大学英语综合教程 第一册 unit 4a

[00:00.00]The American Dream means different things to different people.
[00:05.69]But for many,particularly immigrants,
[00:12.36]it means the opportunity to make a better life for themselves.
[00:18.81]For them the dream is that talent and hard work
[00:24.40]can take you from log cabin to White House.
[00:29.96]Tony Trivisonno did not rise quite so high,
[00:35.71]yet he managed to make his own dream come true.
[00:41.06]TONY TRIVISONNO'S AMERICAN DREAM
[00:46.71]He came from a rocky farm in Italy,somewhere south of Rome.
[00:53.47]How or when he got to America,I don't know.
[00:59.72]But one evening I found him standing in the driveway,behind my garage.
[01:07.08]He was about five-foot-seven or eight,and thin.
[01:13.93]"I mow your lawn,"he said.It was hard to comprehend his broken English.
[01:22.08]I asked him his name. "Tony Trivisonno,"he replied.
[01:29.16]"I mow your lawn."I told Tony that I couldn't afford a gardener.
[01:37.49]"I mow your lawn,"he said again,then walked away.
[01:43.52]I went into my house unhappy.
[01:49.17]Yes,these Depression days were difficult,
[01:54.31]but how could I turn away a person who had come to me for help?
[02:00.87]When I got home from work the next evening,the lawn had been mowed,
[02:07.43]the garden weeded,and the walks swept.
[02:12.47]I asked my wife what had happened.
[02:18.14]"A man got the lawn mower out of the garage and worked on the yard,"she ansered.
[02:24.98]"I assumed you had hired him."
[02:29.94]I told her of my experience the night before.
[02:35.22]We thought it strange that he had not asked for pay.
[02:41.38]The next two days were busy,and I forgot about Tony.
[02:47.34]We were trying to rebuild our business
[02:51.78]and bring some of our workers back to the plants.But on Friday,
[02:59.04]returning home a little early,I saw Tony again,behind the garage.
[03:06.98]I complimented him on the work he had hone.
[03:12.34]"I mow your lawn,"he said.
[03:16.26]I managed to work out some kind of small weekly pay,
[03:22.48]and each day Tony cleaned up the yard and took care of any little tasks.
[03:30.34]My wife said he was very helpful
[03:34.78]whenever there were any heavy objects to lift or thing to fix."
[03:41.26]Summer passed into fall,and winds blew cold.
[03:47.32]"Mr.Craw,snow pretty soon,"Tony told me one evening.
[03:55.78]"When winter come,you give me job clearing snow at the factory.
[04:03.23]Well,what do you do with such determination and hope?
[04:09.18]Of course,Tony got his at the factory.
[04:15.43]The months passed.I asked the personnel department for a report.
[04:21.96]They said Tony was a very good worker.
[04:27.83]One day I found Tony at our meeting place behind the garage.
[04:34.31]"I want to be prentice,"he said.
[04:40.56]We had a pretty good apprentic school that trained laborers.But I doubted
[04:48.10]whether Tony had the capacity to read blueprints and micromters
[04:54.87]or do prcision work.Still how could I turn him down?
[05:02.81]Tony took a cut in pay to become an apprentice.
[05:08.38]Monthls later,I got a report that he had graduated as a skilled grinder.
[05:16.63]He had learned to read the millionths of an inch one the micrometer
[05:23.29]and to shape the grinding wheel with an instrument set with a diamond.
[05:30.45]My wife and I were delighted with what we felt was a satisfying end of the story
[05:38.60]A year or two passed,and again I found Tony in his usual waiting place.
[05:46.78]We talked about his work,and I asked him what he wanted.
[05:52.42]"Mr.Craw,"he said, "I like a buy a house.
[05:58.45]"On the edge of town,he had found a house for sale,a complete wreck.
[06:06.60]I called on a banker friend."Do you ever loan money on character?"I asked.
[06:14.15]"No,"he said. "We can't afford to.No sale."
[06:21.91]"Now,wait a minute,"I replied.
[06:26.17]"Here is a hard-working man, a man of character,I can promise you that.
[06:34.81]He's got a good job.
[06:38.79]You're not getting a damn thing from your lot.It will say there for years.