第一篇：The Commencement Speech You’ll Never Hear 雅各布 紐斯納(布朗大學宗教研究系教授)（精選）

The Commencement Speech You’ll Never Hear

你絕不會聽到的在畢業(yè)典禮上的發(fā)言

By Jacob Neusner(A Religion Research Professor in Brown

University)

雅各布 紐斯納（布朗大學宗教研究系教授）

We the faculty take no pride in our educational achievements with you.We have prepared you for a world that does not exist, indeed, that cannot exist.You have spent four years supposing that failure leaves no record.You have learned at Brown that when your work goes poorly, the painless solution is to drop out.But starting now, in the world to which you go, failure marks you.Confronting difficulty by quitting leaves you changed, Outside Brown, quitters are no heroes.我們老師們并不為和你們共同取得的教育成就而感到自豪。我們?yōu)槟銈儨蕚浜玫氖澜绮⒉淮嬖?，的確，那是不可能存在的。你們花了四年時間，以為失敗并不會留下記錄。在布朗大學，你們明白，當你們的學業(yè)不佳，毫無痛苦的解決之道就是輟學。但是從現(xiàn)在開始，在你們即將踏入的世界里面，失敗會給你們打上印記。以放棄來面對困難會使你們不再是原來的自我。離開了布朗大學，放棄者絕非好漢。

With us you could argue about why your errors were not errors, why mediocre work really was excellent, why you could take pride

in routine and slipshod presentation.Most of you, after all, can look back on honor grades for most of what you have done.So, here grades can have meant little in distinguishing the excellent from the ordinary.But tomorrow, in the world to which you go, you had best not defend errors but learn from them.You will be ill-advised to demand praise for that does not deserve it and abuse those who do not give it.你們可以和我們爭論，干嘛你們的失誤不算是失誤，干嘛低級的作業(yè)竟可作為優(yōu)秀，干嘛你們可以對平平常常、漫不經(jīng)心的發(fā)言感到得意洋洋。不管怎么說，你們中的大部分人，會以欣慰的目光來回顧你們所取得的輝煌成績。可是在此，我得說，這樣的成績，在區(qū)分優(yōu)秀和平庸上，沒有什么價值。但是，到了明天，在你們即將踏入的世界里，你們最好不要為失誤辯護，而是從失誤中吸取教訓。讓你們謀求不該獲得的表揚，并責備那些不給你們表揚的人，是在誤導你們。

For years we created an altogether forgiving world, in which whatever slight effort you gave was all that was demanded.When you did not keep appointments, we made new ones , When you work came in beyond the deadline, we pretended not to care.Worse still, when you were boring, we acted as if you were saying something important.When you were garrulous and talked to hear yourselves talk, we listened as if it mattered.When you tossed on our desks writing upon which you had not labored, we read it and

even responded, as though you earned a response.When you were dull, we pretended you were smart.When you were predictable, unimaginative and routine, we listened as to new and wonderful things.When you demanded free lunch，we served it.And all this why?

多年來，我們創(chuàng)造了一個完全寬容的世界。在這個世界里，無論你們付出的努力是多么少，可要求的就那么少。當你們不守約時，我們就重新約過。當你們遲交作業(yè)時，我們假裝不在乎。更糟糕的是，當你們很無聊時，我們卻裝出好像你們在發(fā)表重要的意見。當你們啰里啰嗦，不知所云時，我們卻在傾聽，好像事關(guān)重大一般。當你們把胡亂應(yīng)付的文章扔到我們的辦公桌上時，我們不僅讀了，還要批改，就好像這樣的文章也值得批改一樣。當你們犯傻時，我們假裝說你們是聰明的。當你們發(fā)表老生常談，毫無想象力的平庸言論時，我們卻把它當作新穎、美妙的東西來聽。當你們想要免費的午餐時，我們就來提供。可這一切究竟是為什么呢？

Despite your fantasies, it was not even that we wanted to be liked by you.It was that we did not want to be bothered, and the easy way out was pretense: smiles and easy Bs.It is conventional to quote in addresses such as these.Let me quote someone you’ve never heard of: Prof.Carter A.Daniel, Rutgers University(Chronicle of Higher Education, May 7, 1979):

