名校勵(lì)志英語演講 第39期:我人生中的三個(gè)故事
I'm honored to be with you today for yourcommencement from one of the finest universities inthe world. Truth be told, I never graduated fromcollege, and this is the closest I've ever gotten to acollege graduation. Today, I want to tell you threestories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just threestories.
很榮幸和你們一起參加世界上最好的一所大學(xué)的畢業(yè)典禮。說實(shí)話，我大學(xué)沒畢業(yè)，這是我第一次離大學(xué)畢業(yè)這么近。今天，我想給大家講我人生中的三個(gè)故事，不談別的，也不講大道理，三個(gè)故事就好。
The first story is about connecting the dots.
第一個(gè)故事講的是把生命中的點(diǎn)滴串連起來。
I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months, but then stayed around as a drop-in foranother 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
我在里德學(xué)院只讀了六個(gè)月就退學(xué)了。此后便在學(xué)校里旁聽，又過了大約一年半，我徹底離開。那么，我為什么退學(xué)了?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student,and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted bycollege graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife.Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So myparents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking, "We've got anunexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said, "Of course." My biological mother found outlater that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduatedfrom high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few monthslater when my parents promised that I would go to college. This was the start in my life.
這得從我出生前講起。我的生母是一名年輕的未婚在校研究生，她決定將我送給別人收養(yǎng)。她非常希望收養(yǎng)我的是有大學(xué)學(xué)歷的人，所以把一切都安排好了，決定我一出生就將我交給一對(duì)律師夫婦收養(yǎng)。沒想到我才剛剛出生，那對(duì)夫妻卻決定收養(yǎng)一名女孩。就這樣，我的養(yǎng)父母——他們的名字當(dāng)時(shí)還在登記冊(cè)上——半夜三更接到一個(gè)電話：“我們這兒現(xiàn)在有一個(gè)沒人要的男嬰，你們要嗎?”“當(dāng)然要。”他們回答。但是，我的生母后來發(fā)現(xiàn)我的養(yǎng)母不是大學(xué)畢業(yè)生，我的養(yǎng)父甚至高中都沒畢業(yè)，所以就拒絕在最后的收養(yǎng)文件上簽字。不過，每過幾個(gè)月她就心軟了，因?yàn)槲业酿B(yǎng)父母許諾日后一定送我上大學(xué)。這就是我生命的起點(diǎn)。
很榮幸和你們一起參加世界上最好的一所大學(xué)的畢業(yè)典禮。說實(shí)話，我大學(xué)沒畢業(yè)，這是我第一次離大學(xué)畢業(yè)這么近。今天，我想給大家講我人生中的三個(gè)故事，不談別的，也不講大道理，三個(gè)故事就好。
The first story is about connecting the dots.
第一個(gè)故事講的是把生命中的點(diǎn)滴串連起來。
I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months, but then stayed around as a drop-in foranother 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
我在里德學(xué)院只讀了六個(gè)月就退學(xué)了。此后便在學(xué)校里旁聽，又過了大約一年半，我徹底離開。那么，我為什么退學(xué)了?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student,and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted bycollege graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife.Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So myparents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking, "We've got anunexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said, "Of course." My biological mother found outlater that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduatedfrom high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few monthslater when my parents promised that I would go to college. This was the start in my life.
這得從我出生前講起。我的生母是一名年輕的未婚在校研究生，她決定將我送給別人收養(yǎng)。她非常希望收養(yǎng)我的是有大學(xué)學(xué)歷的人，所以把一切都安排好了，決定我一出生就將我交給一對(duì)律師夫婦收養(yǎng)。沒想到我才剛剛出生，那對(duì)夫妻卻決定收養(yǎng)一名女孩。就這樣，我的養(yǎng)父母——他們的名字當(dāng)時(shí)還在登記冊(cè)上——半夜三更接到一個(gè)電話：“我們這兒現(xiàn)在有一個(gè)沒人要的男嬰，你們要嗎?”“當(dāng)然要。”他們回答。但是，我的生母后來發(fā)現(xiàn)我的養(yǎng)母不是大學(xué)畢業(yè)生，我的養(yǎng)父甚至高中都沒畢業(yè)，所以就拒絕在最后的收養(yǎng)文件上簽字。不過，每過幾個(gè)月她就心軟了，因?yàn)槲业酿B(yǎng)父母許諾日后一定送我上大學(xué)。這就是我生命的起點(diǎn)。
