A Lesson for Living 
生活的一課

"Everything happens for the best," my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. And you'll realize that it wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
每當我遇到挫折時，母親就會說：“一切都會好的。如果你堅持下去，總有一天會有好事發(fā)生。你會認識到，如果沒有以前的挫折就不會有現(xiàn)在的一切。”

Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station - and got turned down every time.
母親是對的，發(fā)現(xiàn)這個時是在1932年，我剛從大學畢業(yè)。我已決定試著在電臺找個事兒做，然后爭取做體育節(jié)目的播音員。我搭便車到了芝加哥，挨家電臺地敲門推銷自己--但每次都被拒絕了。

In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn't risk hiring an inexperienced person. "Go out in the sticks and find a small station that'll give you a chance," she said.
在一個播音室里，一位好心的女士告訴我，大的廣播電臺是不會冒險雇傭沒經(jīng)驗的新手的。“去鄉(xiāng)下找一家給你機會的小電臺吧，”她說。

I thumbed home to Dixon, Illinois. While there was no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn't hired.
我搭車來到我的家鄉(xiāng)，那是伊利諾斯州的迪克森。在迪克森當時還沒有電臺播音員這樣的工作，父親說，蒙哥馬利·沃德開了一家新商店，想雇請一個本地的運動員管理店里的體育部。我中學時曾在迪克森打過橄欖球，出于這個原因我去申請了這份工作。工作聽起來挺適合我的，但是我沒被聘用。

My disappointment must have shown. "Everything happens for the best," Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
我的沮喪心情一定表現(xiàn)出來了。“一切總會好的，”母親提醒我說。爸爸給我買了一輛汽車找工作用。我試到愛荷華州達文波特的WOC電臺去求職。那里的電臺節(jié)目負責人是一個很棒的蘇格蘭人，名叫彼得?麥克阿瑟，他告訴我他們已經(jīng)雇到播音員了。

As I left his office, my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud, "How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?"
離開他辦公室時，我憤怒極了。我大聲地說：“一個連在電臺都找不到工作的家伙又怎么能成為體育節(jié)目的播音員呢？”

I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, "What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.
等電梯時，我聽見麥克阿瑟喊道：“你說什么體育？你了解橄欖球嗎？”接著他讓我站到麥克風前，請我解說一場想象中的比賽。

On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother's words: "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
在回家的路上--以后也有很多次地，我思考著母親的那句話：“如果你堅持下去，總有一天會有好事發(fā)生。如果沒有以前的挫折，就不會有現(xiàn)在的一切。”

I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I'd gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.
我常想，如果我當年得到了蒙哥馬利·沃德的那份工作，我的人生之路又會怎樣走呢？