全新版大学英语综合教程3课文原文.docx

THE RICHEST MAN IN AMERICA, DOWN HOMEArt Harris 1 He put on a dinner jacket to serve as a waiter at the birthday party of The Richest Man in America. He imagined what surely awaited: a mansion, a Rolls-Royce for every day of the week, dogs with diamond collars, servants everywhere. 。，：，。 2 Then he was off to the house, wheeling past the sleepy town square in Bentonville, a remote Arkansas town of 9,920, where Sam Walton started with a little dime store that grew into a $6 billion discount chain called Wal-Mart. He drove down a country road, turned at a mailbox marked Sam and Helen Walton, and jumped out at a house in the woods. ，。9,920，60。 ，“”，。 3 It was nice, but no palace. The furniture appeared a little worn. An old pickup truck sat in the garage and a muddy bird dog ran about the yard. He never spotted any servants. ，。，。 4 It was a real disappointment, sighs waiter Jamie Beaulieu. “，”。 5 Only in America can a billionaire carry on like plain folks and get away with it. And the 67-year-old discount king Sam Moore Walton still travels these windy back roads in his 1979 Ford pickup, red and white, bird dogs by his side, and, come shooting season, waits in line like everyone else to buy shells at the local Wal-Mart. ，。671979，。，。 6 He doesnt want any special treatment, says night manager Johnny Baker, who struggles to call the boss by his first name as a recent corporate memo commands. Few here think of his billions; they call him Mr. Sam and accept his folksy ways. Hes the same man who opened his dime store on the square and worked 18 hours a day for his dream, says Mayor Richard Hoback. “，” ，。，。“，18，”。 7 By all accounts, hes friendly, cheerful, a fine neighbor who does his best to blend in, never flashy, never throwing his weight around. ，；，。 8 No matter how big a time he had on Saturday night, you can find him in church on Sunday. Surely in a reserved seat, right? We dont have reserved seats, says Gordon Garlington III, pastor of the local church. ，。，？“，”。 9 So where does The Richest Man in America sit? Wherever he finds a seat. Look, hes just not that way. He doesnt have a set place. At a church supper the other night, he and his wife were in back washing dishes. ？。“，。，。” 10 For 19 years, hes used the same barber. John Mayhall finds him waiting when he opens up at 7 a.m. He chats about the national news, or reads in his chair, perhaps the Benton County Daily Democrat, another Walton property that keeps him off the front page. It buried the Forbes list at the bottom of page 2. 19，。，。 。 11 Hes just not a front-page person, a newspaper employee explains. “，”。 12 But one recent morning, The Richest Man in America did something that would have made headlines anywhere in the world: He forgot his money. I said, Forget it, take care of it next time, says barber Mayhall. But he said. No, Ill get it, and he went home for his wallet. ，：。“，”，“，。” 13 Wasnt that, well, a little strange? No sir, says Mayhall, the only thing strange about Sam Walton is that he isnt strange. ，？“，”，“，。” 14 But just how long Walton can hold firm to his folksy habits with celebrity hunters keeping following him wherever he goes is anyones guess. Ever since Forbes magazine pronounced him Americas richest man, with $2.8 billion in Wal-Mart stock, hes been a rich man on the run, steering clear of reporters, dreamers, and schemers. ，。28，、，。 15 He may be the richest by Forbes rankings, says corporate affairs director Jim Von Gremp, but he doesnt know whether he is or not - and he doesnt care. He doesnt spend much. He owns stock, but hes always left it in the company so it could grow. But the real story in his mind is the success achieved by the 100,000 people who make up the Wal-Mart team. “，”，“。，。” 16 Hes usually back home for Friday sales meetings, or the executive pep rally Saturday morning at 7 a.m., when Walton, as he does at new store openings, is liable to jump up on a chair and lead everyone in the Wal-Mart cheer: Give me a W! Give me an A! Give me an L! Louder! ，7，：“W！A！L！” 17 And louder they yell. No one admits to feeling the least bit silly. Its all part of the Wal-Mart way of life as laid down by Sam: loyalty, hard work, long hours; get ideas into the system from the bottom up, Japanese-style; treat your people right; cut prices and margins to the bone and sleep well at night. Employees with one year on board qualify for stock options, and are urged to buy all they can. 。：，；，；、，。，。 18 After the pep rally, theres bird hunting, or tennis on his backyard court. But his stores are always on his mind. One tennis guest managed to put him off his game by asking why a can of balls cost more in one Wal-Mart than another. It turned out to be untrue, but the move worked. Walton lost four straight games. ，。，。，。 19 Walton set up a college scholarship fund for employees children, a disaster relief fund to rebuild employee homes damaged by fires, floods, tornadoes, and the like. He believed in cultivating ideas and rewarding success. ，、。、。 20 Hed say, That fellow worked hard, lets give him a little extra, recalls retired president Ferold F. Arend, who was stunned at such generosity after the stingy employer he left to join Wal-Mart. I had to change my way of thinking when I came aboard. “，”F。，。“，。” 21 The reason for our success, says Walton, in a company handout, is our people and the way theyre treated and the way they feel about their company. They believe things are different here, but they deserve the credit. “，”，“，。，。” 22 Adds company lawyer Jim Hendren: Ive never seen anyone yet who worked for him or was around him for any length of time who wasnt better off. And I dont mean just financially, although a lot of people are. Its just something about him - coming into contact with Sam Walton just makes you a better person. ，“。