世界英语演讲稿完整版篇一
Transcr ipt of Apple CEO Tim Cook's commencement address at Tulane University
苹果CEO蒂姆·库克杜兰大学毕业典礼演讲致词
Hello Tulane! Thank you President Fitts, Provost Forman, distinguished faculty, other faculty (laughs), and the entire Tulane family, including the workers, ushers, (and) volunteers who prepared this beautiful space. And I feel duty-bound to also recognize the hard-working bartenders at The Boot. Though they're not here with us this morning, I'm sure some of you are reflecting on their contributions as well. (The Boot is a popular college bar right next to Tulane's campus which has been around for decades.)
你好，杜兰大学！感谢菲茨校长、福尔曼教务长、尊敬的教职员工、其他教职员工[笑]以及整个杜兰大家庭，包括为这个美丽的讲堂做准备的工作人员、引座员和志愿者。我觉得我有责任也称赞一下在The Boot工作的辛勤的调酒师。虽然他们今天早上没有和我们在一起，但我相信你们中的一些人也在反思他们的贡献。[The Boot是一家受欢迎的大学酒吧，紧挨着杜兰大学校园，已经存在了几十年了。]
And just as many of you have New Orleans in your veins, and perhaps your livers, some of us at Apple have New Orleans in our blood as well. When I was a student at Auburn, the Big Easy was our favorite getaway. It's amazing how quickly those 363 miles fly by when you're driving toward a weekend of beignets and beer. And how slowly they go in the opposite direction. Apple's own Lisa Jackson is a proud Tulane alum. Yes. She brought the Green Wave all the way to Cupertino where she heads our environment and public policy work. We're thrilled to have her talent and leadership on our team.
就像你们中很多人的血管里也许还有肝脏里有新奥尔良一样，我们苹果公司的一些人的血液里也有新奥尔良。当我还是奥本大学的学生的时候，我们最喜欢的度假胜地是Big Easy。非常神奇的是，当你在周末开车驶向这个胜地，想象着甜甜圈和啤酒的时候，363英里的距离似乎一闪而过；而当你返程时，路途却显得那么遥远。苹果的员工丽莎-杰克逊(LisaJackson)是一位令人骄傲的杜兰大学校友。是。她把绿色浪潮一路带到了库比蒂诺，在那里她领导着我们的环境和公共政策工作。我们很高兴她能在我们的队伍中发挥才华和进行领导。
OK, enough about us. Let's talk about you. At moments like this, it always humbles me to watch a community come together to teach, mentor, advise, and finally say with one voice, congratulations to the class of 20xx!
好了，别再提我们了。让我们谈谈你们。在这样的时刻，看到一个社区聚集在一起传道受业解惑，最后用一个声音说，祝贺20xx年的同学们，这让我感到很谦卑！
Now there's another very important group: your family and friends. The people who, more than anyone else, loved, supported, and even sacrificed greatly to help you reach this moment. Let's give them a round of applause. This will be my first piece of advice. You might not appreciate until much later in your life how much this moment means to them. Or how that bond of obligation, love, and duty between you matters more than anything else.
现在还有一个非常重要的群体：你们的家人和朋友。那些比任何人都更爱你们、更支持你们、甚至甘愿自我牺牲的人，为了帮助你们达到这一时刻，他们付出了巨大的代价。让我们为他们鼓掌。这将是我的第一条建议。直到你生命的后期，你们才会意识到这一刻对他们来说有多么重要，或者意识到你们的义务、爱和责任有多么重要。
In fact, that's what I really want to talk to you about today. In a world where we obsessively document our own lives, most of us don't pay nearly enough attention to what we owe one another. Now this isn't just about calling your parents more, although I'm sure they'd be grateful if you did that. It's about recognizing that human civilization began when we realized that we could do more together. That the threats and danger outside the flickering firelight got smaller when we got bigger. And that we could create more - more prosperity, more beauty, more wisdom, and a better life - when we acknowledge certain shared truths and acted collectively.
