評(píng)論
打印
You see? If all you remember in years to come is the "gay wizard" joke, I've still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals--the first step to self-improvement.
你們知道嗎？如果在若干年后你們還僅僅記得“快樂的魔法師”這個(gè)笑話，那就證明我已經(jīng)超越了男爵夫人瑪麗·沃諾克。確定一個(gè)切實(shí)可行的目標(biāo)——這是自我提升的第一步。
Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.
實(shí)際上，我為今天應(yīng)該給大家講些什么絞盡了腦汁。我曾自問，在當(dāng)初自己的畢業(yè)典禮上我想要知道些什么呢？從畢業(yè)典禮那天到現(xiàn)在的21年里我得到了什么重要的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和教訓(xùn)呢？
I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called "real life", I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.
我想到了兩個(gè)答案。今天是個(gè)美好的日子，我們歡聚一堂一起慶祝你們?cè)趯W(xué)業(yè)上取得的成就。然而我決定跟你們談?wù)勈〉氖找妫煌瑫r(shí)，你們即將邁入“現(xiàn)實(shí)生活”，所以我還要褒揚(yáng)想象力的極度重要性。
These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but hear with me.
這兩點(diǎn)似乎是不切實(shí)際或自相矛盾的選擇，但請(qǐng)先容我講完。
Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for my self, and what those closest to me expected of me.
對(duì)于已經(jīng)42歲的我來說，回憶21歲剛剛畢業(yè)時(shí)的情景并不是一件很舒服的事情。21年前，我一直都在自己的雄心和身邊的人對(duì)我的期望之間尋求平衡。
I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.
我一直深信，自己唯一想做的事情就是寫小說。然而，我的父母家境都很貧困，兩個(gè)人都沒上過大學(xué)，他們認(rèn)為我過于豐富的想象力是令人驚訝的怪癖，根本不足以讓我支付按揭，或者獲得足夠的養(yǎng)老金。
