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MellodyHobson_2014-_色盲或色勇_
So it's 2006. 那是在2006年
My friend Harold Ford calls me. 我的朋友Harold Ford给我打电话
Ford:n.福特[姓氏];浅滩;v.涉(水);渡河;津渡;
He's running for U.S. Senate in Tennessee , and he says, Mellody, I desperately need some national press. Do you have any ideas? 他正在竞选田纳西州美国参议员 他说:「Mellody,我现在非常需要接触全国性的媒体,你有什么办法吗？ 」
Senate:n.参议院,上院;(古罗马的)元老院; Tennessee:n.田纳西州(美国州名); desperately:adv.拼命地;绝望地;不顾一切地;极度地;
So I had an idea. I called a friend who was in New York at one of the most successful media companies in the world, and she said, Why don't we host an editorial board lunch for Harold? 我想到了一个主意,于是给一个朋友打电话 这位朋友在纽约 一家世界上最着名的媒体公司任职 她说:「为什么不为Harold 举办一个媒体主编的午餐会呢？
media:n.媒体;媒质(medium的复数);血管中层;浊塞音;中脉; editorial:adj.编辑的;社论的;n.社论;
You come with him. 你和他都来参加。 」
Harold and I arrive in New York. 于是Harold和我来到纽约
We are in our best suits. 我们穿着最好的礼服
We look like shiny new pennies. 我们看起来像是闪闪发亮的硬币
shiny:adj.闪亮的;光亮的;反光的;有光泽的;
And we get to the receptionist , and we say, 我们来到接待处,说:
receptionist:n.接待员;传达员;
We're here for the lunch. 「我们来参加午餐会。 」
She motions for us to follow her. 她示意我们跟她走
We walk through a series of corridors , and all of a sudden we find ourselves in a stark room, at which point she looks at us and she says, 我们穿过一连串的走廊 最后发现我们来到 一个空空荡荡的房间 她看着我们说:
series:n.系列,连续;[电]串联;级数;丛书; corridors:n.廊道,[建]走廊(corridor的复数形式); all of a sudden:突然地,出乎意料地;
Where are your uniforms ? 「你们的工装呢？ 」
uniforms:n.制服;军服;军人;v.使穿制服;(uniform的复数第三人称单词)
Just as this happens, my friend rushes in. 听到这句话 我的朋友窘住了
The blood drains from her face. 血液涌到脸上
drains:n.排水沟(drain的复数);吸血;v.放出,排出(drain的第三人称单数);
There are literally no words, right? 彻底无语了,对吗？
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
And I look at her, and I say, 我看着她,说:
Now, don't you think we need more than one black person in the U.S. Senate? 「现在,你不觉得我们在美国参议院 需要不止一位黑人吗？ 」
Now Harold and I -- we still laugh about that story, and in many ways, the moment caught me off guard , but deep, deep down inside, Harold和我…… 现在回忆起来还是觉得很有趣 无论怎么说,这句话的确让我措手不及 但是在更深层次的内心里
off guard:不提防;不警惕;
I actually wasn't surprised. 我其实一点都不吃惊
And I wasn't surprised because of something my mother taught me about 30 years before. 那是因为 我的母亲在30年前教给我的某些东西
You see, my mother was ruthlessly realistic . 我的母亲是极为现实的一个人
ruthlessly:adv.无情地;残忍地;冷酷地; realistic:adj.现实的;现实主义的;逼真的;实在论的;
I remember one day coming home from a birthday party where I was the only black kid invited, and instead of asking me the normal motherly questions like, Did you have fun? or How was the cake? 我记得,有一天参加一个生日聚会之后回到家 我是唯一一个被邀请的黑人小孩 她并没有问我那些大多数母亲都会问的问题 比如「过得愉快吗？或者「蛋糕好吃吗？ 」
motherly:adj.母亲的;慈母般的;
my mother looked at me and she said, 我母亲看着我说:
How did they treat you? 「他们怎么对待你？ 」
treat:v.治疗;处理;招待;款待;n.款待;乐事;乐趣;
I was seven. I did not understand. 我只有7岁,不明白什么意思
I mean, why would anyone treat me differently? 为什么有人会用不同的方式对待我？
But she knew. 但是她知道
And she looked me right in the eye and she said, 她直勾勾地看着我的眼睛说:
