TED演讲:被遗忘的美国工人阶级(8)

 The last thing I want to say is that I had a lot of good fortune in the mentors¹ and people who have played an important role in my life. 最后我还想说，我非常幸运能遇见很多很好的导师和人，他们在我生命中扮演了非常重要的角色。

From the Marines, from Ohio State, from Yale, from other places, 在海军陆战队，在俄亥俄州，在耶鲁大学，在其他地方，

people have really stepped in and ensured that they filled that social capital gap that it was pretty obvious, apparently², that I had. 大家都走近我，帮我填满那条社会资本的鸿沟，这条鸿沟在我身上表现得很明显。

That comes from good fortune, but a lot of children aren't going to have that good fortune, 这是一种很大的幸运，但是很多孩子都没有这样的好运，

and I think that raises really important questions for all of us about how we're going to change that. 这就为我们引出了非常重要的问题，那就是该如何改变这一点。

We need to ask questions about how we're going to give low-income kids who come from a broken home access to a loving home. 我们要思考如何帮助那些低收入家庭的孩子，让他们破碎的家庭重新充满爱。

We need to ask questions about how we're going to teach low-income parents how to better interact³ with their children, with their partners. 我们要思考如何教育低收入的父母同自己的孩子，同自己的爱人，更好地互动。

We need to ask questions about how we give social capital, mentorship to low-income kids who don't have it. 我们要思考如何为贫穷的孩子提供社会资本和引导。

We need to think about how we teach working class children about not just hard skills, like reading, mathematics, 我们要思考如何教育工人阶级的孩子，不仅仅是硬技能，比如阅读，数学，

but also soft skills, like conflict resolution and financial management. 还有软技能，比如危机处理和理财。

Now, I don't have all of the answers. 现在，我并没有所有这些问题的答案。

I don't know all of the solutions to this problem, but I do know this: 我也不知该如何彻底解决这些问题，但我明确知道的是：

in southern Ohio right now, there's a kid who is anxiously awaiting their dad,  现在，在南俄亥俄州，有孩子在焦急等待自己的父亲，

wondering whether, when he comes through the door, he'll walk calmly or stumble⁴ drunkly. 在想着，当他走进家门的时候，是正常的还是喝得东倒西歪的。

There's a kid whose mom sticks a needle in her arm and passes out, 有的孩子看着自己的母亲往胳膊里扎针，然后失去知觉，

and he doesn't know why she doesn't cook him dinner, and he goes to bed hungry that night. 他不明白为什么妈妈不给自己做饭，只好饿着肚子爬上床。

There's a kid who has no hope for the future but desperately⁵ wants to live a better life. 有的孩子对未来不抱希望，但又非常想过上更好的生活。

They just want somebody to show it to them. 他们需要有人教他们怎么做。

I don't have all the answers, 我没有所有的答案，

but I know that unless our society starts asking better questions about why I was so lucky 但我知道，除非整个社会开始思考为什么我如此幸运，

and about how to get that luck to more of our communities and our country's children, 如何让更多的社区，让更多的孩子得到这份幸运，

we're going to continue to have a very significant problem. Thank you. 否则我们将会不断遇到非常严重的问题。谢谢大家。

1 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

4 stumble   

n.绊倒，失策；vi.绊倒，失策，踌躇，无意中发现；vt.绊倒，困惑

参考例句：

• Be grateful to those who have made you stumble,for they have strengthened your ability.感激绊倒你的人，因为他强化了你的能力。
• You never knew when you might stumble across some new talent.谁也说不准什么时候会碰上一位新的天才。

5 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。