下文是比爾·蓋茨今年6月7日在哈佛大學(xué)畢業(yè)典禮上的演講的翻譯。他在其中談到了很多事情，包括他的學(xué)生時(shí)代、他的退學(xué)經(jīng)歷、以及他眼中人生最有意義的事情。

President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates:

尊敬的Bok校長(zhǎng)，Rudenstine前校長(zhǎng)，即將上任的Faust校長(zhǎng)，哈佛集團(tuán)的各位成員，監(jiān)管理事會(huì)的各位理事，各位老師，各位家長(zhǎng)，各位同學(xué)：

I’ve been waiting more than 30 years to say this: "Dad, I always told you I’d come back and get my degree."

有一句話我等了三十年，現(xiàn)在終于可以說(shuō)了：“老爸，我總是跟你說(shuō)，我會(huì)回來(lái)拿到我的學(xué)位的！”

I want to thank Harvard for this timely honor. I’ll be changing my job next year … and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.

我要感謝哈佛大學(xué)在這個(gè)時(shí)候給我這個(gè)榮譽(yù)。明年，我就要換工作了（注：指從微軟公司退休）……我終于可以在簡(jiǎn)歷上寫(xiě)我有一個(gè)本科學(xué)位，這真是不錯(cuò)啊。

I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees. For my part, I’m just happy that the Crimson has called me "Harvard’s most successful dropout." I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class … I did the best of everyone who failed.

我為今天在座的各位同學(xué)感到高興，你們拿到學(xué)位可比我簡(jiǎn)單多了。哈佛的校報(bào)稱(chēng)我是“哈佛大學(xué)歷史上最成功的輟學(xué)生”。我想這大概使我有資格代表我這一類(lèi)學(xué)生發(fā)言……在所有的失敗者里，我做得最好。

But I also want to be recognized as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school. I’m a bad influence. That’s why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.

但是，我還要提醒大家，我使得Steve Ballmer（注：微軟總經(jīng)理）也從哈佛商學(xué)院退學(xué)了。因此，我是個(gè)有著惡劣影響力的人。這就是為什么我被邀請(qǐng)來(lái)在你們的畢業(yè)典禮上演講。如果我在你們?nèi)雽W(xué)歡迎儀式上演講，那么能夠堅(jiān)持到今天在這里畢業(yè)的人也許會(huì)少得多吧。

Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me. Academic life was fascinating. I used to sit in on lots of classes I hadn’t even signed up for. And dorm life was terrific. I lived up at Radcliffe, in Currier House. There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, because everyone knew I didn’t worry about getting up in the morning. That’s how I came to be the leader of the anti-social group. We clung to each other as a way of validating our rejection of all those social people.

對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，哈佛的求學(xué)經(jīng)歷是一段非凡的經(jīng)歷。校園生活很有趣，我常去旁聽(tīng)我沒(méi)選修的課。哈佛的課外生活也很棒，我在Radcliffe過(guò)著逍遙自在 的日子。每天我的寢室里總有很多人一直待到半夜，討論著各種事情。因?yàn)槊總€(gè)人都知道我從不考慮第二天早起。這使得我變成了校園里那些不安分學(xué)生的頭頭，我們互相粘在一起，做出一種拒絕所有正常學(xué)生的姿態(tài)。

Radcliffe was a great place to live. There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types. That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean. This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn’t guarantee success.

Radcliffe是個(gè)過(guò)日子的好地方。那里的女生比男生多，而且大多數(shù)男生都是理工科的。這種狀況為我創(chuàng)造了最好的機(jī)會(huì)，如果你們明白我的意思?？上У氖?，我正是在這里學(xué)到了人生中悲傷的一課：機(jī)會(huì)大，并不等于你就會(huì)成功。

One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world’s first personal computers. I offered to sell them software.

我在哈佛最難忘的回憶之一，發(fā)生在1975年1月。那時(shí)，我從宿舍樓里給位于Albuquerque的一家公司打了一個(gè)電話，那家公司已經(jīng)在著手制造世界上第一臺(tái)個(gè)人電腦。我提出想向他們出售軟件。

I worried that they would realize I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me. Instead they said: "We’re not quite ready, come see us in a month," which was a good thing, because we hadn’t written the software yet. From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.