事实上，这就是我今天真正想和你们说的。在一个我们沉迷于记录自己生活的世界里，我们中的大多数人对我们彼此亏欠的东西没有给予足够的关注。这不仅仅是给你们的父母打更多的电话，尽管我相信如果你们会这么做，他们会很感激的。当我们意识到我们可以在一起做更多的事情时，人类文明就开始了。当我们变得更越来越强大时，在闪烁的火光之外的威胁和危险就会变得越来越小。我们可以创造更多——更多的繁荣，更多的美，更多的智慧，更美好的生活——只要我们承认某些共同的真理并采取集体行动。
Maybe I'm biased, but I've always thought the South, and the Gulf Coast in particular, have hung on to this wisdom better than most. (Tim Cook grew up in Robertsdale, Alabama, which is about an hour from New Orleans and is similarly close to the Gulf of Mexico.) In this part of the country, your neighbors check up on you if they haven't heard from you in a while. Good news travels fast because your victories are their victories too. And you can't make it through someone's front door before they offer you a home-cooked meal.
也许我有偏见，但我一直认为南方，特别是墨西哥湾海岸，比大多数人更能坚持这一智慧。[库克在阿拉巴马州的罗伯茨代尔长大，那里距离新奥尔良大约一个小时的路程，同样靠近墨西哥湾。]在这个国家的这个地方，如果你们的邻居有一段时间没有你们的消息，他们会忍不住来看望你们。好消息传得很快，因为你们的胜利也是他们的胜利。在他们提供一顿热饭热菜招待你们之前，你们是不可能走出大门的。
Maybe you haven't thought about it very much, but these values have informed your Tulane education too. Just look at the motto: not for one's self, but for one's own. You've been fortunate to live, learn, and grow in a city where human currents blend into something magical and unexpected. Where unmatched beauty, natural beauty, literary beauty, musical beauty, cultural beauty, seem to spring unexpectedly from the bayou. The people of New Orleans use two tools to build this city: the unlikely and the impossible. Wherever you go, don't forget the lessons of this place. Life will always find lots of ways to tell you no, that you can't, that you shouldn't, that you'd be better off if you didn't try. But New Orleans teaches us there is nothing more beautiful or more worthwhile than trying. Especially when we do it not in the service of one's self, but one's own.
也许你们还没有想太多，但这些价值观也影响了你们杜兰大学的教育。看看这句座右铭：不是为了自己，而是为了自己人。你们很幸运地生活、学习和成长在一座城市里，在这个城市里，人类的潮流融合成了一种神奇的、意想不到的东西。在那里，无与伦比的美，自然的美，文学的美，音乐的美，文化的美，似乎不期而至地从河口涌出。新奥尔良的人们使用两种工具来建造这座城市：不太可能的和不可能的。无论你走到哪里，都不要忘记这个地方的教训。生活总会找到很多方法来告诉你，不，你不能，你不应该，如果你不去尝试，你会过得更好。但是新奥尔良告诉我们，没有什么比尝试更美丽和更有价值了。尤其是当我们这样做不是为自己服务，而是为自己人服务的时候。
For me, it was that search for greater purpose that brought me to Apple in the first place. I had a comfortable job at a company called Compaq that at the time looked like it was going to be on top forever. As it turns out, most of you are probably too young to even remember its name. But in 1998, Steve Jobs convinced me to leave Compaq behind to join a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. They made computers, but at that moment at least, people weren't interested in buying them. Steve had a plan to change things. And I wanted to be a part of it.
对我来说，正是为了追求更伟大的目标，我才第一次来到苹果。我曾在一家叫康柏(Compaq)的公司找到了一份舒适的工作，在当时看来，这份工作将永远是的工作。事实证明，你们中的大多数人可能还太年轻，甚至不记得它的名字。但在1998年，史蒂夫-乔布斯说服我离开康柏，加入一家濒临破产的苹果公司。他们制造电脑，但至少在那一刻，人们对购买这些电脑并不感兴趣。史蒂夫有个改变一切的计划。我也想成为其中的一员。
It wasn't just about the iMac, or the iPod, or everything that came after. It was about the values that brought these inventions to life. The idea that putting powerful tools in the hands of everyday people helps unleash creativity and move humanity forward. That we can build things that help us imagine a better world and then make it real.
这不仅仅是iMac，或者iPod，或者之后的一切，而是使这些发明创意复活的价值观念。把强大的工具放在普通人手中将有助于释放创造力和推动人类向前发展。我们可以建造一些东西来帮助我们想象一个更美好的世界，然后让它成为现实。
There's a saying that if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. At Apple, I learned that's a total crock. You'll work harder than you ever thought possible, but the tools will feel light in your hands. As you go out into the world, don't waste time on problems that have been solved. Don't get hung up on what other people say is practical. Instead, steer your ship into the choppy seas. Look for the rough spots, the problems that seem too big, the complexities that other people are content to work around. It's in those places that you will find your purpose. It's there that you can make your greatest contribution. Whatever you do, don't make the mistake of being too cautious. Don't assume that by staying put, the ground won't move beneath your feet. The status quo simply won't last. So get to work on building something better.
