The newspaper I previously worked for employs a very friendly receptionist. All receptionists are supposed to be friendly, but Connie Abbott has such a positive tone, she could brighten your day by saying, "Did anyone ever tell you that you look like a movie star? You ought to go to Hollywood and audition for the title role in a new movie: The Return of King Kong."
我以前工作的那家報(bào)社曾經(jīng)雇用過一位非常友善的接待員。其實(shí)待人和善是對所有接待員的基本要求，但康妮?阿伯特總能用積極的口吻為你一整天帶來好心情：“有沒有人曾說你長得很像一個(gè)電影明星？你應(yīng)該去好萊塢試演那部新電影《金剛歸來》的主角?！?/div>

"A movie star?" you'd say. "Thank you so much. That's the best compliment I've received since my music teacher told me I sing as well as Milli Vanilli."
“電影明星？”你會(huì)說，“太謝謝你了。這是我的音樂老師夸我唱歌唱得像米利?凡尼利一樣好以后，我得到的最好的夸獎(jiǎng)?！?/div>

I appreciated Connie's friendliness because I've encountered a few unfriendly receptionist including one at the Indian embassy in Washington D.C. who could make both King Kong and Godzilla scamper away in fear.
我欣賞康妮的友善，因?yàn)槲遗龅竭^一些不太友好的接待員，其中包括一位印度駐美大使館的接待員，她的惡劣態(tài)度會(huì)讓龐大的金剛和怪獸哥斯拉都倉皇奔逃。

During a stop at the embassy several years ago, I watched her harass visitor after visitor and thought to myself, "One billion people to choose from and they couldn't hire anyone friendlier. This woman could single-handedly ruin India's tourist industry. If the Indian government were smarter, they'd appoint her to a new position: Director of Prisons. The crime rate would drop so fast, many politicians would lose money."
幾年前，有一次我在印度駐美大使館逗留，親眼目睹她“炮轟”一個(gè)又一個(gè)來客。于是我心里想：“印度有十億人，他們就不能雇一個(gè)友善一點(diǎn)的人嗎？這個(gè)女人單憑一己之力就能給印度的旅游業(yè)帶來滅頂之災(zāi)。如果印度政府明智一點(diǎn)的話，他們應(yīng)該給她安排另一個(gè)職位：監(jiān)獄主管。這樣一來，印度社會(huì)的犯罪率肯定會(huì)大幅度下降，許多政客的收入也會(huì)銳減。”

In contrast, Connie is so pleasant that some people are willing to call the newspaper every day just to greet her and say, "When's my wedding picture going to appear in the paper? Hopefully before the divorce."
相反，康妮非常友善，以至于有人每天打電話到報(bào)社，就是為了聽到她的聲音： “我的結(jié)婚照什么時(shí)候才會(huì)刊登出來呢？希望在離婚之前吧。”

Whatever they say, Connie remains friendly and polite. She's an excellent receptionist and a true success. Yes, a success.
不管他們說什么，康妮總是一如既往地待人友善，彬彬有禮。她是一位優(yōu)秀的接待員，一個(gè)真正的成功者。對，一個(gè)成功者。

For some reason, we seem to reserve the term "success" for people with money, fame or power. But who gave them such a monopoly? Alan Greenspan? You don't have to be an actor or entrepreneur or software whiz to be a success. Receptionists farmers teachers janitors homemakers plumbers can be just as successful, even if they've never made a single appearance on Oprah.
由于某些原因，我們似乎總覺得“成功”只屬于有錢、有名或有權(quán)力的人。但誰給了他們獨(dú)占“成功”的權(quán)利呢？艾倫?格林斯潘嗎？就算你不是演員，不是企業(yè)家，不是軟件奇才，你也可以是一個(gè)成功者。接待員、農(nóng)民、教師、看門人、家庭主婦、水管工人，他們都可以成功，哪怕他們從未在奧普拉的節(jié)目上露過一次臉。

