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Every era has its defining struggle and the fate of Africa is one of ours. It's not the only one, but in the history books it's easily going to make the top five--what we did or what we did not do. It's a proving ground, as I said earlier, for the idea of equality. But whether it's this or something else, I hope you'll pick a fight and get in it. Get your boots dirty. Get rough. Steel your courge with a final drink there at Smoky Joe's, one last primal scream and go.
每一個時代都有其特定的斗爭使命，而我們的一個使命就是改變非洲的命運。這不是我們唯一的使命，但無論是對我們已經(jīng)解決的或尚未解決的困難來說，這都會很容易被歷史列為五大挑戰(zhàn)之一。正如我之前說過的，非洲是平等理念的試驗場。不管是什么原因，我都希望你們掀起這場斗爭并為之奮斗。去感受苦難，去磨練你們的意志，在斯莫基喬酒吧再飲上最后一杯，大喊一聲，然后踏上征程，去錘煉你們的意志吧。
Sing the melody line you hear in your own head. Remember, you don't owe anybody any explanations. You don't owe your parents any explanations. You don't owe your professors any explanations. You know, I used to think that the future was solid, or fixed, or something you inherited like an old building that you move into when the previous generation moves out or gets chased out. But it's not. The future is not fixed. It's fluid. You can build your own buildings, or hut or condo, whatever. This is the metaphor part of the speech by the way.
唱出你心中最美的樂曲！記住，你無須向任何人解釋，你無須向父母做出解釋，你也無須向你的教授做出任何解釋。我曾經(jīng)認為未來是注定的，一成不變的，就像繼承一座老房子，上一代搬出去或被逐出去，你們就可以搬進去。但事實并非如此。未來并非一成不變，而是可以改變的。你們可以建造自己的大樓或小棚子或公寓。順便說一下，這只是今天致辭中的暗喻。
But my point is that the world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape. Now if I were a folksinger I'd immediately launch into "If I Had a Hammer" right now, get you all singing and swaying. But as I say I come from punk rock, so I'd rather have the bloody hammer right here in my fist. That's what this degree of yours is, a blunt instrument. So go forth and build something with it. And remember what John Adams said about Ben Franklin, "He does not hestitate at our boldest measures but rather seems to think us too irresolute."
但我要說的是，世界比你們想象的更具可塑性，它正等待著你們把它塑造成形。現(xiàn)在，如果我是一名民間歌手，我就會立即開始唱《假如我有一把鐵錘》，帶領你們一起唱，一起跳。但如我所言，我是朋克樂隊的一名歌手，我寧愿手中握著一把帶血的鐵錘。你們的學位不過算是一把不算鋒利的武器，所以，向前沖吧！用它去鑄造未來！記住約翰·亞當對本·富蘭克林的評價：“對于我們最勇敢的行動，他毫不猶豫地響應，而且似乎認為我們過于優(yōu)柔寡斷了。”
Well this is the time for bold measures. And this is the country. And you are the generation. Thank you. Thank you very much.
現(xiàn)在是大膽去行動的時候了，就在這個國家，就是你們這一代，大膽地去行動吧！謝謝大家！非常感謝。
