文档介绍：President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers,
members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates,
福斯特主席,哈佛公司与监察委员会的各位成员,
各位老师、家长、全体毕业生们:
The first thing I would like to say is "thank you." Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I’ve endured at the thought of giving mencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and convince myself that I am at the world’s largest Gryffindors' reunion.
首先请允许我说一声谢谢。哈佛不仅给了我无上的荣誉,连日来为这个演讲经受的恐惧与紧张,更令我减肥成功。这真是一个双赢的局面。现在我要做的就是深呼吸几下,眯着眼睛看看前面的大红横幅,安慰自己正在世界上最大的格兰芬多(沪江小编:以防有人没看过《哈利波特》……格兰芬多是小哈利所在的魔法学院的名字)聚会上。
Delivering mencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. mencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can't remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of ing a gay wizard.
发表毕业演说是一个巨大的责任,至少在我回忆自己当年的毕业典礼前是这么认为的。那天做演讲的是英国著名的哲学家 Baroness Mary Warnock,对她演讲的回忆,对我写今天的演讲稿,产生了极大的帮助,因为我不记得她说过的任何一句话了。这个发现让我释然,让我不再担心我可能会无意中影响你放弃在商业,法律或政治上的大好前途,转而醉心于成为一个快乐的魔法师(gay有快乐与同性恋的意思)。
You see? If all you remember in years e is the 'gay wizard' joke, I've e out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals - the first step to self-improvement.
你们看,如果在若干年后你们还记得“快乐的魔法师”这个笑话,那就证明我已经超越了Baroness Mary Warnock。建立可实现的目标——这是提高自我的第一步。
Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.
实际上,我为今天应该与大家谈些什么绞