Lesson Eleven ：How I Served My A

pprenticeship

I. Outline of the Text Part 1 ： (Paras.1-2) I became a businessman because I had to work as

soon as possible as the eldest son of poor parents. Part 2 ： (Paras.3-5) My parents decided to move to the U.S. because th

e steam engines put my father out of business. Part 3 ： (Paras.6-13) ☆ 　 I first worked in a cotton factory as a "bobbi

n-boy". Although it was a hard job, I had to work to support my family. And I believe that I could get a better job some day.

☆ 　 My second job was to run the steam engine in another factory.

Part 4 ： (Paras.14-18) How I look upon poverty. ☆ 　 Many people think of poverty as a grea

t evil. ☆ 　 I believe poor families are happier than

rich families. Children of the poor family have the loving c

are of their parents. Members of the poor family are united in the

ir efforts to make a living. Poor people don't have the worries and care

s of the rich. ☆ 　 Poor families have produced many out

standing people.

How I Served My Apprenticeship 我的学徒生活 Serve one‘s apprenticeship ： 当学徒 Serve as/for ：作为，适用

Part 1 ： (Paras.1-2)

But there seems to be a question preceding this ： Why did I become a businessman?

译文：但是在讲我的学徒经历之前，有一个问题：为什么我成了商人 ?

ahead of 在……之前

I am sure that I should never have selected a business career if I had been permitted to choose ：译文：我相信要是我有选择的余地，我不会选择经商的生涯。 ( 此句包含一虚拟条件句。 )

should/ought to + have done 本来应该做而没有做。

2 　 The eldest son of parents who were themselves poor, I had, fortunately, to begin to perform some useful work in the world while still very young in order to earn a living and therefore Make a living 谋生

What I could get to do, not what I desired, was the question ：问题是，我能找到什么活干，而不是我想干什么活。 ( 意思是因为人小，不易找到工作，不是人选工作，而是有什么就干什么。 )

At work ：在工作，在起作用 Out of work ： unemployment 失业 Work ：〈 v. 〉工作 ;( 机器 ) 运转 ; 起作用 Work hard at ：在…上下工夫 Work on sth./doing sth. 从事 例： "No, but I am working on it." Work out sth. ：制定，想出 ( 办法等 )

Part 2 ： (Paras.3-5)

3 　 When I was born my father was a well-to-do master weaver in Scotland. This was the days before the steam engines.

译文：在我出生的时候，我父亲是苏格兰的一个富有经验的织布工人。那时蒸汽机还未出现。

well-to-do ： wealthy;rich 富有的 healthy ：健康的 master ： experienced 有经验的

He wove cloth for a merchant who supplied the material.

他为一个提供材料的商人织布。 Wove ： weave 的过去式

I resolved then that the wolf of poverty should be driven from our door some day ：译文：我当时下定决心总有一天我们要解决温饱问题。 ( 也可直译为： ...... 总有一天我们要把穷困这只恶狼从家门口轰走。 )

英文解析： I made up my mind then that some day we would earn enough money to buy the basic things we needed.

make up one's mind 下定决心

Part 3 ： (Paras. 6-13) On arriving, my father entered a cotton factory.

I soon followed, and served as a “bobbin-boy,” and that was how I began my preparation for subsequent apprenticeship as a businessman ：

译文：到这儿以后，父亲进了一家棉厂，很快我也跟着进去了，我负责线轴工作。就这样，我开始了后来见习办实业的前期准备工作。

subsequent ：即 later/following

I cannot tell you how proud I was when I received my first week‘s earnings - one dollar and twenty cents ：

我简直不知道怎么形容我拿到第一个星期挣的 1 美元 20 美分时的自豪劲儿。

wages 周薪 ;salary 月薪。

It was given to me because I had been of some use to the world. And I became a contributing member of my family!

译文：这钱给了我是因为我对社会有了点用处 ;还有，我已经能为家里作出点贡献了。 ( 说明作者自豪的原因。 )

contribute to 对……有贡献

I think this makes a man out of a boy sooner than almost anything else ：我觉得没有别的事情能使一个少年更快地成长为一个男子汉了。

英文解析： This perhaps is the best way to enable a boy to mature.

