名人励志英语演讲 第111期:选择塑造人生(3)

 　　While my grandmother was crying, my grandfather, who had been driving in silence, pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway. He got out of the car and came around and opened my door and waited for me to follow. Was I in trouble? My grandfather was a highly intelligent, quiet man. He had never said a harsh word to me, and maybe this was to be the first time? Or maybe he would ask that I get back in the car and apologize to my grandmother. I had no experience in this realm with my grandparents and no way to gauge¹ what the consequences might be. We stopped beside the trailer. My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, "Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever."

　　我祖母坐在那里一直哭，而我的祖父之前一直在默默开车，他把车停在了高速路边，走下车来，打开了我的车门，等着我跟他下车。我惹麻烦了吗？我的祖父是一个充满智慧而安静的人。他从来没有对我说过严厉的话，难道这会是第一次？也许他会让我回到车上跟祖母道歉？我以前跟祖父母从未遇到过这种状况，因而也无从知晓会有什么后果发生。我们在房车旁停下来。祖父注视着我，沉默片刻，然后轻轻地平静地说：“杰夫，有一天你会明白，善良比聪明更难做到。”

　　But what I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices. Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy--they're given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce² yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment³ of your choices.

　　但是今天我想对你们说的是，天赋和选择之间的区别。聪明是一种天赋，而善良是一种选择。天赋得来很容易——毕竟它们与生俱来。而选择却颇为艰难。如果一不小心，你可能被天赋所诱惑，这可能会损害到你做出的选择。

　　This is a group with many gifts. I'm sure one of your gifts is the gift of a smart and capable brain. I'm confident that's the case because admission is competitive and if there weren't some signs that you're clever, the dean of admission wouldn't have let you in.

　　在座各位都拥有许多天赋。我确信你们的天赋之一就是拥有精明能干的头脑。我之所以如此确信，是因为入学竞争十分激烈，如果你们不能表现出聪明智慧，便没有资格进入这所学校。

　　重点讲解：

　　1. pull over

　　（车）驶向路边停下；令（驾车者）靠路边停车

　　eg. He noticed a man behind him in a blue Ford⁴ gesticulating to pull over.

　　他注意到身后一个开蓝色福特车的男人正打手势要靠边停车。

　　eg. The officers pulled him over after a high-speed chase.

　　警察们一路狂追后截住了他。

　　2. be in trouble

　　处于困境；惹麻烦；将受惩罚

　　eg. He was in trouble with his teachers.

　　老师们都想好好教训他。

　　eg. You'll be in trouble if you don't watch your step.

　　你要是不谨慎从事就要倒霉了。

　　3. after all

　　毕竟；终究；竟然；居然

　　eg. I thought you might know somebody. After all, you're the man with connections.

　　我以为你可能认识某个重要人物。毕竟你交游甚广。

　　eg. I came out here on the chance of finding you at home after all.

　　我到这儿来就想碰碰运气，没想到你居然真的在家。

　　名人简介：

　　人物生平（二）

　　大学时代

　　进了爱因斯坦晚年曾执教过的普林斯顿大学，他的兴趣转向了计算机，此时正逢计算机产业翻天覆地的变革时期。他说：“我已经陷入计算机不能自拔，正期待着某些革命性的突破。”1986年，获普林斯顿大学电气工程与计算机科学学士学位，以优异成绩毕业，并成为美国大学优秀生联谊会会员。

　　从业历程

　　1986年，贝佐斯在美国名校普林斯顿大学毕业，很快就进入纽约一家新成立的高科技公司。两年后，贝佐斯跳槽到一家纽约银行家信托公司，管理价值2500亿美元资产的电脑系统，25岁时便成了这家银行信托公司有史以来最年轻的副总裁。

　　1990年至1995年，贝佐斯与他人一起组建了世界上最先进、最成功的套头基金交易管理公司，1992年成为该公司最年轻的资深副总裁。

1 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

2 seduce   

vt.勾引，诱奸，诱惑，引诱

参考例句：

• She has set out to seduce Stephen.她已经开始勾引斯蒂芬了。
• Clever advertising would seduce more people into smoking.巧妙策划的广告会引诱更多的人吸烟。

3 detriment   

n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源

参考例句：

• Smoking is a detriment to one's health.吸烟危害健康。
• His lack of education is a serious detriment to his career.他的未受教育对他的事业是一种严重的妨碍。

4 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。