（这份是个很好的东西，看完后你会对比尔盖茨有全新的认识，也会对你的人生有新的反思···）

比尔·盖茨在哈佛的演讲

President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust,

members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates:

尊敬的Bok校长，Rudenstine前校长，即将上任的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，各位同学：

I've been waiting more than 30 years to say this: "Dad, I always told you I'd come back and get my degree."

有一句话我等了三十年，现在终于可以说了：―老爸，我总是跟你说，我会回来拿到我的学位的！‖

I want to thank Harvard for this timely honor. I'll be changing my job next year … and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.

我要感谢哈佛大学在这个时候给我这个荣誉。明年，我就要换工作了（注：指从微软公司退休）……我终于可以在简历上写我有一个本科学位，这真是不错啊。 I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees. For my part, I'm just happy that the Crimson has called me

"Harvard's most successful dropout." I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class … I did the best of everyone who failed.

我为今天在座的各位同学感到高兴，你们拿到学位可比我简单多了。哈佛的校报称我是―哈佛大学历史上最成功的辍学生‖。我想这大概使我有资格代表我这一类学生发言……在所有的失败者里，我做得最好。

But I also want to be recognized as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school. I'm a bad influence. That's why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.

但是，我还要提醒大家，我使得Steve Ballmer（注：微软总经理）也从哈佛商学院退学了。因此，我是个有着恶劣影响力的人。这就是为什么我被邀请来在你们的毕业典礼上演讲。如果我在你们入学欢迎仪式上演讲，那么能够坚持到今天在这里毕业的人也许会少得多吧。

Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me. Academic life was

fascinating. I used to sit in on lots of classes I hadn't even signed up for. And dorm life was terrific. I lived up at Radcliffe, in Currier House. There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, because everyone knew I didn't worry about getting up in the morning. That's how I came to be the leader of the anti-social group. We clung to each other as a way of validating our rejection of all those social people.

对我来说，哈佛的求学经历是一段非凡的经历。校园生活很有趣，我常去旁听我没选修的课。哈佛的课外生活也很棒，我在Radcliffe过着逍遥自在的日子。每天我的寝室里总有很多人一直待到半夜，讨论着各种事情。因为每个人都知道我从不考虑第二天早起。这使得我变成了校园里那些不安分学生的头头，我们互相粘在一起，做出一种拒绝所有正常学生的姿态。

Radcliffe was a great place to live. There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types. That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean. This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn't guarantee success.

Radcliffe是个过日子的好地方。那里的女生比男生多，而且大多数男生都是理工科的。这种状况为我创造了最好的机会，如果你们明白我的意思。可惜的是，我正是在这里学到了人生中悲伤的一课：机会大，并不等于你就会成功。

One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world's first personal computers. I offered to sell them software.

我在哈佛最难忘的回忆之一，发生在19xx年1月。那时，我从宿舍楼里给位于Albuquerque的一家公司打了一个电话，那家公司已经在着手制造世界上第一台个人电脑。我提出想向他们出售软件。

I worried that they would realize I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me. Instead they said: "We're not quite ready, come see us in a month," which was a good thing, because we hadn't written the software yet. From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.

我很担心，他们会发觉我是一个住在宿舍的学生，从而挂断电话。但是他们却说：―我们还没准备好，一个月后你再来找我们吧。‖这是个好消息，因为那时软件还根本没有写出来呢。就是从那个时候起，我日以继夜地在这个小小的课外项目上工作，这导致了我学生生活的结束，以及通往微软公司的不平凡的旅程的开始。

What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence. It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes even discouraging, but always challenging. It was an amazing privilege – and

though I left early, I was transformed by my years at Harvard, the friendships I made, and the ideas I worked on.

不管怎样，我对哈佛的回忆主要都与充沛的精力和智力活动有关。哈佛的生活令人愉快，也令人感到有压力，有时甚至会感到泄气，但永远充满了挑战性。生活在哈佛是一种吸引人的特殊待遇……虽然我离开得比较早，但是我在这里的经历、在这里结识的朋友、在这里发展起来的一些想法，永远地改变了我。 But taking a serious look back … I do have one big regret.

但是，如果现在严肃地回忆起来，我确实有一个真正的遗憾。

I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world – the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.

我离开哈佛的时候，根本没有意识到这个世界是多么的不平等。人类在健康、财富和机遇上的不平等大得可怕，它们使得无数的人们被迫生活在绝望之中。 I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences. But humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.

