双语 | 盖茨夫妇致 2020 届毕业生

For this year’s graduating class, the COVID-19 outbreak has meant the cancellation of long-awaited commencement ceremonies. Graduation is about more than walking across the stage to collect a diploma, though. It marks the beginning of the next phase of your life, which is something worth celebrating even in these difficult times. The Wall Street Journal asked Melinda and me to share some thoughts about that transition. Here is what we wrote.

Our Message to the Class of 2020

寄语 2020 届毕业生

Bill and Melinda Gates

比尔·盖茨、梅琳达·盖茨

Most commencement addresses do not change the course of history. On a sunny afternoon in 1947, then-Secretary of State George C. Marshall gave one that did.

绝大多数的毕业演讲不会改变历史的进程。但是，在 1947 年一个阳光明媚的下午，时任美国国务卿的乔治·马歇尔的演讲改变了历史。

Speaking at Harvard University, the former general reminded his audience that a few thousand miles away from where they gathered that day, the aftermath of World War II had plunged Europe into poverty, hunger and despair. The American people, he explained, had a responsibility to come to Europe’s aid despite being themselves so “distant from the troubled areas of the earth.” Even if you’ve never heard that speech, you are probably familiar with the policy agenda it proposed: the Marshall Plan, which helped speed Western Europe’s recovery and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.

这位曾经的将军在哈佛大学的演讲上提醒人们，距离他们几千英里之外，第二次世界大战的余波正使欧洲陷入贫困、饥饿与绝望。他解释道，尽管“与这个地球上的动荡地区相距甚远”，但美国人民有责任援助欧洲。即使你从未听过这段演讲，你也可能对它所提出的政策议程很熟悉——马歇尔计划。该计划帮助西欧各国加速战后重建，并开创了和平与繁荣的新时代。

Today, as then, the world faces mass suffering and economic devastation. Again, nations will need to pull together to rebuild. But this time, you, the graduating class of 2020, don’t need a commencement speaker to paint a picture of the “troubled areas of the earth.” The Covid-19 crisis we confront today is not a localized experience but a truly global one.

与当时一样，今天的世界正经受着巨大的苦难和经济损失。各国需要再次团结起来进行重建。但这一次，对于 2020 届毕业生而言，你们不需要一个演讲者来描绘“这个地球上的动荡地区”。我们今天所面临的新冠疫情不再是地域性的，而是一个真正的全球危机。

The inextricable ties between the people of the world are something that your generation understands better than perhaps any that has come before it. Many of you have been logging onto the Internet since you could read. You’ve grown up with access to pop culture, news and perspectives from societies thousands of miles from your home. And the major challenges looming over your future – disease outbreaks, climate change, gender inequality, poverty – are also being confronted by your peers in every part of the globe.

在这个世界上，人与人之间有着千丝万缕的联系，你们这一代人比以往所有人都对此有着更深的理解。你们中很多人从识字起就会登录互联网。在成长过程中，你们可以接触到千里以外的流行文化、资讯和观点。而那些影响你们未来的重大挑战——疾病暴发、气候变化、性别不平等以及贫困——也同样在影响你们在世界各地的同龄人。

So, what does all of this mean for the next chapter of your lives? As a member of our global community, your actions can have a global impact. Whatever your professional goals, wherever you live, whoever you are, there are ways, big and small, that you can participate in making the world better for everyone.

那么，这一切对你们人生的下一阶段意味着什么呢？作为国际社会的一员，你的行动将会对世界产生影响。无论你是谁，身在何处，职业目标是什么，你总能通过一些或大或小的方式，参与到让世界变好的行动中来。

If this crisis has inspired you to pursue a career in public service, that’s fantastic – but it’s not the only way to contribute. You can always use your voice and your vote to advance change. You can insist on policies that create a healthier, better future for everyone, everywhere – whether they live down the street or on the other side of the planet.

如果这次危机促使你投身公共服务事业，那真是太棒了，但这并不是唯一的贡献方式。你可以随时通过发声、投票来推动变革。你可以坚定地支持那些政策，为每个地方的每个人创造更健康、更美好的未来，无论他们住在你家附近，还是地球的另一端。

It’s true that you are entering this new phase of your life at a daunting time. For many of you, the path you’d envisioned after graduation may suddenly be much steeper. With so many things to worry about – from your health to your family to what the job market means for your ability to pay off your loans – it is understandable that you may need to put on hold the bigger questions about your role in improving the world.

的确，你们在一个艰难的时刻进入了人生的新阶段。对于你们中的很多人来说，毕业后的道路突然变得更加崎岖。有很多事需要担心，从个人的健康到家人的健康，再到就业市场对你偿贷能力的影响，至于如何让世界变得更好的大问题，你可能暂时无暇顾及，这是可以理解的。

But there is no question that you have a role to play, whether that’s now or in the future. You inherit a world that has already proven that progress is possible – a world that has rebuilt after war, vanquished smallpox, fed a growing population, and enabled more than a billion people to climb out of extreme poverty.

但是，毫无疑问，无论是当下还是未来，你们都能有所建树。你们继承的这个世界，早已证明了进步是可能的——这是一个在战后重建的世界，一个战胜了天花的世界，一个养活了不断增长的人口的世界，一个让超过 10 亿人摆脱极端贫困的世界。

That progress didn’t happen by accident or fate. It was the result of people just like you who made a commitment that whatever else they did with their lives and careers, they would contribute to this shared mission of propelling us all forward. Class of 2020, these are not easy times. But we will get through them. And with your leadership, the world will be stronger than before.

这样的进步不是偶然发生，也不是命中注定。这是所有像你们一样的人共同承诺和为之奋斗的结果，无论他们的生活与工作如何，他们都将为推动我们前进的共同使命做出贡献。2020 届的毕业生们，这是一个艰难的时代，但我们会渡过难关。在你们的领导下，世界将比以往更加强大。

（来源：Gates Notes）