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通往广场的路不止一条
当时我们正站在一个教堂塔楼的顶上，是父亲把我从罗马的家里带到这个离家不远的意大利小镇的楼顶上来的，我不明白他要做什么。
“向下看，埃尔莎。” 父亲对我说。我鼓足勇气向下看去，看到了村子中央的广场，还看到蜿蜒曲折的街道交错着通向这个广场。
爸爸语气温和地对我说： “明白了吧，亲爱的，通向广场的路不止一条，生活也是如此。如果一条路走不到想去的地方，就试着走另一条路。”
现在我明白我为什么会到这儿来了。那天早些时候我请求妈妈为学校提供的难吃午餐想点儿办法，但她拒绝了我的要求，她不相信学校的午餐会像我说的那样糟。
我转向爸爸求援，他不想干预此事，却把我带到这个高塔上，给我上了一课。到家时，我已经有了主意。
第二天在学校吃午餐时，我偷偷地把我的那份午餐汤倒进一个瓶子，把它带回了家，然后说服厨师，让她在晚餐时把汤端给妈妈。我的计划进行得很成功。妈妈喝了一勺汤，就吐了出来，说： “厨师一定发疯了！” 我马上告诉妈妈这是我安排的，妈妈斩钉截铁地表示她第二天就去学校就午餐问题提出交涉。
随后的这些年里，我时常记起爸爸给我上的这一课。我知道我的人生目标：我想当时装设计师！就在我走向第一个小小的成功之路时，却遇到了阻碍。怎么办呢？是承认此路不通，败下阵来，还是发挥想象力和智慧，去寻找通向目标的另一条道路呢？
我带着我的设计草图来到世界时装中心巴黎，但是好像没有一个著名的时装设计师有兴趣购买。后来有一天，我遇到一位朋友，她穿着一件非常好看的毛线衫，毛线衫的色彩平淡，但是针法却可爱、别致。
我问她： “毛线衫是你织的吗？”
她回答： “不，是巴黎的一位妇女织的。”
“针法真棒！” 我又说。
朋友解释说： “这位妇女叫维迪安太太，她跟我说她是在她出生地亚美尼亚学的这种织法。”
突然，我想在这件毛线衫上织出一个大胆的图案，继而一个更为大胆的设想闪现在我的脑海里。为什么不开办自己的时装店呢？为什么不设计、制作和销售斯基亚帕雷利时装店的服装呢？我要这样做，而且要从毛线衫开始。
我画了一个醒目的黑白相间的蝴蝶图案，把它交给维迪安太太，她把这个图案织到了一件毛线衫上。我认为这件成品很漂亮，接着就是对它的检验。我穿上毛线衫，来到一个时装界人士参加的午餐会。令我十分高兴的是，毛线衫引起了众人的注意。事实上，纽约一家大商店的代理商想在两周内得到40件这样的毛线衫。我接受了他的订货，兴高采烈地走出了餐厅。
然而当我站在维迪安太太面前时，喜悦之情就一扫而光了。她说： “我几乎用一周才织完这样一件毛线衫，两周织40件是不可能的！”
我非常失望，离成功仅有半步之遥，竟又被迎头堵住了！我悲伤地走出维迪安太太的家，突然停下了脚步，一定有别的办法可以办到。这种针法确实需要特殊的技巧，然而在巴黎一定还有其他亚美尼亚妇女会这种针法。
我回到维迪安太太的家，向她讲述了我的计划。她真的认为这个计划行不通，但同意帮我的忙。
我和维迪安太太像侦探似的开始行动，我们追踪任何一位住在巴黎的亚美尼亚人。一个朋友把我们介绍给另一个朋友，就这样我们终于找到了20名亚美尼亚妇女，她们个个都会这种特殊的针法。两星期后，毛线衫都织好了，新开张的斯基亚帕雷利时装店第一批货物被发往美国！
从那天开始，一批批时装和香水源源不断地从新开张的时装店售出。我发现时装业充满竞争和冒险，令人愉快和兴奋。我永生难忘那一次真正充满挑战的服装展览，是爸爸的那条忠告再次帮助了我。我正忙着准备展览冬季时装，就在时装表演开始前13天，缝纫女工们被叫去参加罢工，我发现只剩下我自己、一个裁缝和一个缝纫车间的女主管！我像我的模特和女售货员一样沮丧。有一个女售货员哭道： “我们绝对赶不上了！”
我想，此时是对父亲的忠告最严峻的考验。这次的出路在哪儿呢？我满腹狐疑，心急如焚。我确信只有两条路可走：要么取消时装表演，要么展出没有完工的时装。就在这时，我茅塞顿开：为什么不把没有做完的衣服拿出来展览呢？
我们紧张匆忙地工作着。正好13天后，斯基亚帕雷利的时装展览准时开幕了。
这是一次什么样的展览呀！有些上衣没有袖子，有的只有一只袖子，许多衣服还在初缝阶段。它们只是一些用厚棉布做成的衣服试样，但在这些试样上我们别上了衣服的草图和衣料，这样我们就能告诉人们这些衣服做成之后的颜色和质地。
总而言之，这次服装展别开生面，它太不同凡响了，竟取得了巨大的成功。不寻常的展览吸引了公众的注意，订单源源不断。
父亲很有见地的那番话再次指引我渡过了难关。通往广场的路的确不止一条。
Vocabulary
crisscross n. &vt. 十字形；交叉
Four—lane highways crisscross the country. 四线干道纵横交叉布于全国。
swallow v. 忍受；吞下
You should chew your food well before you swallow it. 你应该先细嚼食物后，再吞下去。
