一生。我的一个常客，弗雷德·哈斯布鲁克，是个推销员，他每天总是吃同样的东西。我一看到他朝小餐馆走来，就会把他想点的东西准备好，他甚至都不需要开口。

因为从海伦那里学到了自信，我梦想着有一天能拥有自己的餐馆。可惜，当我打电话向我父母借钱时，他们说：“我们实在没钱。”

第二天，弗雷德见了我，问道：“出什么事了，阳光女孩？今天没见你笑。”我把我的梦想告诉了他，说：“弗雷德，我知道，只要有人相信我，我还能做很多事情。”

他向小餐馆的其他几个常客走去，第二天就交给我50,000美元，还有一张我至今还保留着的纸条，上面写着：“拥有梦想的好人应该有机会让梦想成真。”

我很快去了一家银行，这家银行替我拿这笔钱做投资。与此同时，我一边继续在小餐馆工作，一边盘算着自己开店。让我难过的是，这笔钱投资失败，我血本无回。

就在这时，我开始考虑去试着做一个股票经纪人，于是决定申请一份银行的工作。我虽然没有经验，但还是被雇用了，并且做得非常好。后来，我甚至还把50,000美元还给了弗雷德和其他顾客，外加每年14%的利息。五年后，我终于有能力开了自己的公司。

最近，我收到弗雷德的一封感谢信，这封信将永远地印在我的心上。前一阵他病了，并说是我寄给他的钱帮他支付了拖欠的医疗费。他在信里说：“我真高兴当时在你身上投资。”

我真高兴当时做了那第一份工作。

Father Dearest

My father and I were watching a video in whi ch m y two-year-old nephew, Cam eron, ran into view with a spoon sti cking out of his m out h. "He'll trip, and that spoon will go right into his throat," m y father said wi th worry.

Like m ost parents, Dad has always tried to protect his children.As a doctor, too, he is especially conscious of the m any dangers surrounding us.

I rem em ber having dinner at a friend's house once, and being surprised that nobody said a word about food poisoning. At hom e, "Did you wash your hands?" was spoken at every single m eal.

Restaurants, Dad warned, presented m any risks—from careless waiters who might drop hot coffee onto your head, to em ployees who didn't wash their hands.

Fashion, too, could be dangerous, according to m y father. A few years ago, he took away m y coat because he said I hadn't had i t m ade right.When I asked him about it, Dad put the coat on to show m e how serious the problem was.

"Look—it's too long, even on m e. And this material is so heavy that i t would pull you down."

"I have never heard of anyone being injured by too heavy a coat."

"Do you want to be the first? Just cut it off here," he said, drawing his hand across his knees.

Fashion was only one of the m any dangers from which we had to guard ourselves. To this day, when I walk within yards of tree branches, I pause and hear Dad's voice: "Watch your eyes!"

Of course, as children, we did not al ways listen to Dad. We had our broken bones, car accidents, and illnesses—som e of which m ight have been avoided i f we had

followed his advice.

When m y brothers and sisters and I talk about the old days, we recall Dad's telling us not to jum p too hard and high while playing sports because of the possibility of backbone injury, and the driving directions he gave us wi th as few left turns as possible. Now, we find ourselves giving sim ilar warnings: we phone m y younger brother to tell him that we read about som eone dying from poisoning, or m y younger sister to warn her about the high lead content of certain window coverings.

Now, too, Dad has a new generation to guide. His grandchildren have caught on quickly, knowing to shake their fingers and say, "That's dangerous!" at the sight of cleaning products. "That's too big a bite—be careful," three-year-old Margaret tells her two-year-old sister at the holiday dinner table. As everyone is leaving, we all laugh when m y niece says goodbye to Dad: "Be careful, Poppa!"

After each weekend visit at m y parents' hom e, I have m y father drop m e off at the quiet train station for m y trip back to Manhattan. As I wai t, I can see his car in the parking lot; I know that he is watching to see that I board safely.

When I am seated, I watch him drive off, wanting, as I do m ore and m ore often now, to protect him from the world's sharp edges, the way he always tried to protect us.

I wish I could give him the reassurance his worrying and caring have given m e.

As the train pulls away, I say quietly, "Be careful, Dad."