我很擔(dān)心，他們會(huì)發(fā)覺(jué)我是一個(gè)住在宿舍的學(xué)生，從而掛斷電話。但是他們卻說(shuō)：“我們還沒(méi)準(zhǔn)備好，一個(gè)月后你再來(lái)找我們吧。”這是個(gè)好消息，因?yàn)槟菚r(shí) 軟件還根本沒(méi)有寫(xiě)出來(lái)呢。就是從那個(gè)時(shí)候起，我日以繼夜地在這個(gè)小小的課外項(xiàng)目上工作，這導(dǎo)致了我學(xué)生生活的結(jié)束，以及通往微軟公司的不平凡的旅程的開(kāi)始。

What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence. It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes even discouraging, but always challenging. It was an amazing privilege – and though I left early, I was transformed by my years at Harvard, the friendships I made, and the ideas I worked on.

不管怎樣，我對(duì)哈佛的回憶主要都與充沛的精力和智力活動(dòng)有關(guān)。哈佛的生活令人愉快，也令人感到有壓力，有時(shí)甚至?xí)械叫箽?，但永遠(yuǎn)充滿(mǎn)了挑戰(zhàn)性。生活在哈佛是一種吸引人的特殊待遇……雖然我離開(kāi)得比較早，但是我在這里的經(jīng)歷、在這里結(jié)識(shí)的朋友、在這里發(fā)展起來(lái)的一些想法，永遠(yuǎn)地改變了我。

But taking a serious look back … I do have one big regret.

但是，如果現(xiàn)在嚴(yán)肅地回憶起來(lái)，我確實(shí)有一個(gè)真正的遺憾。

I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world – the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.

我離開(kāi)哈佛的時(shí)候，根本沒(méi)有意識(shí)到這個(gè)世界是多么的不平等。人類(lèi)在健康、財(cái)富和機(jī)遇上的不平等大得可怕，它們使得無(wú)數(shù)的人們被迫生活在絕望之中。

I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences.

我在哈佛學(xué)到了很多經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)和政治學(xué)的新思想。我也了解了很多科學(xué)上的新進(jìn)展。

But humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.

但是，人類(lèi)最大的進(jìn)步并不來(lái)自于這些發(fā)現(xiàn)，而是來(lái)自于那些有助于減少人類(lèi)不平等的發(fā)現(xiàn)。不管通過(guò)何種手段——民主制度、健全的公共教育體系、高質(zhì)量的醫(yī)療保健、還是廣泛的經(jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會(huì)——減少不平等始終是人類(lèi)最大的成就。

I left campus knowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educational opportunities here in this country. And I knew nothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable poverty and disease in developing countries.

我離開(kāi)校園的時(shí)候，根本不知道在這個(gè)國(guó)家里，有幾百萬(wàn)的年輕人無(wú)法獲得接受教育的機(jī)會(huì)。我也不知道，發(fā)展中國(guó)家里有無(wú)數(shù)的人們生活在無(wú)法形容的貧窮和疾病之中。

It took me decades to find out.

我花了幾十年才明白了這些事情。

You graduates came to Harvard at a different time. You know more about the world’s inequities than the classes that came before. In your years here, I hope you’ve had a chance to think about how – in this age of accelerating technology – we can finally take on these inequities, and we can solve them.

在座的各位同學(xué)，你們是在與我不同的時(shí)代來(lái)到哈佛的。你們比以前的學(xué)生，更多地了解世界是怎樣的不平等。在你們的哈佛求學(xué)過(guò)程中，我希望你們已經(jīng)思考過(guò)一個(gè)問(wèn)題，那就是在這個(gè)新技術(shù)加速發(fā)展的時(shí)代，我們?cè)鯓幼罱K應(yīng)對(duì)這種不平等，以及我們?cè)鯓觼?lái)解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題。

Imagine, just for the sake of discussion, that you had a few hours a week and a few dollars a month to donate to a cause – and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives. Where would you spend it?

為了討論的方便，請(qǐng)想象一下，假如你每個(gè)星期可以捐獻(xiàn)一些時(shí)間、每個(gè)月可以捐獻(xiàn)一些錢(qián)——你希望這些時(shí)間和金錢(qián)，可以用到對(duì)拯救生命和改善人類(lèi)生活有最大作用的地方。你會(huì)選擇什么地方？

For Melinda and for me, the challenge is the same: how can we do the most good for the greatest number with the resources we have.

