Les Brown and his twin brother were adopted by Mamie Brown, a kitchen worker and maid, shortly after their birth in a poverty-stricken Miami neighborhood.
莱斯·布朗和他的双胞胎兄弟出生在迈阿密一个非常贫困的社区，出生后不久就被帮厨女工梅米·布朗收养了。

Because of his hyperactivity and nonstop jabber, Les was placed in special education classes for the learning disabled in grade school and throughout high school. Upon graduation, he became a city sanitation worker in Miami Beach. But he had a dream of being a disc jockey.
由于莱斯非常好动，又含含糊糊地说个不停，所以他小学就被安排进一个专门为学习有障碍的学生开设的特教班，直到高中毕业。毕业以后，他成了迈阿密滩的一名城市环卫工人。但他却一直梦想成为一名电台音乐节目主持人。

At night he would take a transistor radio to bed where he listened to the local jive-talking deejays. He created an imaginary radio station in his tiny room with its torn vinyl flooring. A hairbrush served as his microphone as he practiced his patter, introducing records to his ghost listeners.

每天晚上，他都要把他的晶体管收音机抱到床上，听本地电台的音乐节目主持人谈论摇摆乐。就在他那间狭小的、铺着已经破损的地板革的房间里，他创建了一个假想的电台——用一把梳子当麦克风，他念经一般喋喋不休地练习用行话向他的“影子”听众介绍唱片。

His mother and brother could hear him through the thin walls and would shout at him to quit flapping his jaws and go to sleep. But Les didn’t listen to them. He was wrapped up in his own world, living a dream.

透过薄薄的墙壁，他母亲和兄弟都能听到他的声音，于是，就会对他大吼大叫，让他别再耍嘴皮子而去睡觉。但是，莱斯根本就不理睬他们，他已经完全沉醉在自己的世界里，努力想要实现他的梦想。

One day Les boldly went to the local radio station during his lunch break from mowing grass for the city. He got into the station manager’s office and told him he wanted to be a disc jockey.
一天，莱斯利用在市区割草的午休时间，勇敢地来到了本地电台。他走进经理办公室，说他想成为一名流行音乐节目主持人。

The manager eyed this disheveled young man in overalls and a straw hat and inquired, “Do you have any background in broadcasting?”
经理打量着眼前这位头戴草帽、衣衫不整的年轻人，然后问道：“你有广播方面的背景吗？”

Les replied, “No sir, I don’t.”

莱斯答道：“我没有，先生。”
“Well, son, I’m afraid we don’t have a job for you then.”

“那么，孩子，恐怕我们这儿没有适合你的工作。”

Les thanked him politely and left. The station manager assumed that he had seen the last of this young man. But he underestimated the depth of Les Brown’s commitment to his goal. You see, Les had a higher purpose than simply wanting to be a disc jockey. He wanted to buy a nicer house for his adoptive mother, whom he loved deeply. The disc jockey job was merely a step toward his goal.
于是，莱斯非常有礼貌地向他道了谢，然后就离去了。经理以为再也不会见到这个年轻人了。然而，他低估了莱斯·布朗对自己理想的投入程度。要知道，莱斯还有比成为一名音乐节目主持人更高的目标——他要为他深爱的养母买一幢更好的房子。电台音乐节目主持人的工作只不过是他迈向这个目标的一步而已。

Mamie Brown had taught Les to pursue his dreams, so he felt sure that he would get a job at that radio station in spite of what the station manager had said.
梅米·布朗曾经教莱斯要去追寻自己的梦想，因此，莱斯觉得无论电台经理怎么说，他都一定会在这家电台找到一份工作。
And so Les returned to the station every day for a week, asking if there were any job openings. Finally the station manager gave in and took him on as an errand boy — at no pay. At first, he fetched coffee or picked up lunches and dinner for the deejays who could not leave the studio. Eventually his enthusiasm for their work won him the confidence of the disc jockeys who would send him in their Cadillacs to pick up visiting celebrities such as the Temptations and Diana Ross and the Supremes. Little did any of them know that young Les did not have a driver’s license.
Les did whatever was asked of him at the station - and more.
于是，莱斯连续一周天天都到这家电台去，询问是否有职位空缺。最后，电台经理终于让步了，决定雇他跑跑腿，但没有薪水。刚开始的时候，莱斯的工作是为那些不能离开播音室的主持人们取咖啡或者是去买午餐和晚餐。正是由于莱斯对工作的积极热情，使他终于赢得了音乐节目主持人的信任，他们让他开着他们的卡迪拉克车去接电台邀请来的一些名人，像诱惑合唱团、黛安娜·罗斯，还有至高无上乐队等等。他们没人知道年轻的莱斯竟然没有汽车驾驶执照。

While hanging out with the deejays, he taught himself their hand movements on the control panel. He stayed in the control rooms and soaked up whatever he could until they asked him to leave. Then, back in his bedroom at night, he practiced and prepared himself for the opportunity that he knew would present itself.

在电台里，无论人们让他做什么，莱斯都会去做——有时候甚至做得更多。整日和主持人们待在一起，他自学着他们的手在控制面板上的动作。他总是尽量呆在控制室里，潜心学习，直到他们让他离开。晚上回到自己的卧室，他就认真投入地进行练习，为他确信一定会到来的机遇做好准备。

One Saturday afternoon while Les was at the station, a deejay named Rock was drinking while on the air. Les was the only other person in the building, and he realized that Rock was drinking himself toward trouble. Les stayed close. He walked back and forth in front of the window in Rock’s booth. As he prowled, he said to himself. “Drink, Rock, drink!”