美国总统布什2001年在耶鲁大学的演讲——我们并非是人生的作者（中英）
President Levin, thank you very much. Dean Brodhead, fellows of the Yale Corporation, fellow Yale parents, families, and graduates: It’s a special privilege to receive this honorary degree. I was proud 33 years ago to receive my first Yale degree. I’m even prouder that in your eyes I’ve earned this one.
非常感谢您，莱文校长。布莱涵德院长、耶鲁董事会的成员、各位毕业生的家 长以及所有毕业生：获得这个荣誉学位对我来说真是一大殊荣。我很自豪在33年前 领取到第一个耶鲁大学的学位。此次，我获得耶鲁荣誉学位更是倍感骄傲。
I congratulate my fellow honorees. I’m pleased to share this honor with such a distinguished group.I congratulate all the parents who are here. It’s a glorious day when your child graduates from college. It’s a great day for you; it’s a great day for your wallet.
我祝贺我的校友们，我也很高兴在此同如此优秀的学弟学妹们分享这一荣誉。 我要恭喜所有在这里的家长们：恭喜你们的子女修完学业顺利毕业，这不仅对 你们来说这是好日子，也是你们钱包解放的大好日子！
Most important, congratulations to the class of 2001. To those of you who received honors，awards, and distinctions, I say, well done. And to the C students— I say, you, too, can be President of the United States. A Yale degree is worth a lot, as I often remind Dick Cheney~who studied here，but left a little early. So now we know—if you graduate from Yale，you become President. If you drop out, you get to be Vice President
最重要的是，我要恭喜2001届的毕业生们：对于那些曾获得荣誉、奖学金和殊荣的同学，我要说，你们真棒！对于那些C等生，我要说，你们也可以当美国总统！ 耶鲁学位价值不菲，意义重大。我时常这么提醒切尼(现任美国副总统)，他在早年也暂读于此。所以，我想提醒正就读于耶鲁的莘莘学子，如果你们从耶鲁顺利毕业， 你们可以当上总统；如果你们中途綴学，那么你们就只能当副总统了。
I appreciate so very much the chance to say a few words on this occasion. I know Yale has a tradition of having no commencement speaker. I also know that you5ve carved out a single exception. Most people think that to speak at Yale’s commencement, you have to be President. But over the years, the specifications have become far more demanding. Now you have to be a Yale graduate, you have to be President, and you have had to have lost the Yale vote to Ralph Nader.
能够在这里发表简短的演说，我深感荣幸。我知道不邀请毕业典礼演讲者是耶 鲁的传统，同时我也知道你们打破了陈规。很多人认为，在耶鲁大学毕业典礼上演 讲的只能是总统。多年来，对演讲人资格的要求也变得更加严苛。如今，要来耶鲁 演讲，就必须得是从耶鲁大学毕业的美国总统，而且他在耶鲁大学选区的得票数还 不能超过拉尔夫纳德。
This is my first time back here in quite a while. I’m sure that each of you will make your own journey back at least a few times in your life. If you’re like me, you won’t remember everything you did here. That can be a good thing. But there will be some people, and some moments, you will never forget.
这是我毕业以来第一次回到这里，我相信你们有生之年也会回来几次。当你们 到我这个年纪的时候，会不记得在这里做过的每一件事，这或许是一件好事。但是 一些人和一些时刻则会让你终生难忘。
Take，for example, my old classmate, Dick Brodhead，the accomplished dean of this great university. I remember him as a young scholar, a bright lad~a hard worker. We both put a lot of time in at the Sterling Library, in the reading room, where they have those big leather couches. We had a mutual understanding~ Dick wouldn’t read aloud，and I wouldn’t snore.
举例来说，我的老同学迪克布洛德翰，他如今已是这所大学中颇有成就的一 位院长了。在我的记忆里，他是一个年轻的学者，一个聪明的小伙，一个勤劳的工 作者。我们经常泡在斯特灵图书馆，那里的阅览室里有张很大的皮沙发。我俩之间 也很有默契：迪克不大声朗读课文，而我睡觉不打呼。
Our course selections were different, as we followed our own path to academic discovery. Dick was an English major, and loved the classics. I loved history, and pursued a diversified course of study. I like to think of it as the academic road less traveled.
由于我们各自的学术研究道路不同，所以我们选择了不同的课程。迪克主修英语，并且钟爱古典文学。我喜欢历史，并且选修了各种各样的课程。我喜欢把这种 学习过程想象成是人迹罕至的学术道路。
For example, I took a class that studied Japanese Haiku. Haiku, for the uninitiated, is a 15th century form of poetry, each poem having 17 syllables. Haiku is fully understood only by the Zen masters. As I recall, one of my academic advisers was worried about my selection of such a specialized course. He said I should focus on English. I still hear that quite often. But my critics don’t realize I don’t make verbal gaffes. I’m speaking in the perfect forms and rhythms of ancient Haiku.
举例来说，我选修过日本俳句。对门外汉来说，俳句是15世纪日本的一种诗 歌，每首诗只有17个音节，我想只有禅学大师才能明白其中的意义。回想起来，我 的一位学业导师对我选修如此专精的课程表示担忧，他认为我应该专攻英语。现 在，我仍然时常听到这类建议。那些批评我的人并不知道，我并非词不达意，我只 是按照古俳句优美的形式和韵律在讲话。
I did take English here, and I took a class called “The History and Practice of American Oratory,” taught by Rollin G. Osterweis. And, President Levin, I want to give credit where credit is due. I want the entire world to know this~everything I know about the spoken word, I learned right here at Yale.
