I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children's godparents, the people to whom I've been able to turn in times of trouble, people who have been kind enough not to sue me when I've took their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.
我的演讲即将结束。对你们,我有最后一个希望,也是我21岁时就有的一个希望。毕业那天与我坐在一起的朋友们现在是我终身的挚交,他们是我孩子的教父或教母,是我处于困境时可以求助的人,是在我用他们的名字给《哈利·波特》中的“食死徒”起名而不会起诉我的人。我们在毕业典礼时坐在了一起,因为我们关系亲密,因为我们共同分享了那永远都不能重来的时光。当然,也因为假想要是我们中的任何人竞选首相,那照片将是极有价值的证明。
So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:
所以今天我能送给你们的最好的祝福,就是希望你们能拥有这样的友谊。我希望,即使明天你们不记得我说过的任何一个字,你们还能记得古罗马哲学家塞内加的一句至理明言。我当年没有顺着事业的阶梯向上攀爬,转而与他在古典文学的殿堂相遇,他的古老智慧给了我人生的启迪:
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
生活就像故事一样,不在于长短,而在于品质,这才是最重要的。
I wish you all very good lives.
祝愿你们拥有美好的生活。
Thank you very much.
非常感谢大家。
重点讲解:
1. for life
终生;
eg. He was jailed for life in 1966 for the murder of three policemen.
他因谋杀了3名警察而在1966年被终身监禁。
eg. She may have been scarred for life.
她可能会留下永久的创伤。
eg. There can be no jobs for life.
没有一辈子的饭碗。
2. be bound by
由……联系起来;
eg. A fortnight after the events which I have just recounted, Armand was
convalescing1 very satisfactorily, and we were bound by a firm friendship.
在我刚才叙述的事情过去半个月以后,阿尔芒已经完全康复,我们彼此已经成为好友。
eg. A marriage bound by beauty only lasts as long as the beauty.
用美貌维系的婚姻只能如美貌般短寿。
3. retreat from
放弃,远离(计划、生活方式等);从…中隐退;
eg. I believe people should live in houses that allow them to retreat from the harsh realities of life.
我认为人们所居住的房子应该能让他们远离残酷的现实生活。
eg. The President's remarks appear to signal that there will be no retreat from his position.(n.)
总统的言辞似乎在暗示他不会主动辞职。
个人简介:
社会评论
J·K·罗琳自身就是她想象力的受益者。罗琳通过写作演绎了一个现代版本的灰姑娘。贫穷得无法在家里写作的罗琳在咖啡馆中往一张张纸片上涂些着关于另一个世界的构想。这个世界不如乔治·卢卡斯的星际那般绚丽,却足够丰富。第一本书《哈里·波特与魔法石》的出版,以及这本书所获得的成功让罗琳境遇大为改观。她在写作上的自信心也开始增长,这种信心同哈里·波特系列图书的厚度成正比,《哈利·波特与凤凰社》至少是《哈利·波特与魔法石》的三倍厚度,而《哈利·波特与混血王子》的长度也不亚于《哈利·波特与凤凰社》。全世界的图书版税、电影收入、以及各种衍生产品的收入让罗琳转眼成为英国最富有的女性之一。罗琳依靠出售想象力,依靠向大众描述想象的、世界而摆脱了现实世界的困境。
罗琳的写作风格似乎有些偏“恶魔丑陋系”,《哈利·波特》系列中这一特点显著。例如:曼德拉草的描述,伏地魔的外貌描述,海格的许多宠物,福克斯,以及赫敏的牙齿,邓布利多的鼻子,斯内普的外貌……这些也许与她的经历有所联系,饱尝人世冷暖。
在授予罗琳荣誉文学博士学位的仪式上,罗琳在大学期间的老师彼得·韦斯曼教授(Prof Peter Wiseman)在介绍罗琳时,说她上学时是个十分用功读书的学生,同时,在埃克塞特大学,她也是一个爱做白日梦的学生。
《好管家》杂志的编辑林赛·尼科尔森说:“作为一个单身母亲,罗琳能够应付困境并且摆脱贫穷,同时还建立起如此之庞大的娱乐帝国,她实在是令人鼓舞。”“对待自己的名声,罗琳也非常谨慎,她一直做着真实的自己。”