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许多年前的一个风雨交加之夜，一位老人和他的妻子来到了费城一个小旅馆的大厅里面，想避避雨。这对夫妇来到前台，想找个地方过夜。“请问你们还有客房吗？”丈夫问道。 店员很友好,他微笑地看着他们，解释说镇子上有三家客栈。“我们房间客满了，”店员说，“可是现在都凌晨一点了，我也不能让你们这么好的夫妇冒雨去。那你们愿不愿意住我的地方？那个房间可能简陋了些，不过你们可能会舒舒服服地过上一晚。”夫妇俩觉得过意不去，就不同意，年轻店员就劝他们:“不要担心我，我一点事都没有。"于是夫妇俩同意了。 老人第二天早上付钱时对店员说：“你应该经营美国最好的旅店。也许有一天我会给你建一座。"店员看着他们，微微一笑。他们三个人放声大笑。当他们开车走时，老夫妇一致认为个帮了他们忙的店员难得遇见，找到这样一个友好又乐于助人的人实在难得。 两年过去了，店员几乎就把这事完全忘记了，这时他收到了老人的来信。上面提及了那个风雨之夜的事，还附送一张去纽约的往返机票，邀请这个年轻人去找他们。老人在纽约和他会面，把他带到第五大道和第34街的交叉口，指着那里的一座新的高楼，用浅红色石头砌成的大厦，角楼直插云霄。"那座建筑，"老人说，“就是我建造让你来管理的。”"你一定是在开玩笑，”年轻人说。“我确信我可不是开玩笑，”老人说着，嘴角浮现了一丝狡黠的微笑。 这位老人就是威廉•华道夫•埃斯顿，这座宏伟的建筑就是最初的华尔道夫饭店。它的首位经理就是这名年轻人,乔治•波尔蒂。这个年轻的店员从没预知有一天他会成为世界上最富丽堂皇的酒店之一的经理。 A Stormy Night at a Hotel One stormy night many years ago，an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night. “Could you possibly give us a room here?” the husband asked. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town. “All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said. “But I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It's not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night. ” When the couple declined, the young man pressed on. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll make out just fine，，，the clerk told them. So the couple agreed. As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you. ” The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn’t easy. Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit. The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a palace of reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. “That，” said the older man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to manage. “You must be joking,” the young man said. “I can assure you I am not，” said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth. The older man’s name was William Waldorf Aster, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who became its first manager was George C.巳oldt. This young clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the manager of one of the world’s most glamorous hotels. |