spoonful n. 一匙；一匙的量
Can I get you another spoonful of fried shrimp with green bean? 我再给你一调羹青豆虾仁好吗？
sputter vt. 发劈啪声；飞溅，喷出
The engine gave a sputter and died. 引擎发出一阵劈啪声就熄火了。
roadblock n. 路障；障碍物&vi. 设置路障
Anytime they could set up a roadblock in our way. 他们随时都可能给我们设置路障。
sketch n. &v. 素描；画素描
Sketch the deformation of the frame corresponding to each. 画出每一种情况下的钢架变形草图。
stitch vt. &vi. 缝合
Will you stitch a button on this shirt? 请你在这件衬衫上钉一颗纽扣好吗？
detective n. 侦探&adj. 侦探的
The detective inspected the room for fingerprints. 侦探检查房间寻找指纹。
trail vt. 跟踪，追踪&n. 足迹
Who keeps an audit trail? 谁来检查跟踪？
perfume n. 香水
Do not apply body lotions or perfumes while wearing silk garment; chemicals are harmful to silk. 穿丝绸服装不宜抹润肤露、洒香水之类，化学产品对丝绸有害。
gloomy adj. 黑暗的；沮丧的；阴郁的
There are several possible objections to that gloomy forecast. 对于这一灰暗预言有几个可能的异议。
牛津的成功启迪课
条条大路通罗马。当一条路走不通的时候，千万别灰心，要有去走另一条路的信心和勇气。这是一种乐观的生活态度，也是一种积极的思维方式，而且完全有可能找到比原先更快的到达目的地的捷径。正像文中的主人公一样，在遇到挫折和困难时，努力去寻求解决问题的其他办法。
Do I Need to Like Myself?
Yes! People who don’ t like themselves are a pain in the neck!
Usually, people with a poor self—image use one of two irritating strategies. They either criticize you a lot or they criticize themselves a lot.
STRATEGY A: They criticize you a lot. They figure that by criticizing other people they can feel better about themselves.
Let’ s take Fred, who feels inferior. Fred thinks he has a big nose and piggy eyes. He also secretly feels a bit stupid.
So what’ s his strategy to feel better about himself? He criticizes all his friends. He has names for them like “Flathead,” “Chicken Legs” and “Dog brain.” Whenever someone else makes a mistake, he announces it to the whole class. (He probably doesn’ t even realize he criticizes people—or why he does it. )
If you have parents, friends or brothers and sisters who don’ t like themselves—they might criticize you and everyone around them. Just remember that they criticize you because they have a problem. If you remember that they are actually hurting inside, you won’ t get so upset by their behaviour.
