哈佛畢業(yè)典禮演講(中英文對照)

哈佛畢業(yè)典禮演講（中英文對照）PresidentFaust,membersoftheHarvardCorporationandtheBoardofOverseers,membersofthefaculty,proudparents,and,aboveall,graduates,福斯特主席，哈佛公司和監(jiān)察委員會的各位成員，各位老師、家長、全體畢業(yè)生們：ThefirstthingIwouldliketosayis"thankyou."NotonlyhasHarvardgivenmeanextraordinaryhonour,buttheweeksoffearandnauseaI’veenduredatthethoughtofgivingthismencementaddresshavemademeloseweight.Awin-winsituation!NowallIhavetodoistakedeepbreaths,squintattheredbannersandconvincemyselfthatIamattheworld’slargestGryffindorsreunion.首先請允許我說一聲謝謝。哈佛不僅給了我無上的榮譽(yù)，連日來為這個演講經(jīng)受的恐懼和緊張，更令我減肥成功。這真是一個雙贏的局面?，F(xiàn)在我要做的就是深呼吸幾下，瞇著眼睛看看前面的大紅橫幅，安慰自己正在世界上最大的格蘭芬多（滬江：以防有人沒看過《哈利波特》……格蘭芬多是小哈利所在的魔法學(xué)院的名字）聚會上。Deliveringamencementaddressisagreatresponsibility;orsoIthoughtuntilIcastmymindbacktomyowngraduation.ThemencementspeakerthatdaywasthedistinguishedBritishphilosopherBaronessMaryWarnock.Reflectingonherspeechhashelpedmeenormouslyinwritingthisone,becauseitturnsoutthatIcantrememberasinglewordshesaid.ThisliberatingdiscoveryenablesmetoproceedwithoutanyfearthatImightinadvertentlyinfluenceyoutoabandonpromisingcareersinbusiness,laworpoliticsforthegiddydelightsofbeingagaywizard.發(fā)表畢業(yè)演說是一個巨大的責(zé)任，至少在我回憶自己當(dāng)年的畢業(yè)典禮前是這么認(rèn)為的。那天做演講的是英國著名的哲學(xué)家BaronessMaryWarnock,對她演講的回憶，對我寫今天的演講稿，產(chǎn)生了極大的幫助，因為我不記得她說過的任何一句話了。這個發(fā)現(xiàn)讓我釋然，讓我不再擔(dān)心我可能會無意中影響你放棄在商業(yè)，法律或政治上的大好前途，轉(zhuǎn)而醉心于成為一個快樂的魔法師（gay有快樂和同性戀的意思）。YouseeIfallyourememberinyearstoeisthegaywizardjoke,IvestilleoutaheadofBaronessMaryWarnock.Achievablegoals-thefirststeptoself-improvement.你們看，如果在若干年后你們還記得一快樂的魔法師”這個笑話，那就證明我已經(jīng)超越了BaronessMaryWarnock。建立可實現(xiàn)的目標(biāo)這是提高自我的第一步。Actually,IhavewrackedmymindandheartforwhatIoughttosaytoyoutoday.IhaveaskedmyselfwhatIwishIhadknownatmyowngraduation,andwhatimportantlessonsIhavelearnedinthe21yearsthathasexpiredbetweenthatdayandthis.實際上，我為今天應(yīng)該和大家談些什么絞盡了腦汁。我問自己什么是我希望早在畢業(yè)典禮上就該了解的，而從那時起到現(xiàn)在的21年間，我又得到了什么重要的啟示。Ihaveeupwithtwoanswers.Onthiswonderfuldaywhenwearegatheredtogethertocelebrateyouracademicsuess,Ihavedecidedtotalktoyouaboutthebenefitsoffailure.Andasyoustandonthethresholdofwhatissometimescalledreallife,Iwanttoextolthecrucialimportanceofimagination.我想到了兩個答案。在這美好的一天，當(dāng)我們一起慶祝你們?nèi)〉脤W(xué)業(yè)成就的時刻，我希望告訴你們失敗有什么樣的益處；在你們即將邁向一現(xiàn)實生活”的道路之際，我還要褒揚(yáng)想象力的重要性。Thesemayseemquixoticorparadoxicalchoices,butbearwithme.這些似乎是不切實際或自相矛盾的選擇，但請先容我講完。Lookingbackatthe21-year-oldthatIwasatgraduation,isaslightlyunfortableexperienceforthe42-year-oldthatshehasbee.Halfmylifetimeago,IwasstrikinganuneasybalancebetweentheambitionIhadformyself,andwhatthoseclosesttomeexpectedofme.