财富精英励志演讲12：请追随自己的梦(1)

 　　Class of 2009!I don't think I heard you.Class of 2009!First I want you to stand up and wave and cheer your supportive family and friends!I am sure you can find them out there.Show your love!It is a great honor for me to be here today。

　　09届的同学们！来点激情给我个回应。各位同学，我希望大家站起来向支持你们的亲朋好友挥手致意。你们一定能在人群中找到他们，借此机会表达你们的爱吧！能站在这里我感到非常荣幸。

　　Now wait a second.I know:that's such a cliche¹.You're thinking: every graduation speaker says that - It's a great honor.But, in my case, it really is so deeply true being here is more special and more personal for me than most of you know. I'd like to tell you why.A long time ago,in this cold September of 1962,there was a Steven's co-op at this very university.That co-op had a kitchen with a ceiling that had been cleaned by student volunteers probably every decade or so。

　　等等，大家可能觉得有点矫情。“我很荣幸”这句话都说烂了。但真的是大实话，大家不知道：我对密歇根大学有特殊的感情。很久以前，1962年9月，天很冷，在密歇根大学里有一家餐厅，学生志愿者负责打扫厨房的天花板，大约十年才会打扫一次。

　　Picture a college girl named Gloria,climbing up high on a ladder,struggling to clean that filthy² ceiling.Standing³ on the floor, a young boarder named Carl was admiring the view.And that's how they met.They were my parents,so I suppose you could say I'm a direct result of that kitchen chemistry experiment, right here at Michigan.My Mom is here with us today,and we should probably go find the spot and put a plaqueup on the ceiling that says: "Thanks Mom and Dad!"

　　想象一下：有个叫格洛丽亚的女学生，爬上了高高的梯子，努力地打扫脏兮兮的天花板。而一个叫卡尔的寄宿生在下面偷窥，这是他俩的初次邂逅，他们就是我父母。所以说，我是地地道道从密歇根大学厨房里造出来的，我母亲今天也来了。我想找到当年那个厨房，在天花板挂个匾上刻"感谢父母"！

　　Everyone in my family went here to Michigan:my brother, my Mom ,my Dad -- all of us.My Dad actually got the quantity discount:He got all three and a half of his degrees here.His Ph.D. was in Communication Science because they thought Computers were just a passing fad⁴ when he earned it 44 years ago.He and Mom made a big sacrifice for that degree.They argued at times over pennies, while raising my newborn brother.Mom typed my Dad's dissertation⁵ by hand,kind of ironic⁶ of those computer science dissertation。

　　我的家人都毕业于密歇根大学：我哥、我父母、还有我。我爸在文凭数量上更胜一筹：他在这获得了三个半学位，其中一个是通信工程的博士。44年前，他们认为计算机火不了多久。为取得这个学位，爸妈做出了很大的牺牲。为了抚养刚出生的哥哥，省吃俭用。堂堂计算机博士，论文是我妈逐字敲出来的，讽刺吧？

　　This velvet⁷ hood⁸ I'm wearing, this was my Dad's.This diploma, yeah,this diploma I have here that just like the one you are about to get this is my Dad's.And my underwear, oh never mind, sorry.

　　我身上这套博士服是我爸的，还有这张毕业证，跟你们即将拿到手的一样，也是我爸的。还有我的内裤，呃……算了。

1 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

2 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

5 dissertation   

n.（博士学位）论文，学术演讲，专题论文

参考例句：

• He is currently writing a dissertation on the Somali civil war.他目前正在写一篇关于索马里内战的论文。
• He was involved in writing his doctoral dissertation.他在聚精会神地写他的博士论文。

6 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

7 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

8 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。