STRATEGY B: Some people who don’ t like themselves criticize themselves a lot. They use reverse psychology…
Take Mary who doesn’ t like herself. She’ s always telling you, “You are prettier than me. You are smarter. Nobody likes me.” She’ s hoping that you will reply, “No Mary! You are clever. You are beautiful.” After a while, people like Mary get on your nerves!
In a nutshell, when we don’ t like ourselves, we irritate other people. We also put ourselves through a lot of stress. When we accept ourselves a little better, we don’ t play these games.
How Can I Like Myself?
In our hearts, most of us believe we should be doing better. We think that we should have gotten higher grades. We want to be popular and hang out with the “in” crowd. We feel we don’ t measure up to our parents’ expectations. Our parents help to confirm this idea when they ask, “Why can’ t you be more like your brother?”
Whenever you are feeling low, be your own best friend. Accept that, up to now, you have lived your life the best way you know how. No one sets out to screw up their life! Like anyone, you’ ve done the odd stupid thing. With more information you’ ll likely do better in the future.
Liking yourself means forgiving yourself. If you have made some serious mistakes, if you have hurt some people—and yourself—feeling guilty won’ t help.
If you are feeling guilty about something, you have already suffered enough. Being guilty for another six months won’ t help anybody.
Forget perfection and aim for improvement.
It’ s a funny thing. When you forgive yourself for your own mistakes, you automatically begin to let others off the hook for the same things.
“But I’ m Not Brilliant…”
You might look at yourself and say, “I’ m not as beautiful as my sister, I’ m not as talented as my friends and I’ m not brilliant at anything! How can I feel good about me?”
Fact: nobody is good at everything and most of us have those thoughts!
But here’ s the lowdown! Talent and beauty are very useful—but there are plenty of talented and beautiful people around whom we don’ t necessarily admire. And some of them are a pan in the butt!
The qualities most of us value above all others are honesty, courage, persistence, generosity and humility. Take a look at this list and you’ ll find something interesting. You aren’ t born with these things. You develop them. Anyone can have them! If you want self—respect, and respect from others, you don’ t have to be an Einstein or a super—model.
You simply work at developing your own honesty, determination, generosity, humility and courage. It is called “character.”
In a nutshell, how you feel about yourself is in your hands.
非得喜欢自己吗？
确实如此！不喜欢自己的人很讨厌！
