CNN主播安德森库帕2006年在耶鲁大学毕业典礼上的演讲——超越自我,挑战极限

Seriously, it is a pleasure to be here on what is a remarkable day. It’s a beautiful day if it doesn’t rain and a very special day in your lives. You’ve worked incredibly hard to get here, to get through here, and I hope you’re already done this, but I hope that at so me point this weekend I,m sure everybody’s encouraged you to do this that you look your parents in the eye and hug them close and thank them for everything they have done to get you do this moment and this spot. Because as hard as it’s been for you. I guarantee you it’s been twice as hard for them.

我很认真地说,能在今天这样一个有纪念意义的日子里,在这发表演讲是件令 人分外高兴的事情。如果今天不下雨,那将会是风景如画的一天,也是你们生命中 一个十分特殊的日子。你们付出了令人难以想象的努力才来到这儿,而且也付出同 样超乎寻常的努力才能从这儿毕业,我希望你们为自己感到骄傲,当然你们也应该 为自己感到骄傲。尽管我相信你们巳经这么做了,但是我还是想提醒大家,我希望 在这个周末的某个时刻(相信每个人都鼓励你们这样去做),大家能够认真凝望着 自己的父母,紧紧的拥抱他们,感谢他们为了让你能够于此时此刻站在此地所付出 的一切。因为尽管来到耶鲁大学并成功毕业对你们来说不是一件易事,但我可以肯 定,对于父母来说,那份努力和不易肯定是双倍的。

My mom’s advice to me at Yale graduation was “Follow your bliss”. I was hoping for something a little more specific, like plastics. What, plastic? You like plastic? All right. But in retrospect, follow your bliss was pretty good advice. My mom didn’t actually coin the phrase actually it was a professor at Sarah Lawrence College named Joseph Campbell who did-and my mom had seen a taped interview on TV It kind of shows you our relationship-she was giving advice she had gotten off of television. I’m thankful she wasn’t watching Montel Williams or something, or Fox News. I kid, because they have huge ratings. They kill me.

从耶鲁大学毕业的时候,妈妈给我的建议是“听从上帝的安排”。但当时我却 想要一些更为实质性的东西,比如说信用卡。什么?信用卡?你喜欢信用卡?确实如此。但如今回想起来,听从上帝的安排的确是个非常不错的建议。这句话并非我 妈的原创,实际上这是沙拉劳伦斯学院一个叫乔瑟夫坎伯的教授说的,母亲在一次 录制的电视釆访中听到的。这也可以反映出我与母亲的关系——母亲给我的建议都 是从电视上看来的。她没有看蒙太尔威_廉斯姆主持的脱口秀节目或类似的其他节 目,或者是“福克斯新闻”,对此我很欣慰。当然,我是开玩笑的,他们的收视率 实在是高,我非常喜欢看。

The problem, of course, with follow your bliss (and I actually think that’s pretty good advice), but the problem with follow your bliss is actually trying to figure out what your bliss is,and that’s not an easy thing to do. Like many of you, I have a liberal arts degree, which is to say, I have no actual skill. And I majored in political science. You’re excited about it now, but believe me, it doesn’t go very far. It means you can read a newspaper, but other than that, I’m not really sure what else. I also focused a lot of my studies on communism, which when the Berlin Wall fell, I was totally screwed. I know, it was a happy occasion for a lot of people, but believe me, on this campus, believe me, all of the Russian studies majors were very down in the dumps. The one thing I knew I liked was television and particularly television news. I watched a lot of it growing up so I figured okay, I’ve got a Yale degree, and I’ll go give that a shot. I’ll apply for en entry-level job at ABC News. A gopher position. Like I’m totally qualified for this: answering phones. I’ll go do whatever Peter Jennings want.I could not get this job. It took six months; they strung me along; I did interviews. I could not get the job, which shows you the value of a Yale education.

