译文举例及评析 Talking Straight①

You're about to read the story of a man who's had more than his share of successes.② But along the way, there were some pretty bad times, too. In fact, when I look back on my thirty-eight years in the auto industry, the day I remember most vividly had nothing to do with new cars and promotions and profits.

I began my life as the son of immigrants, and I work my way up to the presidency of the Ford Motor Company. When I finally got there, I was on top of the world. But then fate said to me："Wait. We're not finished with you. Now you're going to find out what it feels like to get kicked off Mt. Everest!"③

On July 13，1978，I was fired. I had been president of Ford for eight years and a Ford employee for thirty-two.④I had never worked anywhere else. And now, suddenly, I was out of a job. It⑤was gut-wrenching.

As you go through life, there are thousands of little forks in the road，and there are a few really big forks — those moments of reckoning,⑥moments of truth. This was mine as I wondered what to do. Should I pack it all in and retire? I was fifty-four years old. I already accomplished a great deal. I was financially secure. I could afford to play golf for the rest of my life. ⑦

But that just didn't feel right. I knew I had to pick up the pieces and cany on.

There are times in everyone's life when something constructive is bom out of adversity. There are times when things seem so bad that you've got to grab your fate by the shoulders and shake it. ⑧ I'm convinced it was that morning at the warehouse that pushed me to take on the presidency of Chrysler only a couple of weeks later.