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　　英语四级听力美文第49篇:How to Win Friends and Influence People

　　On Saturday morning, April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln lay dying in a hall bedroom of a cheaplodging house directly across the street from Ford's Theater, where Booth had shot him. AsLincoln lay dying, people said, "There lies the most perfect ruler of men that the world has everseen." What was the secret of Lincoln's success in dealing with men? I studied the life ofAbraham Lincoln for ten years, and devoted all of three years to writing and rewriting a bookentitled Lincoln the Unknown. I believe I have made as detailed and exhaustive a study ofLincoln's personality and home life as it is possible for any human being to make. I made aspecial study of Lincoln's method of dealing with men. Did he indulge in criticism? Oh, yes. He not only criticized but he wrote letters and poems ridiculing people and dropped theseletters on the country roads where they were sure to be found. One of these letters arousedresentments that burned for a lifetime. In the autumn of 1842, he ridiculed a vain Irishpolitician by the name of James Shields. Shields, sensitive and proud, boiled withindignation. He challenged Lincoln to fight a duel. Lincoln didn't want to fight, but he couldn'tget out of it and save his honor. On the appointed day, he and Shields prepared to fight to thedeath, but at the last minute, their seconds interrupted and stopped the duel. This accidenttaught Lincoln an invaluable lesson in the art of dealing with people. Never again did he writean insulting letter. Never again did he ridicule anyone. And from that time on, he almost nevercriticized anybody for anything. Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain —and mostfools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving. A greatman shows his greatness by the way he treats little man.