我在哈佛学到了很多经济学和政治学的新思想。我也了解了很多科学上的新进展。但是，人类最大的进步并不来自于这些发现，而是来自于那些有助于减少人类不平等的发现。

President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust,

members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates:

尊敬的Bok校长，Rudenstine前校长，即将上任的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，各位同学：

I've been waiting more than 30 years to say this: "Dad, I always told you I'd come back and get my degree."

有一句话我等了三十年，现在终于可以说了：―老爸，我总是跟你说，我会回来拿到我的学位的！‖

I want to thank Harvard for this timely honor. I'll be changing my job next year … and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.

我要感谢哈佛大学在这个时候给我这个荣誉。明年，我就要换工作了（注：指从微软公司退休）……我终于可以在简历上写我有一个本科学位，这真是不错啊。 I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees. For my part, I'm just happy that the Crimson has called me

"Harvard's most successful dropout." I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class … I did the best of everyone who failed.

我为今天在座的各位同学感到高兴，你们拿到学位可比我简单多了。哈佛的校报称我是―哈佛大学历史上最成功的辍学生‖。我想这大概使我有资格代表我这一类学生发言……在所有的失败者里，我做得最好。

But I also want to be recognized as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school. I'm a bad influence. That's why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.

但是，我还要提醒大家，我使得Steve Ballmer（注：微软总经理）也从哈佛商学院退学了。因此，我是个有着恶劣影响力的人。这就是为什么我被邀请来在你们的毕业典礼上演讲。如果我在你们入学欢迎仪式上演讲，那么能够坚持到今天在这里毕业的人也许会少得多吧。

Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me. Academic life was

fascinating. I used to sit in on lots of classes I hadn't even signed up for. And dorm life was terrific. I lived up at Radcliffe, in Currier House. There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, because everyone knew I didn't worry about getting up in the morning. That's how I came to be the leader of the anti-social group. We clung to each other as a way of validating our rejection of all those social people.

对我来说，哈佛的求学经历是一段非凡的经历。校园生活很有趣，我常去旁听我没选修的课。哈佛的课外生活也很棒，我在Radcliffe过着逍遥自在的日子。每天我的寝室里总有很多人一直待到半夜，讨论着各种事情。因为每个人都知道我从不考虑第二天早起。这使得我变成了校园里那些不安分学生的头头，我们互相粘在一起，做出一种拒绝所有正常学生的姿态。

Radcliffe was a great place to live. There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types. That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean. This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn't guarantee success.

Radcliffe是个过日子的好地方。那里的女生比男生多，而且大多数男生都是理工科的。这种状况为我创造了最好的机会，如果你们明白我的意思。可惜的是，我正是在这里学到了人生中悲伤的一课：机会大，并不等于你就会成功。

One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world's first personal computers. I offered to sell them software.

我在哈佛最难忘的回忆之一，发生在19xx年1月。那时，我从宿舍楼里给位于Albuquerque的一家公司打了一个电话，那家公司已经在着手制造世界上第一台个人电脑。我提出想向他们出售软件。

I worried that they would realize I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me. Instead they said: "We're not quite ready, come see us in a month," which was a good thing, because we hadn't written the software yet. From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.

我很担心，他们会发觉我是一个住在宿舍的学生，从而挂断电话。但是他们却说：―我们还没准备好，一个月后你再来找我们吧。‖这是个好消息，因为那时软件还根本没有写出来呢。就是从那个时候起，我日以继夜地在这个小小的课外项目上工作，这导致了我学生生活的结束，以及通往微软公司的不平凡的旅程的开始。

What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence. It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes even discouraging, but always challenging. It was an amazing privilege – and

though I left early, I was transformed by my years at Harvard, the friendships I made, and the ideas I worked on.

不管怎样，我对哈佛的回忆主要都与充沛的精力和智力活动有关。哈佛的生活令人愉快，也令人感到有压力，有时甚至会感到泄气，但永远充满了挑战性。生活在哈佛是一种吸引人的特殊待遇……虽然我离开得比较早，但是我在这里的经历、在这里结识的朋友、在这里发展起来的一些想法，永远地改变了我。 But taking a serious look back … I do have one big regret.

但是，如果现在严肃地回忆起来，我确实有一个真正的遗憾。

I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world – the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.

我离开哈佛的时候，根本没有意识到这个世界是多么的不平等。人类在健康、财富和机遇上的不平等大得可怕，它们使得无数的人们被迫生活在绝望之中。 I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences. But humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.