They will not always treat you well. 「他们永远不会好好待你。 」
Now, race is one of those topics in America that makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable. 种族,在美国是让人 感觉最不舒服的话题之一
extraordinarily:adv.非常;格外地;非凡地;
You bring it up at a dinner party or in a workplace environment, it is literally the conversational equivalent of touching the third rail. 在晚宴上或者在工作场所 提出这个话题 绝对会让谈话的气氛 急转直下
dinner party:晚宴; workplace:n.工作场所;车间; conversational:adj.对话的;健谈的; equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物;
There is shock, followed by a long silence. 长时间沉默之后 是众人的震惊
And even coming here today, 即使今天来到这里
I told some friends and colleagues that I planned to talk about race, and they warned me, they told me, don't do it, that there'd be huge risks in me talking about this topic, that people might think I'm a militant black woman and I would ruin my career . 我告诉一些同事和朋友 我打算谈一谈种族 他们警告我,不要谈这个话题 由我来谈这件事 风险太大了 人们会觉得我是个激进的黑人女性 我的职業会被毁掉
colleagues:n.同事;同行(colleague的复数); militant:adj.好战的;n.富有战斗性的人;好斗者;激进分子; ruin:n.废墟;毁坏;灭亡;v.毁灭;使破产; career:n.职业;事业;生涯;经历;
And I have to tell you, 而我必须要说
I actually for a moment was a bit afraid. 有那么一阵,我的确比较害怕
Then I realized, the first step to solving any problem is to not hide from it, and the first step to any form of action is awareness . 但是我知道 解决任何问题的第一步 都是不要回避 任何行动的第一步 都是意识到问题的存在
awareness:n.意识,认识;明白,知道;
And so I decided to actually talk about race. 于是我决定就来谈谈种族问题
And I decided that if I came here and shared with you some of my experiences, that maybe we could all be a little less anxious and a little more bold in our conversations about race. 我决定来到这里,和你们分享 我个人的经历 或许这可以减少大家的一些焦虑 增加大家的一些勇气 来真正面对种族问题
bold:adj.大胆的,英勇的;黑体的;厚颜无耻的;险峻的;
Now I know there are people out there who will say that the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity , right? 我知道很多人会说 巴拉克奥巴马的成功当选 说明种族歧视早已不复存在了 对吗？
racial:adj.种族的;人种的; discrimination:n.歧视;区别,辨别;识别力; eternity:n.来世,来生;不朽;永世;
But I work in the investment business, and we have a saying: 我在投资行業工作 在業内有一句话:
investment:n.投资;投入;封锁;
The numbers do not lie. 数字不会说谎
And here, there are significant , quantifiable racial disparities that cannot be ignored , in household wealth , household income, job opportunities, healthcare . 这里有一些重要的 可量化的种族差异现象 无法被忽视 包括家庭财产、家庭收入 就業机会、医疗保障
significant:adj.重大的;有效的;有意义的;值得注意的;意味深长的;n.象征;有意义的事物; quantifiable:adj.可以计量的; disparities:不一致(disparity的复数); ignored:v.忽视;对…不予理会;佯装未见;不予理睬;(ignore的过去分词和过去式) household:n.家庭;一家人;同住一所(或一套)房子的人;adj.家庭的;家常的;王室的; wealth:n.财富;大量;富有; healthcare:n.医疗保健;健康护理,健康服务;卫生保健;
One example from corporate America: 美国企業的一项资料显示
corporate:adj.公司的;组成公司(或团体)的;法人的;社团的;
Even though white men make up just 30 percent of the U.S. population, they hold 70 percent of all corporate board seats. 即使白人男性 占美国总人口的30％ 但他们占据了财富250强企業