對(duì)Melinda（注：蓋茨的妻子）和我來(lái)說(shuō)，這也是我們面臨的問(wèn)題：我們?nèi)绾文軐⑽覀儞碛械馁Y源發(fā)揮出最大的作用。

During our discussions on this question, Melinda and I read an article about the millions of children who were dying every year in poor countries from diseases that we had long ago made harmless in this country. Measles, malaria, pneumonia, hepatitis B, yellow fever. One disease I had never even heard of, rotavirus, was killing half a million kids each year – none of them in the United States.

在討論過(guò)程中，Melinda和我讀到了一篇文章，里面說(shuō)在那些貧窮的國(guó)家，每年有數(shù)百萬(wàn)的兒童死于那些在美國(guó)早已不成問(wèn)題的疾病。麻疹、瘧疾、肺炎、乙型肝炎、黃熱病、還有一種以前我從未聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)的輪狀病毒，這些疾病每年導(dǎo)致50萬(wàn)兒童死亡，但是在美國(guó)一例死亡病例也沒(méi)有。

We were shocked. We had just assumed that if millions of children were dying and they could be saved, the world would make it a priority to discover and deliver the medicines to save them. But it did not. For under a dollar, there were interventions that could save lives that just weren’t being delivered.

我們被震驚了。我們想，如果幾百萬(wàn)兒童正在死亡線上掙扎，而且他們是可以被挽救的，那么世界理應(yīng)將用藥物拯救他們作為頭等大事。但是事實(shí)并非如此。那些價(jià)格還不到一美元的救命的藥劑，并沒(méi)有送到他們的手中。

If you believe that every life has equal value, it’s revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves: "This can’t be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving."

如果你相信每個(gè)生命都是平等的，那么當(dāng)你發(fā)現(xiàn)某些生命被挽救了，而另一些生命被放棄了，你會(huì)感到無(wú)法接受。我們對(duì)自己說(shuō)：“事情不可能如此。如果這是真的，那么它理應(yīng)是我們努力的頭等大事。”

So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it. We asked: "How could the world let these children die?"

所以，我們用任何人都會(huì)想到的方式開(kāi)始工作。我們問(wèn)：“這個(gè)世界怎么可以眼睜睜看著這些孩子死去？”

The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it. So the children died because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.

答案很簡(jiǎn)單，也很令人難堪。在市場(chǎng)經(jīng)濟(jì)中，拯救兒童是一項(xiàng)沒(méi)有利潤(rùn)的工作，政府也不會(huì)提供補(bǔ)助。這些兒童之所以會(huì)死亡，是因?yàn)樗麄兊母改冈诮?jīng)濟(jì)上沒(méi)有實(shí)力，在政治上沒(méi)有能力發(fā)出聲音。

But you and I have both.

但是，你們和我在經(jīng)濟(jì)上有實(shí)力，在政治上能夠發(fā)出聲音。

We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism – if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities. We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes.

我們可以讓市場(chǎng)更好地為窮人服務(wù)，如果我們能夠設(shè)計(jì)出一種更有創(chuàng)新性的資本主義制度——如果我們可以改變市場(chǎng)，讓更多的人可以獲得利潤(rùn)，或者至少可 以維持生活——那么，這就可以幫到那些正在極端不平等的狀況中受苦的人們。我們還可以向全世界的政府施壓，要求他們將納稅人的錢(qián)，花到更符合納稅人價(jià)值觀的地方。

If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world. This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a conscious effort to answer this challenge will change the world.

如果我們能夠找到這樣一種方法，既可以幫到窮人，又可以為商人帶來(lái)利潤(rùn)，為政治家?guī)?lái)選票，那么我們就找到了一種減少世界性不平等的可持續(xù)的發(fā)展道路。這個(gè)任務(wù)是無(wú)限的。它不可能被完全完成，但是任何自覺(jué)地解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題的嘗試，都將會(huì)改變這個(gè)世界。

I am optimistic that we can do this, but I talk to skeptics who claim there is no hope. They say: "Inequity has been with us since the beginning, and will be with us till the end – because people just … don’t … care." I completely disagree.

在這個(gè)問(wèn)題上，我是樂(lè)觀的。但是，我也遇到過(guò)那些感到絕望的懷疑主義者。他們說(shuō)：“不平等從人類(lèi)誕生的第一天就存在，到人類(lèi)滅亡的最后一天也將存在。——因?yàn)槿祟?lèi)對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題根本不在乎。”我完全不能同意這種觀點(diǎn)。

I believe we have more caring than we know what to do with.

我相信，問(wèn)題不是我們不在乎，而是我們不知道怎么做。

All of us here in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our hearts, and yet we did nothing – not because we didn’t care, but because we didn’t know what to do. If we had known how to help, we would have acted.

