大学英语精读听力第二册 2_un10

[00:00.00]Unit Ten Text
[00:24.40]Are we too quick to blame and slow to praise?
[00:29.54] It seems we are. PROFITS OF PRAISE Janet Graham
[00:36.49]It was the end of my exhausting first day as waitress
[00:42.37]in a busy New York restaurant.
[00:46.21]My cap had gone awry,my apron was stained,my feet ached.
[00:53.16]The loaded trays I carried felt heavier and heavier.
[00:58.80]Weary and discouraged,I didn't seemable to do anything right.
[01:05.57]As I made out a complicated check for a family with several children
[01:12.05] who had changed their ice-cream order a dozen times,
[01:17.90]I was ready to quit.
[01:21.45]Then the father smiled at me as he handed me my tip.
[01:26.80]"Well done,"he said."You've looked after us really well."
[01:32.87]Suddenly my tiredness vanished.
[01:37.23]I smiled back,and later,
[01:41.38]when the manager asked me how I'd liked my first day,I said, "Fine!"
[01:48.15]Those few words of praise had changed everything.
[01:53.42]Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit;
[01:58.28]we cannot flower and grow without it.
[02:02.83]And yet,while most of us are only too ready to apply
[02:08.99]to others the cold wind of criticism,
[02:13.72]we are somehow reluctant to give our fellows the warm sunshine of praise.
[02:21.17]Why--when one word can bring such pleasure?
[02:26.81]A friend of mine who travels widely always tries
[02:25.81]to learn a little of the language of any place she visits.
[02:31.37]She's not much of a linguist,
[02:34.90]but she does know how to say one word "beautiful" in several languages.
[02:42.63]She can use it to a mother holding her baby,
[02:47.49]or to a lonely salesman fishing out pictures of his family.
[02:53.16]The ability has earned her friends all over the world.
[02:58.72]It's strange how chary we are about praising.
[03:03.97]Perhaps it's because few of us know how to accept compliments gracefully.
[03:10.92]Instead,we are embarrassed and shrug off the words we are really so glad to hear.
[03:18.78]Because of this defensive reaction,
[03:23.33]direct compliments are surprisingly difficult to give.
[03:28.76]That is why some of the most valued pats on the back
[03:34.22] are those which come to us indirectly,
[03:38.77]in a letter or passed on by a friend.
[03:43.44]When one thinks of the speed with which spiteful remarks are conveyed,
[03:50.60]it seems a pity that there isn't more effort to relay pleasing
[03:57.13]and flattering comments.
[04:00.89]It's especially rewarding to give praise in areas
[04:06.54]in which effort generally goes unnoticed or unmentioned.
[04:12.41] An artist gets complimented for a glorious picture,
[04:17.74]a cook for a perfect meal.
[04:21.50]But do you ever tell your laundry manager
[04:25.87]how pleased you are when the shirts are done just right?
[04:30.91]Do you ever praise your paper boy
[04:34.98]for getting the paper to you on time 365 days a year?
[04:42.14]Praise is particularly appreciated by those doing routine jobs:
[04:48.59] gas-station attendants,waitresses--even housewives.
[04:54.86]Do you ever go into a house and say,"What a tidy room"?
[05:00.92]Hardly anybody does.
[05:04.68] That's why housework is considered such a dreary grind.
[05:10.56]Comment is often made about activities which are relatively easy and satisfying,
[05:18.22] like arranging flowers but not about jobs which are hard and dirty,
[05:25.19]like scrubbing floors. Shakespeare said, "Our praises are our wages."
[05:33.45]Since so often praise is the only wage a housewife receives,
[05:39.90] surely she of all people should get her measure.
[05:44.86]Mothers know instinctively that for children an ounce of praise
[05:51.24] is worth a pound of scolding.
[05:55.18] Still, we're not always as perceptive as we might be about applying the rule.
[06:02.65]One day I was criticizing my children for squabbling.
[06:08.29]"Can you never play peacefully?" I shouted.
[06:12.86]Susanna looked at me quizzically. "Of course we can,"she said.
[06:19.11]"But you don't notice us when we do." Teachers agree about the value of praise.