我在哈佛学到了很多经济学和政治学的新思想。我也了解了很多科学上的新进展。但是，人类最大的进步并不来自于这些发现，而是来自于那些有助于减少人类不平等的发现。

Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.

不管通过何种手段——民主制度、健全的公共教育体系、高质量的医疗保健、还是广泛的经济机会——减少不平等始终是人类最大的成就。

I left campus knowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educational opportunities here in this country. And I knew nothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable poverty and disease in developing countries.

我离开校园的时候，根本不知道在这个国家里，有几百万的年轻人无法获得接受教育的机会。我也不知道，发展中国家里有无数的人们生活在无法形容的贫穷和疾病之中。

It took me decades to find out.

我花了几十年才明白了这些事情。

You graduates came to Harvard at a different time. You know more about the world's inequities than the classes that came before. In your years here, I hope you've had a chance to think about how – in this age of accelerating

technology – we can finally take on these inequities, and we can solve them.

在座的各位同学，你们是在与我不同的时代来到哈佛的。你们比以前的学生，更多地了解世界是怎样的不平等。在你们的哈佛求学过程中，我希望你们已经思考过一个问题，那就是在这个新技术加速发展的时代，我们怎样最终应对这种不平等，以及我们怎样来解决这个问题。

Imagine, just for the sake of discussion, that you had a few hours a week and a few dollars a month to donate to a cause – and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives. Where would you spend it

为了讨论的方便，请想象一下，假如你每个星期可以捐献一些时间、每个月可以捐献一些钱——你希望这些时间和金钱，可以用到对拯救生命和改善人类生活有最大作用的地方。你会选择什么地方？

For Melinda and for me, the challenge is the same: how can we do the most good for the greatest number with the resources we have.

对Melinda（注：盖茨的妻子）和我来说，这也是我们面临的问题：我们如何能将我们拥有的资源发挥出最大的作用。

During our discussions on this question, Melinda and I read an article about the millions of children who were dying every year in poor countries from

diseases that we had long ago made harmless in this country. Measles, malaria, pneumonia, hepatitis B, yellow fever. One disease I had never even heard of, rotavirus, was killing half a million kids each year – none of them in the United States.

在讨论过程中，Melinda和我读到了一篇文章，里面说在那些贫穷的国家，每年有数百万的儿童死于那些在美国早已不成问题的疾病。麻疹、疟疾、肺炎、乙型

肝炎、黄热病、还有一种以前我从未听说过的轮状病毒，这些疾病每年导致50万儿童死亡，但是在美国一例死亡病例也没有。

We were shocked. We had just assumed that if millions of children were dying and they could be saved, the world would make it a priority to discover and deliver the medicines to save them. But it did not. For under a dollar, there were interventions that could save lives that just weren't being delivered.

我们被震惊了。我们想，如果几百万儿童正在死亡线上挣扎，而且他们是可以被挽救的，那么世界理应将用药物拯救他们作为头等大事。但是事实并非如此。那些价格还不到一美元的救命的药剂，并没有送到他们的手中。

If you believe that every life has equal value, it's revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves: "This can't be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving."

如果你相信每个生命都是平等的，那么当你发现某些生命被挽救了，而另一些生命被放弃了，你会感到无法接受。我们对自己说：―事情不可能如此。如果这是真的，那么它理应是我们努力的头等大事。‖

So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it. We asked: "How could the world let these children die"

所以，我们用任何人都会想到的方式开始工作。我们问：―这个世界怎么可以眼睁睁看着这些孩子死去？‖

The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it. So the children died

because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.

答案很简单，也很令人难堪。在市场经济中，拯救儿童是一项没有利润的工作，政府也不会提供补助。这些儿童之所以会死亡，是因为他们的父母在经济上没有实力，在政治上没有能力发出声音。

But you and I have both.

但是，你们和我在经济上有实力，在政治上能够发出声音。

We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism – if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities. We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes.

我们可以让市场更好地为穷人服务，如果我们能够设计出一种更有创新性的资本主义制度——如果我们可以改变市场，让更多的人可以获得利润，或者至少可以维持生活——那么，这就可以帮到那些正在极端不平等的状况中受苦的人们。我们还可以向全世界的政府施压，要求他们将纳税人的钱，花到更符合纳税人价值观的地方。

If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world.