Of the Fortune 250, there are only seven CEOs that are minorities , and of the thousands of publicly traded companies today, thousands, only two are chaired by black women, and you're looking at one of them, the same one who, not too long ago, was nearly mistaken for kitchen help. 中董事会席位的70％ 只有7位CEO来自少数民族 在如今数千家公开上市的企業中,数千家 只有两位黑人女性总裁 你们眼前的就是其中之一 而就是这个人,在不久之前 差点被人当作是幫厨
Fortune:n.财富;命运;运气;v.给予财富,偶然发生 minorities:n.少数(minority的复数形式);少数民族;少数族裔; mistaken:adj.错误;不正确;被误解的;v.弄错;误解;误会;(mistake的过去分词)
So that is a fact. 这就是事实
Now I have this thought experiment that I play with myself, when I say, imagine if I walked you into a room and it was of a major corporation , like ExxonMobil, 我自己的脑海里 经常玩味着这样一个场景 想像着我走入一个房间 是一个大公司,就像埃克森美孚
corporation:n.法人;(大)公司;法人团体;市政委员会;
and every single person around the boardroom were black, you would think that were weird . 董事会房间里的人全部都是黑人 你肯定觉得很怪异
boardroom:n.会议室;交换场所; weird:adj.奇怪的;奇异的;离奇的;n.命运;宿命;命运女神;
But if I walked you into a Fortune 500 company, and everyone around the table is a white male, when will it be that we think that's weird too? 但是如果我带你走入一家财富500强公司 坐在桌子旁边的都是白人男性 你也会觉得奇怪吗？
And I know how we got here. 我知道这是为什么
(Applause) （掌声）
I know how we got here. 我知道这是为什么
You know, there was institutionalized , at one time legalized , discrimination in our country. 你知道,我们的国家曾经有制度化的 甚至有一段时期是合法的歧视
institutionalized:adj.使成惯例的; v.使成为惯例(institutionalize的过去式和过去分词); at one time:曾经,一度;同时; legalized:合法的;
There's no question about it. 这是毫无疑问的
But still, as I grapple with this issue , my mother's question hangs in the air for me: 但是,当我纠结于这个念头时 母亲的问题回响在我耳边
grapple:v.扭打;搏斗;努力设法解决;n.格斗;紧握;抓机; issue:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;发行;
How did they treat you? 他们怎么对待你？
Now, I do not raise this issue to complain or in any way to elicit any kind of sympathy . 我提出这个问题,并不是要抱怨 也不是要索取同情
complain:v.投诉;发牢骚;诉说; elicit:v.抽出,引出;引起; sympathy:n.同情;慰问;赞同;
I have succeeded in my life beyond my wildest expectations , and I have been treated well by people of all races more often than I have not. 我是一个成功人士 远超过我以前的想像 各种族人士对我都很好 大多数情况下如此
expectations:n.预料;预期;期待;希望;指望;(expectation的复数) treated:v.以…态度对待;把…看作;(treat的过去分词和过去式)
I tell the uniform story because it happened. 我讲述工装的故事因为它的的确确发生了
I cite those statistics around corporate board diversity because they are real, and I stand here today talking about this issue of racial discrimination because I believe it threatens to rob another generation of all the opportunities that all of us want for all of our children, no matter what their color or where they come from. 我引用公司高管多样化的统计资料 因为它们都是真实的 我今天站在这里 谈论种族歧视的问题 是因为我相信它威胁到 我们期望我们的孩子可以享有的 平等的机会 无论他们的肤色 和出身
cite:v.引用;援引;引述;提及(原因);n.引文; statistics:n.统计数字;统计资料;统计学;(statistic的复数) diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化: no matter what:不管什么…;
And I think it also threatens to hold back businesses. 我还认为它会遏制商業的发展
hold back:n.滞留;
You see, researchers have coined this term color blindness to describe a learned behavior where we pretend that we don't notice race. 你知道,专家们已经创造了这个名词 「色盲 」 来描述一种我们假装不关注 种族的后天行为状态
describe:v.描述;形容;把…称为;画出…图形;
