公众人物毕业演讲第24期:比尔盖茨夫妇于斯坦福大学(5)

 　　That ran counter to our core¹ belief.

　　这将同我们的核心信念背道而驰

　　Technology should benefit everyone.

　　技术应当让每个人受益

　　So we worked to close the digital divide.

　　于是我们开始行动 试图缩小这一数字鸿沟

　　I made a priority² at Microsoft,

　　我原来在微软

　　and Melinda and I made it an early priority at our Foundation³.

　　以及我和梅琳达在盖茨基金会早期都确立了

　　Donating personal computers to public libraries

　　向公共图书馆捐赠个人计算机这一优先事务

　　to make sure that everyone had access.

　　以帮助每个人获得计算机使用权

　　The digital divide was a focus of mine in 1997,

　　1997年 这一数字鸿沟是我的主要关注焦点

　　when I took my first trip to South Africa.

　　当时我是第一次去南非

　　I went there on business.

　　我是出公差

　　So I spent most of my time in meetings in downtown Johannesburg.

　　大多数时间都在约翰内斯堡中心城区开会

　　I stayed in the home of one of the richest families of South Africa.

　　住在南非国内非常有钱的一位富豪家里

　　It had only been three years since the election⁴ of Nelson Mandela

　　当时离纳尔逊?曼德拉当选只有三年时间

　　marked the end of apartheid.

　　种族隔离刚刚终结

　　When I sat down for dinner with my hosts,

　　我同屋子的主人坐在一起用餐

　　they used a bell to call the butler.

　　主人用铃来呼唤仆人

　　After dinner, the women and men separated and the men smoked cigars.

　　餐后 女人们会和男人们分开 男人们会去抽雪茄

　　I thought, good thing I read Jane Austen,

　　我心想 幸好我读过简·奥斯汀的作品

　　or I wouldn't have known what was going on.

　　否则我估计根本无法理解这里发生了什么

1 core   

n.中心；核心；(苹果、梨等果实的)果心

参考例句：

• We didn't get to the core of the subject.我们没触及问题的核心。
• The pear is rotten to the core.这梨全烂了。

2 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

3 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

4 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。