提神醒腦！這篇反雞湯畢業(yè)演講在國(guó)外社交媒體刷屏：我祝你不幸
今年6月初，美國(guó)最高法院首席大法官約翰·羅伯茨(John Roberts)來(lái)到新罕布什爾州的卡迪根山中學(xué)(Cardigan Mountain School)，參加兒子的初中畢業(yè)典禮，并發(fā)表演講。
這篇演講當(dāng)時(shí)并沒(méi)有引起轟動(dòng)，但近日《華盛頓郵報(bào)》(Washington Post)把其中的金句挖掘了出來(lái)，竟引發(fā)美國(guó)媒體和社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)的瘋狂轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)。
為什么呢?因?yàn)檫@番演講和一般畢業(yè)典禮演講嘉賓說(shuō)的話太不一樣了!
他沒(méi)有祝福畢業(yè)生們有個(gè)光明美好的未來(lái)，卻祝愿他們?cè)庥龈鞣N不幸……
From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice.
我希望在未來(lái)歲月中，你能時(shí)不時(shí)地遭遇不公，唯有如此，你才能懂得公正的價(jià)值。
I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty.
我希望你嘗到背叛的滋味，這樣你才能領(lǐng)悟到忠誠(chéng)之重要。
Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted.
抱歉，我還希望你們時(shí)常感到孤獨(dú)，唯有如此，你才不會(huì)視朋友為理所當(dāng)然。
I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either.
我祝你們偶爾運(yùn)氣不佳，這樣你才會(huì)意識(shí)到機(jī)遇在人生中扮演的角色，從而明白你的成功并非天經(jīng)地義，而他人的失敗也不是命中注定。
And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship.
當(dāng)你偶爾失敗時(shí)，我愿你的對(duì)手時(shí)不時(shí)地會(huì)幸災(zāi)樂(lè)禍。這樣你才能懂得互相尊重的競(jìng)技精神的重要。
I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others.
我希望你被人無(wú)視，唯有如此，你才懂得傾聽他人有多重要。
And I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion.
我祝你感受足夠的痛楚來(lái)學(xué)會(huì)同情。
約翰·羅伯茨還評(píng)論了一下演講嘉賓們愛(ài)對(duì)畢業(yè)生說(shuō)的一句話：“做自己”(Be yourself)。
Unless you are perfect, it does not mean don’t make any changes.
除非你完美無(wú)瑕，那么這句話絕不意味著不去改變自己。
他鼓勵(lì)畢業(yè)生們思考自己想成為什么樣的人，這樣才能真正地“做自己”。他引用蘇格拉底的話說(shuō)：
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
未經(jīng)自省的人生沒(méi)有意義。
約翰·羅伯茨還說(shuō)了一句大實(shí)話，“你們都是享有特權(quán)的一批年輕人”：
You are also privileged young men. And if you weren’t privileged when you came here, you are privileged now because you have been here. My advice is: Don’t act like it.
你們也是享有特權(quán)的一群年輕人。即使初來(lái)此地之時(shí)你們并不優(yōu)人一等，但成為這里的一員，已經(jīng)使你們比他人享有更多優(yōu)勢(shì)。我的建議是，不要表現(xiàn)得高人一等。
怎樣不表現(xiàn)得高人一等?他給了一些具體建議：
When you get to your new school, walk up and introduce yourself to the person who is raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash. Learn their name and call them by their name during your time at the school.
當(dāng)你來(lái)到新學(xué)校時(shí)，見到那些掃落葉、鏟雪、倒垃圾的人，便走上前自我介紹，同時(shí)記住他們名字。在學(xué)校的日子里，記得稱呼他們的名字。
給完建議，他還不忘開個(gè)小玩笑，因?yàn)榭ǖ细街袑W(xué)是一所男子中學(xué)，所以他說(shuō)：
You’ve been at a school with just boys. Most of you will be going to a school with girls. I have no advice for you.