最亲爱的父亲

我和父亲在看录像，这时画面上出现了我两岁的侄子卡梅伦，嘴里叼着一只勺子。“要是绊倒的话，勺子会戳进他的喉咙的，”父亲担心地说。

和大多数父母一样，父亲一直在努力保护着他的孩子们。作为医生，他对我们身边的危险也特别敏感。

记得有一次在朋友家吃饭，竟然没有一个人提及同食物中毒有关的字眼，我感到奇怪。如果在家里，每顿饭都会有人问“你洗手了吗？”

父亲告诫我们说，在饭店就餐会面临许多危险——粗心的服务员可能会把滚烫的咖啡打翻在你头上，饭店员工们可能没洗过手，等等。

在父亲看来，时装也会有危险。几年前，他拿走了我的大衣，因为他说那大衣做得不对劲。我问他怎么不对劲，他穿上大衣，向我说明问题有多严重：

“看，我穿着都太长。而且这料子还这么重，会把你压坏的。”

“我可从没听说过有人因大衣太重而受伤的。”

“你想成为第一个吗？要从这儿剪掉。”父亲说着用手在他的膝盖处比划了一下。

时装只是我们必须提防的许多危险之一。直到现在，当走到离树枝尚有数码之遥时，我仍会停下来，耳边似乎又响起了父亲的声音：“当心戳到眼睛！”

当然，我们小时候并不总是听父亲的话。我们曾经摔断过骨头、出过交通事故、生过病。如果我们听从父亲劝告的话，有些意外是可以避免的。

当我和兄妹们聊起过去的时候，我们会回想起父亲叫我们运动时不要跳得太猛太高，因为这样可能会使脊柱受伤。他给我们的开车路线总是尽量避免左转弯。如今，我们发觉自己也常常像父亲那样告诫别人。我们会打电话给弟弟，告诉他我们读到了有人中毒死亡的新闻，或者打电话给妹妹，提醒她某种窗帘的含铅量很高。

现在，父亲又可以教导新一代人了。他的孙子孙女们领会得很快，看见洗涤用品，他们知道摇摇手指说：“那很危险！”假日晚餐上，三岁的玛格丽特跟两岁的妹妹说：“你一口吃得太多了。小心

点儿。”分别时，我侄女这样同我父亲说再见：“保重，爷爷！”我们听后都笑了起来。

每周末去父母家拜访后，父亲会开车把我送到一个宁静的火车站乘火车回曼哈顿。候车时，我可以看见他的车还在停车场里。我知道他要看着我安全上车。

上火车坐定后，我会看着他开车离去。我越来越希望用他努力保护我们的那种方式来保护他，使他不受各种危险的伤害。他的挂念和关心给了我一种安心的感觉，我也希望自己同样能给他带来这种安心的感觉。

火车开动了，我默默地说：“爸爸，保重。”

Life in a Violin Case

In order to tell you what I believe, I m ust briefly bring up som ething from m y personal history.

The turning point of m y life was m y deci sion to give up a prom ising career in business to study m usic. My parents, although sym patheti c, disapproved of m usic as an occupation. This was understandable, I thought, in view of m y fam ily background.

My grandfather taught m usic for nearly forty years at Spring Hill College. Despi te being greatly respected in the community, he earned barely enough to provide for his large fam ily. My father often said that i t was only because m y grandm other was so economical that the wolves were kept at bay.

As a consequence of this exam ple in the fam ily, the very mention of m usic as a career carried with it the idea of an uncertain existence. My parents insisted upon college instead of m usic school, and so to college I went.

Before m y graduation from Colum bia University, m y fam ily ran into som e m oney problem s, and so I felt it was m y duty to leave college and find a job. Before I knew it, I had begun m y career in business—a tim e in m y life that I feel was wasted.

Now, I do not for a m om ent m ean to speak poorly of business; m y whole point is that it was just not for m e. I went into it for m oney, and aside from the satisfaction of being able to help the fam ily, m oney is all I got out of it.It was just not enough. I felt that life was passing m e by.I becam e very sad. My aim was to save enough m oney to qui t and go to Europe to study m usic.

I used to get up at dawn to practi ce before I left for "downtown". Instead of lunching with m y coworkers, I would seek out som e cheap caféand order a m ean m eal.

I continued to m ake m oney, and finally, little by little, I saved enough t o go abroad.

At that tim e, m y fam ily no longer needed m y help, and so I gave up m y position and sailed for Europe. I stayed four years, worked harder than I had ever dream ed of working before, and enjoyed every m inute of i t.

"Enjoyed" is too mild a word, really; I walked on air. I really lived. I was a free m an and I was doing what I loved to do and what I was m eant to do.

If I had stayed in business, I m ight be a really wealthy m an today. I do not believe, however, I would have m ade a success of living. I would have given up a happiness that m oney can't buy—som ething that is all-too-often done when one's primary goal is m aking m oney.

