我的演讲美文:神奇的时代
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02 We Beat the Reaper by Living Fully A我们通过充实地生活来战胜死亡A

Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon Professor Carnegie Mellon University, September 18,2007

兰迪·波许在卡内基·梅隆大学的演讲

I am glad to be here today. Hell, I am glad to be anywhere today.

今天我很高兴能够来到这里。天哪,今天我不论到哪里都让我高兴。

President Cohon asked me to come and give the charge to the graduates. I assure you, it's nothing compared to the charge you have just given me.

柯汉校长要求我来到这里,给我们的毕业生带来一些鼓励。但是我向你保证,你们给我的鼓励反而更多。

This is an incredible place. I have seen it through so many lenses.I saw it when I was a graduate student that didn't get admitted and then somebody invited me back and said, OK, we'll change our mind.

这里真是个难以置信的地方。我对它有多方面的了解。因为我也是从这里毕业的,遗憾的是当时我并没有成功申请上研究生,之后他们又通过我的申请,并说,我们改主意了,你被录取了。

And I saw it as a place that hired me back to be on the faculty many years later and gave me the chance to do what anybody wants to do, which is“follow their passion, follow their heart and do the things they're excited about”.

如我所见,多年之后我留校任教。这是一份很多人梦寐以求的教职工作,在这里你可以跟随你的热情,听从心的召唤,并能够做自己认为刺激的事情。

And the great thing about this university unlike almost all the other ones I know of is that nobody gets in your way when you try to do it. And that's just fantastic.

这里最棒的,胜过其他学校的一件事就是,当你想要实现梦想的时候,没有人会成为你的绊脚石。这简直太棒了!

And to the degree that a human being can love an institution. I love this place and I love all of the people and I am very grateful to Jerry Cohon and everyone else for all the kindness they have shown me.

只要是有感情的人都会爱上的地方。我爱这里,更爱这里的每一个人。我十分感谢柯汉校长和每一位同事,感谢他们对我的好意,这让我感到温暖。

Last August I was told that in all likelihood I had three to six months left to live. I am on month nine now and I am gonna get down and do any push-ups……But there will be a short pick-up basketball game later.

去年8月,我被告知只有3~6个月可活了。现在已经是第9个月了。我准备做俯卧撑了……但是一会儿将会有一小段篮球赛。

Somebody said to me, in light of those numbers, wow, so you are really beating the Grim Reaper. And what I said without even thinking about is that we don't beat the Reaper by living longer.We beat the Reaper by living well, and living fully.

当我说完这一串数字之后,有人跟我说,天哪,你真的战胜了冷酷的死神呀。而我则毫不犹豫地回答,仅靠多活几天是无法战胜它的,只有活得精彩、活得充实才能真正地打败它。

For the Reaper will come for all of us, the question is what do we do between the time we are born and the time he shows up.

对于死神来说,最终它都会得到我们的生命。这从我们出生时就知道,关键是死神来拿走我们的生命前的这个过程中你都做了什么。

Because he shows up it is too late to do all the things that you're always gonna kind of“get round to”. So I think the only advice I can give you on how to live your life well is, first off, remember, it's a cliche, but love cliche,“it is not the things we do in life that we regret on our death bed, it is the things we do not”.

当死神来时,才想到做那些我们一直想做而未做之事,就已经为时晚矣。如何才能活得更好,我只能给你一条建议,那就是不要等待,马上就去做。这一点要记牢,虽然是陈词滥调。但是我爱这种陈词滥调,“我们将死之时,后悔的不是那些做过的事,而是那些没有做过的事”。

Because I assure you I've done a lot of stupid things and none of them bother me. All the mistakes, all the dopey things and all the times I was embarrassed they don't matter.What matter is that, I can kind of look back and say,“pretty much anytime I got a chance to do something cool, I tried to grab for it.”And that's where my solace comes from.

坦白说,曾经犯过的所有错误,做过的蠢事和那些令我感到尴尬的时刻,现在变得都不那么重要了。真正重要的是,每当我回忆往昔,我会说:“只要有机会,能做一些很酷的事时,我就毫不犹豫去争取。”这才令我感到欣慰。做过很多愚蠢的事情,但它们没有一件烦扰着我。

单词解析Word Analysis

graduate[ˈgradʒʊeɪt]n.毕业生v.毕业

例 I would apply for that job if I were a graduate.

如果我是个毕业生的话,我会申请那个工作。

incredible[ɪnˈkrɛdəbl]adj.难以置信的

例 It seemed incredible that people would still want to play football during a war.

人们在战争期间仍然想要踢足球这件事令人难以置信。

admit[ədˈmɪt]v.准许进入;承认

例 They didn’t admit they were defeated.

他们不承认被打败了。

faculty[ˈfækəlti]n.全体教员

例 He spoke on behalf of all the members of the faculty.

他代表所有教职员工讲话。

assure[əˈʃʊr]v.保证;担保

例 I assure I will be there.

我向你保证我会去那。

dopey[ˈdəʊpɪ]adj.迟钝的;呆笨的

例 He is very nice, but a little dopey.

他人非常好,就是有点傻。

embarrassed[ɪmˈbærəst]adj.尴尬的

例 I was embarrassed to admit I was wrong.

我非常尴尬地承认我错了。

solace[ˈsɒlɪs]n.安慰;慰藉

例 Music was a great solace to me when I was upset.

当我不安的时候,音乐给了我安慰。

语法知识点Grammar Points

①It’s nothing compared to the charge you have just given me.

这个句子中有一个结构“compare to”,表示“把……比作;比喻为”。要学会区分它与compare with,表示和……相比较。

例 Children are often compared to happy birds.

儿童经常被比作快乐的小鸟。

Let's compare this photo with that one.

让我们把这张照片和那张做一下比较。

②And the great thing about this university unlike almost all the other ones I know of is that nobody gets in your way when you try to do it.And that’s just fantastic.

这个句子里有一个结构“get in one’s way”,表示“挡某人的路;妨碍人”。

例 Her social life got in her way of study.

她的社交活动妨碍了学业。

③I love this place and I love all of the people and I am very grateful to Jerry Cohon and everyone else for all the kindness they have shown me.

这个句子里有一个结构“be grateful to”,表示“对……感激”,相同的词组有show gratitude to和be thankful to。

例 We should always be grateful to our parents.

我们应该经常对父母感恩。

④Because he shows up it is too late to do all the things that you’re always gonna kind of“get round to”.

这个句子里有一个结构“too……to……”,表示“太……而不能……”。

例 This dress is too expensive for her to buy.

这条连衣裙太贵了,她买不起。

经典名句Famous Classics

1.Don't set your goals according to what are deemed important by others.Only you know what is best for yourself.

别人认为重要的,并不就是你的追求。只有自己才知道什么最合适。

2.Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.

没人能回头重新来过,但谁都可以从现在起书写一个不同的结局。

3.Every drop you drink makes your life tastier!

点点滴滴,生活更美!

4.A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.—Wag the Dog

今天的好计划胜过明天的完美计划。(《摇尾狗》)

5.We are what we repeatedly do.Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

重复的行为造就了我们;因此,卓越不是一种举动,而是一种习惯。

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