当然,听从上帝安排(我确实认为这是个很不错的建议)也有问题,问题在于 怎样弄清楚上帝给你的建议是什么,而且这并不容易。像许多同学一样,我取得了 文学学士学位,因此,也就可以说我没有具体的技能。此外我主修的是政治科学。 也许你们对它十分感兴趣,但是,相信我,学这个专业走不了多远。它除了可以帮 助你阅读报纸之外,其他的帮助我还真想不出来。同时我也很专注于共产主义的学 习,然而当柏林墙倒塌的时候,我彻底惊呆了。我知道,对于大多数人来说这是值 得庆贺的事,但相信我,在这所大学里,所有俄罗斯研究专业的学生都感觉十分沮 丧。我知道我喜欢的事情无非就是看电视,尤其是电视新闻。我是看着这些电视节 目长大的,所以我觉得;既然有了耶鲁大学的文凭,何不尝试一下,去申请美国广播公司新闻的一个初级人门工作,一个不怎么起眼的职位。好像我完全能够胜任这 份工作;接听电话,做所有彼得詹宁斯想要我做的事情。然而我没能得到这份工 作,我花了6个月的时间,但是他们对我置之不理;我参加过面试,但我还是没能得 到这份工作,这也显示了耶鲁大学教育的价值。

But it actually was the best thing that ever happened to me. I decided that if no one would give me a chance, I’d have to take a chance, and if no one would give me an opportunity, I would have to create my own opportunity. So I came up with this plan to become a reporter. I figured if I went places where there weren’t many Americans, I wouldn’t have much competition. So I decided to start going to wars, which my mom was thrilled about. It was a very simple plan, but it was moronic, but it actually worked. I made a fake press pass on a Macintosh computet—actually, I didn’t even make it to be honest, a friend of mine made it because I’m computer illiterate~and I got a home video camera that I borrowed and I just decided to go to wars. I snuck into Burma and hooked up with some students fighting the Burmese government and moved into Somalia in the early days of the famine. I spent really the next two years going from one war-torn country to another: Bosnia, South Africa for Mandela’s election. I was in Rwanda for the genocide, which makes ultimately doing “The Mole” a natural step, as you can see where I’m going.

但实际上这是我经历过的最好的事情了。因为这次经历让我决定,如果没人给 予我机会,我就要自己抓住机会;如果没人给予我机遇,我就要自己创造机会。所 以我有了当记者的想法。我发现如果我去一个没那么多美国人的地方竞争就不会那 么激烈。于是我决定去战地,这个计划吓坏了我的母亲。虽然是个简单而又弱智的 计划,但它确实有用。我用苹果机伪造了一张记者通行证——老实说,我撒谎了, 这不是我做的,是我的一个朋友帮我做的,因为我是一个十足的电脑盲——我借来 了一个家用录相机,就决定奔赴战地。我偷渡緬甸,和一群学生混在一起反抗缅甸 政府,在饥荒开始不久后又跑到了索马里。接下来的两年里,我几乎是奔波于被战 争迫害的国家之间;波斯尼亚、南非,并参加了南非曼德拉的选举。我亲眼目睹了 卢旺达的种族屠杀,这最终使我在主持TheMolefl寸得心应手,这样你们可以大概知道我都去了些什么地方。

I may have gone to school at Yale, but I always think that in many ways I was educated on the streets of Johannesburg, in Kigali, in Sarajevo, in Port-Au-Prince. And Fve learned when you go to the edges of the world, where the boundaries aren’t clear, where the dark parts of the human heart are open for all to see, you learn things about yourself and you learn things about your fellow human beings and what we,re all capable of. We,re capable, really, of anything, great acts of compassion and dignity, as we saw in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We’re also capable of great acts of cowardice and brutality and stupidity, which we also saw in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