When I broke away from the business world, it was against the advi ce of practically all of m y friends and fam ily. So conditioned are m ost of us to the idea that success is m oney—so m uch so that the thought of giving up a good salary for happiness

seem s foolish. If so, all I can say is "Gee, it's great to be foolish!"

Money is a wonderful thing, but now I know that it is possible to pay too high a price for it.

小提琴盒里的生活

为了让你了解我的信念，我必须简单地说一说我的个人历史。

我的人生转折点是我决定放弃前途无量的经商生涯去学习音乐。虽然父母也能理解我，但他们不同意我把音乐当作一种职业。从我的家庭背景来看，我想这是可以理解的。

我的祖父在斯普林希尔学院教了将近40年的音乐。虽然他在社会上备受尊敬，可他几乎赚不到足够的钱来供养一大家子人。我父亲经常说，多亏了我祖母勤俭持家，他们才得以勉强维持生计。

家里有了这个先例，后来只要一提到以音乐为生，我们就想到朝不保夕的生活。父母坚持要我上大学而不是音乐学校，所以我就上了大学。

我从哥伦比亚大学毕业之前，家里经济上出了点问题，所以我感到自己有义务离开学校去找份工作。于是我就稀里糊涂地开始了经商生涯——我认为,那是自己一生当中的蹉跎岁月。

当然，我丝毫没有贬低经商的意思；我的意思只是说经商不适合我。我是为了钱才去经商的，而且，除了因为能够帮助家庭而得到的满足感之外，钱就是我经商所得到的一切。这还远远不够。我觉得生命在离我而去。我变得很忧伤。我的目的就是攒够钱后停止经商，然后去欧洲学习音乐。

我那时常常一大清早起来练琴，然后去“市中心”工作。我不和同事们一起吃中饭，而是找一家便宜的小餐馆，点一份简单便宜的午餐。我不停地赚钱，终于一点点地攒够了出国的钱。

那时，家里不再需要我帮助，所以我放弃了工作，坐船去了欧洲。我在那儿呆了4年，发奋学习，用功的程度是我以前做梦都想不到的，而且每一分钟都过得很开心。

说真的，“开心”这个词还不足以表达我的心情；我简直是陶醉了。这才是真正的生活。我成了一个自由的人，我在做我喜欢和该做的事情。

如果一直经商的话，我今天可能已经是一个真正的有钱人了。然而，我并不认为那样的生活会是成功的。我可能放弃掉了金钱所无法买到的幸福——当一个人的主要目标是赚钱时，这种幸福往往就被放弃掉了。

我脱离商界几乎是违背了所有朋友和家人的忠告。我们大多数人习惯性地认为金钱等于成功——这种想法如此根深蒂固，以致于在大多数人看来，为了幸福而放弃高薪的想法似乎是愚蠢的。如果这样，我只能说“啊！愚蠢太好了”。

钱是样好东西，但是现在我知道，为了它人们可能会付出太大的代价。

Cyber-stepmother

"Stepparent" is a term we attach to m en and wom en who m arry into fam ilies where children already exist. It is m ost certainly a giant "step", but one does often doubt whether the term "parent" truly applies—at least that's how I used to feel about being a stepm other to m y husband's four children.

My husband and I were together for six years, and with him I watched his young children becom e young teenagers.Although they lived prim arily with their m other, they spent a lot of tim e with us. Over the years, we all learned to becom e m ore com fortable with each other, and to adjust to our new fam ily arrangement.W e enjoyed holidays together, ate fam ily m eals, worked on hom ework, played baseball and rented videos. However, I continued to feel like I was on the outside looking in, com ing uninvited to a foreign kingdom.

When the children m oved to a town five hours away, m y husband was understandably upset. In order to continue regular comm unication with the kids, we set up an e-m ail and chat-line service right away. This technology, combined with the telephone, enabled us to correspond with them on a daily basis by sending frequent notes and m essages, and even chatting together when we were all online.

One sad thing, though, was that these m odern tools of comm unication could still m ake m e feel out of touch. If a com puter m essage cam e addressed to "Dad", for exam ple, I'd feel forgotten and neglected. If m y nam e appeared along wi th his, it would brighten m y day and m ake m e feel like I was part of their core fam ily unit. Yet, there was always a gap—som e distance to be crossed—not just over the telephone wires.