如果我们能够找到这样一种方法，既可以帮到穷人，又可以为商人带来利润，为政治家带来选票，那么我们就找到了一种减少世界性不平等的可持续的发展道路。

This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a conscious effort to answer this challenge will change the world. I am optimistic that we can do this, but I talk to skeptics who claim there is no hope. They say: "Inequity has been with us since the beginning, and will be with us till the end – because people just … don't … care." I completely disagree.

这个任务是无限的。它不可能被完全完成，但是任何自觉地解决这个问题的尝试，都将会改变这个世界。在这个问题上，我是乐观的。但是，我也遇到过那些感到绝望的怀疑主义者。他们说：―不平等从人类诞生的第一天就存在，到人类灭亡的最后一天也将存在。——因为人类对这个问题根本不在乎。‖我完全不能同意这种观点。

I believe we have more caring than we know what to do with.

我相信，问题不是我们不在乎，而是我们不知道怎么做。

All of us here in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our hearts, and yet we did nothing – not because we didn't care, but because we didn't know what to do. If we had known how to help, we would have acted.

此刻在这个院子里的所有人，生命中总有这样或那样的时刻，目睹人类的悲剧，感到万分伤心。但是我们什么也没做，并非我们无动于衷，而是因为我们不知道做什么和怎么做。如果我们知道如何做是有效的，那么我们就会采取行动。

The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity. 改变世界的阻碍，并非人类的冷漠，而是世界实在太复杂。

To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact. But complexity blocks all three steps.

为了将关心转变为行动，我们需要找到问题，发现解决办法的方法，评估后果。但是世界的复杂性使得所有这些步骤都难于做到。

Even with the advent of the Internet and 24-hour news, it is still a complex enterprise to get people to truly see the problems. When an airplane crashes, officials immediately call a press conference. They promise to investigate, determine the cause, and prevent similar crashes in the future.

即使有了互联网和24小时直播的新闻台，让人们真正发现问题所在，仍然十分困难。当一架飞机坠毁了，官员们会立刻召开新闻发布会，他们承诺进行调查、找到原因、防止将来再次发生类似事故。

But if the officials were brutally honest, they would say: "Of all the people in the world who died today from preventable causes, one half of one percent of them were on this plane. We're determined to do everything possible to solve the problem that took the lives of the one half of one percent."

但是如果那些官员敢说真话，他们就会说：―在今天这一天，全世界所有可以避免的死亡之中，只有0.5%的死者来自于这次空难。我们决心尽一切努力，调查这个0.5%的死亡原因。‖

The bigger problem is not the plane crash, but the millions of preventable deaths.

显然，更重要的问题不是这次空难，而是其他几百万可以预防的死亡事件。 We don't read much about these deaths. The media covers what's new – and millions of people dying is nothing new. So it stays in the background, where it's easier to ignore. But even when we do see it or read about it, it's difficult to keep our eyes on the problem. It's hard to look at suffering if the situation is so complex that we don't know how to help. And so we look away.

我们并没有很多机会了解那些死亡事件。媒体总是报告新闻，几百万人将要死去并非新闻。如果没有人报道，那么这些事件就很容易被忽视。另一方面，即使我们确实目睹了事件本身或者看到了相关报道，我们也很难持续关注这些事件。看着他人受苦是令人痛苦的，何况问题又如此复杂，我们根本不知道如何去帮助他人。所以我们会将脸转过去。

If we can really see a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step: cutting through the complexity to find a solution.

就算我们真正发现了问题所在，也不过是迈出了第一步，接着还有第二步：那就是从复杂的事件中找到解决办法。

Finding solutions is essential if we want to make the most of our caring. If we have clear and proven answers anytime an organization or individual asks "How can I help," then we can get action – and we can make sure that none of the caring in the world is wasted. But complexity makes it hard to mark a path of action for everyone who cares — and that makes it hard for their caring to matter.

如果我们要让关心落到实处，我们就必须找到解决办法。如果我们有一个清晰的和可靠的答案，那么当任何组织和个人发出疑问―如何我能提供帮助‖的时候，我

们就能采取行动。我们就能够保证不浪费一丁点全世界人类对他人的关心。但是，世界的复杂性使得很难找到对全世界每一个有爱心的人都有效的行动方法，因此人类对他人的关心往往很难产生实际效果。

Cutting through complexity to find a solution runs through four predictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the technology that you already have — whether it's something sophisticated, like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.

