PBS高端访谈:当别人对你的成就无所期待时请这样告诉自己

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Ignoring what others think about you is easier said than done. Morgan Jerkins is an acclaimed¹ writer who speaks six languages. And, tonight, she offers her humble² opinion on overcoming what's called impostor syndrome³.

MORGAN JERKINS, Author, This Will Be My Undoing⁴:

Living at the Intersection⁵ of Black, Female, and Feminist⁶ in (White) America: It was in the eighth grade when my intelligence was questioned for the first time. Every week, each student in my social studies class would have to present a topic, and if the teacher thought that that student didn't know the meaning of a word, he would have to define it.

My words were formulate⁷ and enigmatic. Not too long afterwards, that same teacher accused me of cheating to my parents. My film studies teacher told me that I would never be a director and that it was best for me to do more behind-the-scenes work. My high school guidance counselor⁸ attempted to steer⁹ me away from the Ivies¹⁰ and suggested community college instead because she assumed that my parents wouldn't be able to afford it. All of these teachers were white. In a 2016 study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and American University, it was revealed that white teachers expect less academic success than black teachers expect from the same black students. A white teacher is 30 percent less likely to think a black student will graduate from a four-year college and is 40 percent less likely to think that a black student will graduate from high school. So, why am I bringing this up now, with high school many years behind me? Have you ever heard of the term impostor syndrome? Impostor syndrome is the inability to absorb one's accomplishments¹¹ and the persistent¹² fear that one will be exposed as a fraud. I feel it now even when I'm writing for prestigious¹³ publications, even after I got a book deal from a top publishing house. I kept wondering why. It wasn't until I realized my success two years ago that I understood how much of that difficulty to believe in myself came from childhood, especially those experiences with those teachers who tried to derail my growth. I had written off those experiences as being normal for a black girl. And, besides, if I had spoken up, I thought I would be seen as troublesome. But it's not normal. We have to see it for it is. For black girls and women out there who have had their abilities questioned, and in turn have doubted themselves, even when they have accomplished¹⁴ great things, there is a reason: Other people do not expect greatness from you, and, therefore, they don't want you to expect it either. You have earned everything you worked hard for. But it's also beneficial to acknowledge the roots, the memories that fueled this doubt, memories that tell you, you're not good enough. But you are good enough. More than enough. You are.

威廉·布拉纳姆：无视别人对你的看法是说起来容易做起来难。摩根·詹金斯是一位广受好评的作家，会说六种语言。而今晚，她将就如何克服所谓的“冒充者综合征”，发表观点。

《This Will Be My Undoing》作者摩根·詹金斯：在黑人、女性以及女权主义的交汇点上生存，八年级时，我的聪颖首遭质疑。每个星期，在社会课上，我们每名学生都必须提出一个话题，如果老师认为那个学生不知道一个词的意思，他就必须给它定义。我的词是构想与神秘。不久以后，那个老师指责我欺骗了我的父母。我的电影研习老师告诉我，我永远不会成为一名导演，而幕后工作才是我最好的选择。我的高中指导老师试图让我放弃常春藤学校，转而建议我选择社区学院，因为她认为我的父母付不起学费。所有这些老师都是白人。2016年，约翰霍普金斯大学和美利坚大学的研究人员进行了一项研究，它揭示出，对于同一批黑人学生的学术成绩，白人教师的期望要比黑人教师低。对于黑人学生从四年制大学毕业的可能性，白人教师的预期要低30%。而从高中毕业的可能性，要低40%。那么，明明高中已成往事，为什么我现在要把这个提出来？你有没有听说过冒充者综合征？冒充者综合征是指一个人自己无法接受自己的个人成就，持续恐惧自己会被当做一个骗子而揭穿。直到现在，当我的作品享有盛名，即便我拿到了一流出版社的图书订单，我仍然有这种感觉。我一直想知道这是为什么。直到两年前我意识到我的成功，我才明白这种无法相信自己的巨大困难竟来源于我的童年。特别是那些试图破坏我成长的老师们，给我的那些经历。我把这些经历写下来，对于一个黑人女孩来说，这很正常。另外，如果我说出来，我想我会被视为麻烦。但这不正常。我们必须正视它，因为它的确存在。对于那些能力遭到质疑，并由此导致自我怀疑的黑人女性，即使她们成就了伟大的事业，这里有一个理由：别人对你的伟大成就不会心存期望，因此，他们也不希望你对它有所期盼。你已经赢得了你为之奋斗的一切。但承认其根源以及正视那些引发怀疑，告诉你自己不够好的记忆，也很有裨益。但是你非常好。早已足够。你就是这样。

1 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

4 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

5 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

6 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

7 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

8 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

9 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

10 ivies   

常春藤( ivy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is was green at a time when other ivies had pooped out. 这株常春藤在其他常春藤已凋谢时依然青翠。
• These Chinese ivies climbed upwards and covered the entire wall. 那些常春藤攀援而上，爬满了整面墙。

11 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

13 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

14 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。