公众人物毕业演讲 第307期:本伯南克2013普林斯顿(6)

 Is really entirely¹ meritocratic meritocracies may be fairer and more efficient than some alternatives But fair in an absolute sense? Think about it

是真正意义上的完全精英体系 精英体系可能比其它体系更加公平和高效 但绝对意义上讲 它真的公平吗 想想这个问题

A meritocracy is a system in which the people who are the luckiest in their health and genetic² endowment luckiest in terms of family support, encouragement, and, probably, income

在这种精英体系中 只有健康和基因禀赋上最幸运的人 家庭支持鼓励以及收入上最幸运的人

Luckiest in their educational and career opportunities and luckiest in so many other ways difficult to enumerate³ those are the folks who reap the largest rewards

教育 就业机会上最幸运的人 以及在数不清的其它方面上最幸运的人 才能收获最大的成就

The only way for even a putative⁴ meritocracy to hope to pass ethical⁵ muster⁶, to be considered fair is if those who are the luckiest in all of those respects

这种精英体系 哪怕是一个仅是推定的精英体系 要让其承受得住道德议论并被认作是公平的 必须要让这群各方面都最幸运的人

Also have the greatest responsibility to work hard to contribute to the betterment of the world and to share their luck with others

同时尽最大义务 努力工作 为创造更美好的世界作出贡献 以及同他人分享其好运

As the Gospel of Luke says and I am sure my rabbi will forgive me for quoting the New Testament⁷ in a good cause:

我将引用路加福音的话 我相信我的拉比 会原谅我出于正当原因对新约圣经的引用

"From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required and from the one to whom much has been entrusted⁸, even more will be demanded" Kind of like grading on the curve

"因为多给谁 就向谁多取" "多托谁 就向谁多要" 有点像基于曲线评分

Number 4 Who is worthy⁹ of admiration¹⁰? The admonition from Luke

四 谁值得钦佩 路加福音的这条训诫

Which is shared by most ethical and philosophical traditions, by the way helps with this question as well Those most worthy of admiration

同样也在很多道德和哲学观点中得到了认可和发扬 对此问题同样也有帮助 最值得钦佩的人是

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

那些最好地利用了自身优势 或最勇敢地面对了自身逆境的人 我相信 大多数人都会同意

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 enumerate   

v.列举，计算，枚举，数

参考例句：

• The heroic deeds of the people's soldiers are too numerous to enumerate.人民子弟兵的英雄事迹举不胜举。
• Its applications are too varied to enumerate.它的用途不胜枚举。

4 putative   

adj.假定的

参考例句：

• There have been many attempts to track down the putative Loch Ness monster.人们为追踪假定存在的尼斯湖水怪做了许多努力。
• He is the putative father of this child.他是这孩子的推定的父亲。

5 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

6 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

7 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

8 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。