回顧21歲剛剛畢業(yè)時的自己，對于今天42歲的我來說，是一個稍微不太舒服的經(jīng)歷。可以說，我人生的前一部分，一直掙扎在自己的雄心和身邊的人對我的期望之間。IwasconvincedthattheonlythingIwantedtodo,ever,wastowritenovels.However,myparents,bothofwhomcamefromimpoverishedbackgroundsandneitherofwhomhadbeentocollege,tooktheviewthatmyoveractiveimaginationwasanamusingpersonalquirkthatcouldneverpayamortgage,orsecureapension.我一直深信，自己唯一想做的事情，就是寫小說。不過，我的父母，他們都貧窮的背景，沒有任何一人上過大學(xué)，堅持認(rèn)為我過度的想象力是一個令人驚訝的個人怪癖，根本不足以讓我支付按揭，或者取得足夠的養(yǎng)老金。Iknowtheironystrikeslikewiththeforceofacartoonanvilnow,but…我現(xiàn)在明白反諷就像用卡通鐵砧去打擊你，但...TheyhadhopedthatIwouldtakeavocationaldegree;IwantedtostudyEnglishLiterature.Apromisewasreachedthatinretrospectsatisfiednobody,andIwentuptostudyModernLanguages.HardlyhadmyparentscarroundedthecornerattheendoftheroadthanIditchedGermanandscuttledoffdowntheClassicscorridor.他們希望我去拿個職業(yè)學(xué)位，而我想去攻讀英國文學(xué)。最后，達(dá)成了一個雙方都不甚滿意的妥協(xié)：我改學(xué)現(xiàn)代語言。可是等到父母一走開，我立刻放棄了德語而報名學(xué)習(xí)古典文學(xué)。IcannotremembertellingmyparentsthatIwasstudyingClassics;theymightwellhavefoundoutforthefirsttimeongraduationday.Ofallthesubjectsonthispla,IthinktheywouldhavebeenhardputtonameonelessusefulthanGreekmythologywhenitcametosecuringthekeystoanexecutivebathroom.我不記得將這事告訴了父母，他們可能是在我畢業(yè)典禮那一天才發(fā)現(xiàn)的。我想，在全世界的所有專業(yè)中，他們也許認(rèn)為，不會有比研究希臘神話更沒用的專業(yè)了，根本無法換來一間獨(dú)立寬敞的衛(wèi)生間。Iwouldliketomakeitclear,inparenthesis,thatIdonotblamemyparentsfortheirpointofview.Thereisanexpirydateonblamingyourparentsforsteeringyouinthewrongdirection;themomentyouareoldenoughtotakethewheel,responsibilitylieswithyou.Whatismore,IcannotcriticisemyparentsforhopingthatIwouldneverexperiencepoverty.Theyhadbeenpoorthemselves,andIhavesincebeenpoor,andIquiteagreewiththemthatitisnotanennoblingexperience.Povertyentailsfear,andstress,andsometimesdepression;itmeansathousandpettyhumiliationsandhardships.Climbingoutofpovertybyyourownefforts,thatisindeedsomethingonwhichtoprideyourself,butpovertyitselfisromanticisedonlybyfools.我想澄清一下：我不會因為父母的觀點(diǎn)，而責(zé)怪他們。埋怨父母給你指錯方向是有一個時間段的。當(dāng)你成長到可以控制自我方向的時候，你就要自己承擔(dān)責(zé)任了。尤其是，我不會因為父母希望我不要過窮日子，而責(zé)怪他們。他們一直很貧窮，我后來也一度很窮，所以我很理解他們。貧窮并不是一種高貴的經(jīng)歷，它帶來恐懼、壓力、有時還有絕望，它意味著許許多多的羞辱和艱辛?？孔约旱呐[脫貧窮，確實可以引以自豪，但貧窮本身只有對傻瓜而言才是浪漫的。WhatIfearedmostformyselfatyouragewasnotpoverty,butfailure.我在你們這個年齡，最害怕的不是貧窮，而是失敗。Atyourage,inspiteofadistinctlackofmotivationatuniversity,whereIhadspentfartoolonginthecoffeebarwritingstories,andfartoolittletimeatlectures,Ihadaknackforpassingexaminations,andthat,foryears,hadbeenthemeasureofsuessinmylifeandthatofmypeers.