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Here at NES, you have inherited this great cultural legacy, but your focus on economics is no less fundamental to the future of humanity. As Pushkin said, "Inspiration is needed in geometry just as much as poetry." And today, I want particularly to speak to those of you preparing to graduate. You're poised to be leaders in academia and industry; in finance and government. But before you move forward, it's worth reflecting on what has already taken place during your young lives.
在新經濟學院，你們繼承了這個偉大的文化傳統。你們盡管以經濟為重點，但對人類的未來也同樣至關重要。正如普希金所說，“靈感對于幾何學，如同靈感對于詩歌一樣必不可少。” 今天，我特別希望對即將畢業的同學說一些話。你們即將成為學術界和工業界的領軍人，成為金融界和政界的主力。然而，在你們邁出這一步之前，有必要回顧在你們成長期間發生的歷史。
Like President Medvedev and myself, you're not old enough to have witnessed the darkest hours of the Cold War, when hydrogen bombs were tested in the atmosphere, and children drilled in fallout shelters, and we reached the brink of nuclear catastrophe. But you are the last generation born when the world was divided. At that time, the American and Soviet armies were still massed in Europe, trained and ready to fight. The ideological trenches of the last century were roughly in place. Competition in everything from astrophysics to athletics was treated as a zero-sum game. If one person won, then the other person had to lose.
如同梅德韋杰夫總統和我一樣，你們當時年紀尚幼，未能親歷冷戰最黑暗的年代，那時在大氣層試爆了氫彈，孩子們進入防空洞參加演習，我們曾經走到核災難的邊緣。你們是全世界壁壘分明的時期出生的最后一代人。當年，美國軍隊和蘇聯軍隊仍在歐洲集結、訓練并準備交戰。上一個世紀意識形態的壁壘大致依舊。從天體物理學到體育運動，相互間的競賽往往被視為你死我活的爭斗。一方獲勝，另一方必失。
And then, within a few short years, the world as it was ceased to be. Now, make no mistake: This change did not come from any one nation. The Cold War reached a conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years, and because the people of Russia and Eastern Europe stood up and decided that its end would be peaceful.
此后短短幾年時間，世界不復以往。如今毫無疑問的是：這個變革并非由任何一個單獨的國家引發。由于無數國家多少年來采取的行動，由于俄羅斯和東歐人民挺身而出，決心以和平方式告別過去，冷戰從此宣告結束。
With the end of the Cold War, there were extraordinary expectations -- for peace and for prosperity; for new arrangements among nations, and new opportunities for individuals. Like all periods of great change, it was a time of ambitious plans and endless possibilities. But, of course, things don't always work out exactly as planned. Back in 1993, shortly after this school opened, one NES student summed up the difficulty of change when he told a reporter, and I quote him: "The real world is not so rational as on paper." The real world is not so rational as on paper.
隨著冷戰的結束，人們產生種種殷切的期待── 希望實現和平與繁榮；建立國家間的新秩序，以及為個人提供新機會。如同所有巨大變革的時期一樣，這是一個大展宏圖的時代，一個充滿無限機會的時代。然而， 任何事物都不可能時時一帆風順，事事如人心愿。1993年，貴校成立后不久，新經濟學院一位學生在接受記者采訪時概括了改革的艱難。他說道：“現實的世界并不像書本上那樣理性。”現實的世界并不像書本上那樣理性。
Over two tumultuous decades, that truth has been borne out around the world. Great wealth has been created, but it has not eliminated vast pockets of crushing poverty. Poverty exists here, it exists in the United States, and it exists all around the world. More people have gone to the ballot box, but too many governments still fail to protect the rights of their people. Ideological struggles have diminished, but they've been replaced by conflicts over tribe and ethnicity and religion. A human being with a computer can hold the same amount of information stored in the Russian State Library, but that technology can also be used to do great harm.
在過去動蕩的20年中，這種說法的正確性在全世界得到證實。雖然創造出巨額財富，但它并未消除遍布四方的極度貧困。貧困在這里存在，在美國存在，在全世界存在。有更多的人參加了投票，但仍有太多國家的政府仍舊未能保護本國人民的權利。意識形態的斗爭逐漸減少，但代之而起的是部落、種族和宗教沖突。一個擁有電腦的人可以擁有與俄羅斯國家圖書館（Russian State Library）等量的信息，但這種技術也可被用于制造嚴重傷害。
In a new Russia, the disappearance of old political and economic restrictions after the end of the Soviet Union brought both opportunity and hardship. A few prospered, but many more did not. There were tough times. But the Russian people showed strength and made sacrifices, and you achieved hard-earned progress through a growing economy and greater confidence. And despite painful times, many in Eastern Europe and Russia are much better off today than 20 years ago.
在新俄羅斯，舊的政治與經濟束縛隨著蘇聯的解體而消失，這既帶來機遇，也造成困苦。一些人致富了，但更多的人沒有。曾有過艱難的時期。但俄羅斯人民顯示了堅韌不拔的力量，作出了犧牲，通過經濟增長取得了來之不易的進步，并且增強了信心。盡管經歷了痛苦，但東歐和俄羅斯很多人的生活比20年前大大改善。