此刻在這個(gè)院子里的所有人，生命中總有這樣或那樣的時(shí)刻，目睹人類(lèi)的悲劇，感到萬(wàn)分傷心。但是我們什么也沒(méi)做，并非我們無(wú)動(dòng)于衷，而是因?yàn)槲覀儾恢雷鍪裁春驮趺醋?。如果我們知道如何做是有效的，那么我們就?huì)采取行動(dòng)。

The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity.

改變世界的阻礙，并非人類(lèi)的冷漠，而是世界實(shí)在太復(fù)雜。

To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact. But complexity blocks all three steps.

為了將關(guān)心轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)樾袆?dòng)，我們需要找到問(wèn)題，發(fā)現(xiàn)解決辦法的方法，評(píng)估后果。但是世界的復(fù)雜性使得所有這些步驟都難于做到。

Even with the advent of the Internet and 24-hour news, it is still a complex enterprise to get people to truly see the problems. When an airplane crashes, officials immediately call a press conference. They promise to investigate, determine the cause, and prevent similar crashes in the future.

即使有了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和24小時(shí)直播的新聞臺(tái)，讓人們真正發(fā)現(xiàn)問(wèn)題所在，仍然十分困難。當(dāng)一架飛機(jī)墜毀了，官員們會(huì)立刻召開(kāi)新聞發(fā)布會(huì)，他們承諾進(jìn)行調(diào)查、找到原因、防止將來(lái)再次發(fā)生類(lèi)似事故。

But if the officials were brutally honest, they would say: "Of all the people in the world who died today from preventable causes, one half of one percent of them were on this plane. We’re determined to do everything possible to solve the problem that took the lives of the one half of one percent."

但是如果那些官員敢說(shuō)真話，他們就會(huì)說(shuō)：“在今天這一天，全世界所有可以避免的死亡之中，只有0.5%的死者來(lái)自于這次空難。我們決心盡一切努力，調(diào)查這個(gè)0.5%的死亡原因。”

The bigger problem is not the plane crash, but the millions of preventable deaths.

顯然，更重要的問(wèn)題不是這次空難，而是其他幾百萬(wàn)可以預(yù)防的死亡事件。

We don’t read much about these deaths. The media covers what’s new – and millions of people dying is nothing new. So it stays in the background, where it’s easier to ignore. But even when we do see it or read about it, it’s difficult to keep our eyes on the problem. It’s hard to look at suffering if the situation is so complex that we don’t know how to help. And so we look away.

我們并沒(méi)有很多機(jī)會(huì)了解那些死亡事件。媒體總是報(bào)告新聞，幾百萬(wàn)人將要死去并非新聞。如果沒(méi)有人報(bào)道，那么這些事件就很容易被忽視。另一方面，即使 我們確實(shí)目睹了事件本身或者看到了相關(guān)報(bào)道，我們也很難持續(xù)關(guān)注這些事件?？粗耸芸嗍橇钊送纯嗟?，何況問(wèn)題又如此復(fù)雜，我們根本不知道如何去幫助他 人。所以我們會(huì)將臉轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)去。

If we can really see a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step: cutting through the complexity to find a solution.

就算我們真正發(fā)現(xiàn)了問(wèn)題所在，也不過(guò)是邁出了第一步，接著還有第二步：那就是從復(fù)雜的事件中找到解決辦法。

Finding solutions is essential if we want to make the most of our caring. If we have clear and proven answers anytime an organization or individual asks "How can I help?," then we can get action – and we can make sure that none of the caring in the world is wasted. But complexity makes it hard to mark a path of action for everyone who cares — and that makes it hard for their caring to matter.

如果我們要讓關(guān)心落到實(shí)處，我們就必須找到解決辦法。如果我們有一個(gè)清晰的和可靠的答案，那么當(dāng)任何組織和個(gè)人發(fā)出疑問(wèn)“如何我能提供幫助”的時(shí) 候，我們就能采取行動(dòng)。我們就能夠保證不浪費(fèi)一丁點(diǎn)全世界人類(lèi)對(duì)他人的關(guān)心。但是，世界的復(fù)雜性使得很難找到對(duì)全世界每一個(gè)有愛(ài)心的人都有效的行動(dòng)方法，因此人類(lèi)對(duì)他人的關(guān)心往往很難產(chǎn)生實(shí)際效果。

Cutting through complexity to find a solution runs through four predictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the technology that you already have — whether it’s something sophisticated, like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.

