SAT作文素材 Iacocca自述

　　本文是Iacocca写他挫折时候的样子

　　Youre about to read the story of a man whos had more than his share of successes. But along the way, there were some pretty bad times, too. In fact, when I look back on my thirty-eight years in the auto industry, the day I remember most vividly had nothing to do with new cars and promotions and profits.

　　I began my life as the son of immigrants, and I work my way up to the presidency of the Ford Motor Company. When I finally got there, I was on top of the world. But then fate said to me: Wait. Were not finished with you. Now youre going to find out what it feels like to get kicked off Mt. Everest!

　　On July 13, 1978, I was fired. I had been president of Ford for eight years and a Ford employee for thirty-two. I had never worked anywhere else. And now, suddenly, I was out of a job. It was gut-wrenching.

　　As you go through life, there are thousands of little forks in the road, and there are a few really big folks--- those moments of reckoning, moments of truth. This was mine as I wondered what to do. Should I pack it all in and retire? I was forty-four years old. I had already accomplished a great deal. I was financially secure. I could afford to play golf for the rest of my life.

　　But that just didnt feel right. I knew I had to pick up the pieces and carry on.

　　There are times in everyones life when something constructive is born out of adversity. There are times when things seem so bad that youve got to grab your fate by the shoulders and shake it. Im convinced it was that morning at the warehouse that pushed me to take on the presidency of Chrysler only a couple of weeks later.

　　The private pain I could have endured. But the deliberate public humiliation was too much for me. I was full of anger, and I had a simple choice: I could turn that anger against myself, with disastrous results. Or I could take some of that energy and try to do something productive.

　　Dont get mad, Mary reminded me. Get even. In times of great stress and adversity, its always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.

　　As it turned out, I went from the frying pan into the fire. A year after I signed up, Chrysler came within a whisker of bankruptcy. There were many days at Chrysler when I wondered how I had got myself into this mess. Being fired at Ford was bad enough. But going down with the ship at Chrysler was more than I deserved.

　　Fortunately, Chrysler recovered from its brush with death. Today I am a hero. But strangely enough, its all because of that moment of truth at the warehouse.. With determination, with luck, and with help from lots of good people, I was able to rise