I have a vivid memory of what happened next, and it was not what I expected.
我清晰地記得接下來發生了什么,而那是我意料之外的。
I expected to be applauded for my cleverness and arithmetic skills.
我本期待著小聰明和算術技巧能贏得掌聲。
"Jeff, you're so smart. You had to have made some tricky estimates, figure out the number of minutes in a year and do some division."
“Jeff,你太聰明了!你可以做這樣復雜的估算,算出每年的分鐘然后做除法。”
That's not what happened.
但那并沒有發生。
Instead, my grandmother burst into tears.
相反,我的祖母哭泣起來。
I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do.
我坐在后座,不知道怎么辦。
While my grandmother sat crying, my grandfather, who had been driving in silence, pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway.
在祖母哭泣的時候,我的祖父一直在默默開車,然后把車停在了路邊。
He got out of the car and came around and opened my door and waited for me to follow.
走下車來,打開了我的車門,等著我跟他下車。
Was I in trouble?
我惹麻煩了嗎?
My grandfather was a highly intelligent, quiet man.
我的祖父是一個智慧而安靜的人。
He had never said a harsh word to me, and maybe this was to be the first time?
他從來沒有對我說過嚴厲的話,難道這會是第一次?
Or maybe he would ask that I get back in the car and apologize to my grandmother.
還是他會讓我回到車上跟祖母道歉?
I had no experience in this realm with my grandparents and no way to gauge what the consequences might be.
我以前從未遇到過這種狀況,因而也無從知曉會有什么后果發生。
We stopped beside the trailer.
我們在房車旁停下來。
My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, "Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever."
祖父注視著我,沉默片刻,然后輕輕地、平靜地說:“杰夫,有一天你會明白,善良比聰明更難。”
What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices.
今天我想對你們說的是,天賦和選擇不同。
Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice.
聰明是一種天賦,而善良是一種選擇。
Gifts are easy - they're given after all.
天賦得來很容易—畢竟它們與生俱來。
Choices can be hard.
而選擇則頗為不易。
You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment of your choices.
如果一不小心,你可能被天賦所誘惑,這可能會損害到你做出的選擇。
This is a group with many gifts.
在座各位都擁有許多天賦。
I'm sure one of your gifts is the gift of a smart and capable brain.
我確信你們的天賦之一就是擁有精明能干的頭腦。
I'm confident that's the case because admission is competitive and if there weren't some signs that you're clever, the dean of admission wouldn't have let you in.
之所以如此確信,是因為入學競爭十分激烈,如果你們不能表現出聰明智慧,便沒有資格進入這所學校。