The professor stood before his class of 30 senior molecular biology students, about to pass out the final exam. “I have been privileged to be your instructor this semester, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test. I also know most of you are off to medical school or grad school next fall,” he said to them.
教授站在30名分子生物班的大四学生面前，准备发期末考试试卷。“很荣幸这 学期担任你们的讲师，我知道你们已经为这次考试作了充分准备。我也知道你们大部分人下个学期就要进入医学院或者研究生学院。”他对学生说。
“I am well aware of how much pressure you are under to keep your GPAs up, and because I know you are all capable of understanding this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic B to anyone who would prefer not to take the final.”
“同时我也清楚你们对这篇材料的理解程度，我相信你们都能通过这次考试, 所以我准备给不愿意参加考试的学生B分。”
The relief was audible as a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and departed from class. The professor looked at the handful of students who remained, and offered again, “Any other takers? This is your last opportunity.” One more student decided to go.
显然这令人十分欣慰，因为有很多学生已经站起来谢过教授后离开了教室。教授又对留下的一少部分学生说还有其他人吗？这可是你们最后的一次机会。”接着又有几个学生走出教室。
Seven students remained. The professor closed the door and took attendance. Then he handed out the final exam. There were two sentences typed on the paper:
最后，留在教室里考试的只有几个学生。教授把门关上，数了一下参加考试的学生人数，然后开始分发试卷。卷子上印着两句话：
“Congratulations, you have just received an A in this class. Keep believing in yourself.”
恭喜你这次考试已经得了A分,请保持自信。
I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It may seem like the easy way out of grading a bunch of exams, but it’s a test that any teacher in any discipline could and should give. Students who don’t have confidence in what they’ve learned are B students at best.
我从来没有遇见过像他这样考试的教授。这似乎使批改试卷的工作变得轻松起来，但只有治学严谨的教师才会这样去要求学生。因为对自己所学的知识没有把握的学生最多只能得到B分。
The same is true for students of real life. The A students are those who believe in what they’re doing because they’ve I earned from both successes and failures. They’ve absorbed life’s lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people.
学生的现实生活中也是同样的道理。能得到A分的学生是那些做什么事都非 常自信的学生，因为从成功和失败中他们都能学到东西。无论是正规的学校教育还是逆境的磨炼,他们都能从中吸取经验和教训，完善自己。
Those are the people who you look for when you’re hiring or promoting, and the ones you keep if you’re downsiziiig. Your organisation needs their brand of thinking.
那些学生就是你正在寻找的要雇用或者提拔的人，也是你公司裁员时要保留的人,因为你的公司需要他们的这种自信。