我确实是在耶鲁大学接受的教育,但是我总觉得在很多方面,我是在约翰内 斯堡、基加利、萨拉热窝、太子港的大街上接受的教育。我领会到,当你来到世 界的边缘,而边界变得模糊不清,人性的阴暗面便展露无疑,你将了解到一些有关 自身和人类同胞们的东西以及我们所可以做到的事情。事实上,我们能够采取一些 充满同情心和尊严的伟大的举动,正如我们在“卡特里娜”飙风后看的那样。然而 在“卡特里娜”飙风后我们也可以看到,人类也能够作出一些懦弱、残暴、愚蠢的 “伟大举动”。

The funny thing is that just two years after doing this, of going on my own and going into wars. ABC News called me up and offered me a job as a correspondent. I was just about27; I was the youngest correspondent they hired since they hired Jennings and Koppel years ago. For me, it was a lesson: two years before I tried to get an entry-level job and I thought that was the path, because that was the path that everyone took. And had I gotten that job there was no way I would have had the opportunities that I had; there was no way I would have seen the things I’ve been able to see.

我最终坚持自己的观点,坚持去了战地。有趣的是仅仅两年之后,美国广播公 司就叫我回去,并给我提供了一个通信记者的岗位。当时我只有27岁,是他们在数 年前雇佣了詹宁斯和科佩尔之后雇佣的最年轻的记者。我从这件事中汲取了教训; 两年前,我试图去获取一份入门级的工作,我认为这是一种正确的途径,因为人人 都是这样做的。假设我当时得到了那份工作,我永远也不可能拥有今天的机遇,我 也不可能看到我所看见的。

When I was graduating and trying to decide what to do with my life, I really felt paralyzed because I thought I had to figure it out all at once. I had to pick a career and start down a path that I’d be on for the rest of my life. I now know that it totally doesn’t work that way. It certainly didn’t for me. Everyone I know who’s successful, professionally and personally, could never have predicted when they graduated from college where they’d actually end up. My friends from Yale who are happiest are the ones who thought less of where they5d be in 10 years and what steps they’d have to do now in order to make partner 10 years from now in a law firm or build their 401K.My friends who are happiest now are the ones who kept taking steps based on what they felt right and what felt like them at the moment. If I had gotten that job on the set of ABC News there’s no telling where I’d be now.

当我快要毕业并试图决定自己未来人生的时候,我非常恐惧迷茫,因为我以为我必须要马上作出决定,以为我必须找准我的职业方向并且一直沿着这条道路走下 去。现在我知道其实根本不是那样的。与我而言,确实不是那么回事。我所认识的 不管是在事业上还是个人生活上,但凡有所成就的人,在他们毕业时都未曾预料到 他们最终的生活。我耶鲁的朋友们中,生活得最开心的人往往是那些很少考虑10年 后他们将身处何处,以及怎样做才能从现在开始在10年内同他人合作开一家律师事 务所,或者建立一个401K账户。现在我的朋友中最开心的是那些能随时做自己喜欢 并且适合自己工作的人。如果当时我成功获得了美国广播公司那份工作的话,我不 知道我现在将置身何处。

When I started going to wars I had no clear goal in mind. There was no path that promised me success or job security. But I was listening really to myself and followed my passion, and I’m more convinced than ever that if you do that,you will be successful. I’m not talking about rich-perhaps you will be fulfilled, and that’s the greatest success you can have.

当我开始奔赴战场时,我心中没有明确的目标。更没有一条明确的道路能够 指引我走向成功或保证我有一份安稳的工作。但是我还是听从了自己的心声,跟随 了自己的热情。现在我比任何时候都确定如果你也这样做,那么你也一定会获得成 功。我所说的不是在物质上致富——也许你能够,而是精神上的富足,而这才是你 所能取得的最大的成功。

I always wince… I’m kind of rushing because I see the skies darkening, which frankly happens wherever I go, so if I whip out my rain slicker, you all are totally screwed. I always wince when someone says that college is the best four years of your life, because, frankly. For me it wasn’t. I hope it’s not for you either. Every year after college just gets better, "four confidence grows; you’re living the life that youVe chosen.