If you happen to be surrounded by a bunch of people who look like you, that's purely accidental . 如果你碰巧和一群与你外貌相似的人 聚在一起,那完全是偶然的
a bunch of:一群;一束;一堆; purely:adv.完全;仅仅; accidental:n.偶然;[乐]临时符;adj.不测的;非本质的;
Now, color blindness, in my view, doesn't mean that there's no racial discrimination, and there's fairness. 在我看来,色盲 并不代表没有种族歧视 也不代表公平
It doesn't mean that at all. It doesn't ensure it. 完全不是这个意思,完全没有关系
ensure:vt.保证,确保;使安全;
In my view, color blindness is very dangerous because it means we're ignoring the problem. 在我看来,色盲是非常危险的 因为它说明我们有意忽略一些问题
ignoring:v.忽略,忽视;(ignore的现在分词);
There was a corporate study that said that, instead of avoiding race, the really smart corporations actually deal with it head on. 有关美国企業的研究显示 真正聪明的公司 不回避种族问题,而是采用直面的方式处理
corporations:n.[贸易]公司,[经]企业(corporation的复数形式);
They actually recognize that embracing diversity means recognizing all races, including the majority one. 他们实际上承认,接受多样化 就等于认可所有的种族 也包括多数种族
recognize:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到; embracing:n.拥抱;v.拥抱,包含;(embrace的现在分词) recognizing:v.认识;认出;承认;接受,赞成(recognize的现在分词) majority:n.大部分:大多数:多数票:成年人:
But I'll be the first one to tell you, this subject matter can be hard, awkward , uncomfortable -- but that's kind of the point. 但是,让我来第一个告诉你 这个话题既艰难 又尴尬、不讨好——但却是问题的实质
subject matter:n.题材; awkward:adj.尴尬的;笨拙的;棘手的;不合适的;
In the spirit of debunking racial stereotypes , the one that black people don't like to swim, 本着推翻种族偏见的精神 比如说黑人不喜欢游泳
debunking:揭露(debunk的现在分词); stereotypes:n.模式化观念(或形象); v.对…形成模式化(或类型化)的看法; (stereotype的第三人称单数和复数)
I'm going to tell you how much I love to swim. 我会告诉你,我有多么的喜欢游泳
I love to swim so much that as an adult, I swim with a coach. 我对游泳的喜爱 让我在成年之后还找了一个游泳教练
And one day my coach had me do a drill where I had to swim to one end of a 25-meter pool without taking a breath. 一天,教练让我做一个练习 我需要从一个25米长的泳池的一端游到另一端 中间不能换气
And every single time I failed, 第一次我没能做到
I had to start over. 不得不再试一次
And I failed a lot. 结果我失败了好多次
By the end, I got it, but when I got out of the pool, 最后我终于做到了,我爬出泳池
I was exasperated and tired and annoyed , and I said, Why are we doing breath-holding exercises? 疲惫不堪,愤怒又气恼 我说:「我们为什么要做憋气的练习？ 」
exasperated:adj.激怒的;恼火的;v.使恼怒;激怒;恶化(exasperate的过去式); annoyed:adj.恼怒;生气;烦恼;v.使恼怒;使生气;打扰;骚扰(annoy的过去分词和过去式)
And my coach looked me at me, and he said, Mellody, that was not a breath-holding exercise. 我的教练看着我,说:「Mellody, 这并不是一个憋气的练习
That drill was to make you comfortable being uncomfortable, because that's how most of us spend our days. 这是为了让你把不舒服 习惯成舒服 因为这是我们大部分人过日子的方式。 」
If we can learn to deal with our discomfort , and just relax into it, we'll have a better life. 如果我们学会应对不适感 变得习以为常 我们的生活会变得更好
discomfort:n.不适,不安;不便之处;vt.使…不舒服;使…不安; relax:v.放松,休息;松懈,松弛;变从容;休养;
So I think it's time for us to be comfortable with the uncomfortable conversation about race: black, white, Asian, Hispanic , male, female , all of us, if we truly believe in equal rights and equal opportunity in America, 所以我认为现在我们应该让自己习惯 种族这个不舒服的话题 黑人、白人、亚洲人、西班牙人 男人、女人、所有的人 如果我们真正相信,在美国 有平等的权利和机会
