A Lesson of Life
“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on, one day something good will happen. And you’ ll realize that it wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment.”
Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932, I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station—and got turned down every time.
In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn’t risk hiring an inexperienced person—“Go out in the sticks and find a small station that’ll give you a chance. ” she said.
I thumbed home to Dixon, Illinois. While there was no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn’t hired.
My disappointment must have shown. “Everything happens for the best.” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud, “How can a fellow get to be a sport announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”
I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, “What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.
The preceding autumn, my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65-yard run. I did a 15-minute buildup to that play, and Peter told me I would be broadcasting Saturday’s game!
On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother’s words, “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment.” I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I’d gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.
每当我遇到困难时，母亲就对我说：“如果你坚持下去，一切都会好的。不经历风雨，怎能见彩虹。”
直到1932年大学毕业,我才发现母亲是对的。当时我已决意在电台谋求发展，努力成为一名体育节目播音员。我搭便车抵达芝加哥后，开始奔波于各个电台之间——但被一一拒绝。
一位在播音室里工作的好心女士告诉我，大型的电台是不会冒险接纳毫无经验的新人——“到乡下去，找家能给你机会的小电台吧。”她说。
我乘车返回了家乡伊利诺斯州的迪克森。当时，家乡还没有电台播音员，父亲告诉我，蒙哥马利·沃德新开了家商店，正需要管理体育部的当地运动员。上中学时，我曾在迪克森打过橄榄球，于是我申请了这份工作。我似乎挺适合做这项工作的，结果却被拒绝了。
我失望极了。“一切总会好的。”母亲提醒我。为了方便找工作，父亲送了我一辆汽车。我去爱荷华州的达文波特，到当地电台求职。那里的电台节目总监，苏格兰人彼得·麦克阿瑟告诉我，播音员已有合适的人选。
走出他的办公室时，挫折感油然而生。我大声说道：“如果在电台都找不到工作，又怎么能当体育节目的播音员呢？”
等电梯时，麦克阿瑟的声音传入我的耳畔，“你说什么体育呢！你懂橄榄球吗？”然后他让我站在话筒前，想象一场比赛，并为其解说。
去年秋天，我们的球队赢得了一场比赛——在最后20秒的时间里以65码的距离获胜，我用15分钟将那场精彩的比赛解说下来。彼得对我说，我可以解说周六的一场比赛。
回家途中，母亲的话又在我的耳边响起，“坚持下去，最终会有转机。不经历风雨，怎能见彩虹？”我常想，当年，如果我能到蒙哥马利·沃德那里工作，我的人生又会驶向何方？
Practicing for Better Learning
Read the passage carefully then answer the following questions.
1. Which kind of job did I want to find after graduation?
______
2. How did I get the job finally?
______
Seize Your Time
According to the speech, match each of the following verbs with its meaning.
(1) hitchhike a. to think about something that you are not sure about
(2) apply b. to find information, a place or an object, especially for the first time
(3) wonder c. to travel by getting lifts from passing vehicles without paying
(4) discover d. to make a formal request for something such as a job
(5) hire e. to pay money to borrow something for a short period of time
Now a Try
Think about your first experience of finding a job, then try to share it with
your friends.
