哈佛大学校长的告别演讲

 　　Good bye and good luck!

　　by Lawrence H. Summers, President of Harvard University

　　再见，好运！

　　哈佛大学校长 劳伦斯 萨默斯

　　Today, I speak from this podium a final time as your president. As I depart, I want to thank all of you - students, faculty¹, alumni and staff - with whom I have been privileged to work over these past years. Some of us have had our disagreements, but I know that which unites us transcends² that which divides us. I leave with a full heart, grateful for the opportunity I have had to lead this remarkable³ institution.

　　今天，我将以校长的身份，最后一次在这个讲台上演讲。即将离任前，我要感谢诸位学生、教师、校友和员工，而且非常荣幸在过去的5年里能与你们共事。我们中的一些人意见不尽相同， 但是，我知道，我们的共识远远超越分歧。我心满意足的离开哈佛，感激你们给我机会领导这所杰出的学府。

　　Since I delivered my inaugural⁴ address, 56 months ago, I have learned an enormous amount—about higher education, about leadership, and also about myself. Some things look different to me than they did five years ago. The world that today’s Harvard’s graduates are entering is a profoundly different one than the world administrators⁵ entered.

　　自从56个月前我发表上任讲话以来，我学到了很多——关于高等教育，关于领导艺术，也关于自我完善。在我看来，现在与5年前不同了。今天的哈佛毕业生正在进入的世界和管理人员当年所进入的世界相比已是大相径庭了。

　　It is a world where opportunities have never been greater for those who know how to teach children to read, or those who know how to distribute financial risk; never greater for those who understand the cell and the pixel; never greater for those who can master, and navigate⁶ between, legal codes, faith traditions, computer platforms, political viewpoints.

　　现今世界，机遇对于这些人来说是空前的：他们知道如何教子女阅读；他们知道如何组合投资；他们懂得基本存储单元和像素概念；他们能掌握各种法典、传统信仰、计算机平台、政治观点并在其中游刃有余。

　　It is also a world where some are left further and further behind - those who are not educated, those trapped in poverty and violence, those for whom equal opportunity is just a hollow phrase.

　　同时，现今世界，一些人越来越落后于时代。这些人没受过教育、深陷于贫穷和暴力、平等机遇对他们而言，仅是一句空话。

　　Scientific and technological⁷ advances are enabling us to comprehend the furthest reaches of the cosmos⁸, the most basic constituents⁹ of matter, and the miracle of life.

　　科技进步正在使我们能够探索宇宙的边陲、物质最基本的成分及生命的奇迹。

　　At the same time, today, the actions, and inaction, of human beings imperil not only life on the planet, but the very life of the planet.

　　与此同时，今天，人类所做的及没能做到的事情，不仅危害到这个星球上的生命，也危害到该星球的寿命。

　　Globalization is making the world smaller, faster and richer. Still, 9/11, avian flu, and Iran remind us that a smaller, faster world is not necessarily a safer world.

　　全球化正在使地球变得愈来愈小、愈来愈快和愈来愈富有。尽管如此，9/11、禽流感及伊朗提醒我们，更小更快的世界决不意味着其更安全。

　　Our world is bursting with knowledge - but desperately¹⁰ in need of wisdom. Now, when sound bites are getting shorter, when instant messages crowd out essays, and when individual lives grow more frenzied¹¹, college graduates capable of deep reflection are what our world needs.

　　我们正处于一个知识爆炸的世界之中，不过，迫切需要智慧。现在，在（新闻采访的）原声摘要播出变得愈来愈短，即时信息淘汰了杂记文，个人生活变得如痴如狂之际，这个世界还是需要能够深思的大学生。

　　For all these reasons I believed - and I believe even more strongly today - in the unique and irreplaceable mission of universities.

　　考虑到这些理由，我过去信仰，而今天甚至更加强烈地信仰大学独特的、无可取代的使命。

　　Universities are where the wisdom we cannot afford to lose is preserved from generation to generation. Among all human institutions, universities can look beyond present norms to future possibilities, can look through current considerations to emergent opportunities.

　　大学是人类把不可或缺的智慧世代流传的殿堂。就人类所有公共机构而言，仅仅大学，能够超越当前的准则，注意到未来的可能性；能通过目前的判断，注意到突发的机遇。

　　And among universities, Harvard stands out. With its great tradition, its iconic reputation, its remarkable network of 300,000 alumni, Harvard has never had as much potential as it does now.

　　哈佛在大学中间，鹤立鸡群。凭其伟大的传统、因袭声誉及其非凡的300000校友网，哈佛的潜力前所未有。

　　And yet, great and proud institutions, like great and proud nations at their peak, must surmount¹² a very real risk: that the very strength of their traditions will lead to caution, to an inward focus on prerogative¹³ and to a complacency that lets the world pass them by.

　　可是，就像伟大和自豪的国家在其鼎盛时期一样，它们必须克服一个完全不能掉以轻心的危险因素：它们传统的绝对强势将会导致谨小慎微、追求内部特权及自满，这将使它们不能与时俱进.

　　And so I say to you that our University today is at an inflection point in its history. At such a moment, there is temptation to elevate comfort and consensus¹⁴ over progress and clear direction, but this would be a mistake. The University’s matchless resources - human, physical, financial - demand that we seize this moment with vision and boldness. To do otherwise would be a lost opportunity. We can spur great deeds that history will mark decades and even centuries from now. If Harvard can find the courage to change itself, it can change the world.

　　今天，哈佛正处于其历史的转折点。此时此刻的自然倾向是，把贪图舒适和随波逐流留凌驾于进步和方向性之上，但，这可能是错误的。大学无与伦比的资源 ——人力、物力、财力——要求我们远见卓识和勇敢地抓住这个时机，否则，将会坐失良机。我们能推动将会被历史永世铭记的伟大的事业。如果哈佛能找到勇气来改变自己，它就能改变世界。

1 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

2 transcends   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的第三人称单数 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• The chemical dilution technique transcends most of the difficulties. 化学稀释法能克服大部分困难。
• The genius of Shakespeare transcends that of all other English poets. 莎士比亚的才华胜过所有的其他英国诗人。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

5 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

6 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

7 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

8 cosmos   

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

• Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
• Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

9 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

11 frenzied   

a.激怒的；疯狂的

参考例句：

• Will this push him too far and lead to a frenzied attack? 这会不会逼他太甚，导致他进行疯狂的进攻？
• Two teenagers carried out a frenzied attack on a local shopkeeper. 两名十几岁的少年对当地的一个店主进行了疯狂的袭击。

12 surmount   

vt.克服；置于…顶上

参考例句：

• We have many problems to surmount before we can start the project.我们得克服许多困难才能著手做这项工作。
• We are fully confident that we can surmount these difficulties.我们完全相信我们能够克服这些困难。

13 prerogative   

n.特权

参考例句：

• It is within his prerogative to do so.他是有权这样做的。
• Making such decisions is not the sole prerogative of managers.作这类决定并不是管理者的专有特权。

14 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？