盡管你們有豐富的想象力，這卻并非是我們想要得到你們的喜愛，而只是因為我們免得麻煩。最簡單的出路就是“裝”：給你們微笑，還有輕松的“良”。

慣常的做法是引用諸如此類的演講辭，我要引用的是你們從未聽說過的一個人：拉特各斯大學的丹尼爾教授（高等教育大事記，1979年5月7日）：

“College has spoiled you by reading papers that don’t deserve to be read, listening to comments that don’t deserve a hearing, paying attention even to the lazy, ill-informed and rude.We had to do it, for sake of education.But nobody will ever do it again.College has deprived you of adequate preparation for the last 50 years.It has failed you by being easy, free, forgiving, attentive, comfortable, interesting, unchallenging fun.Good luck tomorrow.”

“大學教授們閱讀本不值得閱讀的論文，傾聽本不值得傾聽的議論，關(guān)心那些懶惰的，不學無術(shù)的，甚至粗魯?shù)膶W生，把你們大家給慣壞了。為了教育的緣故，我們只能如此。但是將來再沒有人會那么做了。大學并未使你們?yōu)槲磥淼?0年做好充分的準備。在輕松、自由、寬容、關(guān)愛、舒適、有趣而又不具挑戰(zhàn)的環(huán)境中，大學辜負了你們。祝你們明天好運！”

That is why, on this commencement day, we have noting in which to take much pride.Oh, yes, there is one more thing.Try not to act toward you coworkers and bosses as you acted toward us.I mean, when they give you what you want but have not earned, don’t abuse them, insult them, act out with them your parlous relationships with you parents.This too we have tolerated.It was, as I said, not to be liked.Few professors actually care whether or not they are liked by peer-paralyzed adolescents, fools so shallow as to imagine professors care not about education but about popularity.It was, again, to be rid of you.So go, unlearn the lies we taught you.To life!

那就是為什么在這畢業(yè)典禮的日子，我們并不感到自豪的原因。哦，對了，還有一件事要說。不要像你們對待我們那樣來對待你們的同事和老板吧。我的意思是，當他們給了你們想要的，但卻不是你們辛苦掙得的東西時，不要謾罵他們，不要侮辱他們，也不要用應(yīng)對父母的那種危險的方式來應(yīng)付他們。你們的這些做法，我們依然不會計較。所以，正如我已經(jīng)說過，我們的做法你們不該喜愛。很少有教授真正在乎他們是否被那些懵懵懂懂的青少年所喜愛，這些年輕人只是一些淺薄的傻瓜，居然以為教授們不關(guān)心教育，而只在乎自己的名望。教授們那么做，還是為了擺脫你們罷了。因此，忘了我們教給你們的謊言，走向生活吧！

讀后感

這位教授所作的畢業(yè)典禮的發(fā)言，可謂驚人！能夠有此膽量，有此見識的教授，實在少見！但是不可否認，他的話是實實在在的真話。難聽，可是能夠發(fā)人深省。

大家都知道，學校的教育環(huán)境和社會這個大環(huán)境常常是相去甚遠。學校里面的優(yōu)等生和社會里面的成功人士是不能簡單地劃等號的。當學生從校園走向社會，需要經(jīng)歷巨大而痛苦的轉(zhuǎn)變。如果不能適應(yīng)這個轉(zhuǎn)變，必然會發(fā)生嚴重的問題。

當我們在校園里面盡量營造一種特別寬容、自由、輕松、愉快、沒有壓力、不知挫折和失敗為何物的環(huán)境時，其結(jié)果卻是讓學生在踏上社會之初，在殘酷競爭、沉重壓力之下遭受挫折和失敗的打擊之時，因為突然失去了寬容、憐憫和同情，他們的精神和肉體同時遭受嚴峻的考驗。從這個意義上來說，是否應(yīng)該對大學的教育環(huán)境進行適當?shù)姆此迹?/p>

對于小學生和中學生來說，他們年齡還小，不該給他們過多的壓力和負擔，應(yīng)該讓他們在輕松愉快的環(huán)境中茁壯成長。但是，大學生已經(jīng)是成年人了，馬上就要踏入社會了，這時如果依然給他們營造小學、中學那樣的環(huán)境，對他們的未來是否有利，就值得思考了。