有句谚语说，如果你做你喜欢做的事，你的人生中将永远不会有一天是在工作。在苹果公司，我知道了这是一个彻头彻尾的谎言。你会比你想象的更努力工作，但你却一点也不觉得费劲。当你走进这个世界的时候，不要把时间浪费在已经解决的问题上。不要为别人所说的是实际的情况而心烦意乱。相反，引导你的船进入波涛汹涌的大海。寻找那些蛮荒之地，那些看起来还很难解决的问题，那些其他人乐于解决的复杂问题。在那些地方，你会找到你的目标。在那里你可以做出你的贡献。无论你做什么，都不要犯太谨慎的错误。不要以为原地不动，地面就不会在你脚下移动。现状根本不会持久。所以开始做些更好的事吧。
In some important ways, my generation has failed you in this regard. We spent too much time debating. We've been too focused on the fight and not focused enough on progress. And you don't need to look far to find an example of that failure. Here today, in this very place, in an arena where thousands once found desperate shelter from a 100-year disaster, the kind that seem to be happening more and more frequently, I don't think we can talk about who we are as people and what we owe to one another without talking about climate change.
在某些重要的方面，我们这代人辜负了你们。我们花了太多时间辩论。我们一直太专注于斗争，而没有把足够的注意力放在进步上。你不需要看太远就能找到失败的例子。今天，就在这个地方，在这个成千上万人曾经绝望地躲避百年灾难的地方，这种灾难似乎变得越来越频繁。我认为，如果我们不谈论气候变化，我们就无法谈论我们是谁，以及我们彼此亏欠了什么。
(applause) Thank you. Thank you.
谢谢！谢谢！
This problem doesn't get any easier based on whose side wins or loses an election. It's about who has won life's lottery and has the luxury of ignoring this issue and who stands to lose everything. The coastal communities, including some right here in Louisiana, that are already making plans to leave behind the places they've called home for generations and head for higher ground. The fishermen whose nets come up empty. The wildlife preserves with less wildlife to preserve. The marginalized, for whom a natural disaster can mean enduring poverty.
这个问题不会因为谁胜谁负而变得简单，这是一个关乎谁赢了人生彩票、谁有忽视这个问题的能力、谁会失去一切的问题。沿海社区，包括路易斯安那州的一些社区，已经在计划离开世代以来被称为“家园”的地方，前往更海拔更高地方。如今渔民的渔网空空如也、野生动物生计萧条。对于生存在边缘地区的人来说，自然灾害往往就意味着持久的贫困。
Just ask Tulane's own Molly Keogh, who's getting her Ph.D. this weekend. Her important new research shows that rising sea levels are devastating areas of Southern Louisiana more dramatically than anyone expected. Tulane graduates, these are people's homes. Their livelihoods. The land where their grandparents were born, lived, and died.
问问杜兰大学的莫莉·基奥（Molly Keogh）就知道了，她这个周末就要拿到博士学位了。她的一项重要新研究表明，海平面上升对路易斯安那州南部地区造成的破坏比任何人预想的都要严重。杜兰大学的毕业生们，这些地方都是人们的家园、他们的生计、他们祖父母出生、生活和去世的地方。
When we talk about climate change or any issue with human costs, and there are many, I challenge you to look for those who have the most to lose and find the real, true empathy that comes from something shared. That is really what we owe one another. When you do that, the political noise dies down, and you can feel your feet firmly planted on solid ground. After all, we don't build monuments to trolls, and we're not going to start now.
当我们谈论气候变化或任何与人类成本有关的问题时，我有很多问题希望你们能够着手去做：去寻找那些因此损失的人，并从一些共同的东西中找到真正的、真正的同理心，这才是我们真正亏欠彼此的东西。当你这样做的时候，政治上的喧嚣就会平息下来，你会感到自己的脚牢牢地踩在了坚实的土地上。毕竟，我们从来不为巨魔建造纪念碑，也不会现在开创这个先例。
If you find yourself spending more time fighting than getting to work, stop and ask yourself who benefits from all the chaos. There are some who would like you to believe that the only way that you can be strong is by bulldozing those who disagree or never giving them a chance to say their peace in the first place. That the only way you can build your own accomplishments is by tearing down the other side.
