名人励志英语演讲 第124期:追随你的幸福 倾听你的心声(3)

 　　I wasn't really sure what to talk to you about today and I asked Tre and he said, "Well, you know Class Day is such an important day, and I'm sure we'd love to hear some of your memories of it." And that calmed me because the truth of the matter is I have absolutely no memories of this day. I thought back to my own graduation and, I mean I'm sure I was here because I have the little clay pipe and I remember I had the pipe because my mom found it my room that night and accused me, thinking it was a pot pipe. And so we got in a big argument about it and my roommate decided¹ to solve the argument by taking out his two-foot water pipe that he had in a locked box in the living room and comparing it, to show that in fact, that was not a pot pipe. It went well, yeah, it went very well.

　　我不是很明确今天该跟你们说些什么，于是我专门请教了特雷，他告诉我，“毕业典礼是一个很重要的日子，所以我敢肯定大家想听听你对自己的毕业典礼的一些回忆。”这让我镇定了，因为事实上我对那一天已经没有任何印象了。回顾自己的毕业典礼，我敢肯定我确实参加了，因为我带回来一个小小的陶土烟斗。我之所以记得那个小小的烟斗，是因为那天晚上我妈妈在我的房间里发现了它，她以为这是用来吸大麻的，为此指责了我。因此，我们争吵了起来，最后，我的舍友从卧室里一个锁着的箱子里拿出一个两英尺长的水烟斗做对比，证明那个陶土烟斗不是用来吸大麻的，这才算平息了争执。这很奏效，没错，这真的很奏效。

　　So I have no actual memory of sitting here in a funny hat listening to a speaker, which I actually find calming because, frankly², it doesn't matter what I say, because you all are not going to remember this, you know, by tomorrow. But your parents are going to remember this because they paid through their noses for it, so I will try to make it memorable³ for them, if for no one else. I do remember the commencement ceremony: I remember the cap and gown, the polyester, I remember the procession, I remember being excited and nervous and completely confused about my future--feelins, I imagine, that most of you are experiencing in some form. When I graduated, when I was sitting here I imagine, I hadn't acutally applied⁴ for any jobs and I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Yeah, that's right. Raise your hand if you're in that position. I remember asking my mom for advice, something I rarely did growing up because my mom is not the most practical person on the planet. The last time I'd done that was in middle school, when I was having problems in math class and I asked her for some advice and she told me to wear vertical⁵ stripes because they're slimming. So I didn't know what that meant.

　　因此，我不记得曾戴一顶滑稽的帽子坐在这里听演讲，这事实上让我镇定了下来，因为，坦白说，你们知道，不管我讲什么，到明天你们就会忘记。但是你们的父母将会记住这一刻，因为他们为之付出了巨大的代价，所以就算不为别人，仅为了他们，我也会让这次演讲令人难忘。我依旧记得毕业典礼，记得涤纶布料的学士服和学士帽，记得游行列队，还有当时紧张而兴奋的心情，以及对未来的迷茫。我想，你们中的大多数人现在也有着同样的心情。当我要毕业时，当我坐在这里时，我还没有找工作，也不知道我这一生想要做什么。这很正常。如果你现在也处于同样的境况，请举手。我还记得曾向母亲寻求建议，从小到大我很少这样做，因为她并不是世界上最实际的人。上一次向她寻求建议是在上中学时，当时我在数学课上遇到了一些难题，向她寻求建议，她让我穿竖纹衣服，因为那样显得修长。当时我不明白她的意思。

　　重点讲解：

　　1. think back

　　回忆；回想；

　　eg. I thought back to the time in 1975 when my son was desperately⁶ ill.

　　我回想起 1975 年，那时我儿子病得很重。

　　eg. When you think back on it, do you think that it was the right thing to do?

　　现在回想起来，你觉得当时那样做对吗？

　　eg. Thinking back, I don't know how I had the courage.

　　现在回想起来，我都搞不清我当时哪来的那股勇气。

　　2. pay through the nose for sth.

　　付高价；付出过大代价；

　　eg. We don't like paying through the nose for our wine when eating out.

　　下馆子时，我们不喜欢在酒水上花很多钱。

　　eg. There was a shortage of food; so you had to pay through the nose for what you could find.

　　这里缺乏食物，所以你不得不为你能找到的东西付大价钱。

　　3. apply for

　　申请；请求；

　　eg. I am continuing to apply for jobs.

　　我正在继续找工作。

　　eg. They may apply to join the organization.

　　他们可以申请加入该组织。

　　名人简介：

　　安德森·库珀（Anderson Hays Cooper，1967年7月3日－），是一个美国记者、新闻主播和作家，同性恋者。2010年，他主要主持的节目是CNN的《Anderson Cooper 360°》，该节目从纽约城的CNN录影棚直播。他还经常主持一些突发新闻直播节目。

　　安德森·库珀，1967年7月3日出生，1989年毕业于耶鲁大学政治学专业，曾在河内大学学习越南语，2001年12月加入美国有线新闻网，现为美国家喻户晓的金牌新闻节目主持人，并出现在大事件现场：伊拉克战争、东南亚海啸、卡特琳娜飓风……占据CNN频道黄金时段的“安德森·库珀360度”是一档突破传统、涵盖范围广泛的新闻节目。它超越新闻标题本身，就发生在世界各个角落的新闻故事向电视观众进行深层次、多角度、全方位的报道，并与观众进行即时互动。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

3 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。