我的第一份工作

My First Job

As a young ice skater， I had flown pretty high， pretty quickly. My partner and I won the Canadian junior pairs championship1 when I was 14 and I was thrilled， as a 16-year-old， to be picked to skate in the 1994 Olympics in Albertville， France. But then everything came crashing down.

We finished 12th at the Games. I soon quit doubles skating and tried to continue in singles. But I wasn't good enough I didn't even compete in the next two national championships. I felt like I was a somebody who had become a nobody.

I was 18 and had just graduated from high school when my mom told me: \"You can't just count on skating to make a living. You'd better find a job.\" I knew she was right. But what could I do? I waited tables， cleaned， stocked the shop， took inventory2; I did everything. In fact， I worked so hard that I never got the chance to even have a break or get off my feet for entire shifts3. No one cared that I had been an Olympic skater; I was judged only by how hard I worked. It was exactly what I needed.

That job taught me to so many things. I learned， for example， how to deal with people. As an athlete， I'd lived in something of a cocoon4 growing up， so this was new to me. One day a man loudly called me over to his table and， with a scowl5 on his face， complained: \"This milk is sour. I'm not drinking this junk! I want my money back!\" It was near the end of my shift and I was tempted to tell him how rude I thought he was. But I had learned that \"the customer is always right\" and a smile can go a long way.

\"I'm really sorry， sir -- I'll get you a free cup.\" I said with a wide grin6. When I brought him his coffee his whole disposition had changed. And he left me a tip!

My first job taught me that it is important to do the best at anything you try， in school， at work or sport. I knew nothing about being a waitress when I started my job but by the time I left -- when I decided to return to skating and to team with Alex -- I had earned a raise and my boss's praise. The meant so much to me.

作為一位年輕的溜冰運動員，我相當迅速地取得了巨大的成功。我和我的搭檔贏得了加拿大中學生雙人滑冰的冠軍，當我14歲，我興奮不已。16歲那年，我被選中參加1992年在法國阿爾貝維爾舉行的奧運會。但是從那以后，我遭遇了滑鐵盧。

我們完成了第12場比賽。我很快放棄了雙人滑，試圖轉向單人滑。但是我不夠出色以至于我甚至不能參加下兩屆錦標賽的角逐。感覺就好像我從一個了不起的人物變成為了無名小卒。

18歲那年我高中畢業，媽媽對我說：“你不能只靠滑冰來謀生。你最好找一份工作。”我知道她是正確的。但是我能做什么呢?我整理桌子，洗盤子，為商店整理庫存，列清單；我什么都做。實際上，我如此努力地工作但我卻從未曾得到機會，取得任何進展或者擺脫全天上班。沒人在乎我曾是奧運會溜冰運動員；人們根據我工作努力的程度對我做出判斷。然而這正是我所需要的。

這份工作教會了我很多事。例如，我學會了如何與人打交道。作為一名運動員，我仿佛在一個繭里面長大，因此這對我來說是新奇的。一天一個人大聲地把我叫到他的桌子跟前，滿臉怒氣地抱怨道：“這牛奶酸了。我不喝這種垃圾!給我退錢!”我馬上就要下班了，我真想告訴他他自己有多么粗魯。但是我知道“顧客永遠是對的”，微笑才能解決問題。

“真的很抱歉，先生——我免費給你換一杯。”我咧著嘴笑著說。當我把咖啡端到他面前的時候，他的態度全變了。并且還給了我小費!

我的第一份工作教給我最重要的是要竭盡全力做到最好，不論是在學校、工作或體育方面。當我開始工作時，我對做女招待一無所知，但當我離開——我決定重返冰場與艾力克斯再次合作的時候——我已經得到一次加薪和老板的稱贊。這對我非常重要。

注釋

①championship n．擁護；奮斗；錦標賽

②inventory n．詳細目錄，存貨清單

③shift v．轉移；轉變n．轉換，轉變；輪班

④cocoon n．蠶

⑤scowl vi．(at)生氣地皺眉，沉下臉，怒視n．怒容

⑥grin vin．咧嘴笑