Hispanic:adj.西班牙的; female:adj.女性的;雌性的;柔弱的,柔和的;n.女人;[动]雌性动物;
I think we have to have real conversations about this issue. 那么我们必须认真讨论 这个话题
We cannot afford to be color blind. 我们无法承受色盲的代价
afford:v.给予,提供;买得起;
We have to be color brave. 我们必须要「色勇 」
We have to be willing, as teachers and parents and entrepreneurs and scientists, we have to be willing to have proactive conversations about race with honesty and understanding and courage, not because it's the right thing to do, but because it's the smart thing to do, because our businesses and our products and our science, our research, all of that will be better with greater diversity. 我们必须要有意愿,作为教师和父母 企業家和科学家 我们必须有意愿 针对种族问题开展前瞻性的对话 带着坦诚、理解和勇敢的心情 不仅仅因为这是正确的事情 而且是明智的事情 因为我们的生意、产品 技术、研究 所有这些都会变得更加多样化
entrepreneurs:n.企业家;(entrepreneur的复数) proactive:adj.前摄的(前一活动中的因素对后一活动造成影响的);
Now, my favorite example of color bravery is a guy named John Skipper . 我最推崇的一个色勇榜样
bravery:n.勇敢;勇气; Skipper:n.队长;船长;机长;vt.带领;作…的船长(或机长);
He runs ESPN. 他是ESPN的副总裁
He's a North Carolina native , quintessential Southern gentleman, white. 他来自北卡罗来纳 典型的南方绅士,白人
Carolina:n.卡罗莱纳州(在美国东南部); native:adj.本国的;土著的;天然的;与生俱来的;天赋的;n.本地人;土产;当地居民; quintessential:adj.精髓的,精萃的;
He joined ESPN, which already had a culture of inclusion and diversity, but he took it up a notch . 他加入ESPN的时候,那里已经形成了 包容多样性的文化,但他将其进一步发展
inclusion:n.包含;内含物; notch:n.刻痕,凹口;等级;峡谷;v.赢得;用刻痕计算;在…上刻凹痕;
He demanded that every open position have a diverse slate of candidates. 他要求每个空缺岗位 都必须有一个多样化的候选人清单
diverse:adj.不同的;多种多样的;变化多的; slate:n.石板;板岩;候选人名单;v.批评;抨击;预定;计划;安排;选定;
Now he says the senior people in the beginning bristled , and they would come to him and say, 他说,高层的管理人员 在开始的时候很不满 他们来找他,说:
senior:adj.大;级别(或地位)高的;成人的;高级水平的;n.上级;上司;较…年长的人; bristled:adj.多刺毛的;有刚毛的;直立的;v.布满;直立(bristle的过去式和过去分词);
Do you want me to hire the minority , or do you want me to hire the best person for the job? 「你想让我聘请少数种族, 还是想让我聘请最适合这个岗位的人？ 」
minority:n.少数民族;少数派;未成年;adj.少数的;属于少数派的;
And Skipper says his answers were always the same: Skipper说他的回答每次都一样
Yes. 「是的。 」
And by saying yes to diversity, 对多样化说「是 」
I honestly believe that ESPN is the most valuable cable franchise in the world. 我真诚地相信ESPN 是世界上最有价值的有线电视服务商
valuable:adj.有价值的;贵重的;可估价的;n.贵重物品; cable:n.电缆; v.打电报; (用锚链,缆索等)系住; franchise:n.特权;公民权;经销权;v.给…以特许(或特权);赋予公民权;
I think that's a part of the secret sauce . 我想这是秘密之一
sauce:n.酱;调味汁;讨厌的话(或举动);v.给…加滋味;(俚)对…说冒昧话;
Now I can tell you, in my own industry, at Ariel Investments , we actually view our diversity as a competitive advantage , and that advantage can extend way beyond business. 我可以告诉你,在我自己的企業 Ariel Investments,我们其实把我们的多样化特色 作为一个竞争优势 这种优势甚至可以延伸到生意之外的领域
Ariel:n.羚羊类;瞪羚(主要产于阿拉伯等地的一种大眼羚羊); Investments:n.[经]投资,投资的财产;投资学;(investment的复数) competitive:adj.竞争的;比赛的;求胜心切的; advantage:n.有利条件:优势:优点:
There's a guy named Scott Page at the University of Michigan . 密西根大学的Scott Page
Michigan:n.密歇根;美国密歇根州;
He is the first person to develop a mathematical calculation for diversity. 他是第一个开发出多样化 数学模型的人
