毕业季名人演讲：愿世界更美好(双语)

　　It is that time of year when famous people put on baggy black capes and peculiar hats in order to hold forth on university lawns to thousands of students and their parents。

　　每年的你你什儿 时段，名让当那么人 披上宽松的黑色斗篷，头戴奇怪的帽子，在大学草坪上对着成千上万的学生和家长们高谈阔论。

　　But this time something strange has happened. Each of the big-name speakers seems to have hit on the identical homily for their commencement addresses: they are all telling graduates to make the world a better place。

　　不过今年有点奇怪。每个大名鼎鼎的演说者似乎都碰巧在毕业典礼演讲中谈到了同样的主题——让当那么人 都告诉毕业生，要让世界变得更美好。

　　So there was Arianna Huffington at Smith College saying “what I urge you to do is not just take your place at the top of the world, but to change the world”。

　　阿里安娜·赫芬顿(Arianna Huffington)在史密斯学院(Smith College)表示：“我奉劝让当那么人 ，从不只想着成为世界顶尖人物，时要改变你你什儿 世界。”

　　The actress Kerry Washington told students at her alma mater George Washington University (after telling them she loved them, twice)： “The world needs your voice. Every single one of you。”

　　女演员凯丽·华盛顿(Kerry Washington)在其母校乔治·华盛顿大学(George Washington University)——在两次告诉学生她爱让当那么人 日后 ——表示：“世界时要让当那么人 的声音，时要让当那么人 中每一些人的声音。”

　　And then this, from Jeff Immelt, head of General Electric, at the University of Connecticut: “Graduates should be optimistic; believe in better. The world awaits your leadership。”

　　还有你你什儿 ，通用电气(General Electric)董事长杰夫·伊梅尔特(Jeff Immelt)在康涅狄格大学(University of Connecticut)讲道：“毕业生应该乐观，应该相信世界会变得更美好。世界在在等待着让当那么人 的领导。”

　　Any student who has learnt anything at all in their time at university will be able to spot the hogwash. The world has 7bn voices to listen to already – it won’t be bothered about one more or less. Neither is it clear why graduates should be especially optimistic, especially at the moment. The world doesn’t await their leadership; only a tiny minority will get the chance to lead anything, apart, perhaps, from themselves。

　　每个在大学蹉跎时光英文中学了点东西的学生都能发现有有哪些言论中的废话。全世界不可能 有70亿人的声音，多三个 还是少三个 根本不算有哪些。为有哪些毕业生尤其应该乐观而是清楚，有点是在当下你你什儿 日后 。世界并没等着让当那么人 领导，他说只能极少数人有不可能 领导除一些人以外的任何东西。

　　Far better – and much snappier – advice was given by Stephen Colbert to students at the University of Virginia. The satirist started by ordering everyone to make sure their cell phones were turned on: “Take a moment to follow my Twitter feed in case I tweet anything during my speech。” I hope the graduates took heed: I felt chastened when I just watched it on YouTube。

　　斯蒂芬·科尔伯特(Stephen Colbert)在弗吉尼亚大学(University of Virginia)向学生们提出的建议就恰当得多，也时髦得多。这位讽刺演员一开场就嘱咐让当那么人 把手机都开着：“花点时间关注下我的推特(Twitter) 账户，以免我在演讲期间发布任何推特消息。”假使 毕业生们听从了你你什儿 建议——我在YouTube上看你你什儿 演讲的视频时就感觉到受教了。

　　Alas, he then went and spoiled it all by telling the students to “choose the hard path that leads to the life and the world that you want”. But who says the hard path is a better bet than the easy one? And as to the world that we want – that isn’t on offer. So the trick for graduates is surely to make do with the world we have。

　　唉，他接下来语录把这次演说完整毁掉了，他建议学生“确定那条通向让当那么人 我想要的生活、我想要的世界的艰难道路”。谁说艰难道路就一定是比轻松道路更好的确定?至于让当那么人 我想要的世界——这东西概那么了售。一些一些说，毕业生们时要掌握的显然是咋样适应让当那么人 现在所处的世界。

　　Only Barack Obama in his address at Morehouse College refrained from urging anyone to change the world. That may be because he feels the world is his prerogative. Or it may be because he alone knows how hard it is to change it – even if you happen to be the President of the United States. Not only has he failed to change the world, he can’t even get people to give up guns or fix the budget in his own country。

