Eugenia Lampley
I keep a two-dollar bill in my wallet that was given to me by my mother when I was six years old.
I am not superstitious but the bill goes with me wherever I go. My mother gave it to me so that luck would follow me everywhere.
She looked at me and said, “I want you to carry this two dollars bill for extra good luck.”
“Thanks Mom,” I replied. “I will keep it close to me always.”
Every morning I would get dressed and my two dollars bill went into my pocket. My mother passed away when I was seventeen years old and I remembered taking out my two dollars bill. I held it in my hand for the longest time and knew that she would be watching over me the rest of my life.
Each time I felt I had a crisis on my hands, I could reach for my two dollars bill and set it on the table. I would stare at it for several hours and could always come up with a solution.
When I applied for my first job, I was thirty years old and very shy. The thought of being interviewed for a job was scary but I had to work. On my first interview, as I sat in the waiting room, I noticed there were five women ahead of me. All of the women were younger and very well dressed. One of them was impeccable in her blue striped suit with matching purse and shoes. I knew I was up against women better qualified by looking at the length of their resumes.
Ms Martin, the office manager, summoned me into her office.
“What makes you feel you are qualified for this job?” she asked.
“I really need this job and there is nothing I can not do,” I responded.
She asked me a series of questions and the interview was over. As I exited her office, I turned around and said, “Ms Martin, I know that I am not qualified like your other applicants, but please give me a chance. I learn quickly and can be a very productive member of your team.”
I thanked her and went home exhausted. Oh well, I thought, tomorrow would be another day.
That evening as I was getting ready for bed, I received a phone call from Ms Martin.
“Gina,” she said, “you were not the most qualified applicant, but you have so much confidence in yourself that we decided to give you a chance to prove yourself.”
I screamed out loud, was jumping all over the room in disbelief. I could hear Ms Martin laughing in the background and suddenly I realized that Ms Martin was still on the line.
“Thank you, Ms Martin, you will not regret this decision,” I said and hung up the phone.
I got my wallet and took out my two-dollar bill.
“Thanks mom, I am going to make it.” I said out loud so my mother could hear me.
At that instant, I remembered the time she pulled all of us into the living room and said, “You are all brilliant in my mind, but if you fail once don’t give up. Don’t fear failure. It is a way of getting us to try harder. You will succeed, I promise.”
I still think of mom everyday and still keep my two-dollar bill in my wallet. At a family reunion years later, I found out that my brothers and sisters all had a two-dollar bill in their wallet.
We all laughed and talked about how special this gift from Mom had been to each and ever had reinforced the confidence Mom had instilled one of us. It led in us.
有一张两美元的钞票一直保存在我的钱夹里，那是我6岁时妈妈给的。
我不迷信，但无论到哪里，我都随身带着它。妈妈希望这张两美元钞票能让我事事亨通。
当时，她看着我说：“带上这张两美元吧，它会带给你好运的。”
“谢谢妈妈，”我说，“我会永远带着它。”
每天早上，穿好衣服后，我就将这两美元装进口袋。17岁那年，妈妈去世了。当时，我掏出那张两美元钞票，久久地攥在手中。我知道，妈妈会一直关注我以后的生活。
每每遇到棘手问题，我就拿出那两美元，放在桌上，一连几个小时盯着它，最终总能想出办法。
第一次找工作时我已经30岁了，又有些羞怯。一想到要面试，我就很害怕，但我必须得工作。第一次面试，在等候室里，除了我还有五位女性求职者。她们都比我年轻，并且衣着考究。其中一位穿着蓝色斑纹套装，配以类似风格的钱包和鞋子，简直太完美了。我很清楚，若以履历长短论，我不是这五位女士的对手。
业务经理马丁太太把我叫进办公室。
“你觉得你能胜任这份工作的理由是什么？”她问道。
“我很需要这份工作，而且，也没有我做不来的事。”我答道。
回答完一连串的问题后，面试结束了。我正要迈出办公室时，转过身对马丁太太说：“马丁太太，我知道自己并不如其他人优秀，但是，请您给我一个机会。我接受能力很强，会成为公司优秀的一员。”
谢过马丁太太后，回到家时，我已经疲惫不堪了。我心想，算了，没有关系，明天又是新的一天。
当晚，我正准备睡觉时，突然接到马丁太太的电话。
“吉娜，”她说，“你虽不是应试者中最出色的，但你对自己充满信心，因此我们决定给你一个展现自己的机会。”
我简直难以相信这是真的，我激动得大叫起来，兴奋得在房间里又蹦又跳。电话那头传来马丁太太的笑声，我这才意识到我们还在通话。
“马丁太太，谢谢您！我不会令您失望的。”说完，我挂断了电话。
我掏出钱夹，拿出了那张两美元的钞票。
“谢谢您，妈妈，我的好运来了。”我大声地说，妈妈应该听得到。
那一刻，我想起了妈妈说的一番话，她把我们拉到客厅里说：“在妈妈眼里，你们都很棒。无论做什么事情，失败了，千万别放弃。失败并不可怕，我们可以化失败为动力。我相信，你们一定能够成功。”
我时刻都想念着妈妈，那两美元也依然珍藏在我的钱夹里。多年后，在一次家庭聚会上，我才发现，我们兄弟姐妹的钱夹里都各有一张两美元的钞票。
我们都笑了，谈论着妈妈赠予我们的这份特殊礼物。她在我们心底播下了自信的种子，而这两美元让这粒种子迅速茁壮地成长起来。
1. Each time I felt I _________a crisis on my hands, I could reach for my _________dollars bill and set it on the table. I would stare _________it for several hours and could always come up with a solution.
2. She _________ me a series of questions and the interview was_________. As I exited her office, I turned around and______ , “Ms Martin, I know that I am not qualified______your other applicants, but please give me a_____. I learn quickly and can be a very productive______of your team.”
3. I still think of mom everyday and______keep my two-dollar bill in my _____. At a family reunion years_______, I found out that my brothers and ______all had a two-dollar bill in their wallet.
1. 每每遇到棘手问题，我就拿出那两美元，放在桌上，一连几个小时盯着它，最终总能想出办法。
2. 我很清楚，若以履历长短论，我不是这五位