In fact, if Oprah Winfrey invited me on her television show, I'd tell her all about it.
事實(shí)上，如果奧普拉?溫弗瑞邀請我參加她的電視脫口秀節(jié)目的話，我會(huì)這樣對她說。

Oprah: "It's my pleasure today to welcome the world-renowned expert on succes Melvin Durai, author of the new self-help book I'm Successful, You're Successful. He says he can spot a successful person a mile away."
奧普拉：很榮幸，今天我們邀請到了世界著名的成功學(xué)專家，梅爾文?杜萊，他最近出版了一本勵(lì)志書《我成功，你成功》。他說他能在一里（500米）之外辨認(rèn)出誰是成功人士。

Me: "Yes, Oprah. My clients pay me thousands of dollars to tell them they're successful. Many of them have no clue. Just the other day, I told Julia Roberts that she's a success. She was so excited, she gave me her Oscar."
我：對，奧普拉。我的客戶付給我?guī)浊涝?，要我告訴他們，他們是成功者。他們中許多人對于自己是否成功一無所知。就在前幾天，我告訴茱莉亞?羅伯茨說，她是一個(gè)成功者。她興奮得不得了，把她的奧斯卡小金人送給了我。

Oprah: "Well, let's talk about other celebrities. What about Howard Stern, the radio shock jock who has offended many people with his ethnic and religious jokes? Is he a success?"
奧普拉：好了，我們談?wù)剟e的名人吧?；羧A德?斯特恩，另類的之聲主持，他因?yàn)槟梅N族和宗教開玩笑而得罪了不少人，他是一個(gè)成功者嗎？

Me: "Yes, of course he's a success."
我：是的，他當(dāng)然是一個(gè)成功者。

Oprah: "What do you mean? Don't you think he's an idiot?"
奧普拉：什么意思？難道你不認(rèn)為他是一個(gè)白癡嗎？

Me: "Ye but he's a successful idiot."
我：沒錯(cuò)，但他是一個(gè)成功的白癡。

Oprah: "Please explain that to our audience. I can see a few confused faces."
奧普拉：能給觀眾解釋一下原因嗎？我看到有些觀眾很困惑。

Me: "Well, can you think of a better idiot than Howard Stern? He's the best idiot on the radio. He plays the role of idiot well. That makes him a success as an idiot. In fact, if we had an Idiot Hall of Fame, he'd be voted in unanimously."
我：好的。你能想到比霍華德?斯特恩更優(yōu)秀的白癡嗎？他是廣播界最出色的白癡。作為一個(gè)白癡，他盡職盡責(zé)，表現(xiàn)出色。所以說，他是一個(gè)成功的白癡。其實(shí)，如果我們設(shè)立一個(gè)“白癡名人堂”的話，他肯定會(huì)全票通過的。

Oprah: "What about ordinary people who don't appear on television every day at 4 p.m. like me? Can they be successful?"
奧普拉：那么，那些從來沒試過像我這樣每天下午四點(diǎn)在電視節(jié)目上露臉的普通人呢？他們也算是成功者嗎？

Me: "Yes, of course, Oprah. It doesn't matter what you do-if you do it well, you can consider yourself a success. Just because you don't have money, fame or power, don't let anyone tell you you're not a success."
我：當(dāng)然了，奧普拉。你從事什么工作并不重要，只要你干得出色，你就可以把自己看作是一個(gè)成功者。就算你沒有錢，沒有名望和權(quán)利，別人也絕不能說你不是一個(gè)成功的人。

Oprah: "Wow! I never thought of it like that. Would you like to be a regular guest on my show?"
奧普拉：嘩！我還沒從這個(gè)角度想過這個(gè)問題呢。你愿意今后經(jīng)常來參加我的節(jié)目嗎？

Me: "Really? Oh my gosh. Now my mother may actually believe I’m a success."
我：真的嗎？哦，我的天啊！現(xiàn)在，恐怕我媽媽真的相信我是一個(gè)成功者了。