书城外语英文爱藏之·打开生命的窗
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第46章 思想的守望者 (13)

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1. Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights.

blow away:吹走;驱散

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2. Yet freedom from restraint simply put it at the mercy of an unsympa-thetic breeze.

at the mercy of:受……支配

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心灵的语言

A Simple Way to Make a Good First Impression

戴尔?卡耐基 / Dale Carnegie

At a dinner party in New York, one of the guests, a woman who had inherited money, was eager to make a pleasing impression on everyone. She had squandered a modest fortune on sables, diamonds and pearls. But she hadn’t done anything whatever about her face. It radiated sourness and selfishness. She didn’t realize what everyone knows: namely, that the expression one wears on one’s face is far more important than the clothes one wears on one’s back.

Charles Schwab told me his smile had been worth a million dollars. And he was probably understating the truth. For Schwab’s personality, his charms, his ability to make people like him, were almost wholly responsible for his extraordinary success; and one of the most delightful factors in his personality was his captivating smile.

Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, “I like you, you make me happy. I am glad to see you.” That is why dogs make such a hit. They are so glad to see us that they almost jump out of their skins. So, naturally, we are glad to see them.

A baby’s smile has the same effect. Have you ever been in a doctor’s waiting room and looked around at all the glum faces waiting impatiently to be seen? Dr.Stephen K. Sproul, a veterinarian in Raytown, Missouri, told of a typical spring day when his waiting room was full of clients waiting to have their pets inoculated. No one was talking to anyone else, and all were probably thinking of a dozen other things they would rather be doing than“wasting time” sitting in that office. He told one of our classes:

“There were six or seven clients waiting when a young woman came in with a nine-month-old baby and a kitten. As luck would have it, she sat down next to a gentleman who was more than a little distraught about the long wait for service. The next thing he knew, the baby just looked up at him with that great big smile that is so characteristic of babies. What did that gentleman do?

“Just what you and I would do, of course; he smiled back at the baby. Soon he struck up a conversation with the woman about her baby and his grandchildren, and soon the entire reception room joined in, and the boredom and tension were converted into a pleasant and enjoyable experience.”

An insincere grin? That doesn’t fool anybody. We know it is mechanical and we resent it. I am talking about a real smile, a heartwarming smile, a smile that comes from within, the kind of smile that will bring a good price in the marketplace.

Professor James V. McConnell, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, expressed his feelings about a smile. “ People who smile,” he said , “ tend to manage teach and sell more effectively, and to raise happier children. There’s far more information in a smile than a frown. That’s why encouragement is a much more effective teaching device than punishment. ”

The employment manager of a large New York department store told me she would rather hire a sales clerk who hadn’t finished grade school, if he or she has a pleasant smile, than to hire a doctor of philosophy with a somber face.

The effect of a smile is powerful—even when it is unseen Telephone companies throughout the United States have a program called “phone power” which is offered to employees who use the telephone for selling their services or products. In this program they suggest that you smile when talking on the phone. Your “smile” comes through in your voice.

The chairman of the board of directors of one of the largest rubber companies in the United States told me that, according to his observations, people rarely succeed at anything unless they have fun doing it. This industrial leader doesn’t put much faith in the old adage that hard work alone is the magic key that will unlock the door to our desires, “ I have known people, ” he said, “The one who succeeded because they had a rip-roaring good time conducting their business. Later, I saw those people change as the fun became work. The business had grown dull, they lost all joy in it, and they failed.”

You must have a good time meeting people if you expect them to have a good time meeting you.

在纽约举行的一个宴会上,有一位得到大笔遗产的女宾客迫切想要给每一个人留下一个好印象。她不惜重金买来貂皮、钻石和珍珠,但是在自己的脸上却没有下任何工夫—— 一脸的尖酸刻薄、自私自利。她没有意识到一个众所周知的道理:一个人的面部表情要比身上的衣服重要得多。

史考伯对我说,他的笑容值一百万美元,他也许是在有意淡化这一事实。史考伯的个性和魅力以及让人喜欢他的能力几乎是他取得非凡成就的全部原因所在。并且他个性中最令人愉快的因素之一就是他那迷人的微笑。

行动比语言更有力。一个微笑表达的是:“我喜欢你,你让我感到很开心,我非常高兴见到你。”这就是小狗得宠的原因。小狗见到我们会表现出欣喜若狂的高兴劲儿,所以,我们见到小狗自然也感觉很开心。

婴儿的微笑也有同样的效果。你曾经在医生的候诊室里留意过那些等待看病的阴郁面孔吗?密苏里州雷顿市的兽医史蒂芬?史波尔告诉过我一件事:在某年的一个春天,他的候诊室里排满了前来给宠物接种疫苗的人,没有人闲聊,他们大概都在想着其他事情,而不是待在候诊室里“浪费时间”。他对我说:“有六七个人在等着给他们的宠物接种疫苗时,一个年轻女人带着一个九个月大的婴儿和一只小猫走进来。事有巧合,她坐在已经等得有些发狂了的男人旁边。当他扭过头时,婴儿正用那天真无邪的笑容注视着他。那个男人会做什么呢?”

“当然,他和你我的反应一样,扭过头去朝着婴儿微笑。很快他就和那个女人攀谈起来,聊起了她的孩子和他自己的孙子。不多一会儿,整个候诊室的人都参与了进来,厌倦和紧张变成了快乐和享受。”