1      Sometimes I think I should have my home phone disconnected(断开). About a year ago, it dawned on(开始明白) me that whenever my home phone rang I simply assumed (设想) that it was a telemarketer(电话推销员). While  I realized it was possible that it could be a family member, coworker (同事), boss, or a concerned(关心的) citizen(市民), I would have been willing to bet(打赌) even money that it was a sales call.

2      Like just about anyone else, I do not like having my life disrupted by salespeople. These people often call when you most need them not to.

Cold calls(陌生的推销电话), warm heart

3      You’re in the middle of a Lifecycle(一种健身自行车) workout(锻炼), a family meal, a good book, a bath, a shower, a nap, or a transcendental(超验的) meditation(冥思，冥想) session(一段进行某种活动的时间). The phone rings. You hesitate(犹豫), suspecting(猜想) that it is probably a telemarketer. It rings a couple more times. Then you panic. Maybe it’s a family member in distress(危难), an emergency at the library, or even the mayor(市长).

4      You drop what you’re doing and grab the phone. A voice responds:

5      “Hello, are you Bill Manley?” Instinctively(本能地), because they’ve called you “Bill,” you know it’s a telemarketer. It’s maddening(令人发狂的).

6      As angry as I get, however, I don’t abruptly(突然地) hang up for one basic reason: I genuinely(真正地) feel sorry for telemarketers. Can you think of a less desirable(理想的，令人满意的) job than cold-calling people and asking them to buy aluminum siding, resort(度假胜地) timeshares (分时享受度假权), or carpetcleaning services(地毯清洁服务)? You have to feel sorry for these people.

7      I would rather clean toilets(厕所), dig(挖) ditches(沟渠), or wash dishes than be a telemarketer. Interrupting people’s lives at home is not a job that could possibly provide much personal validation(确认) unless you are the type of person who likes to be abused(虐待), yelled(大声叫喊) at, or hung up on. Out of sympathy(同情), therefore, I try very hard to stay civil(文明礼貌的) to telemarketers. Who knows? In some future life, I might be a telemarketer.

8      My decision not to hang up on telemarketers, however, can he quite costly(昂贵的). Many years ago when I was running a small Midwestern(美国中西部的) public library, a telemarketer called me at my office. He told me that his name was Frank and that I probably remembered him from grade school. Then he quickly moved on to the fact that he was working for a company named Internal(内部的) Chemical Supplies. The firm specialized(专门从事) in janitorial supplies(清洁用品) for restrooms(厕所) and was running a special offer on urinal tabs(小便池除臭块), “Here’s the deal. Will, one unit for 50 bucks… a 70% discount(折扣). How many do you think you’d need for a year?”

9      “A year?” I asked.

10      “Good point. Will. You probably want to stock up(囤积) for five years at this price. How does 40 units sound?”

11      Forty units?”

12      “Okay, you’re right. Forty is not enough. Better go with 50.”

Money down the drain(下水道)

13      Two weeks later after I had pretty much forgotten about this phone call, a very large delivery(送货) truck pulled into the parking lot of the library. The driver started unloading(卸) box after box off the truck. My immediate thought was that my colleague Edith had decided to spend the library’s entire book budget(预算) in one order. Remember, this was a very small public library serving a tiny Midwestern village. Nervously(紧张不安地) I walked up to the trucker and said, “That’s a lot of books, isn’t it?”

14      “This ain’t books, buddy. It’s urinal tabs. How many johns(厕所) have you got in that little building, anyway?”

15      “Two,” I replied even more nervously.

16      Well, you got yourself 25,000 urinal tabs. There’s 500 in a box and your order is for 50 boxes.”

17      That was 30 years ago. I’ll bet by now they’re down to only about 10,000 tabs… if the building is still standing.

(603 words)

1.My Hang-up with Compassion as a Phone Skill:

在电话技能方面，我因同情而起的烦恼。

英语词组hang up的意思是“挂断(电话)”，但是作为名词，hang-up的意思是“烦恼或难以摆脱的苦衷”。

2.About a year ago, it dawned on me that whenever my home phone rang I simply assumed that it was a telemarketer.

大约一年前，我开始意识到，每当我家的电话铃响起，我就认为是电话推销员打来的。

dawn on sb. 的意思是“某人首次意识或认识到(某件事情)”，句中的it是形式主语，真正的主语是由that引导的主语从句。

3.You hesitate, suspecting that it is probably a telemarketer.

你犹豫不决，怀疑可能是电话推销员。

本句中，现在分词suspecting及其后面的宾语从句一起作为状语，表示该动作与谓语动词hesitate同时发生。

4.As angry as I get, however, I don’t abruptly hang up for one basic reason…

虽然我很生气，然而，我不会突然挂断电话，一个根本的原因是…… 

本句中的第二个as是连词，表示虽然。第一个as是副词，表示程度，修饰形容词angry。As angry as I get可以理解为Although I get (very) angry。

5.Interrupting people’s lives at home is not a job that could possibly provide much personal validation unless you are the type of person who likes to be abused, yelled at, or hung up on.

打断人们在家中的生活并非一份可能提供较多个人价值确认的工作，除非你是喜欢受虐、被大声呵斥或被挂断电话的那类人。

yell at sb. 的意思是“对某人大声叫喊”，hang up on sb.的意思是“挂断某人的电话”。因为句中使用了不定式动词的被动语态，所以写成yelled at, hung up on。需注意的是，它们跟前面的动词abused一起共用to be。

6.Here’s the deal.

价格是这样的。

deal指双方都同意的价格或条件。

7.This ain’t books, buddy.

哥们，这不是书。

ain’t 是“am not”, “is not”, “are not”, “has not”或“have not”的缩略形式，一般被视作不正规用语。