佚名/Anonymous
I remember thinking about a middle-aged man standing at an adjacent checkout counter. Something set him apart. Even the boy bagging groceries seemed to sense it. He did a speedier-than-usual job as he glanced with respect at the man.
Trying to pinpoint what was different about him, I found that he looked quite ordinary. Although he gave the impression of being tall, I could see he was actually a little shorter than average. His features weren't particularly outstanding, and he was wearing plain weekend sports attire.
Not until the man was leaving did it strike me. He carried himself as if he were somebody worth caring about, head up and chest out, he walked proudly from the market.
Suddenly, words I'd heard my mother repeat hundreds of times as I was growing up held new meaning.“Stand up straight!Lift yourselfby pretending strings are pulling you from the tops of your ears.”
I thought of myself being pulled up, and my head and upper torso lifted automatically. I felt taller as I approached the market's doors. This time I saw refected a woman who looked as if she knew where she was going!But I rushed home in fve o'clock traffc and tried to fx dinner before a seven o'clock meeting, my good posture vanished.
It wasn't until the next day as I was trying on clothes in a department store that I remembered again. Each thing I put on bulged, rippled and tucked in the wrong places. I turned sideways, thinking that perhaps from a different angle I'd look better. That's when I realized how really poor my posture was. Suddenly I recalled the man in the supermarket. Standing straight helped him look wonderfully attractive and special. Could it help me look better in these clothes?
I lifted myself up and anxiously looked at the dress again. Unattractive bulges and tucks had smoothed themselves out, and the lines were nicer. I liked the dress!
“Dynamite!”said the clerk who was helping me.
“You like this?”
“Yes. It makes you look thinner too.”
Sure enough, I looked fve to seven pounds lighter. Dieting titles I'd read come to mind.such as“How to Lose Pounds in Weeks.”Now I had a new title：“How to Look Thinner in Seconds.”
Did I look younger, too, when I stood straight?I had to admit I probably did. Now I had another new title：“How to Look Years Younger in Seconds.”And I began to notice that I didn't have the backache I usually get on shopping trips. In the car on the way home, I was sure I felt better in other ways. For one thing, I was breathing all the way down to the bottom of my lungs for a change. And my insides were all properly aligned now instead of scrunching together. Thenanother title occurred to me：“How to Feel Better in Seconds.”
But it still didn't feel natural to stand up straight. Gravity and years of bad habit kept pulling me downward. Maybe that's why on the day of a party I had worried about, I lowered my head and slouched. I didn't want to go. I wasn't comfortable with that group, and I knew I'd say all the wrong things.
After dinner, as I reluctantly put off on my new dress, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.“Stand up straight!”I ordered. I pretended strings were pulling me upward；I lifted myself to full height. And that's how I walked into that party.
I was surprised at what good posture did to change my appearance, but I was astonished at what it did to the rest of me—my spirits, my attitude, my feelings about myself. I imagine it happened like this：As I lifted my body to its full height and held up my head, little signals went to my brain saying,“You're confdent. You think highly of yourself. You are somebody of worth.”Other people, reacting to the way I looked, also sent signals—signals of respect. They must have thought：Well, if she thinks she's somebody of worth, she must be. I began feeling relaxed and I was able to be outgoing—much more so than usual. That night as I went to bed, I realized that I had still another new tide：“How to Feel Confdent in Seconds.”
During the weeks since then, I have found that long-term good posture continues to help me. I feel more inclined to stand up for what I believe as I stand up physically. And standing taller, I feel better about myself. This helps me to be better, which, in turn, gives me greater peace and happiness inside.
The other day, while I was shopping, the checker looked at me as if she thought she knew me.“Say, aren't you somebody?”she asked me.
“Well, come to think of it, yes,”I said,“I am somebody. Aren't we all?”