我在您們這么大時，明顯缺乏在大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)的動力，我花了太久時間在咖啡吧寫故事，而在課堂的時間卻很少。我有一個通過考試的訣竅，并且數(shù)年間一直讓我在大學(xué)生活和同齡人中不落人后。Iamnotdullenoughtosupposethatbecauseyouareyoung,giftedandwell-educated,youhaveneverknownhardshiporheartache.TalentandintelligenceneveryetinoculatedanyoneagainstthecapriceoftheFates,andIdonotforamomentsupposethateveryoneherehasenjoyedanexistenceofuuffledprivilegeandcontentment.我不想愚蠢地假設(shè)，因為你們年輕、有天份，并且受過良好的教育，就從來沒有遇到困難或心碎的時刻。擁有才華和智慧，從來不會使人對命運(yùn)的反復(fù)無常有所準(zhǔn)備；我也不會假設(shè)大家坐在這里冷靜地滿足于自身的優(yōu)越感。However,thefactthatyouaregraduatingfromHarvardsuggeststhatyouarenotverywell-acquaintedwithfailure.Youmightbedrivenbyafearoffailurequiteasmuchasadesireforsuess.Indeed,yourconceptionoffailuremightnotbetoofarfromtheaveragepersonsideaofsuess,sohighhaveyoualreadyflownacademically.相反，你們是哈佛畢業(yè)生的這個事實，意味著你們并不很了解失敗。你們也許極其渴望成功，所以非常害怕失敗。說實話，你們眼中的失敗，很可能就是普通人眼中的成功，畢竟你們在學(xué)業(yè)上已經(jīng)達(dá)到很高的高度了。Ultimately,weallhavetodecideforourselveswhatconstitutesfailure,buttheworldisquiteeagertogiveyouasetofcriteriaifyouletit.SoIthinkitfairtosaythatbyanyconventionalmeasure,ameresevenyearsaftermygraduationday,Ihadfailedonanepicscale.Anexceptionallyshort-livedmarriagehadimploded,andIwasjobless,aloneparent,andaspoorasitispossibletobeinmodernBritain,withoutbeinghomeless.Thefearsmyparentshadhadforme,andthatIhadhadformyself,hadbothetopass,andbyeveryusualstandard,IwasthebiggestfailureIknew.最終，我們所有人都必須自己決定什么算作失敗，但如果你愿意，世界是相當(dāng)渴望給你一套標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的。所以我想很公平的講，從任何傳統(tǒng)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)看，在我畢業(yè)僅僅七年后的日子里，我的失敗達(dá)到了史詩般空前的規(guī)模：短命的婚姻閃電般地破裂，我又失業(yè)成了一個艱難的單身母親。除了流浪漢，我是當(dāng)代英國最窮的人之一，真的一無所有。當(dāng)年父母和我自己對未來的擔(dān)憂，現(xiàn)在都變成了現(xiàn)實。按照慣常的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來看，我也是我所知道的最失敗的人。Now,Iamnotgoingtostandhereandtellyouthatfailureisfun.Thatperiodofmylifewasadarkone,andIhadnoideathattherewasgoingtobewhatthepresshassincerepresentedasakindoffairytaleresolution.Ihadnoideahowfarthetunnelextended,andforalongtime,anylightattheendofitwasahoperatherthanareality.現(xiàn)在，我不打算站在這里告訴你們，失敗是有趣的。那段日子是我生命中的黑暗歲月，我不知道它是否代表童話故事里需要?dú)v經(jīng)的磨難，更不知道自己還要在黑暗中走多久。很長一段時間里，前面留給我的只是希望，而不是現(xiàn)實。SowhydoItalkaboutthebenefitsoffailureSimplybecausefailuremeantastrippingawayoftheinessential.IstoppedpretendingtomyselfthatIwasanythingotherthanwhatIwas,andbegantodirectallmyenergyintofinishingtheonlyworkthatmatteredtome.HadIreallysueededatanythingelse,ImightneverhavefoundthedeterminationtosueedintheonearenaIbelievedItr