如果你发现自己花在斗争上的时间比上班的时间还多。那么停下来，问问自己谁能从所有这些混乱中受益。有些人想让你相信，你能变得强大的方法，就是制服那些不同意你观点的人，或者从一开始就不给他们机会表达自己的机会。他们想让你相信，你能成就自己的方法就是摧毁对方。
We forget sometimes that our preexisting beliefs have their own force of gravity. Today, certain algorithms pull toward you the things you already know, believe, or like, and they push away everything else. Push back. It shouldn't be this way. But in 20xx, opening your eyes and seeing things in a new way can be a revolutionary act. Summon the courage not just to hear but to listen. Not just to act, but to act together.
我们有时会忘记，我们先前存在的信念有其自身的引力。今天，某些算法会把你已经知道、相信或喜欢的东西主动拉向你，而把其他的东西推开，但事情本不应该如此。然而在20xx年，睁开眼睛、以一种全新方式看待事物可能是一种革命性的行为。你不仅要鼓起勇气去听，还要有勇气去听。不仅仅是行动，而是要一起行动。
It can sometimes feel like the odds are stacked against you, that it isn't worth it, that the critics are too persistent and the problems are too great. But the solutions to our problems begin on a human scale with building a shared understanding of the work ahead and with undertaking it together. At the very least, we owe it to each other to try.
有时候你会觉得机会对你不利、觉得这么做不值得、觉得批评之声太过顽固，亦或觉得问题太大（超出了自己的处理能力）。但是，解决我们当下问题的办法首先就是在人类范畴内建立对今后工作的共同理解，并着手共同解决这一问题。至少，我们也应该放手一搏。
It's worked before. In 1932, the American economy was in a free-fall. Twelve million people were unemployed, and conventional wisdom said the only thing to do was to ride it out, wait, and hope that things would turn around. But the governor of New York, a rising star named Franklin Roosevelt, refused to wait. He challenged the status quo and called for action. He needed people to stop their rosy thinking, face the facts, pull together, and help themselves out of a jam.
这样的方式在之前曾成功过。1932年，当时的美国经济一落千丈，有1200万人失业。传统观点认为，我们能做的就是撑过这段时间、等待，并希望情况会有所好转。但当时政途冉冉升起的纽约州州长富兰克林o罗斯福（Franklin Roosevelt，后就任美国第32任总统，美国历连任超过两届的总统）拒绝等待。他敢于挑战现状，呼吁采取行动。他呼吁人们停止继续抱有乐观的想法，面对现实、齐心协力，帮助自己摆脱困境。
He said: "The country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it and try another. But above all, try something."
他说：“这个国家需要一些大胆、持续的尝试。采取一种方法并加以尝试是再正常不过的事情。如果失败了，我们就承认失败，然后再试一次。但最重要的是，我们需要尝试一些东西。”
This was a speech to college students fearful about their future in an uncertain world. He said: "Yours is not the task of making your way in the world, but the task of remaking the world."
这是一场对大学生的演讲，他们担心自己在一个不确定世界里的未来。他（罗斯福）说：“你们的任务不是在世界上开辟自己的道路，而是改造世界。”
The audacious empathy of young people, the spirit that says we should live not just for ourselves, but for our own. That's the way forward. From climate change to immigration, from criminal justice reform to economic opportunity, be motivated by your duty to build a better world. Young people have changed the course of history time and time again. And now it's time to change it once more.
年轻人无畏的同情心告诉我们，我们不仅要为努力生活，而且要为自己而活。这是一条前进的道路，从气候变化到移民、从刑事司法改革到经济机遇，我们都要以建设一个更美好世界的责任为动力。此前的年轻人一次又一次地改变了历史的进程，现在是时候再次改变了。
I know, I know the urgency of that truth is with you today. Feel big because no one can make you feel small. Feel brave because the challenges we face are great but you are greater. And feel grateful because someone sacrificed to make this moment possible for you. You have clear eyes and a long life to use them. And here in this stadium, I can feel your courage.
我知道，今天你们所接触到真相带来的紧迫性。大胆一些，因为没有人能让你感到弱小。勇敢一些，因为我们面临的挑战是巨大的，但你们将更加伟大。懂得感恩，因为已经有人为你们生活在的当下做出了牺牲，让这一刻成为可能。你们拥有一对清澈的眼睛，人生的道路也还很长。在这个体育场，我能感受到你们的勇气。
Call upon your grit. Try something. You may succeed. You may fail. But make it your life's work to remake the world because there is nothing more beautiful or more worthwhile than working to leave something better for humanity.
