關(guān)于David McCullough, Jr.

　　David McCullough Jr.是普立茲獎得主及知名歷史學(xué)家David McCullough之子，也是衛(wèi)斯里高中資深英語教師。

　　David McCullough, Jr. 為韋斯利高中畢業(yè)生演講〈你并不特別〉

　　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;教育委員會委員和畢業(yè)生的親朋好友;韋斯利高中2012年畢業(yè)班的女士先生們;有機(jī)會能在這個下午對你們演講令我感到十分榮幸與感激，謝謝。好，進(jìn)入主題吧!

　　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.)

　　畢業(yè)典禮-生命中重要的前瞻性儀式。別問說，「那婚禮呢?」婚禮是單方面的，而且效率不高。婚禮是以新娘為中 心的盛會，除了同意一長串無理的要求外，新郎只能呆站在一旁。沒有莊嚴(yán)的、「大家看著我」的過程;沒有像新娘被長輩送出的儀式;沒有改變身份的宣告。你們能想象一個專門看男人試穿燕尾服的電視節(jié)目嗎?他們的父親坐在那里，淚汪汪的眼中透著喜悅和不可置信的神情;他們的兄弟躲在角落，羨慕地喃喃自語。對男人來說，在挑戰(zhàn)極限的拖延后，婚禮就像自發(fā)性地，幾乎是無意識地，在球賽中場休息時間去冰箱拿飲料。然而，婚姻的失敗率如下：統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)顯示，現(xiàn)場觀眾有一半會離婚;這樣的勝率會讓你榮登美國聯(lián)盟東區(qū)的爐主。巴爾的摩金鶯隊(duì)的勝率都比婚姻成功率來得高。

　　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.

　　但這個儀式-畢業(yè)典禮，總是能圓滿結(jié)束。從今天開始-確實(shí)如此;無論你生病或健康;經(jīng)歷過財(cái)務(wù)困境、中年危機(jī);在辛辛那提貿(mào)易展遇見還算迷人的銷售代表-家長了解我的意思;對惱人之事的容忍度越來越低;歷經(jīng)過每次的改變、自我矛盾和其他種種;你從高中畢業(yè)這個 事實(shí)永遠(yuǎn)不會改變，你的文憑一生都會與你相伴。

　　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，畢業(yè)典禮代表生命中一個偉大儀式的開始，它有其本身的附加價值和高度的象征意義;例如象征讓我們在這個下午找到自己定位的美妙儀式。通常我會像避瘟疫似地避免陳腔爛調(diào)，閃得遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的，但現(xiàn)在我們處于平等的競技場上;這點(diǎn)很重要，它代表某些意義。你們的畢業(yè)禮服-毫無造型、外觀統(tǒng)一、尺碼相同;無論男女、高矮、會不會讀書;無論是曬成一身古銅色的舞會皇后或Xbox的星際刺客;你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，每個人的穿著都一模一 樣。而你們的文憑…除了名字以外，其它完全一樣。

　　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.

　　這一切本應(yīng)如此，因?yàn)?，你們沒有任何人是特別的。

　　你并不特別，你并非與眾不同;

　　盡管你有U9足球獎杯、輝煌的七年級成績單;盡管你確信世上必定有肥胖的紫色恐龍、親切的羅杰斯先生(著名兒童電視節(jié)目主持人)和古怪的Sylvia阿姨;無論女蝙蝠俠曾奮不顧身 地救過你多少次;你依然沒什么特別。

　　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，你被驕縱、溺愛、寵愛、保護(hù)、呵護(hù);是的，忙碌不堪的大人抱著你、親吻你、喂養(yǎng)你，替你擦嘴、擦屁股; 訓(xùn)練你、教導(dǎo)你、指引你、輔導(dǎo)你、傾聽你、規(guī)勸你、鼓勵你、安慰你，并一再地鼓勵你。你們被輕擁在懷里，好言哄誘和懇求;你們被贊美討好，還被稱為甜心 派。是的，你確實(shí)有。當(dāng)然，我們曾參加你的比賽、戲劇演出、演奏會、科學(xué)展覽;當(dāng)然，當(dāng)你走進(jìn)房里時，每個人都露出微笑;對你貼出的每一則twitter 訊息發(fā)出千百次興奮的驚嘆。為什么?也許你的照片曾登上Townsman(韋斯利高中校內(nèi)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.

　　現(xiàn)在你們已經(jīng)征服了高中階段，無疑地，我們?nèi)际菫榱四銈兌墼谶@里。你們是這個優(yōu)秀小區(qū)的驕傲和喜悅，第一批從那棟宏偉新大樓里走出的人。

　　但不要認(rèn)為你有什么特別，因?yàn)槟悴⒉惶貏e。

　　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