名校励志英语演讲 02:给大学毕业生的几个忠告

 　　Another difficulty with giving a Harvard commencement address is that some students may disapprove¹ of the fact that I will borrow material from previous speeches, as well from others. I ask that you forgive me for two reasons.

　　在哈佛大学毕业典礼上发表演说，还有一个难处，那就是有些毕业生可能有意见，不喜欢我重复前人演讲中说过的话。我请你们谅解我，有两个理由。

　　First, in order to be heard, it is important to deliver the same message more than once

　　首先，为了能让你们听进去，很重要的方法就是重复传递同样的信息。

　　Second, authors who borrow from others are following in the footsteps of the best. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18, noted² “All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.” Picasso declared “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Why should commencement speakers be held to a higher standard?

　　其次，借鉴他人的作者，正走在一条前人开辟的最佳道路上。拉尔夫·瓦尔多·爱默生18岁从哈佛大学毕业时曾写过这样的话：“我最好的一些思想曾被古人偷用过。” 画家毕加索宣称：“优秀的艺术家借鉴，伟大的艺术家偷窃。”那么，毕业典礼的演说者为什么就不适用同样的标准呢？

　　I also want to point out the irony³ of speaking to graduates of an institution that would have rejected me, had I the chutzpah to apply. I am married to “Dean Jean,” the former dean of admissions at Stanford. She assures me that she would have rejected me, if given the chance. When I showed her a draft of this speech, she objected strongly to my use of the word “rejected.” She never rejected applicants⁴; her letters stated that “We are unable to offer an admission.” I have difficulty understanding the difference. After all, deans of admissions of highly selective schools are in reality, “deans of rejection⁵.” Clearly, I have a lot to learn about marketing⁶.

　　我还要指出一点，向哈佛毕业生发表演说，对我来说是有讽刺意味的，因为如果当年我斗胆向哈佛大学递交入学申请，一定会被拒绝。我的妻子迪恩·简，曾任斯坦福大学的招生办公室主任，她明确告诉我，如果当年我申请斯坦福大学，她会拒绝我。我把这篇演讲的草稿给她过目，她强烈反对我使用“拒绝”这个词，她从来不拒绝任何申请者。在拒绝信中，她总是写：“我们无法给你提供入学机会。”我不知道这两种说法有何差别。说到底，那些热门学校的招生办公室与其说是“准许他人入学的主任”，还不如说是“拒绝他人入学的主任”。很显然，我需要好好学学怎么来推销自己。

　　disapprove

　　vt.不赞成；不同意

　　eg.I believe there are few at present who do not disapprove of this provision.

　　笔者相信，目前不反对这条规定的人为数甚少。

　　follow in the footsteps of

　　phr.效仿，借鉴

　　eg.We mustn't blindly follow in the footsteps of foreign practice.

　　我们不能亦步亦趋盲目地照外国办法行事。

　　irony

　　n.讽刺；反语；具有讽刺意味的事

　　eg.The great irony was that despite all his explanations nobody believed him.

　　最具讽刺意味的是，尽管他竭力解释，可没一个人相信他。

　　chutzpah

　　n.胆大妄为

　　eg.For sheer intellectual chutzpah and creativity, it is well worth reading.

　　绝对聪明、肆无忌惮的言行和创造力，让本书值得一读。

　　dean

　　n.院长；系主任

　　eg.He has obtained the consent of the dean for going abroad.

　　他出国已经取得系主任的同意。

　　draft

　　n.草稿

　　eg.They are trying to rush through the draft resolution before the general election.

　　他们设法在大选前把这项决议草案匆匆通过。

1 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

4 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

5 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。