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If you ask me1

If you ask me, real life is not all it's cracked up to be. Twelve years at school and three years at university, teachers banging on about opportunities in the big wide world beyond our sheltered life as students, and what do I find?

2 Try as I might to stay cheerful, all I ever get is hassle, sometimes with people (especially boys, god, when will they grow up?), but mostly with money. It's just so expensive out here! Everyone wants a slice off you. The Inland Revenue wants to deduct income tax, the bank manager wants repayments on my student loan, the landlord wants the rent, gas, water, electricity and my mobile bills keep coming in, and all that's before I've had anything to eat. And then some bright spark calls me out of the blue, asking if I'm interested in buying a pension. At this rate, I won't even last till the end of the year, let alone till I'm 60.

3 I didn't really want to go out to work just yet. I mean, I wasn't a dropout and I knew I'd have to some day. According to any number of people \such thing as a free lunch\to get my master's. Actually, I had my eye on the course at the London School of Economics (LSE) . Top school, very good for my CV. But I talked to my mum about it, and she said she couldn't afford to support me any more. I kind of understand it, and not just because my degree is in economics. She'd worked hard for 15 years to give me an education. My dad wasn't around most of the time, and when he was, he didn't have any money. He'd spent it gambling on the dogs or down the pub. So it came to the point when I just agreed with Mum, and bowed myself towards the inevitable.

4 If you ask me, and despite everything you hear, fortunately there are some really nice people out there. Take Mike, for example. When I left university, what I thought was that my mum would feel obliged to look after me if I returned home. So I packed up my belongings and went to London to get a job. I wanted something in finance and investments, because you know, maybe with a job like that, I could use my degree. But by that time, there were no jobs left, and I didn't really want to end up in some boring office, doing photocopies and making the tea.

5 Go anywhere you like in London and there's usually a good pub. The day I realized no one in the city was going to offer me a job, I went into The Salisbury on Leadenhall Street for a drink and something to eat. Mike the landlord was at the bar, pouring pints with one hand, making sandwiches with the other, and washing the glasses all at the same time—it's true, he really did seem to have three hands. He also seemed to know everyone, and greeted the regulars by name, getting their drinks ready with the question, \serving thirsty clients, and no one did it better. So I went up to him and asked him whether there was a job for me.

6 Well, to cut a long story short, I started work in the pub one Friday lunch time. It was quite demanding work, but I liked it. People seemed to find me amusing and it made me feel better too. There was one middle-aged regular in a suit who always had a half of bitter and a ham and pickle sandwich, with the crusts cut off. When I saw Tony coming, I tried to have his lunch ready for him even before he asked. He was another one of those really nice people.

7 If you ask me, spending money when you don't have any is dead easy. I began to think about how I'd spend my first month's wages. The flat where I was staying was expensive, and I just about had enough to cover the first month's substantial bills. But I calculated that there'd be just enough money over to treat myself to something. Why not get a CD or maybe a plant to cheer up the flat? I thought.

8 It was my birthday on pay day. Apart from Mike and Tony, I didn't have any friends in London. Seeing that I didn't have a boyfriend either, you can understand why I began to feel sorry for myself. So I ordered myself some flowers, and asked them to be sent with a little card, saying \all my love Anon.\The highlight of my birthday would be the confused look on the florist's eyes when he delivered them.

9 Later that week, Tony came in as usual and sat down at the bar. \with you? Where's that smile gone today?\everything, money, the master's, my birthday, the lot. He sympathized with me.

10 Tony got up from his stool, and went over to talk to some of the others. Remember: The Salisbury is right in the heart of the city, so all the customers were in banking or insurance or the stock market. Next day he turned up with cheques to the value of ￡20,000. \or you to set up your business. The only collateral you have is my trust in you that one day, you'll pay us back—if you can. And if you can't, too bad, that's the finance business for you. But I think you will.\

11 I didn't say anything for fear that I was going to cry. What were the odds on anyone being so nice?

12 And the flowers? I redirected them to my mum, and they arrived for her on my

birthday. She deserved them, don't you think?

