It was the end of my exhausting first day as a waitress in a busy New York restaurant. My cap had gone awry¹, my apron² was stained, my feet ached. The loaded trays I carried felt heavier and heavier. Weary and discouraged, I didn't seem able to do anything right. As I made out a complicated check for a family with several children who had changed their ice-cream order a dozen times, I was ready to quit.

我在纽约一家繁忙餐馆做女招待的第一天就要结束了，我感到精疲力尽。我的帽子歪了，围裙上污迹斑斑，两脚疼痛难忍。盛着食物的托盘让我感觉越来越沉重。我又疲倦又沮丧，似乎什么事情都没能干好。有一个带着好几个小孩的人家，他们在要冰激凌时换来换去多达十几次，就在我为他们开好复杂和账单时，我准备辞职不干了。

Then the father smiled at me as he handed me tip. "Well done," he said. "You've looked after us really well."这时，那位当父亲一边把小费递给我，一边对我微笑。“干得不错，”他说，“你对我们照顾得真周到。”

Suddenly my tiredness vanished. I smiled back, and later, when the manager asked me how I'd liked my first day, I said, "Fine!" Those few words of praise had changed everything.

顿时，我的倦意消失了。我对他也报以微笑。后来，经理问我第一天上班的感觉时，我说：“好极了！”那不多的几个赞美之辞改变了一切。