名人励志英语演讲 第123期:追随你的幸福 倾听你的心声(2)

 　　I was actually very excited to meet many of you today until I actually did meet you and realized just how young you are all and how old it makes me feel. Tre Borden informed me that actually most of you were born the year I graduated from high school, which is personally a terrifying prospect¹ for me. It's also a little worrying because the only thing I remember about my high school is my senior prom--actually the after-prom party--and I only remember bits and pieces of it. But if what I remember is true, it is very possible that some of you are my children. Especially you with the blue eyes and prematurely² gray hair, right there. Let me just say that if that is true, for legal reasons I can't say whether or not you are my children, I'm bursting with pride today. And I'm sorry for not being around for the last 20 years or so.

　　今天在见你们之前我一直非常激动。但真正见到了你们，我才意识到你们是多么年轻，让我感觉自己是多么苍老。特雷·伯顿（注：2006届耶鲁大学秘书长）告诉我，事实上，我高中毕业那年你们才刚刚出生，这对我来说是件恐怖的事情，也有点令人担忧，因为我对高中生活唯一记得住的事就是毕业舞会——实际上是舞会后举行的派对——我只记得一些零星的片段。但是如果我记得不错的话，很可能你们当中的有些人是我的小孩。特别是有着蓝眼睛和灰白头发的那些同学，没错，就是这样。我只想说，如果这是真的，尽管从法律上来说，我不能说你们到底是不是我的小孩，我心中依然充满自豪感。很抱歉在这20年左右的时间里我没有陪伴你们左右。

　　Seriously, it is a pleasure to be here on what is remarkable³ day. It's a beautiful day if it doesn't rain and a very special day in your lives. You've worked incredibly hard to get here, to get through here, and I hope you're all very proud of yourselves. You should be. And I'm sure you've already done this, but I hope that at some point this weekend--I'm sure everybody's encouraged you to do this--that you look your parents in the eye and hug them close and thank them for all they have done to get you to this moment and this spot. Because as hard as it's been for you. I guarantee you it's been twice as hard for them.

　　说真的，我很高兴能在这个特别的日子来到这里。今天是你们人生中特别的日子，如果没有下雨，就更加美好了。你们经过努力学习考上了这所大学，并顺利完成了学业，我希望你们为自己感到自豪。你们应该为自己感到骄傲。而且我相信你们已经这样做了，我也希望你们这周末能够抽出时间凝望自己的父母，紧紧抱住他们，感谢他们所做的一切，感谢他们让你拥有今天的成就——我相信已经有人鼓励你们这样做了。因为，你们历经艰辛才取得了今天的成就，而对于你们的父母，我保证，他们经历了双倍的艰辛。

　　重点讲解：

　　1. burst with

　　充满；满怀；

　　eg. He almost burst with pride when his son John began to excel⁴ at football.

　　当儿子约翰在足球方面表现优秀时，他心中充满了自豪。

　　eg. He thought his heart would burst with grief⁵.

　　他觉得自己悲痛欲绝。

　　2. get through

　　完成（任务）；干完（工作等）；度过，熬过（困难或不快的时期）；

　　eg. I think you can get through the first two chapters.

　　我想你能完成前两章。

　　eg. It is hard to see how people will get through the winter.

　　难以想象人们将怎样熬过这个冬天。

　　3. look sb. in the eye

　　直视；

　　eg. He could not look her in the eye.

　　他不敢直视她的眼睛。

　　eg. I won't be able to look him in the eye if I lie.

　　我要是撒谎,我就不敢直视他的眼睛。

　　名人档案：

　　姓名：安德森·库珀（Anderson Cooper）

　　性别：男

　　国籍：美国

　　出生日期：1967年6月3日

　　毕业学校：道尔顿学院；耶鲁大学；越南河内大学；

　　成功点睛：以悲天悯人的情怀客观、理智地记录人间百态。

　　代表作品：《边缘来信：关于战争、灾难和幸存者的回忆》

1 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

2 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 excel   

v.胜过，优于，杰出，善于，擅长于

参考例句：

• If your talent combines with diligence,you can excel in your pursuit.如果你把天赋与勤奋结合起来，你所追求的事业便会出类拔萃。
• He is working hard to excel his predecessors.他正努力超越他的前任。

5 grief   

n.悲伤，悲痛，悲伤的事，悲痛的缘由

参考例句：

• Don't allow yourself to sink into grief,it can do no good.不要使自己陷入悲哀之中，这样一点好处也没有。
• After her mother died,she abandoned herself to grief.母亲死后，她沉浸于悲痛之中。