Late one evening, as m y husband was sitting in front of the television and I was catching up on m y e-m ail, an "instant m essage" appeared on the screen. It was Margo, m y oldest stepdaughter, also up late and sitting in front of her com puter five hours away.As we had done in the past, we sent several m essages back and forth, ex changing any current news. When we would "chat" like that, she wouldn't necessarily know if it was her dad or I on the other end of the keyboard unless she asked. That night, she didn't ask and I didn't identify m yself ei ther.After hearing about the latest fashions at the mall, details about a dance at her school, and a history project that was in the works, I comm ented that it was late and I should get to sleep.Her return m essage read, "Okay, talk to you later! Love you!"

As I read this m essage, a wave of sadness ran through me as I realized that she m ust have thought she was writing to her father the whole tim e. She and I would never have openly ex changed such words of affection. Feeling guilty for not identifying m yself, yet not wanting to em barrass her, I sim ply responded, "Love you too! Have a good sleep!"

I thought again of their fam ily circle and felt the sharp ache of em ptiness I thought I had grown accustomed to. Then, just as m y fingers reached for the keys to return the screen to black, Margo's final m essage appeared.It read, "Tell Dad good night for m e too." With tear-filled eyes, I turned the m achine off.

母女网络情

“继父母”这个词指的是与有子女的人结婚的人。这的确是一个很大的跨越，但是人们常常怀疑“父母”这个叫法是否真的是名正言顺——至少在我成为我丈夫4个子女的继母后，就曾经有过这样的顾虑。

我和丈夫在一起有6年了，我和他一起看着他那些小孩长成少年。虽然他们大部分时间和他们的母亲住在一起，但是他们和我们在一起的时间也不少。这些年来，我们都学会了彼此之间轻松相处，适应我们这个新的家庭组合。我们一起去度假，搞家庭聚餐，做家庭作业，打棒球，租录像带看。但我仍一直觉得自己是个置身事外的旁观者，一个陌生之地的不速之客。

在孩子们搬到距我们有5小时车程外的一个镇上后，我丈夫自然十分伤心。为了继续与孩子们的定期交流，我们马上申请了电子邮件和网上聊天服务。借助这项技术，加上电话线，我们能够经常发送短信和消息，甚至是网上聊天，这样，我们每天都能与孩子们交流。

不过令人伤心的是，这些现代通信工具仍然让我感觉是局外人。比如，如果收到一条电脑信息，抬头是“爸爸”，我就会觉得自己被遗忘和忽略了。如果我的名字和他的一起出现，那我一整天都会兴高采烈，觉得我是他们核心家庭的一员。然而，我们之间总是有一段距离——一段需要跨越的、不

仅仅是电话间的距离。

一天深夜，我丈夫正在看电视，而我正抓紧收发电子邮件，突然屏幕上出现了“即时信息”的提示。信息是我最大的继女马戈发来的，她坐在5小时车程以外地方的电脑前，也在熬夜。和以前一样，我们互发了几条信息，交流彼此的近况。我们这样“交谈”的时候，如果她不问，她就不一定知道坐在另一端键盘前的人到底是她爸爸还是我。那晚，她没有问，我也没有挑明我是谁。听她讲完商场里的新潮款式、学校舞会的细节以及她手头的一项历史作业之后，我说时间不早了，该睡觉了。她回信息说：“好吧，下次再聊。我爱你！”

看到信息，我心头涌起一阵悲哀，因为我意识到她一定以为她一直是在与她爸爸聊天。她和我从来没有公开说过这样充满爱意的话。我为自己没有挑明身份而感到愧疚，但又不想让她难堪，于是我只是回答道：“我也爱你！睡个好觉！”

我又一次想到了他们的家庭圈子，我自以为已经习以为常的那种怅然若失的刺痛感又袭上心头。然而，就在我的指尖落到键盘上准备关机的时候，马戈发来的最后一条信息出现了：“代向爸爸道晚安。”我热泪盈眶地关掉了电脑。

How to Get the Job You Want

Getting the job you want requires drive, energy, and preparation. Though you m ay qualify for m any positions, there is bitter competition for good jobs these days.There m ay be a dozen or m ore equally qualified candidates. Thus, you m ust convince your possible employer that you are that one special person he has been looking for. Wi th a little guidance, you can do it.

I was shocked when I learned that a person m ust treat looking for a job like a job itself. If you invest the sam e am ount of energy into your job hunt as you would into your work, you will find a job m uch sooner.

However, this rule does not apply to the person who already has a job—don't leave it yet! It is m uch easier to go from one job to another than to qui t and start from ground zero.

One way to look for a job without risking your current position is to join a professional society in your field of interest—and play an active role in i t. This will help you to get to know people, like top m anagers in com panies you'd like to work for, that you would not otherwise m eet.