你們之前在的學(xué)校里只有男孩，現(xiàn)在大多數(shù)人都將進(jìn)入有女生的學(xué)校。關(guān)于這件事，我就不提建議了。
當(dāng)時(shí)場(chǎng)下觀眾一片爆笑，羅伯茨也忍不住笑起來(lái)……
這篇演講機(jī)智幽默、妙語(yǔ)連珠、提神醒腦。
聽多了雞湯演講，再來(lái)聽聽這些大實(shí)話，絕對(duì)讓你神清氣爽……
快來(lái)感受一下完整視頻，無(wú)字幕，正好練習(xí)聽力：
演講全文：
Rain, somebody said, is like confetti from heaven. So even the heavens are celebrating this morning, joining the rest of us at this wonderful commencement ceremony.
人們說(shuō)，雨就像天堂灑下的五彩紙屑。所以今早，連天堂也在和我們一起慶祝這個(gè)美妙的畢業(yè)典禮。
Before we go any further, graduates, you have an important task to perform because behind you are your parents and guardians.
在我繼續(xù)下去之前，畢業(yè)生們，你們有一個(gè)重要任務(wù)要做。在你們身后是你們的父母和家長(zhǎng)。
Two or three or four years ago, they drove into Cardigan, dropped you off, helped you get settled and then turned around and drove back out the gates. It was an extraordinary sacrifice for them. They drove down the trail of tears back to an emptier and lonelier house.
兩年、三年或四年前，他們驅(qū)車送你們來(lái)到卡迪根山中學(xué)，幫你們安頓妥當(dāng)，然后又開車離去。他們做出了很大的犧牲。他們一路含淚回到那更加空蕩蕩、更加寂寞的家。
They did that because the decision about your education, they knew, was about you. It was not about them. That sacrifice and others they made have brought you to this point. But this morning is not just about you. It is also about them, so I hope you will stand up and turn around and give them a great round of applause. Please.
他們這樣做，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)關(guān)于教育的決定，實(shí)際上，更是關(guān)于你們本身。是他們做出的犧牲，以及各種奉獻(xiàn)，成就了你們的今天。但今天早上你們不是唯一的主角，今天也是他們的大日子，所以，我希望大家能起立、轉(zhuǎn)身，為自己的家人送上熱烈鼓掌。
Now when somebody asks me how the remarks at Cardigan went, I will be able to say they were interrupted by applause.
好了，現(xiàn)在如果有人問(wèn)我卡迪根的演講進(jìn)行得怎么樣，我就可以說(shuō)，掌聲如雷，把演講都打斷了。
Congratulations, class of 2017. You’ve reached an important milestone. An important stage of your life is behind you. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you it is the easiest stage of your life, but it is in the books. While you’ve been at Cardigan, you have all been a part of an important international community as well. And I think that needs to be particularly recognized.
祝賀你們，2017屆畢業(yè)生。你們來(lái)到了一個(gè)重要的里程碑，人生中的一個(gè)重要階段已經(jīng)過(guò)去。但很抱歉，我要告訴你們，這是你們?nèi)松凶詈?jiǎn)單的一個(gè)階段，但它已告一段落。你們就讀于卡迪根山中學(xué)時(shí)，同時(shí)也成為了國(guó)際社會(huì)中的一員，我覺(jué)得大家尤其應(yīng)當(dāng)認(rèn)識(shí)到這一點(diǎn)。
Now around the country today at colleges, high schools, middle schools, commencement speakers are standing before impatient graduates. And they are almost always saying the same things. They will say that today is a commencement exercise. ‘It is a beginning, not an end. You should look forward.’
今天，在全國(guó)各地的大學(xué)、高中、初中，有很多的畢業(yè)演講者正站在一群躁動(dòng)不安的畢業(yè)生面前，他們講的話大同小異。他們會(huì)說(shuō)，今天是一個(gè)嶄新開端的提前演練，“這是一個(gè)開始，而不是結(jié)束。你們應(yīng)當(dāng)向前看。”
And I think that is true enough, however, I think if you’re going to look forward to figure out where you’re going, it’s good to know where you’ve been and to look back as well.
他們說(shuō)的很對(duì)，然而，我覺(jué)得如果你要向前看，找到自己的方向，那么清楚自己走過(guò)的路，回頭看看，也同樣有益。
And I think if you look back to your first afternoon here at Cardigan, perhaps you will recall that you were lonely. Perhaps you will recall that you were a little scared, a little anxious. And now look at you. You are surrounded by friends that you call brothers, and you are confident in facing the next step in your education.
