雅思阅读之你并不特别 David McCullough

      关于David McCullough, Jr.

　　David McCullough Jr.是普立兹奖得主及知名历史学家David McCullough之子，也是卫斯里高中资深英语教师。

　　David McCullough, Jr. 为韦斯利高中毕业生演讲〈你并不特别〉

　　Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful. Thank you.

　　王博士、Keough博士、Novogroski女士和Curran小姐;教育委员会委员和毕业生的亲朋好友;韦斯利高中2012年毕业班的女士先生们;有机会能在这个下午对你们演讲令我感到十分荣幸与感激，谢谢。好，进入主题吧!

　　So here we are… commencement… life’s great forward-looking ceremony. (And don’t say, “What about weddings?” Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently effective. Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there. No stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession. No being given away. No identity-changing pronouncement. And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos? Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy. Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent… during halftime… on the way to the refrigerator. And then there’s the frequency of failure: statistics tell us half of you will get divorced. A winning percentage like that’ll get you last place in the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.)

　　毕业典礼-生命中重要的前瞻性仪式。别问说，「那婚礼呢?」婚礼是单方面的，而且效率不高。婚礼是以新娘为中 心的盛会，除了同意一长串无理的要求外，新郎只能呆站在一旁。没有庄严的、「大家看着我」的过程;没有像新娘被长辈送出的仪式;没有改变身份的宣告。你们能想象一个专门看男人试穿燕尾服的电视节目吗?他们的父亲坐在那里，泪汪汪的眼中透着喜悦和不可置信的神情;他们的兄弟躲在角落，羡慕地喃喃自语。对男人来说，在挑战极限的拖延后，婚礼就像自发性地，几乎是无意识地，在球赛中场休息时间去冰箱拿饮料。然而，婚姻的失败率如下：统计数据显示，现场观众有一半会离婚;这样的胜率会让你荣登美国联盟东区的炉主。巴尔的摩金莺队的胜率都比婚姻成功率来得高。

　　But this ceremony… commencement… a commencement works every time. From this day forward… truly… in sickness and in health, through financial fiascos, through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati, through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever graduated from high school, you and your diploma as one, ‘til death do you part.

　　但这个仪式-毕业典礼，总是能圆满结束。从今天开始-确实如此;无论你生病或健康;经历过财务困境、中年危机;在辛辛那提贸易展遇见还算迷人的销售代表-家长了解我的意思;对恼人之事的容忍度越来越低;历经过每次的改变、自我矛盾和其他种种;你从高中毕业这个 事实永远不会改变，你的文凭一生都会与你相伴。

　　No, commencement is life’s great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and highly appropriate symbolism. Fitting, for example, for this auspicious rite of passage, is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue. Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague, wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but here we are on a literal level playing field. That matters. That says something. And your ceremonial costume… shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all. Whether male or female, tall or short, scholar or slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of you is dressed, you’ll notice, exactly the same. And your diploma… but for your name, exactly the same.

　　不，毕业典礼代表生命中一个伟大仪式的开始，它有其本身的附加价值和高度的象征意义;例如象征让我们在这个下午找到自己定位的美妙仪式。通常我会像避瘟疫似地避免陈腔烂调，闪得远远的，但现在我们处于平等的竞技场上;这点很重要，它代表某些意义。你们的毕业礼服-毫无造型、外观统一、尺码相同;无论男女、高矮、会不会读书;无论是晒成一身古铜色的舞会皇后或Xbox的星际刺客;你会发现，每个人的穿著都一模一 样。而你们的文凭…除了名字以外，其它完全一样。

　　All of this is as it should be, because none of you is special.

　　You are not special. You are not exceptional.

　　Contrary to what your u9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you… you’re nothing special.

　　这一切本应如此，因为，你们没有任何人是特别的。

　　你并不特别，你并非与众不同;

　　尽管你有U9足球奖杯、辉煌的七年级成绩单;尽管你确信世上必定有肥胖的紫色恐龙、亲切的罗杰斯先生(著名儿童电视节目主持人)和古怪的Sylvia阿姨;无论女蝙蝠侠曾奋不顾身 地救过你多少次;你依然没什么特别。

　　Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You’ve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. Yes, you have. And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman! [Editor’s upgrade: Or The Swellesley Report!]

　　是的，你被骄纵、溺爱、宠爱、保护、呵护;是的，忙碌不堪的大人抱着你、亲吻你、喂养你，替你擦嘴、擦屁股; 训练你、教导你、指引你、辅导你、倾听你、规劝你、鼓励你、安慰你，并一再地鼓励你。你们被轻拥在怀里，好言哄诱和恳求;你们被赞美讨好，还被称为甜心 派。是的，你确实有。当然，我们曾参加你的比赛、戏剧演出、演奏会、科学展览;当然，当你走进房里时，每个人都露出微笑;对你贴出的每一则twitter 讯息发出千百次兴奋的惊叹。为什么?也许你的照片曾登上Townsman(韦斯利高中校内刊物)。

　　And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…

　　But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not.

　　现在你们已经征服了高中阶段，无疑地，我们全都是为了你们而聚在这里。你们是这个优秀小区的骄傲和喜悦，第一批从那栋宏伟新大楼里走出的人。

　　但不要认为你有什么特别，因为你并不特别。

　　The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore. Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood Ns. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching sixty-eight hundred yous go running by. And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not t