我的腦海裏浮現出一位中年男士在付款台旁邊站著的場景。有一些東西使他顯得很特別。甚至連裝雜貨的小男孩好像也意識到了，還滿懷敬意地看了看那個男人，幹起活來比平時快多了。
我努力觀察這位中年男士的特別之處，發現他的外表看起來很普通。雖然他給人一種高高大大的印象，可實際上我看他比一般人還要矮一點兒。他沒有十分突出的特征，衣著樸素——穿的就是那種在周末才穿的運動衣。
當這位中年男士離開時才真正觸動了我：他走路的姿態就好像自己是一個非常重要的人，昂首挺胸，自豪地從市場中走了出去。
在我成長的過程中，媽媽嘮叨了幾百次的話，此刻突然有了新的含義。“站直了！就像耳朵上拉著兩根繩子一樣。”
我認為自己被拉直了，我的頭和上身不由自主地挺了起來。當我走向超市門口時，感覺自己高大了許多。這次我看到了一個不同的自我，一個似乎知道自己要走向何方的女人！然而，當我匆忙地坐上五點鍾回家的班車，又爭分奪秒地趕在七點的會議前做好晚飯時，優美的姿態已經消失得一幹二淨。
到了第二天，當我在商店試衣服時才又想起這件事來，但凡我試的衣服都在不應該的地方鼓起來並起了褶。我側身照了照，認為也許換一個角度我的形象會更好一些，那一刻我才真正意識到我的姿態是多麽醜陋。我突然想起了超市中的那位男士，站得筆直，使他看起來很具吸引力，而且十分特別。我這麽做的話，能不能使我的穿著更好看些呢？
我挺直了，迫不及待地又照了一下。衣服凸起的地方和褶子都不見了，我的線條也更好看了。我喜歡這件衣服！
“太好了！”一直幫助我的售貨員說。
“你覺得好看嗎？”
“是的，它使你看起來更苗條。”
千真萬確，我看起來輕了5～7磅。我隨即想起來一些關於控製飲食的文章標題，比如《如何在幾周內減輕幾磅》。現在我有了一個新標題：《如何在幾秒鍾內看起來更苗條》。
要是我站直了，是不是會看起來更年輕呢？我不情願地承認也許這是真的。現在，我又有了一個新標題：《如何在幾秒鍾內看起來年輕幾歲》。我慢慢地覺察到日常的購物不再讓我背痛了。坐在回家的車上，我確信自己在其他方麵也感覺更好了。因為，我把新鮮空氣直接吸入肺的底部並呼出廢氣，我的內髒都在合適的位置上而不是擠在一起。隨後，我又想到了一個新標題：《如何在幾秒鍾內感覺更好》。
然而，站直了反而讓我感覺到不自然，地球引力和多年養成的壞習慣總使我低頭彎腰。也許這才是我在那天晚會上悶悶不樂的原因，我低垂著腦袋，無精打采地坐在那裏。我不想與那些人為伍，這會讓我感到不舒服，而且我知道自己會錯話連篇。
晚飯後，當我不情願地穿上新衣服時，我看了一眼鏡子中的自己。“站直了！”我命令道，我想象著有繩子向上拉我。最後，我達到了最佳狀態，就這樣去參加晚會了。
好的姿態給我的相貌帶來的改變讓我很驚異，而更讓我驚異的是它對我的精神、態度和自我感覺的影響。我猜想過程是這樣的：當我站直了抬起頭時，身體的一些小信號傳輸給我的大腦：“你是自信的，你對自己評價很高，你是值得尊重的重要人物。”像我一樣，其他人也發出欽佩我的信息。他們一定在想：噢，如果她認為自己是個值得尊重的重要人物，她就一定是。我開始感到很放鬆，也比平時開朗多了。那晚，當我上床睡覺時，我想到我還有另一個新標題：《如何在幾秒鍾內感到自信》。
隨後的幾個星期，我發現長期保持優美的姿態會不斷地幫助我。我感到當我站得越挺直，我就越願意擁護我相信的事物。站得越挺直，自我感覺越好。這使我變得更優秀，同時也給我的內心帶來了更大的平靜與幸福。
前不久，我買東西時，收款員用似乎認識我的眼神看著我。“喂，你不就是某個重要人物嗎？”她問我。
“噢，想想，我就是，”我說，“我是個重要人物，我們不都是嗎？”
心靈小語
你並不掌管整個宇宙，但你得掌管你自己。
W詞匯筆記
grocery['ɡr?us?ri]n.食品雜貨店
例 Most of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery.
這些原料大部分都能在你們當地的雜貨店裏買到。
glance[ɡlɑ:ns]v.掃視；瞥見；擦過
例 A glance into my car boot reveals the source of my anxiety.
看一眼我的汽車後備箱，就會發現我焦慮的源頭。
posture['p?st??]n.姿勢；情形；態度
例 Good posture results from holding the backbone straight.
好的姿勢是保持脊柱挺直的結果。
gravity['ɡr?viti]n.重力；地心引力；莊嚴
例 We cannot escape the gravity of this age.
我們不能逃脫這歲月的重力。
S小試身手
他走路的姿態就好像自己是一個非常重要的人，昂首挺胸，自豪地從市場中走了出去。
譯________________________________________
好的姿態給我的相貌帶來的改變讓我很驚異，而更讓我驚異的是它對我的精神、態度和自我感覺的影響。
譯________________________________________
我感到當我站得越挺直，我就越願意擁護我相信的事物。
譯________________________________________
P短語家族
He carried himself as if he were somebody worth caring about.
care about：擔心；關心
造________________________________________
In the car on the way home.
on the way：在……途中；在前進中；在……的過程中
造________________________________________