我想，如果你們回顧自己來(lái)到卡迪根第一天的那個(gè)午后，你們也許會(huì)記起自己當(dāng)時(shí)有多孤獨(dú)，也許還有些害怕、忐忑不安。然而看看現(xiàn)在的你們，身邊滿是朋友，彼此成為兄弟，信心滿滿地迎接下一教育階段。
It is worth trying to think why that is so. And when you do, I think you may appreciate that it was because of the support of your classmates in the classroom, on the athletic field and in the dorms. And as far as the confidence goes, I think you will appreciate that it is not because you succeeded at everything you did, but because with the help of your friends, you were not afraid to fail.
想一想，為什么會(huì)有這樣的變化，這是很有意義的。我想你們也許會(huì)感謝同學(xué)們?cè)谡n堂上、運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)上、宿舍里給予的幫助。而信心是哪里來(lái)的呢，也許你們要感激的不僅是自己的成功，還要感激因?yàn)榕笥训南嘀銈儾辉俸ε率 ?/p>
And if you did fail, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, it might be time to think about doing something else. But it was not just success, but not being afraid to fail that brought you to this point.
如果失敗了，你們爬起來(lái)重新來(lái)過(guò)。如果再次失敗，你們爬起來(lái)再來(lái)一次。如果這次還是失敗了，也許是時(shí)候想想做點(diǎn)別的事了。但并不僅僅是成功，還有不懼失敗的勇氣讓你們走到了今天。
Now the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you. I will not do that, and I’ll tell you why.
現(xiàn)在，畢業(yè)典禮的演講嘉賓照例要祝你們好運(yùn)并送上祝福了。我不會(huì)這樣做，讓我來(lái)告訴你為什么。
From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice.
我希望在未來(lái)歲月中，你能時(shí)不時(shí)地遭遇不公，唯有如此，你才能懂得公正的價(jià)值。
I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty.
我希望你嘗到背叛的滋味，這樣你才能領(lǐng)悟到忠誠(chéng)之重要。
Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted.
抱歉，我還希望你們時(shí)常感到孤獨(dú)，唯有如此，你才不會(huì)視朋友為理所當(dāng)然。
I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either.
我祝你們偶爾運(yùn)氣不佳，這樣你才會(huì)意識(shí)到機(jī)遇在人生中扮演的角色，從而明白你的成功并非天經(jīng)地義，而他人的失敗也不是命中注定。
And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship.
當(dāng)你偶爾失敗時(shí)，我愿你的對(duì)手時(shí)不時(shí)地會(huì)幸災(zāi)樂(lè)禍。這樣你才能懂得互相尊重的競(jìng)技精神的重要。
I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion.
我希望你常被人無(wú)視，唯有如此，你才能懂得傾聽他人有多重要。也祝你感受切膚之痛，從而學(xué)會(huì)同情。
Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.
無(wú)論我祝愿與否，這些事都會(huì)發(fā)生。而你能否從中獲益，則取決于你能否參透這些苦難中傳遞的信息。
Now commencement speakers are also expected to give some advice. They give grand advice, and they give some useful tips. The most common grand advice they give is for you to be yourself. It is an odd piece of advice to give people dressed identically, but you should — you should be yourself. But you should understand what that means.
畢業(yè)典禮演講嘉賓還要給出一些忠告。他們會(huì)說(shuō)一些宏大的建議或?qū)嵱玫募记伞６麄冏畛Ｕf(shuō)的宏大建議就是，做自己。給一群穿著整齊劃一的人提出這樣的建議有點(diǎn)奇怪，不過(guò)你們確實(shí)應(yīng)該做自己。但你們要明白這句話的真正含義。
Unless you are perfect, it does not mean don’t make any changes. In a certain sense, you should not be yourself. You should try to become something better. People say ‘be yourself’ because they want you to resist the impulse to conform to what others want you to be. But you can’t be yourself if you don't learn who are, and you can’t learn who you are unless you think about it.
