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2009 Commencement Address - U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.
Madam President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, faculty, family, friends, and, most importantly, today’s graduates,
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，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，
Thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you.
感谢你们，让我有机会同你们一起分享这个美妙的日子。
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 classics 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.
我不太肯定，自己够得上哈佛大学毕业典礼演讲人这样的殊荣。去年登上这个讲台的是，英国亿万身家的小说家J.K. Rowling女士，她最早是一个古典文学的学生。前年站在这里的是比尔·盖茨先生，他是一个超级富翁、一个慈善家和电脑高手。今年很遗憾，你们的演讲人是我，虽然我不是很有钱，但是至少我也算一个高手。
I am grateful to receive an honorary degree from Harvard, an honor that means more to me than you might care to imagine. You see, I was the academic black sheep of my family. My older brother has an M.D./Ph.D. from MIT and Harvard while my younger brother has a law degree from Harvard. When I was awarded a Nobel Prize, I thought my mother would be pleased. Not so. When I called her on the morning of the announcement, she replied, “That’s nice, but when are you going to visit me next.” Now, as the last brother with a degree from Harvard, maybe, at last, she will be satisfied.
我很感激哈佛大学给我荣誉学位，这对我很重要，也许比你们会想到的还要重要。要知道，在学术上，我是我们家的不肖之子。我的哥哥在麻省理工学院得到医学博士，在哈佛大学得到哲学博士；我的弟弟在哈佛大学得到一个法律学位。我本人得到诺贝尔奖的时候，我想我的妈妈会高兴。但是，我错了。消息公布的那天早上，我给她打电话，她听了只说：“这是好消息，不过我想知道，你下次什么时候来看我？”如今在我们兄弟当中，我最终也拿到了哈佛学位，我想这一次，她会感到满意。
Another difficulty with giving a Harvard commencement address is that some of you may disapprove of the fact that I have borrowed material from previous speeches. I ask that you forgive me for two reasons.
在哈佛大学毕业典礼上发表演讲，还有一个难处，那就是你们中有些人可能有意见，不喜欢我重复前人演讲中说过的话。我要求你们谅解我，因为两个理由。
First, in order to have impact, it is important to deliver the same message more than once. In science, it is important to be the first person to make a discovery, but it is even more important to be the last person to make that discovery.
首先，为了产生影响力，很重要的方法就是重复传递同样的信息。在科学中，第一个发现者是重要的，但是在得到公认前，最后一个将这个发现重复做出来的人也许更重要。
Second, authors who borrow from others are following in the footsteps of the best. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who graduated from Harvard at the age of 18, noted “All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.” Picasso declared “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” Why should commencement speakers be held to a higher standard?
其次，一个借鉴他人的作者，正走在一条前人开辟的最佳道路上。哈佛大学毕业生、诗人爱默生曾经写下：“古人把我最好的一些思想都偷走了。”画家毕加索宣称“优秀的艺术家借鉴，伟大的艺术家偷窃。”那么为什么毕业典礼的演说者，就不适用同样的标准呢？
I also want to point out the irony of speaking to graduates of an institution that would have rejected me, had I the chutzpah to apply. I am married to “Dean Jean,” the former dean of admissions at Stanford. She assures me that she would have rejected me, if given the chance. When I showed her a draft of this speech, she objected strongly to my use of the word “rejected.” She never rejected applicants; her letters stated that “we are unable to offer you admission.” I have difficulty understanding the difference. After all, deans of admissions of highly selective schools are in reality, “deans of rejection.” Clearly, I have a lot to learn about marketing.
我还要指出一点，向哈佛毕业生发表演说，对我来说是有讽刺意味的，因为如果当年我斗胆向哈佛大学递交入学申请，一定会被拒绝。我的妻子Jean当过斯坦福大学的招生主任，她向我保证，如果当年我申请斯坦福大学，她会拒绝我。我把这篇演讲的草稿给她过目，她强烈反对我使用“拒绝”这个词，她从来不拒绝任何申请者。在拒绝信中，她总是写：“我们无法提供你入学机会。”我分不清两者到底有何差别。在我看来，那些大热门学校的招生主任与其称为“准许你入学的主任”，还不如称为“拒绝你入学的主任”。很显然，我需要好好学学怎么来推销自己。