，。”Making the journey from log cabin to White House is part of the American Dream. But when Jimmy Carter was defeated in his attempt to gain a second term as President of the United States he found himself suddenly thrown out of the White House and back in his log cabin. This is how he coped. 。，。 The Restoration of Jimmy CarterSara Pacher 1 Maybe its because I, too, was born and raised in a small south Georgia town, but I found sitting down to talk to Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter as comfortable as lazing in a porch swing on a summer afternoon, sipping iced tea. Just such a swing overlooks a roaring mountain stream at the Carters log cabin retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Along with the cabins other furniture, the swing was designed and built by the former president, a master woodworker who selects and cuts the trees for such projects from his 160-acre farm. He then strips off the bark and shapes the wood into furniture and other items. ，。，。，。，160，。 2 My daddy was a good man with tools, he recalls, so learning how to use them was as natural as breathing for us. If something broke, we had to fix it ourselves. You didnt call somebody in to repair something or replace it with something new. We had these skills - all farmers did during the Depression years. “，”，“。，。 ，。” 3 Over the years, Carter has made some 50 household items, about half of which he has given away as gifts. But some pieces still sit around the familys Plains house and have been in use for over 30 years. His wife is quick to point out, however, that his skills improved as time went on. When we came home from the Navy in 1953, he built a sofa for the back porch. He used nails then. Now he builds everything without nails. Hes studied woodworking and worked at it, and hes made really beautiful furniture for our home - including a pencil-post bed and tables by the side. ，50，。，30。，。“1953，。，。” 4 His woodworking talent served Carter well during his political campaigns, particularly when meeting factory workers. You dont have to say but a few things to people who work in a factory before they realize that you, yourself, have been a laborer. It may be a different kind of skill from theirs, but theres a bond, sort of like a brotherhood, among people who work with their hands. ，。“，。，。” 5 Once he campaigned his way to the presidency, Carter occasionally managed to slip in a few hours at the carpenters shed at Camp David, because, in his opinion, What we need in our lives is a stock of factors that never change. (1)I think that skill with ones own hands - whether its tilling the soil, building a house, making a piece of furniture, playing a violin or painting a painting - is something that doesnt change with the ups and downs of life. And for me, going back to the earth or going back to the woodshop have always been opportunities to reinforce my basic skills. (2)No matter if I was involved in writing a book, conducting a political campaign, teaching at Emory University or dealing with international affairs, I could always go back - at least for a few hours at a time - to the woodshop. Thats meant an awful lot to me. Its a kind of therapy, but its also a steadying force in my life - a total rest for my mind. ，“。 ， 。，。，。， 。” 6 When Im in the woodshop, he continues, I dont ever think about the chapter Im writing or the paragraph I cant complete or the ideas that dont come. Im thinking about the design of a piece of furniture, how the woods going to fit together, what joint Im going to use and whether or not my hand tools are sharp. “，”，“，。，。” 7 (3)In Jimmy and Rosalynn Carters recently published book, Everything to Gain, they explain frankly how they used back-to-basics skills to confront and resolve their painful political defeat, a sudden departure from Washington and their fears of an empty future. ，。 8 In the book, Jimmy says, we try to relate our lives, not to the White House, but to Plains - for a couple of reasons. One, to show the attraction of a small town, and, second, to make it clear that the book is not just about a couple who happened to have been the First Family of the nation; its also written for the average person who loses a job, has an unexpected career change, has to move to a place not of his or her choice, has a last child leave home. Or for a married couple who suddenly find themselves at retirement age and living together for the first time all day long - not just at night. “，”，“，。，；，、。” 9 The Carters plunged with enthusiasm into such projects as laying a sidewalk and putting a hardwood floor in their unfinished loft. Rosalynn has picked up additional carpentry skills in working with one of their favorite organizations, Habitat for Humanity. This is a housing program for the homeless, helping them to build their own houses together with the help of volunteers. 、。“”，。“”，。 10 And we both spend a good bit of time on our farm, adds Carter. We take care of the timberlands. Sometimes we go for long walks in the woods. I may see a particular tree that I think would be suitable for four or five - perhaps, seven or eight - chairs or for some other piece of furniture. I usually select a tree close to home, though, since I have to carry the pieces back to the woodshop area. “，”，“。、。，。 11 One of my favorite kinds of woodworking involves green wood, but theres a tremendous amount of hard labor involved in that. You have to try to handle the different rates at which the wood dries, so the joints get tight and durable. Its the kind of technical problem that appeals to me, says the former nuclear engineer. “，