你们知道吗？如果在若干年后你们还仅仅记得“快乐的魔法师”这个笑话，那就证明我已经超越了男爵夫人玛丽·沃诺克。确定一个切实可行的目标——这是自我提升的第一步。

　　Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that have expired between that day and this.

　　实际上，我为今天应该给大家的讲些什么绞尽了脑汁。我曾自问，在当初自己毕业典礼上我想要知道些什么呢？从毕业典礼那天到现在的21年里我得到了什么重要的经验和教训呢？

　　I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called 'real life', I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

　　我想到了两个答案。今天是个美好的日子，我们欢聚一堂一起庆祝你们在学业上取得的成功。然而我决定跟你们谈谈失败的收益；同时，你们将迈入“现实生活”，所以我还要褒扬想象力的极度重要性。

　　These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.

　　这两点似乎是不切实际或自相矛盾的选择，但请先容许我讲完。

　　Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me. I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels.

　　对于已经42岁的我来说，回忆21岁刚刚毕业时的情景并不是一件很舒服的事情。21年前，我一直都在自己的雄心和身边的人对我的期望之间寻求平衡。我一直深信，自己唯一想做的事情就是写小说。

　　wrack one's mind and heart for

　　为......绞尽脑汁

　　eg. Bob wracked his mind and heart trying to remember where he left the book.

　　鲍勃绞尽脑汁试图回忆起书丢在何处。

　　expire

　　vt. 终止；期满

　　eg. Now her passport has expired.

　　现在她的护照已过期了。

　　on hte threshold of

　　在......快要开始的时候

　　eg. This country is on the threshold of prosperity.

　　这个国家即将进入繁荣之境。

　　extol

　　vt. 颂扬

　　eg. They extol the virtues of the peaceful life.

　　他们都称赞宁静的乡村生活的种种的优点。

　　crucial

　　adj. 关键性的

　　eg. She broke into the conversation at a crucial moment.

　　她在关键时刻打断了谈话。

　　quixotic

　　adj. 不切实际的

　　eg. At worst his scruples must have been quixotic, not malicious.

　　从最坏的角度来说，他的疑虑肯定是出于一时冲动，而不含恶意。

　　paradoxical

　　adj. 矛盾的

　　eg. The result of such punishments is often paradoxical.

　　这样惩罚的结果往往适得其反。

　　bear with

　　忍受

　　eg. We have to bear with his bad temper because he is a bit frustrated these days.

　　我们不得不容忍他的坏脾气因为这些日子他有点灰心丧气。

　　strike a balance between

　　在......之间寻求平衡

　　eg. This teacher tries to strike a balance between work and play.

　　老师试图使学生们的学业和娱乐两全其美。