When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
英譯漢參考譯文:
我年輕的時候,有本非常好的雜志《全球目錄》,這是我們那代人的“圣經(jīng)”之一。雜志的創(chuàng)辦人是斯圖爾特·布蘭德,創(chuàng)辦地是在離這里不遠的門羅公園,他賦予了這本雜志詩一樣的美感。六十年代后期,個人電腦和桌面排版尚未出現(xiàn),所以這本雜志完全利用打字機、剪刀、偏光鏡來完成,有點像平裝本的谷歌,卻出現(xiàn)在谷歌問世三十五年前。這本雜志充滿了理想色彩,充滿了整齊利落的工具、不同尋常的見解。
斯圖爾特和他的團隊出版了幾期《全球目錄》,在它完成使命后,他們出版了最后一期雜志。那是在七十年代中期,那時我和你們的年齡相仿。雜志最后一期的封底上是張清晨的鄉(xiāng)村公路的照片,那樣的路,如果你有些冒險精神,可能會一路搭車走過。照片下面有兩句話:“求知若饑,虛懷若愚”,這是他們??母鎰e語, “求知若饑,虛懷若愚”,我總是以此鼓勵自己?,F(xiàn)在,當你們即將畢業(yè)踏上新的旅程,我給予你們同樣的期望。