从这个复杂的世界中找到解决办法，可以分为四个步骤：确定目标，找到最高效的方法，发现适用于这个方法的新技术，同时最聪明地利用现有的技术，不管它是复杂的药物，还是最简单的蚊帐。

The AIDS epidemic offers an example. The broad goal, of course, is to end the disease. The highest-leverage approach is prevention. The ideal technology would be a vaccine that gives lifetime immunity with a single dose. So

governments, drug companies, and foundations fund vaccine research. But their work is likely to take more than a decade, so in the meantime, we have to work with what we have in hand – and the best prevention approach we have now is getting people to avoid risky behavior.

艾滋病就是一个例子。总的目标，毫无疑问是消灭这种疾病。最高效的方法是预防。最理想的技术是发明一种疫苗，只要注射一次，就可以终生免疫。所以，政府、制药公司、基金会应该资助疫苗研究。但是，这样研究工作很可能十年之内都无法完成。因此，与此同时，我们必须使用现有的技术，目前最有效的预防方法就是设法让人们避免那些危险的行为。

Pursuing that goal starts the four-step cycle again. This is the pattern. The crucial thing is to never stop thinking and working – and never do what we did with malaria and tuberculosis in the 20th century – which is to surrender to complexity and quit.

要实现这个新的目标，又可以采用新的四步循环。这是一种模式。关键的东西是永远不要停止思考和行动。我们千万不能再犯上个世纪在疟疾和肺结核上犯过的错误，那时我们因为它们太复杂，而放弃了采取行动。

The final step – after seeing the problem and finding an approach – is to

measure the impact of your work and share your successes and failures so that others learn from your efforts.

在发现问题和找到解决方法之后，就是最后一步——评估工作结果，将你的成功经验或者失败经验传播出去，这样其他人就可以从你的努力中有所收获。 You have to have the statistics, of course. You have to be able to show that a program is vaccinating millions more children. You have to be able to show a decline in the number of children dying from these diseases. This is essential not just to improve the program, but also to help draw more investment from business and government.

当然，你必须有一些统计数字。你必须让他人知道，你的项目为几百万儿童新接种了疫苗。你也必须让他人知道，儿童死亡人数下降了多少。这些都是很关键的，不仅有利于改善项目效果，也有利于从商界和政府得到更多的帮助。

But if you want to inspire people to participate, you have to show more than numbers; you have to convey the human impact of the work – so people can feel what saving a life means to the families affected.

但是，这些还不够，如果你想激励其他人参加你的项目，你就必须拿出更多的统计数字；你必须展示你的项目的人性因素，这样其他人就会感到拯救一个生命，对那些处在困境中的家庭到底意味着什么。

I remember going to Davos some years back and sitting on a global health panel that was discussing ways to save millions of lives. Millions! Think of the thrill of saving just one person's life – then multiply that by millions. … Yet this was the most boring panel I've ever been on – ever. So boring even I couldn't bear it.

几年前，我去瑞士达沃斯旁听一个全球健康问题论坛，会议的内容有关于如何拯救几百万条生命。天哪，是几百万！想一想吧，拯救一个人的生命已经让人何等激动，现在你要把这种激动再乘上几百万倍……但是，不幸的是，这是我参加过的最最乏味的论坛，乏味到我无法强迫自己听下去。

What made that experience especially striking was that I had just come from an event where we were introducing version 13 of some piece of software, and we had people jumping and shouting with excitement. I love getting people excited about software – but why can't we generate even more excitement for saving lives

那次经历之所以让我难忘，是因为之前我们刚刚发布了一个软件的第13个版本，我们让观众激动得跳了起来，喊出了声。我喜欢人们因为软件而感到激动，那么我们为什么不能够让人们因为能够拯救生命而感到更加激动呢？

You can't get people excited unless you can help them see and feel the impact. And how you do that – is a complex question.

除非你能够让人们看到或者感受到行动的影响力，否则你无法让人们激动。如何做到这一点，并不是一件简单的事。

Still, I'm optimistic. Yes, inequity has been with us forever, but the new tools we have to cut through complexity have not been with us forever. They are new – they can help us make the most of our caring – and that's why the future can be different from the past.

同前面一样，在这个问题上，我依然是乐观的。不错，人类的不平等有史以来一直存在，但是那些能够化繁为简的新工具，却是最近才出现的。这些新工具可以帮助我们，将人类的同情心发挥最大的作用，这就是为什么将来同过去是不一样的。

The defining and ongoing innovations of this age – biotechnology, the computer, the Internet – give us a chance we've never had before to end extreme poverty and end death from preventable disease.