除非你完美無(wú)瑕，那么這句話絕不意味著不去改變自己。從某種意義上來(lái)說(shuō)，你不應(yīng)當(dāng)做自己。你應(yīng)當(dāng)努力成為更好的人。人們說(shuō)“做自己”，因?yàn)樗麄兿Ｍ悴灰谒说囊庠鸽S波逐流。但如果你自己都不了解自己，那么你就無(wú)法“做自己”，而你只有思考了，才能清楚自己想成為怎樣的人。
The Greek philosopher Socrates said, ‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ And while ‘just do it’ might be a good motto for some things, it’s not a good motto when it’s trying to figure out how to live your life that is before you. And one important clue to living a good life is to not to try to live the good life. The best way to lose the values that are central to who you are is frankly not to think about them at all.
古希臘哲學(xué)家蘇格拉底曾說(shuō)過(guò)，“未經(jīng)自省的人生沒(méi)有意義”。對(duì)某些事來(lái)說(shuō)，“放膽去做”也許是句金玉良言，但當(dāng)你在思考未來(lái)人生將如何度過(guò)時(shí)，這卻不是一句好的格言。不要為了所謂的“好生活”而生活。如果你從來(lái)不思索生活的意義，那你很容易就會(huì)迷失自我。
So that’s the deep advice. Now some tips as you get ready to go to your new school. Other the last couple of years, I have gotten to know many of you young men pretty well, and I know you are good guys. But you are also privileged young men. And if you weren’t privileged when you came here, you are privileged now because you have been here. My advice is: Don’t act like it.
以上是一些深刻的忠告。接下來(lái)的建議是給即將步入新學(xué)校的你們。過(guò)去幾年里，我已經(jīng)熟識(shí)你們當(dāng)中很多年輕人，也知道你們都是好青年。但你們也是享有特權(quán)的一群年輕人。即使初來(lái)此地之時(shí)你們并不優(yōu)人一等，但成為這里的一員，已經(jīng)使你們比他人享有更多優(yōu)勢(shì)。我的建議是，不要表現(xiàn)得高人一等。
When you get to your new school, walk up and introduce yourself to the person who is raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash. Learn their name and call them by their name during your time at the school. Another piece of advice: When you pass by people you don’t recognize on the walks, smile, look them in the eye and say hello. The worst thing that will happen is that you will become known as the young man who smiles and says hello, and that is not a bad thing to start with. You’ve been at a school with just boys. Most of you will be going to a school with girls. I have no advice for you.
當(dāng)你來(lái)到新學(xué)校時(shí)，見到那些掃落葉、鏟雪、倒垃圾的人，便走上前自我介紹，同時(shí)記住他們名字。在學(xué)校的日子里，記得稱呼他們的名字。另外一條建議是：當(dāng)你在路上遇見陌生人時(shí)，看著他們眼睛并微笑致意。這樣做最糟糕的結(jié)果不過(guò)是，人們會(huì)記住你這個(gè)愛(ài)笑愛(ài)打招呼的年輕人，這是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的開頭。你們之前在的學(xué)校里只有男孩，現(xiàn)在大多數(shù)人都將進(jìn)入有女生的學(xué)校。關(guān)于這件事，我沒(méi)有建議。
The last bit of advice I’ll give you is very simple, but I think it could make a big difference in your life. Once a week, you should write a note to someone. Not an email. A note on a piece of paper. It will take you exactly 10 minutes. Talk to an adult, let them tell you what a stamp is. You can put the stamp on the envelope. Again, 10 minutes, once a week.
最后一條建議十分簡(jiǎn)單，但是卻會(huì)對(duì)你的人生產(chǎn)生很大的影響：每周給一些人寫一封信。不是電子郵件，而是寫在一張紙上，只要花你10分鐘。問(wèn)一位長(zhǎng)輩，讓他告訴你郵票是什么，然后你就可以給信封貼郵票了。再說(shuō)一遍，一周只花10分鐘哦。
I will help you, right now. I will dictate to you the first note you should write. It will say, ‘Dear [fill in the name of a teacher at Cardigan Mountain School].’ Say: ‘I have started at this new school. We are reading [blank] in English. Football or soccer practice is hard, but I’m enjoying it. Thank you for teaching me.’