13 If you ask me, looking back after all these years, you only need one or two breaks in your life to succeed. The fact that the rest is hard work doesn't matter, it's still worth it. 14 After a year working at The Salisbury, I got a place at the LSE, did my master's and found a job in an investment bank. I invested the ￡20,000, and sold out before the 2008 crash. I paid back Tony and the other investors, with ten per cent annual interest, and set up my own firm. It exceeded all my expectations and is still a thriving business.

15 Tony wrote me a thank-you note. He'd been in a car accident, and couldn't walk. The money I paid back would allow him to adapt his house so he could move around it in his wheelchair. This is what he wrote:

16 \to you. You've repaid the money with interest, and my trust in you and your honesty 100-fold. If you ask me, investing in people gives the best return you can ever hope for.\ 17 If you ask me, he's right. What do you think?

依我看

依我看，现实生活并没有人们想象的那么好。 我们上了12年的中、小学，又上了3年的大学，这期间老师们一直在没完没了地谈论在备受呵护的学生生活之外的那个广阔天地里的各种机会，可我遇到的又是什么呢？

无论我怎么想保持心情愉快，可麻烦事总是接踵而来：有时是和人发生矛盾（尤其是跟男孩子，天哪！他们什么时候才能长大？），但通常是为钱发愁。 这个地方什么东西都很贵！人人都想从我身上赚点钱： 税务局要收个人所得税，银行经理要我偿清学生贷款，房东催我交房租、燃气费、水费、电费，手机账单也不断地寄来。所有这些还没算上吃饭的

钱。 更可气的是，不知从哪里冒出一个自作聪明的家伙给我打电话，问我要不要买养老金。 照这样下去，我甚至都支撑不到年底，更别提活到60岁领养老金了。

我那时还不想出去工作。 我的意思是，我并不是个逃避现实社会的人，但我知道自己未来某一天可能不得不逃避现实。 许多人认为“生活不是野餐”，“没有免费的午餐”。 但既然我拿到了优等生文凭，我想我应该继续攻读硕士学位。 实际上，我已经看中了伦敦政治经济学院的课程。 这是一所顶尖的学校，能给我的履历表增添一段光彩的经历。 但当我跟妈妈谈起这件事时，她说她没法继续供我上学了。 我大概能理解她的心情，但并不仅仅是因为我学的是经济学。 15年来，为了能让我上学，她含辛茹苦。 这些年来，父亲大部分时间都不在家。就算在家，他也没钱。 他把钱都拿去赌狗、喝酒了。 所以我听了妈妈的话，向命运低下了头。

依我看，不管人们说什么，幸运的是世上还有很多好心人。 迈克就是其中的一个。 大学毕业时，我想如果我回家，妈妈就会觉得她有责任照顾我。 所以，我就收拾行李去伦敦找工作。 我想找金融和投资方面的职位，因为你知道这样我就可以用上我的专业知识。 可是那时候已经没有这样的工作了，但我又不愿意做复印文件、端茶倒水之类的乏味的办公室工作。

在伦敦，无论走到什么地方，你都能找到一个好酒吧。 有一天，我意识到这个城市没有人会雇我，于是我走进位于利德贺街的索尔兹伯里酒吧去喝酒，顺便吃点东西。 店主迈克正在店里，他一只手倒酒，一只手做三明治，同时还洗酒杯。他真的好像有三只手。 他好像也认识所有的客人，叫得出常客的名字。他跟他们打招呼，帮他们调好酒，并问一句：“今天还喝这个，是吧？” 我觉得他看起来蛮酷的，他在做着他最擅长的事情：为那些口渴的顾客服务，没人能比得上他。 所以我就走上前去问他要不要雇人。

好吧，长话短说，某个周五的午餐时间我开始在那个酒吧打工。 这份工作要求很高，