Vera Wang: Figure skater
王薇薇：花样滑冰运动员
Before she became a world-renowned fashion designer, Vera Wang, left, was a talented figure skater.
在成为享誉全球的时装设计师前,王薇薇（图左）曾是一位颇有天赋的花样滑冰运动员.
Wang competed in the 1968 US Figure Skating Championships but turned to fashion after she failed to make the cut for the US Olympic team.
1968年,她参加了美国花样滑冰锦标赛,但未能成功进入美国奥运队,之后便转而进军时尚圈.
"Skating was a chance for me to express myself in a creative way,"she said.
她说："滑冰能够让我以一种富有创造性的方式实现自我表达."
"It was the blend of all worlds - music, dance, athletics, choreography and, of course, costumes."
"它由各元素融合而成,包括音乐、舞蹈、田径运动、编舞艺术,当然,还有服装."
Michael Bloomberg: Parking attendant
迈克尔•布隆伯格：泊车员
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder of the Bloomberg financial service, worked as a parking attendant to help pay for his tuition fees while he was a student at John Hopkins University in Baltimore.
前纽约市长、金融机构彭博社创始人迈克尔•布隆伯格在巴尔的摩约翰霍普金大学求学期间,曾为筹集学费而从事停车场泊车员的工作.
According to Forbes, Bloomberg now has a net worth of around ￡30bn. He spent months considering whether to run for US President, but said in March that he would not stand because of fear that his candidacy could make it easier for Donald Trump to secure the Presidency.
《福布斯》杂志称布隆伯格目前净资产高达300亿英镑,他曾为是否竞选美国总统而冥思苦想数月,但在三月表示,他担心自己的参选会让唐纳德•特朗普轻而易举地成为总统,这令他无法忍受.
Sir Alan Sugar: Selling cigarette lighters and aerials
艾伦•修格爵士：卖打火机和天线
Lord Sugar was just 21 when he launched Amstrad, his electronics company.
修格勋爵在创办其电子公司阿姆斯特拉德时年仅21岁.
Operating out of a van, he sold cigarette lighters, aerials, car radios and hi-fi systems.
他曾经营一小摊,销售打火机、天线、汽车收音机以及高保真音响.
A couple of decades later, Amstrad was one of the biggest consumer electronics companies in the country.
数十年后,阿姆斯特拉德已经跻身该国最大消费电子公司之列.
Lord Sugar now has an estimated net worth of ￡1.4bn.
据估计,修格勋爵目前净资产高达14亿英镑.
Marissa Mayer: Supermarket check-out
玛丽莎•梅耶尔：超市收银员
Yahoo! chief executive Marissa Mayer was one of Google's earliest employees and has amassed an estimated fortune of $380m (￡262m), according to Forbes.
据《福布斯》杂志,雅虎首席执行官玛丽莎•梅耶尔曾是谷歌公司最早雇员之一,其资产累计约有3.8亿美元（2.62亿英镑）.
But that wealth must have felt a long way away when she was working behind a till at a supermarket during high school.
这样一笔财富,对于当时埋头于超市收银台工作的高中生而言,真是任重道远.
"I learned a lot about work ethic from people who had been there for 20 years," she told the LA Times.
她对《洛杉矶时报》记者说："在那里,我从那些工作长达20年的前辈身上学到了关于职业道德的诸多经验.
"They could do 40 items a minute over an eight-hour shift. I was pretty routinely in the 38-to-41 range. I was pretty happy about that. I have a good memory for numbers."
"在当班的八小时中,他们可一分钟刷完40项商品,我通常处在38至41项之间,对此我相当开心,我对数字记忆很敏感."
Walt Disney: Ambulance driver
华特•迪士尼：救护车司机
In 1918, a 16-year-old Walt Disney tried to join the military but was told he was too young.
1918年,16岁的华特•迪士尼想要入伍参军,却被告知年纪太小.
Instead, he signed up to the Red Cross and was sent to France, where he drew cartoons on the sides of the ambulances he drove.
他转而报名参加红十字会,并被派送前往法国,在那里,他在自己所驾驶的救护车两侧画漫画.
Four years later, he was fired from his job as a newspaper cartoonist for a lack of creativity...
四年后,他因漫画缺乏创造性而被报社辞退.
Mike Ashley: Squash coach
迈克•阿什利：壁球教练
The controversial Sports Direct founder, who tries to keep a low profile despite his very high-profile ownership of Newcastle United football club, was a squash coach in the 1970s after playing at county level himself.
他是备受争议的英国运动服饰公司Sports Direct创始人,尽管拥有夺人耳目的纽卡斯尔足球俱乐部,却仍试图保持低调不露锋芒.二十世纪七十年代,他曾在县级壁球赛事中表现活跃而后退为一名教练.
Sir Richard Branson: Would-be Christmas tree salesman
查理•布兰森爵士：自称为圣诞树销售员
Sir Richard Branson was only 10 years old when he started growing Christmas trees in a nearby field.
查理•布兰森爵士10岁时就开始在家附近种圣诞树.
"Unfortunately, the rabbits ate them all,"he said.
他说："很不幸,兔子把它们吃光了."
"Then I tried budgerigars, because I'd heard that budgerigars reproduce really quickly; unfortunately, the rats got in and ate them too."
"然后我试着养虎皮鹦鹉,因为我听说它们繁殖非常快,但祸从天降,一群耗子闯入把它们全吃了."
来源：英国每日电讯报