这个时代无时无刻不在涌现出新的革新——生物技术，计算机，互联网——它们给了我们一个从未有过的机会，去终结那些极端的贫穷和非恶性疾病的死亡。 Sixty years ago, George Marshall came to this commencement and announced a plan to assist the nations of post-war Europe. He said: "I think one difficulty is that the problem is one of such enormous complexity that the very mass of facts presented to the public by press and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reach a clear appraisement of the situation. It is virtually impossible at this distance to grasp at all the real significance of the situation."

六十年前，乔治·马歇尔也是在这个地方的毕业典礼上，宣布了一个计划，帮助那些欧洲国家的战后建设。他说：―我认为，困难的一点是这个问题太复杂，报纸和电台向公众源源不断地提供各种事实，使得大街上的普通人极端难于清晰地判断形势。事实上，经过层层传播，想要真正地把握形势，是根本不可能的。‖ Thirty years after Marshall made his address, as my class graduated without me, technology was emerging that would make the world smaller, more open, more visible, less distant.

马歇尔发表这个演讲之后的三十年，我那一届学生毕业，当然我不在其中。那时，新技术刚刚开始萌芽，它们将使得这个世界变得更小、更开放、更容易看到、距离更近。

The emergence of low-cost personal computers gave rise to a powerful

network that has transformed opportunities for learning and communicating. 低成本的个人电脑的出现，使得一个强大的互联网有机会诞生，它为学习和交流提供了巨大的机会。

The magical thing about this network is not just that it collapses distance and makes everyone your neighbor. It also dramatically increases the number of brilliant minds we can have working together on the same problem – and that scales up the rate of innovation to a staggering degree.

网络的神奇之处，不仅仅是它缩短了物理距离，使得天涯若比邻。它还极大地增加了怀有共同想法的人们聚集在一起的机会，我们可以为了解决同一个问题，一起共同工作。这就大大加快了革新的进程，发展速度简直快得让人震惊。

At the same time, for every person in the world who has access to this

technology, five people don't. That means many creative minds are left out of this discussion -- smart people with practical intelligence and relevant

experience who don't have the technology to hone their talents or contribute their ideas to the world.

与此同时，世界上有条件上网的人，只是全部人口的六分之一。这意味着，还有许多具有创造性的人们，没有加入到我们的讨论中来。那些有着实际的操作经验和相关经历的聪明人，却没有技术来帮助他们，将他们的天赋或者想法与全世界分享。

We need as many people as possible to have access to this technology, because these advances are triggering a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They are making it possible not just for national governments, but for universities, corporations, smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches, and measure the impact of their efforts to address the hunger, poverty, and desperation George Marshall spoke of 60 years ago.

我们需要尽可能地让更多的人有机会使用新技术，因为这些新技术正在引发一场革命，人类将因此可以互相帮助。新技术正在创造一种可能，不仅是政府，还包括大学、公司、小机构、甚至个人，能够发现问题所在、能够找到解决办法、能够评估他们努力的效果，去改变那些马歇尔六十年前就说到过的问题——饥饿、贫穷和绝望。

Hello, Chicago!

芝加哥，你好！

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

如果有人怀疑美国是个一切皆有可能的地方，怀疑美国奠基者的梦想在我们这个时代依然燃烧，怀疑我们民主的力量，那么今晚这些疑问都有了答案。

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

学校和教堂门外的长龙便是答案。排队的人数之多，在美国历史上前所未有。为了投票，他们排队长达三、四个小时。许多人一生中第一次投票，因为他们认为这一次大选结果必须不同以往，而他们手中的一票可能决定胜负。

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of red states and blue states; we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

无论年龄，无论贫富，无论民主党人或共和党人，无论黑人、白人，无论拉美裔、亚裔、印地安人, 无论同性恋、异性恋，无论残障人、健全人，所有的人，他们向全世界喊出了同一个声音：我们并不隶属 “红州”与 “蓝州”的对立阵营，我们属于美利坚合众国，现在如此，永远如此！

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

长久以来，很多人说：我们对自己的能量应该冷漠，应该恐惧，应该怀疑。但是，历史之轮如今已在我们手中，我们又一次将历史之轮转往更美好的未来。

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. 漫漫征程，今宵终于来临。特殊的一天，特殊的一次大选，特殊的决定性时刻，美国迎来了变革。

I just received a very gracious call from Sen. McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Gov. Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

