Take Fear Head On
直面恐惧
The world you now inherit whether you，d like it or not.
这个你们即将接手的世界，无论你们是否愿意。
Today is your day. Please， do not turn off your electronic devices. Leave your iPhone， your iPad， your blackberries powered up， recording， photographing.
Take this speech and set it to music and maybe insert some crazy kooky graphics. Star in that video yourself and post on the web and if it becomes a viral sensation you，ll be equal to any cat playing with a paper bag or any set of twin toddlers talking gibberish to each other， as popular as that cute girl that sings about Fridays.
Just one of the possibilities in our brave new world， the world you now inherit whether you，d like it or not. The jig is up.The clock has run out and the future with a capital F， now rests with all of you all because you went to Yale. You are now the anointed， the charge holders， the best and brightest. Each of you is a shining hope for our nation in the world. You are the new wizards who can finally make sense of all the delta vectors and square roots and divided-bys and the theorem that we call the human race. The generations before you came of age took on the job and now it，s your turn.
That sober look shows that just as world has gotten to be a better place after all， and has also grown a bit worse at the exact same rate. A one step up and one step back， sort of cosmic balance between forward progress and cultural retreat that puts mankind on the bell curve of existence. That shows a small segment in joy， ease and comfort while an equal portion struggle on with little hope in the fortunes of the remainder， either on the rise or on the wane in this confounding tide of so many damn things that we grow oblivious to the shifts in the quality of our lives.
Now some advantages particular to this age are not to be denied. Boredom seems to have been vanquished. There is always something to do， but hasn，t this translated into a perpetual distraction in our lives， in the bathroom， at the dinner table， in the back seat， at a wedding， at a graduation day？ There，s always something to check， something to tweet， something to watch， something to download， something to share， something to buy， someone on a voice mail， something to yank at our attention span and it，s all in the palm of our hand for a small monthly service fee.
That same technology has allowed for a surplus of celebrities and that is nothing to cheer about. Anyone can enjoy the perks of notoriety now and the duration of fame has been lengthened from Andy Warhol，s brief 15 minutes to a good 15 months if you，re willing to do certain things on camera.
Cultivate in them the faith to carry on and they will do the rest. Your work begins， work that will not be always joyful to you， labor that may not always fulfill you and days that will seem like one damn thing after the other.
It，s true you will now work every day for the rest of your lives， that full-time job， your career as human beings and as Americans and as graduates of Yale is to stand on the fulcrum between fear and faith， fear at your back， faith in front of you.
Which way will you lean？ Which way will you move？ Move forward， ever forward and tweet out a picture of the results. It may make you famous.
Thank you and congratulations.
今天是你们的大日子，拜托千万不要关掉手中的电子装置。请把你们的iPhone、iPad和黑莓手机全都打开，请录音、拍照、传简讯。
帮你们找点事做，让朋友知道你们现在在哪里。好，然后——好，把这场演讲配上音乐，也许加上几张搞笑图片，让自己成为影片主角，放上网络。如果这部影片爆红，你就会像那只玩纸袋的猫，或用达达语对话的双胞胎兄弟，或唱“星期五”的可爱女孩儿一样受欢迎。
这只是我们美好新世界当中的一个可能性，这个你们即将接手的世界，无论你们是否愿意。好日子已经结束，时机已到，我们的未来正等着戴着怪帽子的你们开创。这都是因为——你们是耶鲁毕业生。你们是被选定的一群，身兼重任；你们是最杰出、最聪明的人才；在座每个人都是美国和世界的希望之光。你们是新时代的天才，将在三角向量、方根、除法之后，赋予“人类”这个种族最终定义。你们长大成人之前，各个世代肩上背负的重担，现在轮到你们接手。欢迎共襄盛举。
以客观角度来看，这个世界确实变得更好，但同时也变得更糟。前进一步，又倒退一步，仿佛宇宙在科技进步和文化倒退间达成平衡，使人类的进展呈钟形曲线。其中一小部分显示了进步带来的喜悦和安逸，但也显示了相同比例的困境。对于起伏不定的经济和种种混乱局势的不乐观，使我们逐渐忽略生活质量的变化。
这个时代也有其独特的优点，这是无法否认的，例如“无聊”似乎已被击溃。人们总是有事可忙，但这不代表总是心不在焉地度日无伤大雅。不论在厕所中、餐桌上、汽车后座、婚礼上，割礼上、毕业典礼上，总是有人检视讯息、在Twitter贴文、上网、下载、玩游戏、分享、购物、听语音留言，手中这些每个月仅需付少许服务费的装置占据了我们的注意力。
同样的科技也造成名人泛滥现象；这不是什么值得高兴的事。现在，任何人都能享受万众瞩目的滋味，而成名期间，从安迪·沃荷所说的短短15分钟延长到15个月，只要你愿意在镜头前做某些事。
你们即将毕业，未来的工作即将展开。并非所有工作都能让你乐在其中，付出的结果并非总是能尽如人意，你们或许会日复一日地饱受煎熬。
确实如此。从现在开始，你们终身都将背负着一份责任，这是你们的终身使命，是你们身为人类、美国人和耶鲁毕业生的职责，就是站在恐惧和信念的杠杆支点上。恐惧在你后方，信念在你前方。
你会往哪个方向倾斜？你会往哪个方向移动？请勇往直前，一路勇往直前，然后用Twitter大肆宣扬你努力的成果。
谢谢大家，恭喜各位。
延伸阅读
汤姆·汉克斯，1956年7月9日生于美国加州康科德，美国影视演员。1993年，《费城故事》一片使他获得奥斯卡最佳男主角奖。1994年《阿甘正传》使他又一次赢得了奥斯卡最佳男主角奖。2001年，获美国电影学院颁发的终身成就奖。作品有《阿甘正传》、《费城故事》、《西雅图不眠夜》、《荒岛余生》等。本文是汤姆·汉克斯在2011年5月于耶鲁大学第310届毕业典礼上发表的演讲。
compare vt.& vi.比较，对照； n.比较
confound vt.使混淆，使混乱； 挫败； 诅咒；
surplus adj.过剩的； 多余的； n.剩余额； 公积金； 顺差； 盈余；
Come on， Girls
女孩儿们，努力吧
What would I do if I weren，t afraid？ And then go do it.
如果我无所畏惧我会做什么？然后义无反顾地去做吧。
Today is a day of celebration， a day to celebrate all the hard work that got you to this place where you can sit， kind of sweltering in that gown. Today is a day of thanks， a day to thank all the people that helped you get here， the people who nurtured you and taught you， who held your hand， who dried your tears. Today is a day of reflection.
As you leave Barnard today， you leave not just with an education， but you take your place amongst the fortunate. Some of you came here from families where education was expected and emphasized. Others of you had to overcome far more obstacles to get here， and today you become the very first member of your family to graduate from college. What an amazing accomplishment. But no matter where you started， as of today you are all privileged. You are privileged in the most important sense of the word， which is that you have almost boundless opportunity in front of you. So， the question is， what are you going to do with it？ What will you do with this education you worked so hard to achieve？ What in the world needs to change， and what part do you plan on playing in changing it？
Pulitzer Prize winners Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristof assert that the fundamental moral challenge for our century， it is oppression of girls and women around the world. Their book is a call to arms， to give women all over the world， women who are exactly like us except for the circumstances into which they were born， basic human rights.