呼唤你的勇气。尝试，你可能会成功，也可能会失败。但是，请让改造世界成为你自己的人生工作，因为没有什么比为人类留下更好的东西更具价值。
Thank you very much, and congratulations class of 20xx!
非常感谢，祝贺20xx届的毕业生们！
世界英语演讲稿完整版篇二
Wang Leehom Speech @Berklee College of Music - YouTube
王力宏伯克利音乐学院演讲
I don't know what to say. I didn't know that there would be a podium with a microphone. I thought I would just be singing songs. Not to downplay that, but ...
我不知说什么好了。我不知道这边有一个带麦克风的讲台。我还以为只要唱几首歌就好了。不是说那不重要。
Oh, my goodness, what an honor. I am just so humbled and excited to be here looking out at all of you.
哦，我的老天，多么大的一份荣誉。在这里看着大家，我既诚惶诚恐，又激动万分。
Being back here on campus is ... I feel so proud to have studied here. And ... that's 16 years ago, but ... I used to come to Symphony Hall every weekend and get those rush tickets, the student packs, and watch the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform as often as possible, often by myself.
重新回到这里真的是…我为自己曾在此学习过而感到自豪。已经是16年前了，但是…我以前经常一个人在周末来到交响乐大厅，抢一些所谓的“赶急票”，来欣赏波士顿交响乐团的表演。
And it was one of the highlights of my time here at Berklee, so being here on stage is really unreal. Walking around on campus today was a testament to how far Berklee's come in the last 16 years. It is beautiful, the campus, the facilities. I was walking by the MP&E, the studios, the equipment, the fitness center. We didn't have any of these stuffs. So I guess you guys have been doing a pretty good job. So thank you, and congratulations to that. What a time for the East and West in music, in pop culture.
这是我在伯克利学习生活的众多亮点之一了，所以能来到这个台上实属不易。今天我在校园漫步，感受到了母校在这16年间的变化之大。她太美了，无论是环境还是设施。我还路过MP&E，那些工作室，一些设施，对了还有一个健身中心。我们那会儿可没有这玩意儿。所以校方的努力非常的棒，谢谢你们，也祝贺你们。这是一个东西方在音乐、流行文化中交流的伟大时代。
All of you, music lovers, future musicians, future professional musicians on the stage, and like what Roger just said, it's so important for us to be ambassadors, to be that bridge, to be ambassadors of peace, and breaking down the walls, bringing people together. Last night ... this is an issue that's so close in my heart, because last night in Los Angeles, my dear friend Jackie Chan was the first person ... first Chinese actor ever to win an Oscar, last night! I just want to thank all of you for being here, that's why we make music, is to connect with people.
在座的各位，无论你是音乐发烧友、未来的音乐人，还是未来专业的舞台表演音乐家，就像Roger刚所说的，我们要成为大使，这一点非常重要。我们要成为沟通东西方的桥梁，成为和平的使者，我们要消除阻碍，把人和人连接起来。对了，跟大家说一件很激动人心的事情，昨天晚上在洛杉矶，我的好朋友成龙大哥成为了第一个获得奥斯卡小金人的中国演员，就在昨天晚上。真的感谢大家今天来到这儿，这也是让我做音乐的原因—把人连接起来。
I've never written a song without loving it myself. So for all of you musicians, always follow your heart and always do what you love. I've definitely ... you know ... never convince yourself that what other people are telling you to do is right if you don't feel like it's right in your heart. As a musician, it just doesn't work.
我对我写的每一首歌都很喜欢，没有不喜欢的。所以，各位音乐人，请跟随自己的心，做自己爱做的事。如果你内心不认可的事情，那么无论别人怎么说，你都别动摇。作为一个音乐人，不这么做是行不通的。
So work like a bull, I guess ... and always have fun. And all the accolades don't mean anything without your friends and your family to share with. So Thank You to them as well for being here together, and always.