刚才，麦凯恩参议员很有风度地给我打了个电话。在这次竞选中，他的努力持久而艰巨。为了这个他挚爱的国家，他的努力更持久、更艰巨。他为美国的奉献超出绝大多数人的想象。他是一位勇敢无私的领袖，有了他的奉献，我们的生活才更美好。我对他和佩林州长的成绩表示祝贺。同时，我也期待着与他们共同努力，再续美国辉煌。

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the

vice-president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

我要感谢我的竞选搭档——当选副总统乔?拜登。为了与他一起在斯克兰顿市街头长大、一起坐火车返回特拉华州的人们，拜登全心全意地竟选，他代表了这些普通人的声音。

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next first lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure. 我要感谢下一位第一夫人米歇尔?奥巴马。她是我家的中流砥柱，是我生命中的最爱。没有她在过去16年来的坚定支持，今晚我就不可能站在这里。我要感谢两个女儿萨沙和玛丽娅，我太爱你们两个了，你们将得到一条新的小狗，它将与我们一起入住白宫。我还要感谢已去世的外婆，我知道此刻她正在天上注视着我。她与我的家人一起造就了今天的我。今夜我思念他们，他们对我的恩情比山高、比海深。

To my campaign manager, David Plouffe; my chief strategist, David Axelrod; and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics — you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

我要感谢我的竞选经理大卫?普鲁夫，感谢首席策划师大卫?阿克塞罗德以及整个竞选团队，他们是政治史上最优秀的竞选团队。你们成就了今夜，我永远感谢你们为今夜所付出的一切。

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to — it belongs to you.

但最重要的是，我将永远不会忘记这场胜利真正属于谁---是你们！

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington — it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

我从来不是最有希望的候选人。起初，我们的资金不多，赞助人也不多。我们的竞选并非始于华盛顿的华丽大厅，而是起于德莫奈地区某家的后院、康科德地区的某家客厅、查尔斯顿地区的某家前廊。

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this earth. This is your victory. 劳动大众从自己的微薄积蓄中掏出5美元、10美元、20美元，拿来捐助我们的事业。年轻人证明了他们绝非所谓“冷漠的一代”。他们远离家乡和亲人，拿着微薄的报酬，起早摸黑地助选。上了年纪的人也顶着严寒酷暑，敲开陌生人的家门助选。无数美国人自愿组织起来，充当自愿者。正是这些人壮大了我们的声势。他们的行动证明了在两百多年以后，民有、民治、民享的政府并未从地球上消失。这是你们的胜利。

I know you didn't do this just to win an election, and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars,

a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

你们这样做，并不只是为了赢得一场大选，更不是为了我个人。你们这样做，是因为你们清楚未来的任务有多么艰巨。今晚我们在欢庆，明天我们就将面对一生之中最为严峻的挑战－－两场战争、一个充满危险的星球，还有百年一遇的金融危机。今晚我们在这里庆祝，但我们知道在伊拉克的沙漠里，在阿富汗的群山中，许许多多勇敢的美国人醒来后就将为了我们而面临生命危险。许许多多的父母会在孩子熟睡后仍难以入眠，他们正在为月供、医药费，孩子今后的大学费用而发愁。我们需要开发新能源，创造就业机会，建造新学校，迎接挑战和威胁，并修复与盟国的关系。

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you: We as a people will get there.

前方道路还很漫长，任务艰巨。一年之内，甚至一届总统任期之内，我们可能都无法完成这些任务。但我从未像今晚这样对美国满怀希望，我相信我们会实现这个目标。我向你们承诺－－我们美利坚民族将实现这一目标！

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, callused hand by callused hand.

我们会遇到挫折，会出师不利，会有许多人不认同我的某一项决定或政策。政府并不能解决所有问题，但我会向你们坦陈我们所面临的挑战。我会聆听你们的意见，尤其是在我们意见相左之时。最重要的是，我会让你们一起重建这个国家。用自己的双手，从一砖一瓦做起。这是美国立国221年以来的前进方式，也是惟一的方式。

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the

way things were. It cannot happen without you.

21个月前那个隆冬所开始的一切，绝不应在这一个秋夜结束。我们所寻求的变革并不只是赢得大选，这只是给变革提供了一个机会。假如我们照老路子办事，就没有变革；没有你们，就没有变革。

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers. In this country, we rise or fall as one nation — as one people.