通常，自我感觉不好的人会采用两种策略，要么老是挑剔别人，要么总是挑剔自己。
策略一：老是挑剔别人。他们以为挑别人的错就能自我感觉良好。
比如说弗雷德吧，他就觉得自己不如别人。弗雷德感到自己长了一个大鼻子、两只猪眼睛，还暗自感觉脑子有点笨。
那他想感觉好一点怎么办呢？于是就挑所有朋友的毛病，给他们起一些怪名字，什么 “平头” 啊， “鸡腿” 啊， “狗脑” 啊等等。每当有人犯错误，他就对全班同学宣布。 (他很可能压根儿就没意识到在批评别人，或者为什么要这么做。)
如果你的父母、朋友或兄弟姊妹不喜欢自己，他们可能会挑剔你和身边的每一个人。请记住，他们挑剔你是因为他们有问题。其实他们内心有伤痛，记住这一点，你就不会对他们的行为感到特别心烦了。
策略二：有些不喜欢自己的人老说自己不好。他们的心理正好相反。
拿玛丽来说吧，她就不喜欢自己。她总对别人说： “你比我漂亮。你比我聪明。谁都不喜欢我。” 她心里其实希望对方这样回答： “不对，玛丽！你很聪明，很漂亮。” 不用多久，玛丽这种人就会令人生厌。
简言之，不喜欢自己，就会去烦别人，同时自身也会承受很大的压力。当我们能更好地接纳自己的时候，就不会去玩那些烦人的把戏了。
怎样才能喜欢自己？
内心里，大多数人都认为自己应该比现在强。我们认为考试分数应该再高一些。我们想受人欢迎，跟那些 “时髦” 的人在一起。我们觉得达不到父母的期望。父母也证实了这一点。他们会问： “你就不能向你哥哥多学一点？”
无论何时你感觉不良，你都要做自己最亲密的朋友。要承认到目前为止，你是在以你所知的最佳方式生活。谁都不会成心破坏自己的生活。你跟别人一样做了些奇怪而愚蠢的事。你如果知道得多一些，将来就会做得好一些。
喜欢自己意味着原谅自己。如果你犯了严重的错误，如果你伤害了别人，伤害了自己，内疚是不管用的。
如果你为某事感到内疚，你就已经受到了足够的折磨。再内疚半年，对人对己都无济于事。
忘记完善，立志改善。
这是很有趣的一件事。一旦你原谅了自己的过错，就会自动不再追究别人同样的错误。
“但是我不很出色……”
你也许会将自己审视一番，说： “我没姐姐那么漂亮，也没朋友那么聪明，我哪方面都不出色！叫我怎么感觉良好？”
事实是：没有谁是万能的，而且大多数人都有你这种想法。
不过真相是这样的：才智和美貌很有用，但是聪明漂亮的人我们并不一定就羡慕，这样的人在我们周围大有人在。再说有些人不过是徒有虚名而已！
大多数人最看重的品质是诚实、勇敢、顽强、慷慨和谦逊。只要看看这一串词语，就能发现一件有趣的事。这些品质不是与生俱来的，是后天培养的，人人都能拥有！想自重并受人尊重，不一定非得是爱因斯坦或超级名模。
你只需努力培养自己的诚实、坚毅、慷慨、谦逊和勇敢就行了。这就叫 “品格” 。
简言之，自我感觉如何全看你如何把握。
Vocabulary
irritate vt. 刺激
Your interruptions only serve to irritate the entire staff. 你的打扰只能让全体职员都很不快。
figure n. 数字，人物，画像&vt. 计算，认为，描绘
Please figure up the account. 请算出账目的总数。
inferior n. 次品&adj. 差的，下级的
His grades are inferior to mine this semester. 这学期他的分数比我的低。
nerve n. 神经&v. 鼓足勇气
Your nerves are very sensitive. 你的神经非常敏感。
In a nutshell 简言之
In a nutshell, it is difficult to know what to do, in any culture. 简而言之，在任何一种文化中，要知道该做什么是很困难的。
confirm vt. 确认；确定；证实；批准；使巩固
Other data, he says, confirm that linkages between Asia and the US strengthened. 他表示，其他数据证实，亚洲和美国市场的关联度有所加强。
set out 出发；开始；陈述；陈列
They set out at sunrise. 他们日出时出发。
screw up 拧紧；鼓舞；弄糟
Do not screw up your face. 不要皱着面孔。
butt n. 屁股；烟头；笑柄&vt. 以头抵撞；碰撞
But it must avoid becoming the butt of a youthful joke. 但它必须避免沦为年轻人的笑柄。
persistence n. 持续；固执；存留
Persistence, patience, self—confidence and determination are badly needed. 坚持、耐心、自信和决心是迫切需要的。
generosity n. 慷慨，大方；宽宏大量
His generosity is proverbial. 他的慷慨是众所周知的。
humility n. 谦卑，谦逊
Too much humility is pride. 过分谦虚即是骄傲。
牛津的成功启迪课
我们不要总是挑自己的毛病，也不要总觉得自己不好。喜欢自己意味着原谅自己，一旦你原谅自己的过错，就会自动不再追究别人同样的错误。人们总是很在乎诚实、勇敢、顽强、慷慨和谦逊等这些美好的品质，可这些也都是可以后天培养的。所以，自我感觉如何全在于自己把握。既然这样，那我们为什么不能喜欢自己呢？
Weakness or Strength
Sometimes our biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take for example，the story of one 10—year—old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lesson with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was dong well, so he couldn’ t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.