從這個(gè)復(fù)雜的世界中找到解決辦法，可以分為四個(gè)步驟：確定目標(biāo)，找到最高效的方法，發(fā)現(xiàn)適用于這個(gè)方法的新技術(shù)，同時(shí)最聰明地利用現(xiàn)有的技術(shù)，不管它是復(fù)雜的藥物，還是最簡(jiǎn)單的蚊帳。

The AIDS epidemic offers an example. The broad goal, of course, is to end the disease. The highest-leverage approach is prevention. The ideal technology would be a vaccine that gives lifetime immunity with a single dose. So governments, drug companies, and foundations fund vaccine research. But their work is likely to take more than a decade, so in the meantime, we have to work with what we have in hand – and the best prevention approach we have now is getting people to avoid risky behavior.

艾滋病就是一個(gè)例子?？偟哪繕?biāo)，毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)是消滅這種疾病。最高效的方法是預(yù)防。最理想的技術(shù)是發(fā)明一種疫苗，只要注射一次，就可以終生免疫。所以， 政府、制藥公司、基金會(huì)應(yīng)該資助疫苗研究。但是，這樣研究工作很可能十年之內(nèi)都無(wú)法完成。因此，與此同時(shí)，我們必須使用現(xiàn)有的技術(shù)，目前最有效的預(yù)防方法 就是設(shè)法讓人們避免那些危險(xiǎn)的行為。

Pursuing that goal starts the four-step cycle again. This is the pattern. The crucial thing is to never stop thinking and working – and never do what we did with malaria and tuberculosis in the 20th century – which is to surrender to complexity and quit.

要實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)新的目標(biāo)，又可以采用新的四步循環(huán)。這是一種模式。關(guān)鍵的東西是永遠(yuǎn)不要停止思考和行動(dòng)。我們千萬(wàn)不能再犯上個(gè)世紀(jì)在瘧疾和肺結(jié)核上犯過(guò)的錯(cuò)誤，那時(shí)我們因?yàn)樗鼈兲珡?fù)雜，而放棄了采取行動(dòng)。

The final step – after seeing the problem and finding an approach – is to measure the impact of your work and share your successes and failures so that others learn from your efforts.

在發(fā)現(xiàn)問(wèn)題和找到解決方法之后，就是最后一步——評(píng)估工作結(jié)果，將你的成功經(jīng)驗(yàn)或者失敗經(jīng)驗(yàn)傳播出去，這樣其他人就可以從你的努力中有所收獲。

You have to have the statistics, of course. You have to be able to show that a program is vaccinating millions more children. You have to be able to show a decline in the number of children dying from these diseases. This is essential not just to improve the program, but also to help draw more investment from business and government.

當(dāng)然，你必須有一些統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字。你必須讓他人知道，你的項(xiàng)目為幾百萬(wàn)兒童新接種了疫苗。你也必須讓他人知道，兒童死亡人數(shù)下降了多少。這些都是很關(guān)鍵的，不僅有利于改善項(xiàng)目效果，也有利于從商界和政府得到更多的幫助。

But if you want to inspire people to participate, you have to show more than numbers; you have to convey the human impact of the work – so people can feel what saving a life means to the families affected.

但是，這些還不夠，如果你想激勵(lì)其他人參加你的項(xiàng)目，你就必須拿出更多的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字；你必須展示你的項(xiàng)目的人性因素，這樣其他人就會(huì)感到拯救一個(gè)生命，對(duì)那些處在困境中的家庭到底意味著什么。

I remember going to Davos some years back and sitting on a global health panel that was discussing ways to save millions of lives. Millions! Think of the thrill of saving just one person’s life – then multiply that by millions. … Yet this was the most boring panel I’ve ever been on – ever. So boring even I couldn’t bear it.

幾年前，我去瑞士達(dá)沃斯旁聽(tīng)一個(gè)全球健康問(wèn)題論壇，會(huì)議的內(nèi)容有關(guān)于如何拯救幾百萬(wàn)條生命。天哪，是幾百萬(wàn)！想一想吧，拯救一個(gè)人的生命已經(jīng)讓人何等激動(dòng)，現(xiàn)在你要把這種激動(dòng)再乘上幾百萬(wàn)倍……但是，不幸的是，這是我參加過(guò)的最最乏味的論壇，乏味到我無(wú)法強(qiáng)迫自己聽(tīng)下去。

What made that experience especially striking was that I had just come from an event where we were introducing version 13 of some piece of software, and we had people jumping and shouting with excitement. I love getting people excited about software – but why can’t we generate even more excitement for saving lives?

