雙語小說閱讀:《誰動了我的奶酪》(16)
"What does that tell us?"
"剛纔的想象說明了什麼？""Denial," Nathan answered.
"我們都拒絕承認自己害怕改變。"內森回答。"Sure," Michael admitted. "Sometimes we're not even aware that we're afraid. I know I wasn't. When I first heard the story, I loved the question:'What would you do if you weren't afraid?"'
"確實是這樣，"邁克爾表示贊同，"有時候，連我們自己也沒有意識到我們在害怕，或者說我們在努力想掩蓋自己的恐懼。我知道我就是如此。當我第一次聽到這個故事的時候，我就非常喜歡這句話，'當你無所畏懼時，你會怎樣？'"
Then Jessica added, "Well, what I got from the story is that change is happening everywhere and that I will do better when I can adjust to it quickly."
傑西卡接口說，"我從這個故事中得到的啓示是，變化無時無處不在發生，無論我們是害怕改變還是喜歡改變，但如果我們能儘快調整自己適應變化，我們應該可以做得更好。""I remember years ago when our company was selling our encyclopedia as a set of more than twenty books. One person tried to tell us that we should put our whole encyclopedia on a single computer disk and sell it for a fraction of the cost. It would be easier to update, would cost us so much less to manufacture, and so many more people could afford it. But we all resisted."
"我還記得幾年前我們公司發生的事情。當時我們正在銷售一套百科全書，全套書有二十多本。有個人想要說服我們，他告訴我們應該把整套百科全書做成一張計算機光盤，只賣現在的價格的零頭。這樣做，既可以及時更新，又可以使生產費用大爲減少，而且將有更多的人買得起並可以使用上它。但是當時我們拒絕了這個建議。""Why did you resist?" Nathan asked.
"你們爲什麼要拒絕呢？"內森問道。"Because, we believed then that the backbone of our business was our large sales force, who called on people door-to-door. Keeping our sales force depended on the big commissions they earned from the high price of our product. We had been doing this successfully for a long time and thought it would go on forever."
"因爲當時我們確信，我們企業的主力，是我們挨家挨戶地推銷的龐大銷售隊伍，我們的高價產品使我們的銷售人員可以獲得高額佣金從而更加賣力氣地工作。長期以來，我們一直都這樣做並且做得很成功，我們都認爲這種方式還會繼續有效。"Laura said, "Maybe that's what was meant in the story when it mentioned Hem and Haw's arrogance about success. They didn't notice they needed to change what had once been working."
勞拉說："也許這就是故事裏所要表明的，哼哼和唧唧由於成功而形成的傲慢。他們從來沒有想過，他們需要改變那些曾經是有效的東西。"Nathan said, "So you thought your old Cheese was your only Cheese."
"這方法就是你們的奶酪！"內森說："並且你們認爲這塊舊奶酪是你們惟一的奶酪。'"Yes, and we wanted to hang onto it. When I think back on what happened to us, I see that it's not just that they 'moved the Cheese' but that the 'Cheese' has a life of its own and eventually runs out.
"的確如此，我們甚至想依靠這種方法直到永遠。" "當我回過頭去想發生的事情時，我發現，奶酪不僅僅會被移走。奶酪也有自己的生命，終究有被吃完的一天。""Anyway, we didn't change. But a competitor did and our sales fell badly. We've been going through a difficult time. Now, another big technological change is happening in the industry and no one at the company seems to want to deal with it. It doesn't look good. I think I could be out of a job soon."
"結果怎麼樣呢？"勞拉問。"我們沒有變。一個競爭者卻做了改變，所以我們的生意一落千丈，一直到現在我們都很艱難。如今，在這個產業領域裏技術上已經發生了很大的變化，但我們公司裏卻沒有一個人想去應對這種變化。這看起來很不妙，我想我快要失業了。""It's MAZE time!" Carlos called out. Everyone laughed, including Jessica.
"這真是一個迷宮的時代！"卡洛斯忽然叫道。大家都笑了起來，傑西卡也笑了。Carlos turned to Jessica and said, "It's good that you can laugh at yourself."
卡洛斯轉向傑西卡說道："你已經可以坦然地嘲笑你自己了，這很好啊。"Frank offered, "That's what I got out of the story. I tend to take myself too seriously. I noticed how Haw changed when he could finally laugh at himself and at what he was doing. No wonder he was called Haw."
弗蘭克附和說："這也是我從故事中得到的體會，我們常常過於認真地看待自己。我注意到在故事裏，當唧唧終於能夠坦然嘲笑自己的錯誤的過去時，他得到了應對變化的方法。關鍵就在於要敢於否定自己，勇敢地嘲諷自己做的傻事，難怪他的名字要叫作唧唧。"The group groaned at the obvious play on words.
大家都模仿這個詞，發出哼哼唧唧的聲音。Angela asked, "Do you think that Hem ever changed and found New Cheese?"
安傑拉問大家："你們認爲哼哼是否會改變，是否能夠找到新的奶酪？"Elaine said, "I think he did."
依萊恩說："我想他會的。""I don't," Cory said. "Some people never change and they pay a price for it. I see people like Hem in my medical practice. They feel entitled to their 'Cheese'. They feel like victims when it's taken away and blame others. They get sicker than people who let go and move on."
"我認爲不會，"柯瑞說："有的人絕對不肯改變，併爲此付出了代價。在我行醫的時候，我見過像哼哼這樣的人。他們覺得他們天生具備擁有自己的奶酪的資格和權力，當奶酪被拿走以後，他們覺得自己是受害者併爲此而指責別人，抱怨能夠抱怨的一切。他們比那些最終能夠放開自己去行動的人要病得歷害得多。"Then Nathan said quietly, as though he was talking to himself, "I guess the question is, What do we need to let go of and what do we need to move on to?"'
這時，內森輕輕地、好像自言自語般地說道："我覺得，真正的問題是，'我們需要放棄什麼，以及應該朝哪能裏行動？'"