让我们重新发扬爱国精神，树立崭新的服务意识、责任感，每个人下定决心，一起努力工作，彼此关爱；让我们牢记这场金融危机带来的教训：不能允许商业街挣扎的同时却让华尔街繁荣。在这个国家，我们作为同一个民族，同生死共存亡。

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House — a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

党派之争、琐碎幼稚，长期以来这些东西荼毒了我们的政坛。让我们牢记，当来自伊利诺伊州的一位先生首次将共和党大旗扛进白宫时，伴随着他的是自强自立、个人自由、国家统一的共和党建党理念。这也是我们所有人都珍视的理念。虽然民主党今晚大胜，但我们态度谦卑，并决心弥合阻碍我们进步的分歧。

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends... Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection." And, to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too.

当年,林肯面对的是一个远比目前更为分裂的国家。他说：“我们不是敌人，而是朋友??虽然激情可能不再，但是我们的感情纽带不会割断。”对于那些现在并不支持我的美国人，我想说，虽然我没有赢得你们的选票，但我听到了你们的声音，我需要你们的帮助，我也将是你们的总统。

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world — our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and

a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

对于关注今夜结果的国际人士，不管他们是在国会、皇宫关注，还是在荒僻地带收听电台，我们的态度是：我们美国人的经历各有不同，但我们的命运相关，新的美国领袖诞生了。对于想毁灭这个世界的人们，我们必将击败你们。对于追求和平和安全的人们，我们将支持你们。对于怀疑美国这盏灯塔是否依然明亮的人们，今天晚上我们已再次证明：美国的真正力量来源并非军事威力或财富规模，而是我们理想的恒久力量：民主、自由、机会和不屈的希望。

For that is the true genius of America — that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

美国能够变革，这才是美国真正的精髓。我们的联邦会不断完善。我们已经取得的成就，将为我们将来能够并且必须取得的成就增添希望。

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

这次大选创造了多项“第一”，诞生了很多将流芳后世的故事，但今晚令我最为难忘的却是一位在亚特兰大投票的妇女：安妮?库波尔。她和无数排队等候投票的选民没有什么差别，唯一的不同是她高龄106岁。

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

在她出生的那个时代，黑奴制刚刚废除。那时路上没有汽车，天上没有飞机。当时像她这样的人由于两个原因不能投票－－一第一因为她是女性，第二个原因是她的肤色。

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.

今天晚上，我想到了安妮在美国过去一百年间的种种经历：心痛和希望，挣扎和进步，那些我们被告知我们办不到的年代，以及我们现在这个年代。现在，我们坚信美国式信念──是的，我们能！

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.

在那个年代，妇女的声音被压制，她们的希望被剥夺。但安妮活到了今天，看到妇女们站起来了，可以大声发表意见了，有选举权了。是的，我们能。

When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.

安妮经历了上世纪三十年代的大萧条。农田荒芜，绝望笼罩美国大地。她看到了美国以新政、新的就业机会以及崭新的共同追求战胜了恐慌。是的，我们能。

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can.

二战时期，炸弹袭击我们的海港，全世界受到独裁专制威胁，安妮见证了一代美国人的英雄本色，他们捍卫了民主。是的，我们能。

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes, we can.

安妮经历了蒙哥马利公交车事件、伯明翰黑人暴动事件、塞尔马血醒周末事件。来自亚特兰大的一位牧师告诉人们：我们终将胜利。是的，我们能。

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes, we can.

人类登上了月球、柏林墙倒下了，科学和想像把世界连成了一块。今年，在这次选举中，安妮的手指轻触电子屏幕，投下自己的一票。她在美国生活了106年，其间有最美好的时光，也有最黑暗的时刻，她知道美国能够变革。是的，我们能。

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves: If our children should live

to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see What progress will we have made

美利坚，我们已经一路走来，我们已经看到了那么多变化，但我们仍有很多事情要做。今夜，让我们问自己这样一个问题：假如我们的孩子能够活到下一个世纪，假如我的女儿们有幸与安妮一样长寿，她们将会看到怎样的改变？我们又取得了怎样的进步？

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time — to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. 现在，我们获得了回答这个问题的机会。这是我们的时刻，我们的时代。让我们的人民重新就业，为我们的孩子打开机会的大门；恢复繁荣，促进和平；让美国梦重放光芒，再证这一根本性真理，那就是：团结一致，众志成城；一息尚存，希望就在；倘若有人嘲讽和怀疑，说我们不能，我们就以这一永恒信条回应，因为它凝聚了整个民族的精神——是的，我们能！

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. 谢谢大家！愿上帝保佑你们，保佑美利坚合众国。