那次經(jīng)歷之所以讓我難忘，是因?yàn)橹拔覀儎倓偘l(fā)布了一個(gè)軟件的第13個(gè)版本，我們讓觀眾激動(dòng)得跳了起來(lái)，喊出了聲。我喜歡人們因?yàn)檐浖械郊?dòng)，那么我們?yōu)槭裁床荒軌蜃屓藗円驗(yàn)槟軌蛘壬械礁蛹?dòng)呢？

You can’t get people excited unless you can help them see and feel the impact. And how you do that – is a complex question.

除非你能夠讓人們看到或者感受到行動(dòng)的影響力，否則你無(wú)法讓人們激動(dòng)。如何做到這一點(diǎn)，并不是一件簡(jiǎn)單的事。

Still, I’m optimistic. Yes, inequity has been with us forever, but the new tools we have to cut through complexity have not been with us forever. They are new – they can help us make the most of our caring – and that’s why the future can be different from the past.

同前面一樣，在這個(gè)問(wèn)題上，我依然是樂(lè)觀的。不錯(cuò)，人類(lèi)的不平等有史以來(lái)一直存在，但是那些能夠化繁為簡(jiǎn)的新工具，卻是最近才出現(xiàn)的。這些新工具可以幫助我們，將人類(lèi)的同情心發(fā)揮最大的作用，這就是為什么將來(lái)同過(guò)去是不一樣的。

The defining and ongoing innovations of this age – biotechnology, the computer, the Internet – give us a chance we’ve never had before to end extreme poverty and end death from preventable disease.

這個(gè)時(shí)代無(wú)時(shí)無(wú)刻不在涌現(xiàn)出新的革新——生物技術(shù)，計(jì)算機(jī)，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)——它們給了我們一個(gè)從未有過(guò)的機(jī)會(huì)，去終結(jié)那些極端的貧窮和非惡性疾病的死亡。

Sixty years ago, George Marshall came to this commencement and announced a plan to assist the nations of post-war Europe. He said: "I think one difficulty is that the problem is one of such enormous complexity that the very mass of facts presented to the public by press and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reach a clear appraisement of the situation. It is virtually impossible at this distance to grasp at all the real significance of the situation."

六十年前，喬治·馬歇爾也是在這個(gè)地方的畢業(yè)典禮上，宣布了一個(gè)計(jì)劃，幫助那些歐洲國(guó)家的戰(zhàn)后建設(shè)。他說(shuō)：“我認(rèn)為，困難的一點(diǎn)是這個(gè)問(wèn)題太復(fù)雜，報(bào)紙和電臺(tái)向公眾源源不斷地提供各種事實(shí)，使得大街上的普通人極端難于清晰地判斷形勢(shì)。事實(shí)上，經(jīng)過(guò)層層傳播，想要真正地把握形勢(shì)，是根本不可能的。”

Thirty years after Marshall made his address, as my class graduated without me, technology was emerging that would make the world smaller, more open, more visible, less distant.

馬歇爾發(fā)表這個(gè)演講之后的三十年，我那一屆學(xué)生畢業(yè)，當(dāng)然我不在其中。那時(shí)，新技術(shù)剛剛開(kāi)始萌芽，它們將使得這個(gè)世界變得更小、更開(kāi)放、更容易看到、距離更近。

The emergence of low-cost personal computers gave rise to a powerful network that has transformed opportunities for learning and communicating.

低成本的個(gè)人電腦的出現(xiàn)，使得一個(gè)強(qiáng)大的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)有機(jī)會(huì)誕生，它為學(xué)習(xí)和交流提供了巨大的機(jī)會(huì)。

The magical thing about this network is not just that it collapses distance and makes everyone your neighbor. It also dramatically increases the number of brilliant minds we can have working together on the same problem – and that scales up the rate of innovation to a staggering degree.

網(wǎng)絡(luò)的神奇之處，不僅僅是它縮短了物理距離，使得天涯若比鄰。它還極大地增加了懷有共同想法的人們聚集在一起的機(jī)會(huì)，我們可以為了解決同一個(gè)問(wèn)題，一起共同工作。這就大大加快了革新的進(jìn)程，發(fā)展速度簡(jiǎn)直快得讓人震驚。

At the same time, for every person in the world who has access to this technology, five people don’t. That means many creative minds are left out of this discussion -- smart people with practical intelligence and relevant experience who don’t have the technology to hone their talents or contribute their ideas to the world.

