普林斯顿大学校长2018年毕业典礼演讲

导读

在演讲中，校长伊斯格鲁布（Christopher L. Eisgruber）反复强调，上大学是一笔高回报的投资，尤其从长远来看。年轻人应将眼光放远，不该被学历无用的论调欺骗，这种论调会破坏年轻人的前途和国家的未来。

 

 

 

 

演讲精彩片段（节选）欣赏

 

College graduates report higher levels of happiness and job satisfaction. 

大学毕业生们拥有更高的幸福感和工作满意度。

 

College graduates are healthier than non-graduates. They are more likely to exercise, more likely to vote, and have higher levels of civic engagement.

大学毕业人群要比非大学毕业人群更健康，他们更爱锻炼，更积极参与投票，有更高层次的公民参与度。

 

To these pragmatic considerations we should add the joys that come with an increased capacity to appreciate culture, the arts, the world’s  diversity, and the inherent beauty of extraordinary ideas.

除了这些实用角度的考量，我们还应该加上一些额外收获，因为他们能更好地理解文化、艺术、世界多样性和卓越观点的内在美好，人生能获得更多乐趣。

 

You might worry, for example, about what happens if technology renders your trade obsolete, or arthritis leaves you unable to practice it, or you want to move into management or explore other interests.

你也许会担心，随着技术发展，你的手艺会被淘汰；或者你得了关节炎，无法再干这份工作；或者你想进入管理层，或跨行挖掘其他的领域。

 

A college degree equips you to respond to the changes — to yourself, and to the world — that inevitably occur over a lifetime.

大学学历能让你拥有应对更多变化的能力，无论是在你身上还是这个世界发生的变化。这些都是难以避免的。

 

 

The people who call for fewer degrees yield to that temptation. They emphasize the short-term. They focus almost entirely on the price of college and on the salaries students might earn in their first jobs. That is a mistake.

那些呼吁“少读点书”的人就屈服于这种诱惑。他们看中的是短期效益，几乎只关心读大学要花的钱，和学生毕业后第一份工作的收入。大错特错。

 

A college education is a long-term investment. It enables graduates to develop and adapt, and it pays off spectacularly in the long run. 

大学教育是一项长期投资，它让毕业生不断发展自己和适应世界，从长远来看，收益更加惊人。

 

If we want to heal the divisions that inequality has produced in this country, we must ensure that students from low-income backgrounds receive the educations they need to develop their abilities and contribute to our society.

如果我们想要愈合这个国家中因不平等而造成的隔阂，就必须确保低收入背景的学生能够获得所需的教育，从而发展自身能力，并为社会做出贡献。