在这里我的确学习了英文课程，也选修了欧斯特维斯主讲的“美国演讲的历史 与实践”课程。莱文校长，我想在此给予耶鲁大学所应得的赞许。我想要全世界都 知道，我所知道的一切关于演讲的东西都是在耶鲁学到的。
As a student, I tried to keep a low profile. It worked. Last year the New York Times interviewed John Morton Blum because the record showed I had taken one of his courses. Casting his mind’s eye over the parade of young faces down through the years, Professor Blum said, and I quote, “I don’t have the foggiest recollection of him.”
作为一名学生，我努力保持低调，而我也的确做到了。去年《纽约时报》釆访 了约翰莫顿布鲁姆教授，因为记录显示我曾选修过他的一门课程。任凭布鲁姆 教授怎么绞尽脑汁回想记忆里仅存的那些年轻的脸庞，他说：“我压根都记不起有 布什这么个学生。”
But I remember Professor Blum. And I still recall his dedication and high standards of learning. In my time there were many great professors at Yale. And there still are. They’ve the ones who keep Yale going after the commencements, after we have all gone our separate ways. I’m not sure I remembered to thank them the last time I was here, but now that I have a second chance, I thank the professors of Yale University.
但是我记得布鲁姆教授，他的无私奉献精神和渊博深厚的学识至今让我印象深刻。在我读大学的时候，很多优秀的教授在耶鲁任教，现在也是如此。在一届又一 届的毕业典礼之后，学生们各奔东西，而正是这些教授们继续推动着耶鲁大学向前 发展。我已经不记得毕业离开前是否有向他们表达过感激之情，但是我现在还有一 次机会，我要衷心感谢耶鲁大学所有的教授。
That’s how I’ve come to feel about the Yale experience—grateful. I studied hard, I played hard, and I made a lot of lifelong friends. What stays with you from college is the part of your education you hardly ever notice at the time. It’s the expectations and examples around you, the ideals you believe in, and the friends you make.
我在耶鲁求学的感受可以用四个字来形容——感激不尽。我努力学习过，尽情 玩耍过，并且结识了许多相伴终生的知己。继续陪着你的是那部分“教育”，但在 这之前几乎你几乎从未意识到。这部分“教育”是你的期许，你身边的楷模，你所 坚信的理想，还有你所结识的朋友。
In my time, they spoke of the “Yale man.” I was really never sure what that was. But I do think that I’m a better man because of Yale. All universities, at their best, teach that degrees and honors are far from the full measure of life. Nor is that measure taken in wealth or in titles. What matters most are the standards you live by, the consideration you show others, and the way you use the gifts you are given.
我的大学时代，大家常说“耶鲁人”，我真的从不确定什么是“耶鲁人”。但 我坚信因为耶鲁，我成为了一个优秀的人。所有的学校，都会尽其所能的告诉学生 学位和荣誉并非生活的全部，财富和声望也不是。重要的是你的人生准则，为他人 所作的考虑以及利用天赋的方式。
Now you leave Yale behind, carrying the written proof of your success here, at a college older than America. When I left here, I didn’t have much in the way of a life plan. I knew some people who thought they did. But it turned out that we were all in for ups and downs, most of them unexpected. Life takes its own turns, makes its own demands, writes its own story. And along the way, we start to realize we are not the author.
现在你们即将离开耶鲁，带着证明你们成功的毕业证书，离开这个比美国历 史还要悠久的学府。当我离开这儿的时候，我并没有明确的人生计划。我知道有些 人认为他们曾经做过这种计划，结果是经历了各种起伏之后，很多坎坷都出乎我们 的意料。人生有着自身的轨道，有着自身的诉求，谱写着自身的篇章。走过漫漫长路，我们会开始意识到我们并非人生这本书的作者。
We begin to understand that life is ours to live, but not to waste, and that the greatest rewards are found in the commitments we make with our whole hearts~to the people we love and to the causes that earn our sacrifice. I hope that each of you will know these rewards. I hope you will find them in your own way and your own time.
我们开始理解人生是要我们自己去经历的，而不是拿来挥霍的，而我们得到最 好的嘉奖，就是我们全身心的投人到那些深爱的人和那些值得我们为之牺牲的事业 中去。我希望你们每一个人都会懂得这些嘉奖。我希望你们可以在有生之年用自己 的方式找到这些嘉奖。
For some, that might mean some time in public service. And if you hear that calling, I hope you answer. Each of you has unique gifts and you were given them for a reason. Use them and share them. Public service is one way—an honorable way— to mark your life with meaning.
对有些人来说，这可能意味着要做一些公共服务。如果有人对你发出召唤，我 希望你们能够回应。你们中的每个人都有着独特的天赋，你们得到这些天赋也都是 有原因的。好好利用这些天赋并和他人分享。参与公共服务就是其中一种方式，这 是一种十分荣耀的方式，它这会使你的人生意义非凡。
Today I visit not only my alma mater, but the city of my birth. My life began just a few blocks from here, but I was raised in West Texas. From there, Yale always seemed a world away, maybe a part of my future. Now it’s part of my past, and Yale for me is a source of great pride.
这次我不仅重游母校，也回到了我的出生地。我人生开始的地方离这里只有几 个街区，但我在西得克萨斯长大。在那里，我和耶鲁的距离仿佛隔着一个世界，也 许耶鲁是未来的一个梦。而现在，她是我过去的一部分，是令我极度骄傲的源泉。
I hope that there will come a time for you to return to Yale to say that, and feel as I do today. Congratulations and God bless.
我希望，将来你们回到耶鲁时，能有与我一样的感受并说出相同的话。祝福你 们，愿上帝保佑你们。
本文地址：http://www.dioenglish.com/writing/speech/15972.html