與此同時(shí)，世界上有條件上網(wǎng)的人，只是全部人口的六分之一。這意味著，還有許多具有創(chuàng)造性的人們，沒(méi)有加入到我們的討論中來(lái)。那些有著實(shí)際的操作經(jīng)驗(yàn)和相關(guān)經(jīng)歷的聰明人，卻沒(méi)有技術(shù)來(lái)幫助他們，將他們的天賦或者想法與全世界分享。

We need as many people as possible to have access to this technology, because these advances are triggering a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They are making it possible not just for national governments, but for universities, corporations, smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches, and measure the impact of their efforts to address the hunger, poverty, and desperation George Marshall spoke of 60 years ago.

我們需要盡可能地讓更多的人有機(jī)會(huì)使用新技術(shù)，因?yàn)檫@些新技術(shù)正在引發(fā)一場(chǎng)革命，人類(lèi)將因此可以互相幫助。新技術(shù)正在創(chuàng)造一種可能，不僅是政府，還包括大學(xué)、公司、小機(jī)構(gòu)、甚至個(gè)人，能夠發(fā)現(xiàn)問(wèn)題所在、能夠找到解決辦法、能夠評(píng)估他們努力的效果，去改變那些馬歇爾六十年前就說(shuō)到過(guò)的問(wèn)題——饑餓、貧 窮和絕望。

Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the great collections of intellectual talent in the world.

哈佛是一個(gè)大家庭。這個(gè)院子里在場(chǎng)的人們，是全世界最有智力的人類(lèi)群體之一。

What for?

我們可以做些什么？

There is no question that the faculty, the alumni, the students, and the benefactors of Harvard have used their power to improve the lives of people here and around the world. But can we do more? Can Harvard dedicate its intellect to improving the lives of people who will never even hear its name?

毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，哈佛的老師、校友、學(xué)生和資助者，已經(jīng)用他們的能力改善了全世界各地人們的生活。但是，我們還能夠再做什么呢？有沒(méi)有可能，哈佛的人們可以將他們的智慧，用來(lái)幫助那些甚至從來(lái)沒(méi)有聽(tīng)到過(guò)“哈佛”這個(gè)名字的人？

Let me make a request of the deans and the professors – the intellectual leaders here at Harvard: As you hire new faculty, award tenure, review curriculum, and determine degree requirements, please ask yourselves:

請(qǐng)?jiān)试S我向各位院長(zhǎng)和教授，提出一個(gè)請(qǐng)求——你們是哈佛的智力領(lǐng)袖，當(dāng)你們雇用新的老師、授予終身教職、評(píng)估課程、決定學(xué)位頒發(fā)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的時(shí)候，請(qǐng)問(wèn)你們自己如下的問(wèn)題：

Should our best minds be dedicated to solving our biggest problems?

我們最優(yōu)秀的人才是否在致力于解決我們最大的問(wèn)題？

Should Harvard encourage its faculty to take on the world’s worst inequities? Should Harvard students learn about the depth of global poverty … the prevalence of world hunger … the scarcity of clean water …the girls kept out of school … the children who die from diseases we can cure?

哈佛是否鼓勵(lì)她的老師去研究解決世界上最嚴(yán)重的不平等？哈佛的學(xué)生是否從全球那些極端的貧窮中學(xué)到了什么……世界性的饑荒……清潔的水資源的缺乏……無(wú)法上學(xué)的女童……死于非惡性疾病的兒童……哈佛的學(xué)生有沒(méi)有從中學(xué)到東西？

Should the world’s most privileged people learn about the lives of the world’s least privileged?

那些世界上過(guò)著最優(yōu)越生活的人們，有沒(méi)有從那些最困難的人們身上學(xué)到東西？

These are not rhetorical questions – you will answer with your policies.

這些問(wèn)題并非語(yǔ)言上的修辭。你必須用自己的行動(dòng)來(lái)回答它們。

My mother, who was filled with pride the day I was admitted here – never stopped pressing me to do more for others. A few days before my wedding, she hosted a bridal event, at which she read aloud a letter about marriage that she had written to Melinda. My mother was very ill with cancer at the time, but she saw one more opportunity to deliver her message, and at the close of the letter she said: "From those to whom much is given, much is expected."

