One fine afternoon I was walking along Fifth Avenue, when I remembered that it was necessary to buy a pair of socks. I turned into the first sock shop that caught my eyes, and a boy clerk who could not have been more than seventeen years old came forward. “What can I do for you, sir?” “I wish to buy a pair of socks.” His eyes glowed. There was a note of passion in his voice. “Did you know that you had come into the finest place in the world to buy socks?” I had not been aware of that, as my entrance had been accidental. “Come with me,” said the boy, ecstatically. I followed him to the rear of the shop, and he began to haul down from the shelves box after box, displaying their contents for my delectation .
“Hold on, lad, I am only going to buy only one pair!” “I know that,” he said, “But I want you to see how marvelously beautiful these are. Aren't they wonderful?” There was on his face an expression of solemn and holy rapture , as if he were revealing to me the mysteries of religion. I became far more interested in him than in the socks. I looked at him in amazement. “My friend,” said I, “if you can keep this up, if this is not merely the enthusiasm that comes from novelty, from having a new job, if you can keep up this zeal and excitement day after day, in ten years you will own every sock in the United States.”
My amazement at his pride and joy in salesmanship will be easily understood by all who read this article. In many shops the customer has to wait for someone to wait upon him. And when finally some clerk does deign to notice you, you are made to feel as if you were interrupting him. Either he is absorbed in profound thought in which he hates to be disturbed or he is skylarking with a girl clerk and you feel like apologizing for thrusting yourself into such intimacy.
He displays no interest either in you or in the goods he is paid to sell. Yet possibly that clerk who is now so apathetic began his career with hope and enthusiasm. The daily grind was too much for him, the novelty wore off; his only pleasures were found outside of working hours. He became mechanical, he became incompetent; then he saw younger clerks who had more zest in their work, promoted over him. He became sour. That was the last stage. His usefulness was over.
一个晴朗的下午，我走在第五大街上，这时，我想起来得买一双袜子。我拐进看到的第一家袜子店，一个男店员走上前来，他最多十七岁的样子。“您想买点儿什么，先生？”“我想买双袜子。”他的眼睛闪出光芒，声音透着热情。“您知道吗？要买袜子，我们店是世界上最好的。”这我倒是不知道，我只是偶然进来的。“您跟我来，”男孩欣喜地说。我跟着他往里走，他从架子上一个盒子一个盒子地往下拽，向我展示盒子里的东西。
“等等，小伙子，我只是要买一双袜子而已！”“我知道啊，”他说，“但我想让您看看这些东西多棒多美。您看不是吗？”他一脸欢喜的神情，严肃而神圣，就好像在向我揭示宗教有多神秘一样。我对他的兴趣远远超过了袜子本身。我惊讶地看着他。“朋友，”我说，“如果你能保持住这种状态，如果你这么热情不是因为刚入行所以感到新奇，如果你日复一日地把这种热忱和兴奋保持住的话，十年之后，全美国的每只袜子都会是你的。”
我看到他卖个东西就能自豪和快乐成这样，觉得很惊奇。本文的读者们肯定能够很容易就理解我的这种心情。在很多商店里，顾客得等着有人来招呼你。就算有服务员肯屈尊注意到你的存在，他也会让你觉得你是在无端打扰。要么是人家正在沉思，谢绝打扰，要么就是正在和女店员开玩笑，而你硬要把自己介入人家的亲密互动中去，所以还不由得想道歉。
他不论是对你还是对只有卖出去才能领到工钱的东西都不感兴趣。也可能当初还是新人的时候，他也曾经怀揣希望、热情满满来着，只是后来才变成现在这般冷漠的吧。过去的日子里，日常工作太过繁重，新鲜感都磨没了。唯一的快乐只有在不工作的时候才能找到。于是，他变得机械、无能。后来，年纪轻点的店员因为工作起来更热情些，成了他的上司。他就尖酸刻薄起来。这样的话，他的职业生涯也就走到尽头了，因为他已经百无一用了。
-haul [hɔːl] v. 拖；拉
-delectation [ˌdiːlekˈteɪʃn] n. 享受；欢娱
-rapture [ˈræptʃə(r)] n. 极度欢喜
-deign [deɪn] v. 屈尊；俯就
-skylark [ˈskaɪlɑːk] v. 开玩笑；胡闹
俄国作家高尔基(Maxim Gorky，1868—1936)说过：“When work is a pleasure, life is joy! When work is duty, life is slavery.”( 工作是一种乐趣时，生活是一种享受！工作是一种义务时，生活则是一种苦役。 )