最后，像老黄牛一样工作，并且保持快乐。另外，我还想说，如果你不能把这份快乐跟你的朋友、家人分享的话，那么所有的赞美都是没有意义的。所以，我要感谢今天出席典礼的朋友和家人。
世界英语演讲稿完整版篇三
美联储主席伯克南普林斯顿大学毕业典礼演讲稿中英双语对照：
It's nice to be back at Princeton. I find it difficult to believe that it's been almost 11 years since I departed these halls for Washington. I wrote recently to inquire about the status of my leave from the university, and the letter I got back began, "Regrettably, Princeton receives many more qualified applicants for faculty positions than we can accommodate."重返普林斯顿感觉不错，很难相信，我离开校园赴华盛顿已经11年了。近期我向校方询问了我的教职问题，回信称：“很遗憾，普林斯顿收到很多更有才华的学者的求职信，而教职有限。”
I'll extend my best wishes to the seniors later, but first I want to congratulate the parents and families here. As a parent myself, I know that putting your kid through college these days is no walk in the park. Some years ago I had a colleague who sent three kids through Princeton even though neither he nor his wife attended this university. He and his spouse were very proud of that accomplishment, as they should have been. But my colleague also used to say that, from a financial perspective, the experience was like buying a new Cadillac every year and then driving it off a cliff. I should say that he always added that he would do it all over again in a minute. So, well done, moms, dads, and families.我将在稍后献上对毕业生的最美好祝愿，首先我要恭喜在座的家长们。作为父母，我知道这年头供孩子读完大学不容易，数年前，我的一个同事有3个孩子毕业于普林斯顿，尽管他们夫妻都不毕业于此，但我的同事常说，从财政角度讲，这如同每年买辆卡迪拉克，然后让车坠崖。他总会补充说，他会毫不犹豫的选择重新来过。所以，感谢你们的工作，母亲们，父亲们，及家人们。
This is indeed an impressive and appropriate setting for a commencement. I am sure that, from this lectern, any number of distinguished spiritual leaders have ruminated on the lessons of the Ten Commandments. I don't have that kind of confidence, and, anyway, coveting your neighbor's ox or donkey is not the problem it used to be, so I thought I would use my few minutes today to make Ten Suggestions, or maybe just Ten Observations, about the world and your lives after Princeton. Please note, these points have nothing whatsoever to do with interest rates. My qualification for making such suggestions, or observations, besides having kindly been invited to speak today by President Tilghman, is the same as the reason that your obnoxious brother or sister got to go to bed later--I am older than you. All of what follows has been road-tested in real-life situations, but past performance is no guarantee of future results.这确实是做毕业典礼演讲的合适场合，我认为，在这一讲台上，每个精神导师都受到过“十诫”的教诲，我没有那样的信心，而且无论无何，觊觎邻居的驴牛已不是目前的问题，所以今年前几分钟我将提出“十个建议”，或称为对这个世界和你们毕业后的生活的十个观察。请注意，这十点与利率毫无关系。我之所以有资格提出这些建议和或观察，除了普林斯顿的善意邀请外，理由和你们讨厌的哥哥姐姐可以晚睡是一个道理：我比你们更老。以下内容均经受过生活的考验，但以往表现并不能确保未来的结果。
1. The poet Robert Burns once said something about the best-laid plans of mice and men ganging aft agley, whatever "agley" means. A more contemporary philosopher, Forrest Gump, said something similar about life and boxes of chocolates and not knowing what you are going to get. They were both right. Life is amazingly unpredictable; any 22-year-old who thinks he or she knows where they will be in 10 years, much less in 30, is simply lacking imagination. Look what happened to me: A dozen years ago I was minding my own business teaching Economics 101 in Alexander Hall and trying to think of good excuses for avoiding faculty meetings. Then I got a phone call... In case you are skeptical of Forrest Gump's insight, here's a concrete suggestion for each of the graduating seniors. Take a few minutes the first chance you get and talk to an alum participating in his or her 25th, or 30th, or 40th reunion--you know, somebody who was near the front of the P-rade. Ask them, back when they were graduating 25, 30, or 40 years ago, where they expected to be today. If you can get them to open up, they will tell you that today they are happy and satisfied in various measures, or not, and their personal stories will be filled with highs and lows and in-betweens. But, I am willing to bet, those life stories will in almost all cases be quite different, in large and small ways, from what they expected when they started out. This is a good thing, not a bad thing; who wants to know the end of a story that's only in its early chapters? Don't be afraid to let the drama play out.1、阿甘曾讲到人生和巧克力的相似性，你不知道下一块巧克力的味道。人生确实难以预料，任何一个认为知道其10年后情况的毕业生，更不同说三十年了，我只能说他或她缺乏想象力。看看我吧，12年前我一心教经济学入门课程，想着编造什么理由不参加教学会议，结果我接到了那个电话。有过你有机会与毕业25年、30年或40年的校友交谈，并使他们敞开心扉，他们将告诉你，他们对生活中哪些事满意或不满意，他们经历过的高潮和低谷。但我敢打赌，他们的人生故事将与预期相异。这是好事而不是坏事，谁想在故事的开篇就知道结局呢？