我的母親在我被哈佛大學(xué)錄取的那一天，曾經(jīng)感到非常驕傲。她從沒(méi)有停止督促我，去為他人做更多的事情。在我結(jié)婚的前幾天，她主持了一個(gè)新娘進(jìn)我家的儀式。在這個(gè)儀式上，她高聲朗讀了一封關(guān)于婚姻的信，這是她寫(xiě)給Melinda的。那時(shí)，我的母親已經(jīng)因?yàn)榘┌Y病入膏肓，但是她還是認(rèn)為這是又一個(gè)傳播她的信念的機(jī)會(huì)。在那封信的結(jié)尾，她寫(xiě)道：“對(duì)于那些接受了許多幫助的人們，他們還在期待更多的幫助。”

When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given – in talent, privilege, and opportunity – there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us.

想一想吧，我們?cè)谶@個(gè)院子里的這些人，被給予過(guò)什么——天賦、特權(quán)、機(jī)遇——那么可以這樣說(shuō)，全世界的人們幾乎有無(wú)限的權(quán)力，期待我們做出貢獻(xiàn)。

In line with the promise of this age, I want to exhort each of the graduates here to take on an issue – a complex problem, a deep inequity, and become a specialist on it. If you make it the focus of your career, that would be phenomenal. But you don’t have to do that to make an impact. For a few hours every week, you can use the growing power of the Internet to get informed, find others with the same interests, see the barriers, and find ways to cut through them.

同這個(gè)時(shí)代的期望一樣，我也要向今天各位畢業(yè)的同學(xué)提出一個(gè)忠告：你們要選擇一個(gè)問(wèn)題，一個(gè)復(fù)雜的問(wèn)題，一個(gè)有關(guān)于人類(lèi)深刻的不平等的問(wèn)題，然后你 們要變成這個(gè)問(wèn)題的專(zhuān)家。如果你們能夠使得這個(gè)問(wèn)題成為你們職業(yè)的核心，那么你們就會(huì)非常杰出。但是，你們不必一定要去做那些大事。每個(gè)星期只用幾個(gè)小 時(shí)，你就可以通過(guò)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)得到信息，找到志同道合的朋友，發(fā)現(xiàn)困難所在，找到解決它們的途徑。

Don’t let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.

不要讓這個(gè)世界的復(fù)雜性阻礙你前進(jìn)。要成為一個(gè)行動(dòng)主義者。將解決人類(lèi)的不平等視為己任。它將成為你生命中最重要的經(jīng)歷之一。

You graduates are coming of age in an amazing time. As you leave Harvard, you have technology that members of my class never had. You have awareness of global inequity, which we did not have. And with that awareness, you likely also have an informed conscience that will torment you if you abandon these people whose lives you could change with very little effort. You have more than we had; you must start sooner, and carry on longer.

在座的各位畢業(yè)的同學(xué)，你們所處的時(shí)代是一個(gè)神奇的時(shí)代。當(dāng)你們離開(kāi)哈佛的時(shí)候，你們擁有的技術(shù)，是我們那一屆學(xué)生所沒(méi)有的。你們已經(jīng)了解到了世界 上的不平等，我們那時(shí)還不知道這些。有了這樣的了解之后，要是你再棄那些你可以幫助的人們于不顧，就將受到良心的譴責(zé)，只需一點(diǎn)小小的努力，你就可以改變 那些人們的生活。你們比我們擁有更大的能力；你們必須盡早開(kāi)始，盡可能長(zhǎng)時(shí)期堅(jiān)持下去。

Knowing what you know, how could you not?

知道了你們所知道的一切，你們?cè)趺纯赡懿徊扇⌒袆?dòng)呢？

And I hope you will come back here to Harvard 30 years from now and reflect on what you have done with your talent and your energy. I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities … on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.

我希望，30年后你們還會(huì)再回到哈佛，想起你們用自己的天賦和能力所做出的一切。我希望，在那個(gè)時(shí)候，你們用來(lái)評(píng)價(jià)自己的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，不僅僅是你們的專(zhuān)業(yè)成就，而包括你們?yōu)楦淖冞@個(gè)世界深刻的不平等所做出的努力，以及你們?nèi)绾紊拼切┻h(yuǎn)隔千山萬(wàn)水、與你們毫不涉及的人們，你們與他們唯一的共同點(diǎn)就是同為人 類(lèi)。

Good luck.

最后，祝各位同學(xué)好運(yùn)。

擴(kuò)展閱讀

版權(quán)聲明：