获，获得；收割vi. 收割，收获 the greatest reward: freedom! They enjoy the
freedom to express themselves in unique and original ways without fear of losing the support of fans. Failed artists may find comfort in knowing that many great artists never found fame until well after they had passed away or in knowing that they did not sell out. They may justify their failure by convincing themselves their genius['d?inj?s] n. 天才，天赋；精神 is too sophisticated[s?'f?
st?ket?d] adj. 复杂的；精致的；久经世故的；富有经验的
for
contemporary[k?n't?mp?r?ri] n. 同时代的人；同时期的东西adj. 当代的；同时代的；属于同一
时期的
audiences. 奇怪的是，收获最大的恰恰是失败者。他们收获了自
由！他们可以自由地表达，独辟蹊径，不落窠臼，不用担心失去崇拜者的支持。失败的艺术家寻求安慰时，可以想想许多伟大的艺术家都是过世多年以后才成名，或是他们没有出卖自己。他们也可以为自己的失败辩解：自己的才华实在过于高深，不是当代听众或观众所理解得了的。
?
Single-minded artists who continue their quest for追求；探索，设法找到 fame even after failure might also like to know that failure has motivated some famous people to work even harder to the succeed. Thomas Wolfe, the American novelist, had his first novel Look Homeward, Angel rejectedadj. 被拒的；不合格的v. 拒绝，驳回（reject的过去分词形式） 39 times before it was finally published. Beethoven overcame[,ov?'kem] v. 克服 his father, who did not believe that he had any potential[p?'t?n?l] n. 潜能；可能性；[电] 电势adj. 潜在的；
可能的；势的
as a musician, to become the greatest musician in the world.
And Pestalozzi, the famous Swiss educatorn. 教育家；教育工作者；教师 in the 19th century, failed at every job he ever had until he came upon the idea of teaching children and developing the fundamental[,f?nd?'m?ntl] theories基本理论 to produce a new form of education. Thomas Edisom was thrown out of school in the fourth grade, because he seemed to his teacher to be quite dull. Unfortunately for most people, however, failure is the end of their struggle, not be beginning. 那些失败了却仍不肯放弃的顽固派也许会乐于知道，某些名人曾经如何越挫越勇，直至成功。美国小说家托马斯·伍尔芙的第一本小说《向家乡看吧，安琪儿》被拒39次后，才最终得以出版。贝多芬战胜了父亲认为他毫无音乐家潜质的偏见，成为世界上最伟大的音乐家。19世纪瑞士著名教育家裴斯泰洛齐原先干的工作没有一件成功，直到他想到去教小孩子，并研究出一种新型教育模式的基础理论。托马斯·爱迪生在四年级时被赶出了学校，因为老师觉得他似乎太迟钝。但不幸的是，对大多数人而言，失败是奋斗的结束，而不是开始
I say to those who desperately['desp?r?tli] adv. 拼命地；绝望地；极度地 seek fame and fortune: good luck. But alas, you may find that it was not what you wanted. The dog who catches his tail discovers that it is only a tail. The person who achieves success often discovers that it does more harm than good. So instead of trying so hard to achieve success, try to be happy with who you are and what you do. Try to do work that you can be proud of. Maybe you won’t be famous in your own lifetime, but you may
create better art. 对那些孤注一掷的追名逐利之徒，我要说：祝你们好运。但是，遗憾的是，你会发现这不是你想得到的。狗自逐其尾所得到的只是一条尾巴而已。获得成功的人常常发现成功对他来说弊大于利。所以要为真实的你、为自己的所为感到高兴，而不是拼命去获得成功。做那些你为之感到骄傲的事情。可能在有生之年你默默无闻，但你可能创作了更好的艺术
One summer day my father sent me to buy some wire and fencing to put around our barn to pen up the bull. At 16, I like nothing better than getting behind the wheel of our truck and driving into town on the old mill road. Water from the mill’s wheel sprayed in the sunshine making a rainbow over the canal and I often stopped there on my way to bathe and cool off for a spell—natural air conditioning. The sun was so hot, I did not need a towel as I was dry by the time I climbed the clay banks and crossed the road ditch to the truck. Just before town, the road shot along the sea where I wound collect seashells or gather seaweed beneath(prep. 在…之下，adv. 在下方) the giant（adj. 巨大的；巨人般；n.巨人；伟大） crane unloading（n. 卸载；卸货；v. 卸货） the ships. This trip [[tr?p]]（基本翻译n. 旅行；绊倒；
差错vi. 绊倒；远足；犯错误；轻快地走vt. 绊倒；使犯错 网络释义trip:旅行 | 旅途 | 旅程）
was
different, though. My father had told me I’d have to ask for credit
（ [['kred?t]]基本翻译n. 信用，信誉；[金融] 贷款；学分；信任；声望vt. 相信，信任；把归给，归功于；赞颂 网络释义credit:信用 | 学分 | 信誉）
at the store.