“Mister,” the boy finally said, “shouldn’ t I be learning more moves?”
“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ ll ever need to know,” the master replied.
Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the master took the boy to his first tournament.
To his surprise, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched.
Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time—out. He was about to stop the match when the master intervened. “No,” his master insisted, “let him continue.”
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and his master reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really in his mind.
“Mister, how did I win the tournament with only one move？”
“You won for two reasons,” the master answered. “First, you’ ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second，the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”
The boy’ s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
是弱项还是强项
有的时候，你的弱项可以变成你的强项。
给你讲一个10岁男孩的故事做例子。这个男孩在一次惨烈的车祸中失去了左臂，但他仍然决定学习柔道。
男孩师从一位年长的日本柔道大师。孩子练得很好，但他不明白为什么师傅在三个月的训练中，始终只让他重复同一个动作。
“师傅，” 男孩终于忍不住问道， “我是不是可以学点儿别的动作了？”
师傅回答说： “这是你唯一知道的动作，但也是你唯一需要知道的动作。”
男孩虽然不理解，但他非常信任自己的师傅，于是继续练着。
几个月后，师傅带这个男孩子去参加他的第一次比赛。
令这个男孩不可思议的是，他轻松地赢了头两场比赛。第三场比赛似乎更难，但一段时间后，他的对手在比赛中开始失去耐心，向他冲过来，而这个孩子立即用他学过的唯一一招击败了对手。就这样稀里糊涂地，他进入了决赛。
这一次，他的对手更壮、更强，也更有经验。有那么一阵，男孩似乎抵挡不住了。考虑到男孩可能会受伤，裁判叫了暂停。他正准备停止比赛的时候，男孩的师傅阻止了他。
“不能停，” 他说， “让他继续比。”
比赛继续进行之后不久，男孩的对手就犯了一个致命的错误：防漏（柔道术语）。男孩迅速用他那唯一的一招绊倒了对手，赢了这场比赛，并最终取得了冠军。
回家的路上，当男孩和他师傅重温着每一场比赛里的每一个动作时，他鼓起勇气道出了心中的困惑。
“师傅，我怎么会用一个动作就赢得了所有的比赛呢？”
“你获胜有两个原因。” 师傅回答道， “第一，你已经基本掌握了柔道当中最难学的一个动作。第二，要对付这个动作，你的对手唯一可以做的就是去抓你的左臂。”
就这样，男孩的最大弱点变成了他的最强项。
Vocabulary
judo n. 柔道
The judo is a kind of fighting sport. 柔道是一种对抗性体育运动。
tournament n. 锦标赛，联赛；比赛
Nearly half a million foreign fans visited the country, many for the first time, to watch the tournament. 大约五十万的外国球迷到南非观看世界杯，其中很多人是第一次去南非。
opponent n. 对手；反对者；敌手
He sat glowering at his opponent. 他坐在那里怒视着对手。
charge vt. 向前冲
He ordered us to charge. 他命令我们冲锋。
deftly adv. 熟练地；灵巧地；敏捷地
She deftly wove the flowers into a garland. 她灵巧地把花编成了一个花环。
overmatched adj. 被打败的
For a while, the girl appeared to be overmatched. 过了一会儿，女孩显露出败相。
referee n. 裁判员；调解人
The referee received a warm reception. 裁判员受到了热情的接待。
pin vt. 钉住；压住；将……用针别住
We are trying to pin down his speech. 我们正努力准确说明他的讲话。
牛津的成功启迪课
在瑞典有个说法：其实一个人不存在什么优点、缺点的，只能说是强项和弱项。一个 “弱项” 的反面，注定是 “强项” ，两者是并存的。若扼杀了一个 “弱项” ，那 “强项” 也没有了。就如同本故事中的主人公男孩，虽然在学习柔道上有先天不足，但正是他缺少左手这样一个 “弱项” ，变成了他取得胜利的最强项。