译者:公子鸽儿 生词、短语整理:陈雷雷
translation:
Excerpt from commencement speech by Oprah Winfrey at Harvard University
节选自Oprah Winfrey在哈佛大学的毕业演讲
It doesn’t matter how far you might rise. At some point you are bound to stumble because if you’re constantly doing what we do, raising the bar. If you’re constantly pushing yourself higher, higher the law of averages not to mention the Myth of Icarus predicts that you will at some point fall.
不管你会有多大的成就,在某些时候,你注定会受挫,因为如果你一直在做我们也在坚持的事情——不断提高你的标准,如果你在不断要求自己站得更高,且不说伊卡洛斯神话,仅仅是平均律就可以预测,你一定会在某个节点跌倒。
【注】伊卡洛斯神话:伊卡洛斯是希腊神话中代达罗斯的儿子,与代达罗斯使用蜡和羽毛造的翼逃离克里特岛时,因飞得太高,双翼上的蜡被太阳融化而跌落在水中丧生,被埋葬在海岛上。
And when you do I want you to know this, remember this: there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction. Now when you’re down there in the hole, it looks like failure. So this past year I had to spoon feed those words to myself. And when you’re down in the hole, when that moment comes, it’s really okay to feel bad for a little while. Give yourself time to mourn what you think you may have lost but then here’s the key, learn from every mistake because every experience, encounter, and particularly your mistakes are there to teach you and force you into being more who you are. And then figure out what is the next right move. And the key to life is to develop an internal moral, emotional G.P.S. that can tell you which way to go.
当你真的跌倒时,我希望你知道并记住:失败其实并不存在,那只是生活试图把我们拉向另一个方向前进罢了,只是当你跌到坑里的时候,你会以为,这就是失败。过去的整整一年,我都在向自己灌输这个道理。当你跌倒的那一刻真的来临,难过一会儿是完全没问题的,你可以给自己一点时间来怀念你以为自己丢失的东西。但关键在于,要向每一个错误学习,因为每段经历,每段遭遇,尤其是你犯的错误,都会教育你,并推动你成为你真正的自己。跌倒后,找出下一步要怎么走。生活的关键在于你发展出自己的内在准则和情绪导航仪,来引领你前进的方向。
But the challenge of life I have found is to build a résumé that doesn’t simply tell a story about what you want to be but it’s a story about who you want to be. It’s a résumé that doesn’t just tell a story about what you want to accomplish but why. A story that’s not just a collection of titles and positions but a story that’s really about your purpose. Because when you inevitably stumble and find yourself stuck in a hole that is the story that will get you out. What is your true calling? What is your dharma? What is your purpose?
但我发现生活的真正挑战在于建设你的人生履历,这并不是简单地讲述你想做什么,而更在于表达你想成为什么样的人。这是一份不仅仅说明你想做到什么,更说明你为什么想做到这些的履历。你的传记不仅仅是头衔和职位的堆砌,而应该说明你真正的目标。因为当你不可避免地摔倒,并陷入困境时,这才是能帮助你走出来的东西。你真正的使命是什么?你的信条是什么?你的目标又是什么?
new words:
1. stumble 英 ['stʌmb(ə)l] 美 ['stʌmbl] vi. 踌躇,蹒跚;失足;犯错
e.g. He stumbled and almost fell.
他绊了一下,差点儿摔倒。
2. mourn 英 [mɔːn] 美 [mɔrn] v. 哀悼;忧伤
e.g. If this era is over, few will mourn its passing.
如果这个时代结束,很少人会哀悼它的消逝。
3. encounter 英 [ɪn'kaʊntə; en-] 美 [ɪn'kaʊntɚ] n. 遭遇
e.g. What will be the nature of this encounter?
这种遭遇的本质将会是什么?
4. calling 英 ['kɔːlɪŋ] 美 ['kɔlɪŋ] n. 使命
e.g. He was a consultant physician, a serious man dedicated to his calling.
他是一名顾问医生,一个专注于其使命的严肃认真的人。
5. dharma 英 ['dɑːmə; 'dɜːmə] 美 ['dɑrmə] n. 指佛法、一切事物和现象;(印度教的)法则
e.g. Have you attended Dharma classes?
你参加过佛法课程吗?
phrases:
be bound to 必然
raise the bar 更上一层楼
the law of averages 平均律
not to mention 更不必说
spoon feed 填鸭式灌输
figure out 解决;算出;想出
the key to life 生命的真谛、人生的关键
titles and positions 头衔和职位