要是我有个水晶球能窥见未来，我会怎么样呢？ 许多人一遇到障碍就打退堂鼓，但我不会这样。 我一旦有了目标，就必然锲而不舍，全力以赴。 我相信人生中充满机会，但我们往往不懂得把握。

How a Simple Idea Became a Huge Business

我怎样白手起家

By Howard Schultz 霍华德·舒尔茨 .

[1]When I was a child growing up in public-housing projects in Canarsie, Brooklyn, I remember lying in bed at night thinking: what if I had a crystal ball『水晶球』and could see the future? But I quickly shut out『摒弃』the thought. I realized I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. All I knew was I had to get out of the projects, get out of Brooklyn.

[1]小时候我住在纽约市布鲁克林区卡纳西的房租低廉的住宅区，有一天夜里躺在床上思量：要是我有个水晶球能窥见未来，我会怎么样呢？不过我迅即抛开了这个念头。我知道自己在人生路上仍然漫无目标，只知道必须设法离开这里，离开布鲁克林。

【额外知识】Brooklyn：美国纽约市的五大行政区之一（其余四区是曼哈顿、布朗克斯、昆斯和里士满），为黑人和穷人聚居区。

[2]I was fortunate to go to college, but I didn't know what to do next. I had no mentor 『导师；良师』to help me sort out my options『选择』. My main goal was to escape the struggles my working-class parents lived with every day.

[2]后来我有幸上了大学，却不知道下一步该怎么走，也没有人替我指点迷津。我的父母都是工人阶级，每天都必须操劳，而我当时最大的愿望就是不步他们的后尘。

[3]Eventually I discovered I had a talent for sales, and was hired by a Swedish housewares corporation. By age 28, I was vice president in charge of sales in the United States. I had an excellent salary and a co-op『合作』apartment in New York City, and was happily married to a beautiful woman, Sheri. My parents couldn't believe I had come so far so fast. The life I was leading was beyond their best dreams for me.

[3]我发现自己善于推销，便进入了一家瑞典人开的家庭用品公司工作。我表现出色，28岁就晋升为主管国内销售的副总裁，薪金优厚。我买了套住宅，又娶了如花似玉的妻子--雪瑞，生活舒适愉快。连我的父母都不敢相信我会如此飞黄腾达。他们从未梦想过我能过上这样的生活。

学习外语就是训练口腔肌肉，使之轻松地发出陌生的外国声音，变以成灵活的国际肌肉；学习外语就是苦练脱口而出！只有这样才是真正地拥有语言！请大家用三最口腔肌肉训练法！用最大声、最清晰、最快速的办法反复操练这些小短文直至脱口而出！只要你能脱口而出，必定一鸣惊人！！

>>>未完待续