名人励志英语演讲 第146期:感觉失败及寻找幸福(8)(在线收听

   And sometimes I wouldn't read the copy, and I'd be--because I wanted to be spontaneous--and I'd come across a list of words I didn't know and I'd mispronounce. And one day I was reading copy and I called Canada "Cah-Nah-Dah". And I did just that. I cracked myself on the air. And I decided, this Barbara thing's not going too well. I should try being myself.

  由于想要更自然而不照本宣科,所以有时我会遇到一些不认识的词,甚至还会发错音。有一天我居然把“加拿大”念成了“卡——那——大”。我真的念错了,我差点儿崩溃,于是我决定,模仿芭芭拉并不是好事,我要做回我自己。
  But at the same time, my dad was saying, "Oprah Gail, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. You'd better keep that job." And my boss was saying, "This is the nightly news. You're an anchor, not a social worker. Just do your job."
  但那时我爸爸却对我说:“奥普拉·盖尔,这是你一生的机会。你最好继续做那份工作。”我的老板也说:“这是晚间新闻。你是播报员,不是社工。还是做你的本职工作吧。”
  So, I was juggling these messages of expectation and obligation and feeling really miserable with myself. I'd go home at night and fill up my journals, because I've kept a journal since I was 15--so I now have volumes of journals. So, I'd go home at night and fill up my journals about how miserable I was and frustrated. Then I'd eat my anxiety. That's where I learned that habit.
  我辜负了这些期待和责任,感觉自己很糟糕。晚上回到家后我会记日记。自从15岁时我就开始记日记了——现在我已经有好几卷日记了。我晚上回到家后,我会记录下我是多么不幸,多么沮丧。然后独自一人将忧愁吞噬。这一切已经成为我的习惯。
  And after eight months, I lost that job. They said I was too emotional. I was too much. But since they didn't want to pay out the contract, they put me on a talk show in Baltimore. And the moment I sat down on that show, the moment I did, I felt like I'd come home. I realized that TV could be more than just a playground, but a platform for service, for helping other people lift their lives. And the moment I sat down, doing that talk show, it felt like breathing. It felt, it felt right. And that's where everything that followed for me began.
  8个月后我失去了那份工作。他们说我太情绪化了,过头了。但因为他们不想付违约金,就让我去巴尔的摩主挂一档脱口秀节目。从我开始主持那档节目的一刻开始,我便有了无拘无束的感觉。我意识到电视不应该仅仅是一个娱乐场,更应该是一个以服务为目的的平台,以帮助他人更好地生活。当我坐下来开始主持节目时,就感觉像呼吸一样自在,感觉好极啦。而那才是我工作真正开始的时候。
  And I got that lesson. When you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid.
  于是我得到了这个教训,当你从事自己喜爱的工作时,那种感觉棒极了,每天都像在领奖金,不管赚多少钱。
  重点讲解:
  1. come across
  偶然发现;偶然遇见;
  eg. I came across a group of children playing.
  我碰到一群正在玩耍的小孩。
  eg. We like to identify and celebrate women's success whenever we come across it.
  每当女性取得成功,我们都会表示认同并予以颂扬。
  2. fill up
  装满;填写;填充;
  eg. I fill up the tank with gasoline about once a week.
  大约每个星期我加满一箱汽油。
  eg. We fill up our lives with meaningless tasks.
  我们终日忙忙碌碌,过得毫无意义。
  3. pay out
  支付,花费(通常指一大笔钱);(保单)赔付,偿付;
  eg. Many policies pay out only after a period of weeks or months.
  很多保单在几周或几个月后才得以赔付。
  eg. He had paid out good money to educate his daughter at a boarding school.
  他花了很多钱让他的女儿在寄宿学校受教育。
  4. be meant to do sth.
  原本打算的;理应的;
  eg. I can't say any more, it's meant to be a big secret.
  我再也无可奉告了,这本是重大的秘密。
  eg. Parties are meant to be fun.
  派对就是为了乐和一下。
  5. regardless of
  不顾;不管;不论;
  eg. She is determined to do regardless of all consequences.
  她不顾一切后果,决心这样做。
  eg. Regardless of whether he is right or wrong, we have to abide by his decisions.
  不管他正确与否,我们都得服从他的决定。
  名人简介:
  堕落天使
  作为一名黑人,奥普拉少时的生活与别人一般无二。她1954年出生于美国南方密西西比州的一个单亲家庭,生活异常困顿,几乎整日处于颠沛流离的状态。与别的黑人少年一样,奥普拉曾一度自甘堕落。在她日后的金牌节目“奥普拉脱口秀”中,奥普拉曾面对3300万观众坦承了自己那段不光彩的历史:吸毒,堕胎,甚至还生下过一名不久就夭折的女婴。奥普拉的生父曾对女儿说:“有些人让事情发生,有些人看着事情发生,有些人连发生什么事情都不知道。”于是极度空虚的奥普拉想知道自己生命中究竟会有什么事情发生。
  奥普拉自幼就有与生俱来的说话技巧和不俗的记忆力,她发现自己的言谈很容易带动别人的情绪,于是17岁的奥普拉先是参加了当地的一次选美比赛,后又凭着自己的三寸不烂之舌与不错的运气,在19岁那年被当地一家电台聘为业余新闻播音员,从此涉足传媒界。大学毕业后,奥普拉成为巴尔的摩一家电视台的正式播音员。然而她早期的电视生涯并不顺利。由于奥普拉在播报新闻时无法保持客观中立的态度,她的情绪往往随播报的内容忽喜忽忧,因此常常招致观众的批评。好在台里慧眼识珠,给她安排了一个早间的谈话节目,才使她如鱼得水,不久她就成为当地小有名气的女主持。1983年,奥普拉结识了生命中的伯乐——“A.M.芝加哥”电台的老板丹尼斯·施瓦逊。当时施瓦逊正在物色一名出色的脱口秀主持人,以其提高以前访谈节目的收视率。尽管电视台的多数人对聘用一名黑人来主持节目深表怀疑,但施瓦逊还是力排众议,以23万美元的年薪将奥普拉招至麾下。出人意料的是,仅仅一个月,奥普拉访谈节目的收视率就超过了从前,从此一发而不可收,奥普拉直登“美国最当红脱口秀主持人”的宝座。
  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/mrlzyj/238547.html