It was 1976, and the ugly( [['?gl?]]adj. 丑陋的；邪恶的；令人厌恶的)shadow[['??d??]]
阴影of the racism was still a fact of life. I’d seen my friends ask for credit
and then stand, head down（开往）, while a storeowner（店主） enquired into whether they were “good for it”. Many store clerks（办事员，文书） watched black youths [[ju:ez, ju:θs]]n. 青少年；青年时代with the assumption [[?'s?m(p)?(?)n]]n. 假
定；设想；担任；采取that they were thieves every time they even went into a
grocery [['gr??s(?)r?]]n. 食品杂货店
My family was honest. We paid our debts. But just before harvest, all the money flowed out（流出）. There were no new deposits at the bank. Cash（现金） was shot. At Davis Brothers’ General Store杂货店, Buck Davis stood behind the register [['red??st?]]n. 登记；注册；记录；寄存器；登记簿vt. 登记；注册；记录；挂号邮寄；把挂号；正式提出vi. 登记；注册；挂号talking to middle-aged farmer. Buck
was a tall, weathered in a red hunting shirt and I nodded as I passed him on my way to the hardware [['hɑ?dwe?]] section [['sek?(?)n]]to get a container of nails(钉子), a coil（卷；线圈） of binding（捆绑） wire and fencing. I pulled my purchases['p?:t??s]所购物，获得物 up to the counter [['ka?nt?]]n. 计数器，计算器；柜台；计算者adj. 相反的v. 反击；反对adv. 相反地and placed（放置）
the nails in the tray(托盘)
of the scale, saying carefully, “I need to put this on credit,” My brow was moist with nervous紧张不安 sweat [[swet]]vt. 使出汗；流出；使干苦活；剥削；藉出汗减轻；焦急地期待n. 汗；水珠；[口]焦急；[口]苦差使vi. 出汗；辛苦工作；懊恼；结水珠and I wiped it away with the bank of my arm.
The farmer gave me an amused, cynical [['s?n?k(?)l]]adj. 愤世嫉俗的；冷嘲的look, but Buck’s face didn’t change. “Sure,” he said easily, reaching for伸手去拿 his booklet where he kept records保持记录 for credit. I gave a sigh of relief. “Your daddy is always good for it,” He turned to the farmer. “This here is one of James Williams’ sons. They broke the mold [[mold]]n. 霉菌；模子vi. 发霉vt. 塑造；使发霉；用模子制作when they made that man.”
The farmer nodded点头；摇动；打瞌睡 in a neighborly [['ne?b?l?]]adj. 睦邻的；友好的；邻居似的way. I was filled with pride. “James Williams’ son.” Those three
words had open a door to an adult’s respect [[r?'spekt]]n. 尊敬，尊重；方面；敬意vt. 尊敬，尊重；遵守and trust信任.
As I heaved the heavy freight into the bed of the truck, I did so with ease [[i?z]]n. 轻松，；安逸， vt.缓和；使安心vi.缓和；放松；灵活地移动,feeling like a stronger man than the one that left the farm that morning. I had discovered发现；找到
that a good name could furnish a capital [['k?p?t(?)l]]n. 首都，省会；资金；大写字
母；资本家adj. 首都的；重要的；大写的of good will of great value价值. Everyone knew
what to expect期望 from a Williams: a decent [['di?s(?)nt]]adj. 正派的；得体的；相当好的person who
kept his word and respected himself too much to do
wrong. My great grandfather may have been sold as a slave at auction, but this was not an excuse [[?k'skju?z; ek-]]vt. 原谅；为申辩；给免去n. 借口；理由vi. 作为借
口；请求宽恕；表示宽恕
to do wrong to others. Instead代替；反而 my father
believed the only way to honor him was through hard work and respect for all men.
We children—eight brothers and two sisters could enjoy our good