2. Does the fact that our lives are so influenced by chance and seemingly small decisions and actions mean that there is no point to planning, to striving? Not at all. Whatever life may have in store for you, each of you has a grand, lifelong project, and that is the development of yourself as a human being. Your family and friends and your time at Princeton have given you a good start. What will you do with it? Will you keep learning and thinking hard and critically about the most important questions? Will you become an emotionally stronger person, more generous, more loving, more ethical? Will you involve yourself actively and constructively in the world? Many things will happen in your lives, pleasant and not so pleasant, but, paraphrasing a Woodrow Wilson School adage from the time I was here, "Wherever you go, there you are." If you are not happy with yourself, even the loftiest achievements won't bring you much satisfaction.2、 是否人生偶然性之大的事实，意味着小的决定和行动无足轻重，不需要规划和奋斗呢？当然不是。无论未来人生如何，她将是一个宏大和漫长的项目，是你作为个人 的发展过程。你的家人、朋友和你在普林斯顿的时光已经为你造就了良好的开端，未来你会如何？你会不断学习、竭力思索、对至关重要的问题持批判态度吗？你会 成为情感上更强大、更大度、更有爱心、更道德的人吗？你会更积极的、更建设性的参与世事吗？你的人生会有很多故事，快乐的，及不太快乐的，如果你不为自己 感到快乐，就连最伟大的成就业也不会让你感到满足。
3. The concept of success leads me to consider so-called meritocracies and their implications. We have been taught that meritocratic institutions and societies are fair. Putting aside the reality that no system, including our own, is really entirely meritocratic, meritocracies may be fairer and more efficient than some alternatives. But fair in an absolute sense? Think about it. A meritocracy is a system in which the people who are the luckiest in their health and genetic endowment; luckiest in terms of family support, encouragement, and, probably, income; luckiest in their educational and career opportunities; and luckiest in so many other ways difficult to enumerate--these are the folks who reap the largest rewards. The only way for even a putative meritocracy to hope to pass ethical muster, to be considered fair, is if those who are the luckiest in all of those respects also have the greatest responsibility to work hard, to contribute to the betterment of the world, and to share their luck with others. As the Gospel of Luke says (and I am sure my rabbi will forgive me for quoting the New Testament in a good cause): "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded" (Luke 12:48, New Revised Standard Version Bible). Kind of grading on the curve, you might say.3、 成功的概念促使我考虑所谓的精英主义及其含义。精英是在健康和基因上最幸运的人，他们在家庭支持、鼓励上，或在收入上也是最幸运的，他们在教育和职业机遇 上最幸运，他们在很多方面都最幸运，一般人难以复制。一个精英体制是否公平，要看这些精英是否有义务努力工作、致力于建设更好的世界，并与他人分享幸运。
4. Who is worthy of admiration? The admonition from Luke--which is shared by most ethical and philosophical traditions, by the way--helps with this question as well. Those most worthy of admiration are those who have made the best use of their advantages or, alternatively, coped most courageously with their adversities. I think most of us would agree that people who have, say, little formal schooling but labor honestly and diligently to help feed, clothe, and educate their families are deserving of greater respect--and help, if necessary--than many people who are superficially more successful. They're more fun to have a beer with, too. That's all that I know about sociology.4、谁值得尊重？是那些充分利用其优势，或勇敢面对逆境的人。我想我们会认同，那些虽然接受的正式教育不多，但诚实劳动、勤勉的为家人提供衣食和教育的人，相比更多表面上很成功的人，更值得尊重，和他们喝两杯是更有趣的事情。
