Unit-1-BIG-BUCKS-THE-EASY-WAY课文翻译大学英语四

Unit1BIGBUCKSTHEEASYWAYJohnG.HubbellTwocollege-ageboys,unawarethatmakingmoneyusuallyinvolveshardwork,aretemptedbyanadvertisementthatpromisesthemaneasywaytoearnalotofmoney.Theboyssoonlearnthatifsomethingseemstogoodtobetrue,itprobablyis.Yououghttolookintothis,Isuggestedtoourtwocollege-agesons.Itmightbeawaytoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskformoneyallthetime.Ihandedthemsomemagazinesinaplasticbagsomeonebadhungonourdoorknob.Amessageprintedonthebagofferedleisurely,lucrativework(BigBuckstheEasyWay!)ofdeliveringmoresuchbags.Idon'tmindtheindignity,theolderoneanswered.Icanlivewithit,hisbrotheragreed.Butitpainsme,Isaid，tofindthatyoubothhavebeenpanhandlingsolongthatitnolongerembarrassesyou.Theboyssaidtheywouldlookintothemagazine-deliverything.Pleased,Ilefttownonabusinesstrip.BymidnightIwascomfortablysettledinahotelroomfarfromhome.Thephonerang.Itwasmywife.Shewantedtoknowhowmydayhadgone.Great!Ienthused.Howwasyourday?Iinquired.Super!Shesnapped.Justsuper!Andit'sonlygettingstarted.Anothertruckjustpulledupoutfront.Anothertruck?Thethirdonethisevening.ThefirstdeliveredfourthousandMontgomeryWards.ThesecondbroughtfourthousandSears,Roebucks.Idon'tknowwhatthisonehas,butI'msureitwillbefourthousandofsomething.Sinceyouareresponsible,Ithoughtyoumightliketoknowwhat'shappening.WhatIwasbeingblamedfor,itturnedout,wasanewspaperstrikewhichmadeitnecessarytohand-delivertheadvertisinginsertsthatnormallyareincludedwiththeSundaypaper.Thecompanyhadpromisedourboys$600fordeliveringtheseinsertsto4,000housesbySundaymorning.Pieceofcake!ouroldercollegesonhadshouted.Sixhundredbucks!Hisbrotherhadechoed,Andwecandothejobintwohours!BoththeSearsandWardadsarefournewspaper-sizepages,mywifeinformedme.Therearethirty-twothousandpagesofadvertisingonourporch.Evenaswespeak,twobigguysarecarryingarmloadsofpaperupthewalk.Whatdowedoaboutallthis?Justtelltheboystogetbusy,Iinstructed.They'recollegemen.They'lldowhattheyhavetodo.AtnoonthefollowingdayIreturnedtothehotelandfoundanurgentmessagetotelephonemywife.Hervoicewasunnaturallyhighandquavering.Therehadbeenseveralmoretruckloadsofadinserts.They'refordepartmentstores,dimestores,drugstores,grocerystores,autostoresandsoon.Somearewholemagazinesections.Wehavehundredsofthousands,maybemillions,ofpagesofadvertisinghere!Theyarecrammedwall-to-wallallthroughthehouseinstackstallerthanyouroldestson.There'sonlyenoughroomforpeopletowalkin,takeoneeachoftheeleveninserts,rollthemtogether,sliparubberbandaroundthemandslidethemintoaplasticbag.WehaveenoughplasticbagstosupplyeverytakeoutrestaurantinAmerica!Hervoicekeptrising,asifworkingitswayoutoftherangeofthehumanear.Allthismustbedeliveredbyseveno'clockSundaymorning.Well,youhadbettergetthoseguysbandingandslidingasfastastheycan,andI'lltalktoyoulater.Gotalunchdate.WhenIreturned,therewasanotherurgentcallfrommywife.Didyouhaveanicelunch?sheaskedsweetly.Ihadhadamarveloussteak,butknewbetterbynowthantosayso.Awful,Ireported.Somesortofsourfish.Eel,Ithink.Good.Yourcollegesonshavehiredtheiryoungerbrothersandsistersandacoupleofneighborhoodchildrentohelpforfivedollarseach.Assemblylineshavebeensetup.Inthelanguageofdiplomacy,thereis'movement.'That'sencouraging.No,it'snot,shecorrected.It'sverydiscouraging.They'rebeenasitforhours.Plasticbagshavebeenfilledandpiledtotheceiling,butallthishasn'tmadeadent,notadent,inthesituation!It'salmostasiftheinsertskeepreproducingthemselves!Anotherthing,shecontinued.Yourcollegesonsmustlearnthatonedoesnotgetthebestoutofemployeesbythreateningthemwithbodilyharm.ObtaininganaudiencewithsonNO.1,Isnarled,I'llkillyouifthreatenoneofthosekidsagain!Idiot!Youshouldbeofferingabonusofadollareveryhourtotheworkerwhofillsthemostbags.Butthatwouldcutintoourprofit,hesuggested.Therewon'tbeanyprofitunlessthosekidsenableyoutomakeallthedeliveriesontime.Iftheydon't,youtwowillhavetoremoveallthatpaperbyyourselves.Andtherewillbenoeatingorsleepinguntilitisremoved.Therewasashort,thoughtfulsilence.Thenhesaid,Dad,youhavejustworkedaprofoundchangeinmypersonality.Doit!Yes,sir!Bythefollowingevening,therewasmuchformywifetoreport.Thebonusprogramhadworkeduntilsomeonedemandedtoseethecolorofcash.Thensomeactivistontheworkforceclaimedthattheworkershadnobusinesssettlingfor$5andafewcompetitivebonuseswhilethebossedcollectedhundredsofdollarseach.Theorganizerhaddeclaredthatalltheworkerswereentitledto$5perhour!Theywouldnotworkanotherminuteuntilthebossesagreed.Thestrikelastedlessthantwohours.Inmediation,thepartiesagreedon$2perhour.Gradually,thehugestacksbegantoshrink.Asitturnedout,thejobwascompletedthreehoursbeforeSunday's7a.m.deadline.BythetimeIarrivedhome,theboyshadalreadysettledtheiraccounts:$150inlaborcosts,$40forgasoline,andalikeamountforgifts—boxesofcandyforsaintlyneighborswhohadvolunteeredstationwagonsandhelpindeliveryanddozenrosesfortheirmother.Thisleftthemwith$185each—abouttwo-thirdstheminimumwageforthe91hourstheyworked.Still,itwasenough,asoneofthemputit,toenablethemtoavoidindignityforquiteawhile.Allwentwellforsomeweeks.ThenoneSaturdaymorningmyattentionwasdrawntotheoddgoings-onofourtwoyoungestsons.Theykeptcarryingcartonaft