2024年4月2日发(作者：)

My First Job

When I reached the age of twelve I left the school for ever and got my first

fulltime job, as a grocer’s boy. I spent my days carrying heavy loads, but I enjoyed

it. It was only my capacity for hard work that saved me from early dismissal, for I

could never stomach speaking to my “betters” with the deference my employer

thought I should assume.

But the limit was reached one Tuesday — my half holiday. On my way home on

that day I used to carry a large basket of provisions to the home of my

employer’s sister-in-law. As her house was on my way home I never objected to

this.

On this particular Tuesday, however, just as we were putting the shutters up, a

load of smoked hams was delivered at the shop. “Wait a minute,” said the boss,

and he opened the load and took out a ham, which he started to bone and string

up.

I waited in growing impatience to get on my way, not for one minute but for a

quite a considerable time. It was nearly half-past two when the boss finished. He

then came to me with the ham, put it in the basket beside me, and instructed me

to deliver it to a customer who had it on order.

This meant going a long way out of my road home, so I looked up and said to

the boss: “Do you know I finish at two on Tuesday?” I have never seen a man

look more astonished than he did then. “What do you mean?” he gasped. I told

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him I meant that I would deliver the groceries as usual, but not the ham.

He looked at me as if I were some unusual kind f insect and burst into a storm

of abuse. But I stood firm. He gave me up as hopeless and tried new tactics. “Go

out and get another boy,” he yelled at a shop-assistant.

“Are you going to deliver them or not?” the boss turned to me and asked in

a threatening tone. I repeated what I had said before. “Then, out of here,” he

shouted. So I got out.

This was the first time I had serious trouble with an employer.

我的第一份工作

当我十二岁时我永远地离开了学校,同时得到了我的第一份全职工作,作为一个食品杂

货商的男孩。我每天都在搬沉重的货物,不过干得倒也挺带劲。要不是我能干重活，我早就

给辞退了，因为老板要我毕恭毕敬的给那些上等人说话，这样干，我实在受不了。

但是有一个星期二，到了我的忍耐极限----这是我歇半天的假日。那一天，在我回家

的路上,我又像往常一样，替老捎了一大篮子吃的东西，给他的嫂子送去。因为顺路，我也

从没说过不乐意。

然而,在这个特别的星期二，就在我们正关门的时候, 一大批的熏火腿送到了商店。“等

一下,”老板说,他打开火腿包，拿出一只，开始剔骨头，然后用绳子绑起来。

我想回家，越等越不耐烦,不是一分钟，一等就是半天。当老板完成已经有二点半了。

然后他拿着火腿走向我,把它放在我旁边的篮子里,让我把它送给一个预定的顾客那里。

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