我也常常畏首畏尾,迟疑不决。看到天空变得黑暗时我就会加快步伐赶路,不 管我走到哪儿这样的事情都会发生,所以如果我拿出我的雨衣的时候,你们都会感到匪夷所思。当听到别人提及大学四年是人生中最美好的时光时,我也会迟疑,因 为于我而言它不是。我也希望对你们来说也不是。毕业后的每年都会变得更好。你 的自信心增强了;你过着自己选择的生活。

It’s so interesting to me how real life has very little to do with what you’ve learned here,and yet, what you’ve learned here,what you’ve struggled to achieve, will help you. I can’t exactly say how: It’s not something that can necessarily be defined. When I first went to war in Somalia I was surrounded by teenagers with guns and grenade launchers, there was nothing particular that I’ve learned at Yale that allowed me to survive. When I was in Rwanda in the genocide and was surrounded by bodies and had seen terrible things. There was no one particular class that IVe taken that helped me get through. And yet something about the experience here-the friendships, the accumulating of facts and theories, the confidence I gained over the course of four years’allowed me to go to those places and helped me chart my own course.

在我看来非常有趣的是,现实生活跟你在大学学到的东西有很大差别,但是 你在哈佛学到的以及你奋力去争取的东西又会对你以后的人生大有裨益。我不能 确切地说出是怎样有帮助,因为这并不是一个能够明确界定的东西。当我第一次去 索马里战场的时候,我被许多手拿枪支和榴弹发射器的f少年围攻,在耶鲁课堂学 到的知识并不能教我怎样逃生;当我置身卢旺达大屠杀,周遭满是尸体,眼前尽是 恐怖画面的时候,没有一堂特别的课程教过我如何渡过难关Q但是在学校的一些经 历——友谊、事实和理论的积累,以及四年中我获得的自信,使我能够去到那些地 方,让我有机会描绘我自己的人生图景。

At Yale I met some of the smartest people I know but that kind of academic success really means very little once youVe left this campus. I’ve never been asked what my grades were at Yale; that only happens if you run for president, and frankly, as we’ve all seen,it doesn’t even matter. No one has ever asked me to talk about my senior thesis paper and I’ve never gotten a job because I was on the lightweight crew team. All those things were hugely important to me at the time. But right now, in truth, they are kind of dim memories for me .And I’m not saying they’re frivolous or unimportant, they’re not, and I treasure all the opportunities I had here at Yale.

在耶鲁我遇到了一些聪明绝顶的人,但是一旦离开校园,学术上的成功用处很 小。几乎从来没有人问过我在耶鲁的成绩怎么样;也许这只有你在竞选总统时才会 有人问及,然而,坦白来讲,如我们所见,这也不是很重要。没有人会问及我的学 士毕业论文,曾经是大学轻量级游艇队的一员也未曾帮助我找到过一份工作。当时这些对于我来说都是极其重要的事情。然而现在,他们于我而言只是一些模糊的记 忆。我并不是说这些事情很琐碎或毫不重要,其实不是那样的,我也很珍惜曾在耶 鲁拥有过的这些机会。

But when you graduate, the slate is wiped clean. Outside of college campuses, I think we’re encouraged today to see things to see things through a very limited lens. On cable news,anchors we’re encouraged today to see things through a very limited lens. On cable news, anchors have become caricatures, wearing their politics on their sleeves or their lapels, claiming that they’re looking out for you and if you only watch their show or read their book, you’ll be able to understand how things really are. It would be kind of humorous if it weren’t, frankly, dangerous. On reality TV shows you watch people swapping lives, but a genuine swapping of ideas is something you rarely see outside of the college campus. We’re fighting not just a war of terror but a war of ideas, and I think it,s important that as a class, we all understand the importance of understanding other people’s ideas, our enemies’ as well as our friends’.

