名校励志英语演讲稿：给大学毕业生的几个忠告——美国能源部部长朱棣文
给大学毕业生的几个忠告——美国能源部部长朱棣文
As you begin this new stage of your lives, follow your paion.If you don’t have a paion, don’t be satis?ed until you?nd one.Life is too short to go through it without caring deeply about something.当你开始生活的新阶段时，请追随你的爱好。如果你没有爱好，就去找，找不到绝不罢休。生命太短暂，所以不能空手走过，你必须对某样 东西倾注你的深情。
2009 Commencement Addre at Harvard University
— U.S.Secretary of Energy Steven Chu
Madam President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, faculty, family, friends, and, most importantly, today’s graduates,
Thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you.
I am not sure I can live up to the high standards of Harvard Commencement speakers.Last year, J.K.Rowling, the billionaire novelist, who started as a claics student, graced this podium.The year before, Bill Gates, the mega-billionaire philanthropist and computer nerd stood here.Today, sadly, you have me.I am not wealthy, but at least I am a nerd.
My addre will follow the claical sonata form of commencement addrees.The first movement, just presented, were light-hearted remarks.This next movement consists of unsolicited advice, which is rarely valued, seldom remembered, never followed.As Oscar Wilde said, “The only thing to do with good advice is to pa it on.It is never of any use to oneself.”
So, here comes the advice.First, every time you celebrate an achievement, be thankful to those who made it poible.Thank your parents and friends who supported you, thank your profeors who were inspirational, and especially thank the other profeors whose le-than-brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself.Going forward, the ability to teach yourself is the hallmark of a great liberal arts education and will be the key to your succe.To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education during those late night discuions, hug them.Also, of course, thank Harvard.Should you forget, there’s an alumni aociation to remind you.
Second, in your future life, cultivate a generous spirit.In all negotiations, don’t bargain for the last, little advantage.Leave the change on the table.In your collaborations, always remember that “credit” is not a conserved quantity.In a succeful collaboration, everybody gets 90 percent of the credit.
My third piece of advice is as follows: As you begin this new stage of your lives, follow your paion.If you don’t have a paion, don’t be satisfied until you find one.Life is too short to go through it without caring deeply about something.
Here is my final piece of advice.Pursuing a personal paion is important, but it should not be your only goal.When you are old and gray, and look back on your life, you will want to be proud of what you have done.The source of that pride won’t be the things you have acquired or the recognition you have received.It will be the lives you have touched and the difference you have made.
Finally, as humanists, I ask that you speak to our common humanity.One of the cruelest ironies about climate change is that the ones who will be hurt the most are the most innocent: the worlds poorest and those yet to be born.
The coda to this last movement is borrowed from two humanists.
The first quote is from Martin Luther King.He spoke on ending the war in Vietnam in 1967, but his meage seems so fitting for today’s climate crisis.
“This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, cla, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind.This oft misunderstood, this oft misinterpreted concept, so readily dismied by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now become an absolute neceity for the survival of man „ We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today.We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late.”
The final meage is from William Faulkner.On December 10th, 1950, his Nobel Prize banquet speech was about the role of humanists in a world facing potential nuclear holocaust.
“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compaion and sacrifice and endurance.The poet’s, the writer’s, duty is to write about these things.It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compaion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past.”
Graduates, you have an extraordinary role to play in our future.As you pursue your private paions, I hope you will also develop a paion and a voice to help the world in ways both large and small.Nothing will give you greater satisfaction.
Please accept my warmest congratulations.May you prosper, may you help preserve and save our planet for your children, and all future children of the world.
尊敬的Faust校长、哈佛集团的各位成员、监管理事会的各位理事长、各位老师、各位家长、各位朋友，以及最重要的各位毕业生同学，感谢你们，让我有机会同你们一起分享这个美妙的日子。
我不太肯定，自己够得上的哈佛大学毕业典礼演讲人的殊荣。去年登上这个讲台的是英国小说家J.K.罗琳，她最早是个古典文学的学生。前年站在这里的事比尔·盖茨先生，他是一个超级富翁、一个慈善家和电脑天才。今年很遗憾，你们的演讲人是我，我不是很有钱，但至少我是一个书呆子。
毕业典礼演讲都遵循古典奏鸣曲的结构，我的演讲也不例外。刚才是第一乐章——轻快的闲谈。接下来的第二乐章是送上门的忠告。这样的忠告很少有价值，几乎注定被忘记，永远不会被实践。但是，就像王尔德说的：“对于忠告，你听能做的，就是把它送给别人，因为它对你没有任何用处。”
所以，下面是我的忠告。第一，取得成就时，不要忘记前人。要感谢你的父母和朋友，要感谢那些启发过你的教授，尤其是上不好课的教授，因为他们迫使你自学。自学能力是优秀的文科教育中必不可少的，将成为你成功的关键。你还要去拥抱你的同学，感谢他们同你进行过的彻夜长谈，这为你的教育带来了无法衡量的价值。你还要感谢哈佛大学。不过即使你忘了，校友会也会来提醒你。
第二，在你们未来的人生中，做一个慷慨大方的人。在任何谈判中，都把最后一点点利益留给对方，不要把桌上的钱都拿走。在合作中，成功合作的任何一方，都应获得全部荣誉的90%。
第三个忠告是，当你开始生活的新阶段中，请跟随你的爱好。如果没有爱好就去找，找不到就不罢休。生命太短暂，所以不能空手走过，你必须对某样东西倾注你的深情。
我还有最后一个忠告，兴趣爱好固然重要，但你不应该只考虑它。当你白发苍苍、垂垂老矣、回首人生时，你需要为做过的事感到自豪。物质生活和你实现的占有欲，都不会产生自豪。只有那些受你影响、被你改变过的人和事，才会让你产生自豪。
最后，你们是人道主义者，我要求你们为人道主义说话。气候变化带来的最残酷的讽刺之一，就是最受伤害的人，恰恰是最无辜的人——那些世界上最穷的人们和那些还没有出生的人。
这个最后乐章的完结部是引用两位人道主义者的话。
第一段引语来自马丁·路德·金。这是1967年他对越南战争结束的评论，但是非常适合评论今天的气候危机。“我呼吁全世界的人们团结一心，抛弃种族、肤色、阶段、国籍的隔阂；我呼吁包罗一切、无条件的对全人类的爱。你会因此遭受误解和误读，信奉尼采哲学的世人会认定你是一个软弱和胆怯的懦夫。但是，这是人类存在下去的绝对必须。我的朋友，眼前的事实就是，明天就是今天。此刻，我们面临最紧急的情况。在变幻莫测的生活和历史之中，有一样东西叫做悔之晚矣。”
第二段引语来自威廉·福克纳。1950年12月10日，他在诺贝尔奖获奖晚宴上发表演说，谈到了世界在核战争的阴影之下，人道主义者应该扮演一个什么样的角色。“我相信人类还将胜利。人类是不朽的，不是因为万物中仅仅他拥有发言权，而是因为他有灵魂、有同情心、牺牲精神和忍耐精神。诗人、作家的责任就是书写这种精神。他们有权升华人类的心灵，使人类回忆起过去曾使他无比光荣的东西——勇气、荣誉、希望、自尊、同情和牺牲。”
各位同学，你们在未来中扮演着举足轻重的角色。当你们追求个人的志向时，我希望你们也能发扬奉献精神，积极发声，在各个方面帮助改进这个世界。这会给你们带来最大的满足感。
最后，请接受我最热烈的祝贺。希望你们成功，也希望你们保护和拯救我们这个星球，为了你们的孩子，以及未来所有的孩子。