But the genuine satisfaction I had from that one dollar and twenty cents outweighs any subsequent pleasure in money making ：

从那以后有成百万的美元经过我的手，可是以后赚的任何一笔钱给我带来的欢欣，都远远比不上那 1 美元 20 美分使我体验到的满足感。

Genuine ：〈 a. 〉真正的 ; Generous ：〈 a. 〉慷慨的 ; Genius ：〈 n. 〉天才

It was the direct reward of honest, manual labor; it represented a week of very hard work - so hard t

hat it might have been described as slavery if it hadn't been for its aim and end ：这 1 美元 20 美分代表一个星期十分艰苦的劳动，要不是因为干活的目的是挣钱帮父母养家，那活真可以称为奴隶般的劳动。

stand for 代表 ;Aim and end ： purpose 目的

…that is might have been described as slavery if it hadn't been for its aim and end.

英文解析：… I did the job to help support the family. If it hadn't been for this purpose I wouldn't have wanted to do the work because it was too hard for me.

Describe…as ：描述为……

because I was set to fire the boiler in the cellar and run the small steam engine which drove the machinery ：

因为我既要烧地下室的锅炉，还要看管那台驱动机器的小蒸汽机。

Be set to do sth. 被安排做某事。 I run a company 我经营一个公司。 Machinery 是一个集合名词，是所有机器的总称。

And could I complain? ：我怎么能抱怨呢 ? 这是个修辞性疑问句，意思是说“我当然不

能怨天尤人。” 英文解析： While both my parents toiled to

keep the family alive, I surely shouldn't tell them about the hardship I had to suffer at work.

13 　 My kind employer soon relieved me of the strain, for he needed someone to make out bills and keep his accounts, and finding that I could write a plain schoolboy hand and could add up, he made me his only clerk ：

我那好心的老板很快就解除了我的压力，他需要有个人开账单、记账，他看我还能写出中学生水平的字，还会做加法，就叫我当了他惟一的职员。

Relieve sb. of sth ： make sb. free from sth. 免除某人的……

Part 4 ： (Paras.14-18) 16 　 It is because I know how sweet and happy and pure t

he home of honest poverty is, how free it is from perplexing care, from social envy and emulations, how loving and how united its members may be in the common interest of supporting the family, that I sympathize with the rich man‘s boy and congratulate the poor man’s boy ：

我亲身体验过正直贫困家庭里那种温馨、美满和纯真，这样的家庭无暇为无聊的事而操心，不受他人的嫉妒，不与他人争斗，为了养家糊口这个共同目标，家里的人互相爱护，团结一致。正是由于这个原因我对富人家的孩子深表同情，而对穷人家的孩子表示祝贺。

It is(was)…… that 强调句的构成。 free from ：不受…约束，解除，摆脱了……的

and it is for these reasons that from the ranks of the poor so many strong, eminent, self-reliant men have always sprung and always must spring ：正是由于这些原因，穷人的队伍中已经不断涌现出，而且一定还会不断涌现出众多坚强、出众、依赖自己能力的杰出人才。

outstanding 出色的 ;independent独立的 ;spring ：涌现。

17 　 If you will read the list of the immortals who “were not born to die,” you will find that most of them were born to the precious heritage of poverty ：

如果你愿意看看那些流芳百世之人的名单，你就会发现他们当中大部分人出生于贫困这个宝贵的环境中。

Be born to/into/of ：生于 ( 家庭，环境 ) Bear 〈 v. 〉承担 ; 生育 ; 忍受 ( 常与 can/could 连用，

常用于否定句 ) Bear sth. in mind ： to keep sth. in mind 记住 Bear fruit ：有成果

We should be quite willing to abolish luxury, but to abolish honest, industrious self-denying poverty would be to destroy the soil upon which mankind produces the virtues which enable our race to reach a still higher civilization than it now possesses ：

我们应该更乐意消除奢侈，但是消除正直、勤劳、忘我的贫困就会破坏人类产生诸多美德的土壤，而正是这些美德能使我们人类达到比现在更高的文明程度。

industrious勤劳的 =diligent; self-denying 自我牺牲： sacrifice

Exercise

encourage sb to do sth.鼓励某人做某事。 Congratulate sb on sth. 就某事祝贺某人 Add up to….达到……。 Run into偶然碰到 =come across

例：我建议他和我们一起去。 译： I suggest that he should( 可以省略 )go

with us.

Aboard指在甲板上、登船 ; abroad往海外 (go abroad 出国 ); board木板