我現(xiàn)在就可以教你怎樣做。我告訴你第一張便條寫什么。稱呼是“親愛(ài)的卡迪根山中學(xué)某老師”，然后寫“我們已經(jīng)開始了新學(xué)期，最近正在學(xué)某本書，足球?qū)ξ襾?lái)說(shuō)很困難，但我很喜歡。謝謝您的教誨。”
Put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it. It will mean a great deal to people who — for reasons most of us cannot contemplate — have dedicated themselves to teaching middle school boys. As I said, that will take you exactly 10 minutes a week. By the end of the school year, you will have sent notes to 40 people. Forty people will feel a little more special because you did, and they will think you are very special because of what you did. No one else is going to carry that dividend during your time at school.
然后把你的便條裝進(jìn)信封，貼好郵票后寄出。這對(duì)那些把生命奉獻(xiàn)給教育初中小男孩的中學(xué)老師們來(lái)講意義非凡。如我所說(shuō)，每周只需要花十分鐘。當(dāng)學(xué)年結(jié)束時(shí)，你差不多給40位老師寄出過(guò)便條。這40位老師會(huì)因?yàn)槟阕龅倪@件事而感到自己很特殊，同時(shí)也會(huì)對(duì)你另眼相看。在學(xué)校的時(shí)光里，這是你一人獨(dú)享的一份紅利。
Enough advice. I would like to end by reading some important lyrics. I cited the Greek philosopher Socrates earlier. These lyrics are from the great American philosopher, Bob Dylan. They’re almost 50 years old. He wrote them for his son, Jesse, who he was missing while he was on tour. It lists the hopes that a parent might have for a son and for a daughter. They’re also good goals for a son and a daughter. The wishes are beautiful, they’re timeless. They’re universal.
忠告說(shuō)得夠多了。下面我將引用一段著名的歌詞結(jié)束我的致辭。剛才，我引用了希臘哲人蘇格拉底的名言，而這些歌詞，則來(lái)自偉大的美國(guó)哲人鮑勃·迪倫。這些歌詞已有50年歷史，是迪倫巡回演出期間，思子心切，寫給兒子杰西的。歌詞表達(dá)了家長(zhǎng)對(duì)子女的美好期盼。同時(shí)也可作為子女們的奮斗目標(biāo)。這些期盼是美好的、永恒的，也是普世的。
They’re good and true, except for one: It is the wish that gives the song its title and its refrain. That wish is a parent’s lament. It’s not a good wish.
整體來(lái)說(shuō)都很好，除了有一條，即歌名和副歌里表達(dá)的愿望。那只能算是家長(zhǎng)們的扼腕嘆息，算不得美好的愿望。
So these are the lyrics from Forever Young by Bob Dylan:
這就是鮑勃迪倫的《永遠(yuǎn)年輕》的歌詞：
May God bless and keep you always,
愿上帝的庇護(hù)與你同在
May your wishes all come true,
|愿你能夠夢(mèng)想成真
May you always do for others
愿你永遠(yuǎn)幫助別人
And let others do for you.
也接受別人的恩惠
May you build a ladder to the stars
愿你可以造一把采摘繁星的云梯
And climb on every rung,
穩(wěn)妥沿它而上
May you stay forever young,
愿你永遠(yuǎn)年輕
May you grow up to be righteous,
愿你長(zhǎng)大后正直無(wú)私
May you grow up to be true,
愿你懂事時(shí)真實(shí)善良
May you always know the truth
愿你永遠(yuǎn)了解真理的方向
And see the lights surrounding you.
所到之處都有高燈明照
May you always be courageous,
愿你永遠(yuǎn)勇敢無(wú)畏
Stand upright and be strong,
堅(jiān)韌不拔，意志堅(jiān)強(qiáng)
May you stay forever young,
愿你永遠(yuǎn)年輕
May your hands always be busy,
愿你總是忙碌充實(shí)
May your feet always be swift,
愿你腳步永遠(yuǎn)輕盈
May you have a strong foundation
愿你根基牢固
When the winds of changes shift.
在變故橫生之時(shí)
May your heart always be joyful,
愿你的心總是充滿快樂(lè)
May your song always be sung,
愿你的歌曲能夠永遠(yuǎn)被人傳唱
May you stay forever young,
愿你永遠(yuǎn)年輕