Another big challenge is the interview—it is critical.

Psychologists have studied job interviews and found that they consist of two m ain parts. If you foul up the first part, your chances of getting the job will be ex trem ely slim, no m atter how well you handle the second part.

I call the first part the "30-Second Road Block", because research has shown that m ost em ployers judge their candidates' suitability in the first 30 seconds. This

30-second decision is based on what psychologists call the "Halo Effect", whi ch refers to a person's first impression of you.Unfortunately, first im pressions are not always good im pressions. At its best, though, the Halo Effect can m ake people think we are better than we are.

Upon entry to the interview, rem em ber to compose yourself, sm ile, use a firm handshake, and look the interviewer in the eye. Do this, and you'll clear the 30-Second Road Block with flying colors.

In addition, be prepared to answer the following three questions that alm ost every interviewer asks. It's wise to think about your answers a couple of days in advance; the person who decides just to wing it will never m ake as favorable an im pression as som eone who is prepared.

The sam ple questions are:

1. So, you are interested in working as an assistant in our laboratory—is that correct?

The answer is not sim ply "yes." The answer is yes PLUS—as in, "Yes, I'm very interested in this position.It's exactly the kind of opening I've been hoping to find." Keep your answer short, but never reply with a naked yes or no.

2. Why do you want this job?

One m anager told m e that when candidates answer this question with "I think it will be interesting" or "I like working with people," he crosses them off his list imm ediately. "This implies that they haven't any idea of what they really want to do and haven't given any thought to what the job involves," he explained.

3. What can you tell m e about yoursel f?

The interviewer does NOT want your life history. What he is looking for is evidence of your character, ability, and drive.

That's it! With these instructions, you are certain to get the job you want. Good luck!

如何获得理想的工作

要得到理想的工作需要有动力、精力和准备。虽然你可以胜任许多职位，但现在对于好工作的竞争非常激烈，因为具备同样资格的求职者可能有十几个人甚至更多。因此，你得让可能成为你老板的人相信你才是他一直在寻找的那个特别人选。只需要一点指导，你就能够做到这点。

我很惊讶地认识到，你必须把找工作本身当成一种工作。如果你在找工作当中投入的精力和你投入工作中的一样多，那么就能更快地找到工作。

然而，这一法则不适用于已经有工作的人——别轻易放弃你的工作！换工作比辞职之后再从头开始要容易得多。

有一种方法可以让你在不危及目前职位的情况下，去谋取一份新的工作：那就是参加与你的专长相关的专业社团活动，并且在其中积极表现。这样有助于认识更多的人，比如认识你想去的公司的老总们，而这些人平时你是遇不到的。

另一个重大挑战是面试——这是很关键的。

心理学家在研究求职面试后发现，面试包括两个主要部分。如果第一部分表现极差，那么无论你在第二部分的表现有多么出色，你获得工作的希望都会非常渺茫。

我把第一部分称为“30秒关卡”，因为研究表明大部分雇主在面试的头30秒内就判定了应聘者是否适合做这项工作。这种30秒判定法是基于心理学家所说的“成见效应”，也就是你给别人留下的第一印象。糟糕的是第一印象并不总是美好的。然而，在最好的情况下，“成见效应”会使别人觉得我们比我们的真实情况要更好。

一进入面试现场，要记住保持镇静，面带微笑，握手有力，同时还要看着对方的眼睛。做到这些，你将会轻易闯过30秒关卡。

此外，几乎所有的面试者都会提出下列3个问题，你要做好应答的准备。明智的做法是提前几天想好答案；和有备而来的人相比，决定临时应付的人永远也不会给人留下很好的印象。

这3个示范性问题如下：

1. 这么说，你有兴趣在我们实验室当一名助手——是吗？

不能简单地回答“是”。回答“是”后要再加上些内容——比如，“是的，我对该职位非常感兴趣，这正是我期待已久的工作。”回答要简洁，但永远也别苍白地只回答说“是”或“不是”。

2. 你为什么看中这份工作？

某位经理告诉我，如果应征者对此问题回答说“我觉得这个工作很有趣”或“我喜欢与人合作”，他会立即把他们从名单上删除。“这意味着他们根本就不了解自己想做什么，也没考虑过这份工作的要求，”他解释道。

3. 谈谈你自己好吗?

面试者并非想了解你的整个生活历程。他想了解的是能证明你性格、能力、动力的事实。

就这些了！有了上述指导，你肯定会找到理想的工作。祝你好运！