The counterman scooped『用勺舀』out Sumatran coffee beans, ground『grind的过去式。磨；碾碎』them, put the grounds in a filter『过滤器』 in the cone and poured hot water over them to give me a sample of their product. When he handed me the coffee, the aroma enveloped『笼罩；掩盖』my entire face. I took a tentative『实验性的；试探性的』sip.柜台服务员用勺子舀出少许苏门答腊咖啡豆，磨成粉，倒入滴滤式咖啡壶的滤格，浇下热水，冲一杯咖啡供我品尝。他把杯子递过来时，咖啡的香气笼罩了我的脸。我浅尝了一口。Whoa. My eyes shot wide open. It was stronger than any coffee I had ever tasted. By comparison, I realized, the coffee I had been drinking was swill『洗碟水；泔水』. That night I had dinner with one of Starbucks's owners, Jerry Baldwin. I had never heard anyone talk about a product the way Jerry talked about coffee. He wasn't just calculating『算计』 how to maximize『使增加/扩大到最大限度』 sales. He and his partner, Gordon Bowker, believed they were providing customers with something they ought to enjoy. It was an approach to business that was fresh and appealing『动人的；有吸引力的』to me."哇！"我心里赞叹，不由得两眼圆睁。这是我有生以来所喝过的最浓烈的咖啡，以前喝的咖啡相形之下像洗碟水。当晚我跟明星咖啡连锁公司的股东杰里·巴登一起吃饭。我以前从未见过有谁像他谈咖啡那样谈论某些产品。巴登不只是努力推销而已：他和合伙人戈登·博格都相信，他们所卖的都是顾客会喜爱的东西。这样的经商态度令我耳目一新，也为之心折。Inexplicable Attraction
不可言喻的吸引力
I tried to persuade Jerry Baldwin to hire me-although it did not seem to be a logical career move. Taking a job at Starbucks would mean giving up my job and Sheri's job-and for what? Moving across the country to join a tiny outfit 『公司；机构』with four coffee stores? It didn't make sense to my friends or family, especially my mother. "You're doing well-you have a future," she argued. "Don't give it up for a small company nobody's heard of ."我想说服巴登雇用我--老实说，此举似乎并不明智。我如果去明星咖啡连锁公司上班，就必须辞去现在的职位，而我的妻子也必须放弃现在的工作。我的亲友，尤其是母亲，都认为我的想法没有道理。"你现在干得很不错--前途远大，"她劝道："不要为一个谁都没有听说过的小公司而放弃现在的工作。"I thought of the loss of security『保障』, remembering how when I was seven my father had broken his ankle at work. He was stuck at home for more than a month. He was a truck driver delivering diapers『尿布』, so when he didn't work, he didn't get paid. Our family had no income, no health insurance『保险』-nothing to fall back on. That image of my father-slumped『垂头弯腰地坐』on the couch, leg in a cast-was burned into my mind.我考虑的是失去保障，不禁想起7岁那年父亲工作时摔断踝骨，在家里困了一个多月的往事。他的职业是开卡车运送尿布，不上班就没有工资，我们一家人的生活顿时陷入困境。他一条腿裹着石膏颓然坐在长沙发上的情景，深深印在我的记忆中。
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