公众人物毕业演讲 第63期:金墉美国东北大学(2)

 　　A recent study by a group of psychologists in the journal Science

　　几位心理学家最近在《科学》杂志上发表了一篇研究论文

　　found that people are extremely poor at predicting their futures¹

　　他们发现人极其不擅长预测自己的未来

　　The study showed

　　他们的研究显示

　　that, for example, a typical 20-year-old woman's predictions

　　例如 一个典型的20岁女性

　　for life changes in the next decade of her life

　　对自己未来十年人生变化的预测

　　were not nearly as radical²

　　绝不像一个典型的

　　as the typical 30-year-old woman's recollection of how much she had changed in her 20s

　　30岁女性对自己在20来岁时有多大变化的回忆那么激进

　　In other words, 20-year-olds had little idea of

　　换句话说 20岁的人对于自己

　　just how much they would change over the next ten years

　　在未来十年会有多大变化几乎没有概念

　　This discrepancy³ persisted among respondents all the way into their 60s

　　这种差异在受访者中一直延续到60多岁的人

　　This study's findings are essentially⁴ the story of my life

　　这项研究结果基本上也是我的人生故事

　　In fact, even before I was born, given the obstacles my parents faced

　　事实上 即使在我出生之前 鉴于我父母所面临的重重障碍

　　I would never have predicted that, in fact, I would be born

　　事实上我都不敢预测我会出生

　　My father spent his childhood in North Korea

　　我的父亲在朝鲜度过了他的童年

　　At the age of 17, he escaped across the border into South Korea

　　他在17岁那年偷越边境逃到韩国

　　leaving his parents, his brothers and sisters, his entire extended family --

　　离开他的父母 他的兄弟姐妹 他的所有亲朋好友

　　everything he had ever known --

　　离开了他所熟悉的一切

　　He had no money. Still

　　他身无分文 但是

　　somehow he managed to enroll in the Seoul National University Dental School

　　他还是设法进了首尔国立大学牙科学院

　　and became a dentist

　　后来成为一名牙医

　　He told me stories about how he had so little money

　　他告诉我 他口袋里只有一点点钱

　　he often could only afford to buy lunch from the illegal noodle vendors in the street

　　常常只能买得起街上非法小摊贩卖的面条当午餐

1 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

4 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。