名校勵志英語演講 第14期:失敗的額外收益和想象力的重要性
你們知道嗎?如果在若干年后你們還僅僅記得“快樂的魔法師”這個笑話，
[00:05.12]I've come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock.
那就證明我已經(jīng)超越了男爵夫人瑪麗·沃諾克。
[00:13.13]Achievable goals: the first step to self improvement.
確定一個切實可行的目標(biāo)——這是自我提升的第一步。
[00:19.27]Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today.
實際上，我為今天應(yīng)該給大家的講些什么絞盡了腦汁。
[00:25.20]I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation,
我曾自問，在當(dāng)初自己畢業(yè)典禮上我想要知道些什么呢?
[00:30.00]and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that have expired between that day and this.
從畢業(yè)典禮那天到現(xiàn)在的21年里我得到了什么重要的經(jīng)驗和教訓(xùn)呢?
[00:37.39]I have come up with two answers.
我想到了兩個答案。
[00:40.30]On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success,
今天是個美好的日子，我們歡聚一堂一起慶祝你們在學(xué)業(yè)上取得的成功。
[00:45.53]I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure.
然而我決定跟你們談?wù)勈〉氖找?
[00:50.56]And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called 'real life',
同時，你們將邁入“現(xiàn)實生活”，
[00:55.40]I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.
所以我還要褒揚想象力的極度重要性。
[01:00.34]These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.
這兩點似乎是不切實際或自相矛盾的選擇，但請先容許我講完。
[01:06.26]Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation,
對于已經(jīng)42歲的我來說，
[01:10.13]is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become.
回憶21歲剛剛畢業(yè)時的情景并不是一件很舒服的事情。
[01:15.41]Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself,
21年前，我一直都在自己的雄心
[01:22.27]and what those closest to me expected of me.
和身邊的人對我的期望之間尋求平衡。
[01:26.32]I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels.
我一直深信，自己唯一想做的事情就是寫小說。
