（下）Lesson One The Company in Which I work 我工作的公司 *In the company in which I work , each of us is afraid of at least one person . 我工作的公司里，每个人都至少害怕一个人。*The lower your position is , the more people you are afraid of . 职位越低，所惧怕的人越多。*And all the people are afraid of the twelve men at the top who helped found and build the company and now own and direct it . 所有的人都害怕那十二位顶层上司，他们帮助创建了这个公司，而且现在仍然大权在握。 *All these twelve men are elderly now and drained by time 歲月滄桑and success of energy and ambition . 所有这十二位都已经上了年纪，而且岁月的沧桑和对成功的执著追求使他们心力交瘁。 *Many have spent their whole lives here .They seem friendly ,slow , and content when I come upon them in the halls and always courteous(有禮貌的) and mute 沉默不語的）when they ride with others in the public elevators . 他们中很多人在这儿干了一辈子。当我在大厅里遇见他们时，他们看上去非常友善、沉稳而心满意足，而且他们与别人一起乘坐公共电梯时又总是彬彬有礼、沉默不语 *Nobody is sure anymore who really runs the company ( not even the people who are credited with running it ) , but the company does run . 没有人知道谁真正经营这家公司（甚至连人们认为现在经营着这家公司的那些人都不知道），然而公司的确在运转。 *He makes it clear to me every now and then that he wishes to see everything coming out of my department before it is shown to other departments 他有时会向我表示他希望我的部门的每一项工作在其他部门知道前要先让他知道。 *and I will bypass him on most of our assignments rather than take up his time and delay their delivery to people who have an immediate need for them . 我会将大部分工作绕过格林并直接交给需要它们的人，而不愿意占他的时间。 *Most of the work we do in my department is , in the long run, trivial (鎖事). 毕竟我们部门绝大部分工作只是微不足道的。 *He turns scarlet with rage and embarrassment(惱羞成怒) is he has not seen or heard of it . 如果他从未看见或听到过的话，就更是恼羞成怒。 *The people in the company who are most afraid of most people are the salesmen . They live and work under pressure that is extraordinary . When things are bad , they are worse for the salesmen ;when things are good , they are not much better . 公司里非常惧怕大多数人的人是销售人员，他们都生活和工作在极大压力之下，当情况不好时，对销售人员来说就会更糟。而当情况较好时，他们也不会好到哪儿去。 *They are always on trial , always on the verge of failure , collectively and individually .They strain even the most secure and self assured of them , to look good on paper ; They strain工作努力even the most secure and self assured of them , to look good on paper ; and there is much paper for them to look good on . Each week , for example , a record of the sales results of the preceding week for each sales office and for the Sales Department as a whole for each division of the company is kept and compared to the sales results for the corresponding week of the year before . 不论是从整体上还是个人，他们总是在接受检查，总是处于不合格的边缘。 他们工作非常努力（就连他们中那些很有保障的和充满自信的人都是这样）以使在书面评语上看上去好一些， 况且要让他们看上去好的表格多得很。 比如每星期为各部门准备的每个销售办事处及销售部所作的前一星期的销售业绩总记录加以保存并且与前一年同期的销售业绩相比较。 *The figures are photocopied and distributed throughout the company to all the people and departments whose work is related to selling . 这些数字被复印后发到公司的每位员工和与销售有ce of each division of the company are doing at any关的部门。* The result of the photocopying and distributing is that there is almost continuous public scrutiny 公開審查and discussion throughout the company of how well or poorly the salesmen in each sales offi given time . 这样做的结果是公司几乎一直在对每一个分公司的销售办事处中的销售人员在某一既定时间内的工作业绩进行公开审查和评论。 *When salesmen are doing well , there is pressure upon them to begin doing better , for fear they may start doing worse . When they are doing poorly , they are doing terribly . When a salesman lands a large order or brings in an important new account , his elation is brief , for there is danger he might lose that large order or important new account to a salesman from a competing company the next time around . 当销售人员业绩好时，他们因为要开始使工作做得更好，以免不如以前，从而感到压力重重。 当他们的业绩不佳时，他们就会做得一塌糊涂 当一个销售人员争取到了一份大订单或者得到了一笔大的应收的账款，他的兴奋也是短暂的， 因为很可能他的那份大订单或者大笔的进账下一次有被竞争对手的公司拿去的危险， *They are vigorous(精力旺盛) , fun-loving bunch愛說愛笑 when they are not suffering abdominal cramps(消化不良)or brooding miserably about the future ; 在没有消化不良的困扰或不再苦苦为未来忧虑时，他们是一群充满活力、爱说爱笑的人。* on the other hand , they often turn cranky without warning and complain a lot另一方面他们会突然之间变得任性并且牢骚满腹， *Each of them can name at least one superior in the company who he feels has a grudge(怨恨)against him and is determined to wreck(毀) his career . 他们每个人都至少能说出公司的一个上层人物是令他极度不满并且觉得这个人会毁了他的前程的。 *The salesmen work hard and earn big salaries , with large personal expense accounts that they squander(浪費， 揮霍)generously on other people in and out of the company , including me . 销售人员工作努力，薪金丰厚，还有个人经费，他们会把这笔个人经费挥霍在进出公司的其他人的身上，其中包括我本人。 *They own good houses in good communities and play good games of golf on good private golf courses . 他们在豪宅区拥有自己的房子，在高级的私人高尔夫球场打球。 *The company encourages this . The company , in fact , will pay for their country club membership and all charges they incur(開支) there , and rewards salesmen who make a good impression on the golf course . 公司鼓励这种做法。实际上，公司为他们支付乡村俱乐部会员费以及他们在那里的所有开支，并且对那些在高尔夫球上给人留下深刻印象的销售人员给予奖励。 *Unmarried men are not wanted in the Sales Department , not even widowers , 销售部不要未婚男士，甚至连丧偶的也不要， *for the company has learned from experience that it is difficult