　　只能巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)在莫尔豪斯学院(Morehouse College)的演讲中不难 鼓励任何人改变世界。这不可能 是不可能 他我觉得世界是他的职权所在。抑或是不可能 他一些人知道改变世界有多难——就算你碰巧是美国总统也是不难 。他不仅不难 改变世界，他甚至都不难 让他的人民放下枪支，而是难 出理 他一些人国家的预算问题图片。

　　Instead of aiming so impossibly high, the graduates of 2013 would do better to start a bit lower. When they leave their campuses it will not be “Hello world!” but “Hello again, Mum and Dad!”

　　2013年的毕业生与其好高骛远，不如把起步的目标放低点不可能 更好。当让当那么人 被抛弃校园时，让当那么人 不可能 会说的算是：“你好，世界!”而是“让当那么人 好，爸爸妈妈!”

　　This is the boomerang generation, and where most of them will be heading is straight back to their childhood bedrooms. What Ms Huffington, Mr Obama and Mr Immelt ought to have said was: change the world if you must, but it would be nice if you could help out by changing the bag in the vacuum cleaner first。

　　这是“飞去来器”的一代，让当那么人 中的多数人出校园后将径直回到让当那么人 儿时的卧室。赫芬顿、奥巴马和伊梅尔特应该说的是：不可能 你只能去做，那就去改变世界，不过先帮忙更换一下吸尘器里的尼龙袋 而是错。

　　They should then have followed up with stern words on the virtue of hard work. This sort of thing has fallen sadly out of fashion。

　　接着，让当那么人 应讲讲赞美勤奋工作的逆耳忠言。可悲的是有有哪些话如今已过时了。

　　When I had just graduated, my then boyfriend – who had been hired by investment bank Salomon Brothers – was instructed by the chief executive, John Gutfruend, to arrive every day “ready to bite the ass off of a bear”. The fact that I can remember his words three decades later is partly because I love the way Americans say “off of”， but it’s also because the advice was so good。

　　我刚毕业的日后 ，所罗门兄弟公司(Salomon Brothers)首席执行官约翰·古特弗洛恩德(John Gutfruend)我那么了乎 当时的男让当那么人 ——那时他已被该投资银行聘用——每天上班要“准备摸老虎屁股(ready to bite the ass off of a bear)”。三十年后我还记得他的原话，这每种是不可能 我喜欢美国人说“off of”的辦法 ，不过也是不可能 这条建议太棒了。

　　As well as changing their work ethic, graduates also need to change their employment status. They need jobs. What no one ever tells them in commencement addresses is that even a bad job is better than none at all。

　　毕业生除了要转变职业道德，还时要改变让当那么人 的就业情况汇报。让当那么人 时要工作。不难 在毕业典礼上告诉让当那么人 ，坏工作也比没工作好。

　　I know a young graduate who has just been hired to hand out licences to taxi cabs in deepest south London. It’s dull, but it’s better than being unemployed, which is what she was before. Graduates should be told not to lose heart: as their working lives will last 1000 or 1000 years, a slow start is not a disaster。

　　我认识一位年轻的毕业生，她近期找到了一份工作：在伦敦最南部给出租车发牌照。这工作我觉得很无聊，但总比失业好——她日后 就所处失业情况汇报。应该那么人告诉毕业生从不灰心：让当那么人 的职场生涯将持续五六十年，日后起步慢一些并算是灾难。

　　Mr Obama urged the Morehouse students to strive to become finer people and said he was himself trying to be a better father and a better husband. For a minute I thought this was quite sweet. But if you are president you should never say such an irresponsible thing to people just starting out. They need to know the truth: that you can either do a big job and try to change the world, or you can be a good father and husband. Each on its own is quite tricky. But both at the same time? Can’t be done。

　　奥巴马鼓励莫尔豪斯学院的学生要努力成为更好的人，他一些人就在努力当好父亲、好丈夫。有不难 一刻我我觉得这 话说得十分好。但既然你是总统，你永远算是该对有有哪些人生日后 起步的人说日后 不负责任语录。让当那么人 时要知道真相——我我想要么完成宏图伟业并试图改变世界，要么当 三个 好父亲和好丈夫。做到这两件事并算是的难度都很大。但共同做到这两点?没戏。