但当你毕业时,一切将归零并重新幵始。出了大学校园,人们鼓励我们用狭隘 的眼光看问题。在有线电视新闻中,主播们变成了讽刺漫画中的人物,他们的主张很明 显,声称他们一直在关注着你们,如果你们观看他们的节目或阅读他们的书籍,你将会 明白事情的真相。坦白来说,如果说这种现象不危险的话那肯定是在开玩笑。在真人 脱口秀节目中,你看着人们不断变换生活,但是真正意义上的观念变换在校园外很难看 到。我们现在打的并不仅仅是反恐之战,而更是观念之战。作为一个集体,我们知道相 互理解有多重要,不管是我们敌人还是朋友,这在我看来是非常重要的。

I’m not very good at giving advice. We all know that’s Bill O’Reilly’s job and he does it very well. I actually Googled graduation speeches to see what kind of advice other people give at these kind of things, and believe me, they’re incredibly cheesy. Goldie Hawn told graduates at AU,and I quote". While you are continuing to walk down that sometimes bumpy road of life, develop the art of laughter and joy. Keep in your backpack of treasures the whole you, the best you, the you that won’t fear failure.” Yeah, think about it. Backpack of treasures. Very true,Yoko Ono gave a Commencement speech (she didn’t sing it, she actually talked at it.)She said:” I say you can’t stand if you’ve got too much in your head. Let it go, and dance through life.” So true, so much muck, you know? Muck is a big problem. Of course, it’s easier to dance through life if you have a billion dollars, but I digress.

我并不擅长给人建议。我们都知道这是比尔霍奥利的事,而且他干得极为 出色。我甚至试图在谷歌上搜索毕业演讲,想看看别人对这些事会给予一些什么样 的建议。相信我,他们都非常出色。现在我想引用戈迪霍恩给美国大学毕业生们的话,“当你们继续踏上人生道路时,偶尔会有崎岖和坎坷,请你们学会欢笑,享受愉 悦,在你们的财富背包中,永远保留一个完整的你,一个最好的你,一个不惧怕失败的 你。”是的,想一想。满载财富的背包。是真的。小野洋子曾经在毕业典礼上说(她不是 唱出来的,是说出来的)。她说;“我想说如果你的头脑中杂念太多的话,你就无法承 受。所以学会放手,舞动生活。”如此的真实,太多的杂念,知道吗?杂念是个大麻烦。当 然如果你是个亿万富翁的话,就更容易在生活中飘然起舞了,我有点跑题了。

Since my mom gave me advice from television,I’m actually going to give you advice from a movie; because that’s the best I could come up with, frankly. It’s one of my favorite movies: Lawrence of Arabia. It’s a cool movie, I know. There’s line in it where Lawrence says, “Nothing is written.” And for you, I think, on this day, at this moment in your lives, I think that is especially true. Nothing is written. You’ve been taught how to write for yourselves. This weekend, the slate is wiped clean. There are no words that you have to use. There are no sentences you must complete. You stand before a field of freshly fallen snow; there are no footprints that you have to follow. Nothing is written. And I hope you know that it is truly a rare and wonderful place to be. Congratulations, Class of 2006. You deserve it.

既然我的母亲给我提的建议是从电视上学来的,我也想从电影里套用一些建议 给你们,因为坦白地讲,这是我所能想到的最好的方式。这是我最喜爱的电影之一: 《阿拉伯的劳伦斯》。这部电影拍的很好,劳伦斯在电影中有一句台词:“没有什么 是注定的。”我想在你们生命中的此时此刻,对于你们来说尤为真实。这个周末, 书写的石板将被清理干净,上面没有一门需要使用的文字了,也没有你们需要完成 的句子了。你置身于初雪覆盖的田野时;没有供你们跟随的脚印。没有什么是注定 的。我希望你们明白这是一个难得的美妙的景致。祝贺你们,2006级的毕业生们。 你们值得拥有这一切.

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