5. Since I have covered what I know about sociology, I might as well say something about political science as well. In regard to politics, I have always liked Lily Tomlin's line, in paraphrase: "I try to be cynical, but I just can't keep up." We all feel that way sometime. Actually, having been in Washington now for almost 11 years, as I mentioned, I feel that way quite a bit. Ultimately, though, cynicism is a poor substitute for critical thought and constructive action. Sure, interests and money and ideology all matter, as you learned in political science. But my experience is that most of our politicians and policymakers are trying to do the right thing, according to their own views and consciences, most of the time. If you think that the bad or indifferent results that too often come out of Washington are due to base motives and bad intentions, you are giving politicians and policymakers way too much credit for being effective. Honest error in the face of complex and possibly intractable problems is a far more important source of bad results than are bad motives. For these reasons, the greatest forces in Washington are ideas, and people prepared to act on those ideas. Public service isn't easy. But, in the end, if you are inclined in that direction, it is a worthy and challenging pursuit.5、 提到政治，愤世嫉俗是批判性思考和建设性行动的更糟糕的替代品。当然，利益、金钱和意识形态都有影响力，如你在政治课上所学。但我的感受是大部分政界人士 都在寻求做正确的事情，大部分时候，这由他们的观点和意识决定。在复杂及难于处理的问题上所犯的诚实错误，更是糟糕结果的主要原因，而非不良动机。因此， 华盛顿最有影响的力量是观念和想法，人们基于这些观念去行动。公共服务并不轻松，如果你选择了这一道路，那是值得的，并颇具挑战性。
6. Having taken a stab at sociology and political science, let me wrap up economics while I'm at it. Economics is a highly sophisticated field of thought that is superb at explaining to policymakers precisely why the choices they made in the past were wrong. About the future, not so much. However, careful economic analysis does have one important benefit, which is that it can help kill ideas that are completely logically inconsistent or wildly at variance with the data. This insight covers at least 90 percent of proposed economic policies.6、经济学是颇具诡辩性的思维领域，她在解释决策者以往所犯错误方面显得很崇高，但在预测未来时，则不仅如此。然而，谨慎的经济分析确有重要益处，她能去除那些不合逻辑或与数据不符的想法，这对90%的经济政策建议有影响。
7. I'm not going to tell you that money doesn't matter, because you wouldn't believe me anyway. In fact, for too many people around the world, money is literally a life-or-death proposition. But if you are part of the lucky minority with the ability to choose, remember that money is a means, not an end. A career decision based only on money and not on love of the work or a desire to make a difference is a recipe for unhappiness.7、我不会告诉你们金钱无用，反正你们也不会听的。事实上，对全球很多人来说，金钱能够决定生存还是死亡。但如果你属于那些幸运得有能力进行抉择的少数人，请记住，金钱只是途径，而非最终目标。职业选择基于收入、而非热爱，或做出贡献的热情，是日后苦恼的根源。
8. Nobody likes to fail but failure is an essential part of life and of learning. If your uniform isn't dirty, you haven't been in the game.8、没有人希望失败，但失败是生活和学习的一部分。如果你衣衫整齐，你并没有进入比赛。
9. I spoke earlier about definitions of personal success in an unpredictable world. I hope that as you develop your own definition of success, you will be able to do so, if you wish, with a close companion on your journey. In making that choice, remember that physical beauty is evolution's way of assuring us that the other person doesn't have too many intestinal parasites. Don't get me wrong, I am all for beauty, romance, and sexual attraction--where would Hollywood and Madison Avenue be without them? But while important, those are not the only things to look for in a partner. The two of you will have a long trip together, I hope, and you will need each other's support and sympathy more times than you can count. Speaking as somebody who has been happily married for 35 years, I can't imagine any choice more consequential for a lifelong journey than the choice of a traveling companion.9、 我希望你们能够发展自身对成功的定义，在这一过程中，你们能够选择一位亲密的伴侣。在做出选择时，要记住外表美只是人类演变的一种方式，它使我们确信对方 没有肠道寄生虫。不要误解我，我也为美丽、浪漫和性所吸引，不然美国影视业和广告业怎么生存下去呢？但尽管重要，这些不是寻找人生伴侣时需要考虑的事 情。你们将共同走过人生旅程，需要对方的支持和关爱。作为已婚35年的人士，我想象不到比选择人生伴侣更重要的事情。
10. Call your mom and dad once in a while. A time will come when you will want your own grown-up, busy, hyper-successful children to call you. Also, remember who paid your tuition to Princeton.10、时不时的给父母去个电话。早晚有一天，你希望自己长大成人的、工作繁忙的、超级成功的孩子给你来个电话，再者，请记着谁供养你上的大学。
Those are my suggestions. They're probably worth exactly what you paid for them. But they come from someone who shares your affection for this great institution and who wishes you the best for the future.
Congratulations, graduates. Give 'em hell.最后，毕业生们，给他们点颜色看看。