mathematical:adj.数学的,数学上的;精确的;
He says, if you're trying to solve a really hard problem, really hard, that you should have a diverse group of people, including those with diverse intellects . 他说,如果你试图解决一个困难的问题 非常困难的问题 你需要一个多样化的团队 包括那些有多样化专業背景的人
intellects:n.智力,理解力;知识分子;思维逻辑领悟力;智力高的人;
The example that he gives is the smallpox epidemic . 他用天花传染病来举例
smallpox:n.[内科]天花; epidemic:n.流行病;蔓延;adj.传染病;流行性的;
When it was ravaging Europe, they brought together all these scientists, and they were stumped . 当天花在欧洲肆虐的时候 他们把所有的科学家召集在一起 所有人都束手无策
ravaging:vt.毁坏;破坏;掠夺;n.蹂躏,破坏;vi.毁坏;掠夺; stumped:v.犯愁;困惑;一筹莫展;(stump的过去式和过去分词);
And the beginnings of the cure to the disease came from the most unlikely source , a dairy farmer who noticed that the milkmaids were not getting smallpox. 这个疾病的治疗方案 来自一个看似最不可能的地方 一个奶牛农场发现挤奶工 没有感染天花
disease:n.病,[医]疾病;弊病;vt.传染;使…有病; unlikely:adj.不大可能发生的;非心目中的;非想象的;难以相信的; source:n.来源;水源;原始资料; dairy:n.奶制品; adj.乳品的; milkmaids:n.挤奶女工;在牛奶场工作的女工;
And the smallpox vaccination is bovine-based because of that dairy farmer. 天花疫苗就是来自牛的体内 因为那奶牛农场的发现
vaccination:n.接种疫苗;种痘;
Now I'm sure you're sitting here and you're saying, 我知道,你们会坐在那里说
I don't run a cable company, 我没有一家有线电视公司
I don't run an investment firm, 也没有投资公司
I am not a dairy farmer. 更不是农场主
What can I do? 我能做什么？
And I'm telling you, you can be color brave. 我告诉你,你可以更加色勇
If you're part of a hiring process or an admissions process, you can be color brave. 如果你负责招聘的进程 或者负责招生 你可以色勇
process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的; admissions:n.许可;承认;入会费;入场券(admission的复数形式);
If you are trying to solve a really hard problem, you can speak up and be color brave. 如果你在试图解决一个非常困难的问题 你可以直言不讳,并且色勇
Now I know people will say, but that doesn't add up to a lot, but I'm actually asking you to do something really simple: observe your environment, at work, at school, at home. 我知道人们会说 这些小事于事无补 但我请你们做的,就是这么简单: 观察你的周围 工作、学校、家庭
observe:v.观察;看到;庆祝;监视;
I'm asking you to look at the people around you purposefully and intentionally . 观察你周围的人群 用心、有意地去观察
purposefully:adv.有目的地;自觉地; intentionally:adv.故意地,有意地;
Invite people into your life who don't look like you, don't think like you, don't act like you, don't come from where you come from, 邀请那些与你的相貌、 思想、行为、出身 迥异的人 进入你的生活
You might get powerful new insights from these individuals , or, like my husband, who happens to be white, you might learn that black people, men, women, children, we use body lotion every single day. 你或许会从这些人处 获得强大的新思想 或者像我的丈夫一样,他是个白人（译者注:她的丈夫是乔治卢卡斯） 你会发现,黑人 男性、女性、儿童 每天都会使用护肤品
insights:n.洞察力;眼力;深刻见解(insight的复数); individuals:n.[经]个人;[生物]个体(individual的复数); lotion:n.洗液;洗涤剂;
Now, I also think that this is very important so that the next generation really understands that this progress will help them, because they're expecting us to be great role models. 我认为这是非常重要的 下一代人可以真正瞭解 这个过程可以幫到他们 因为他们期望我们可以成为伟大的榜样
Now, I told you, my mother, she was ruthlessly realistic. 我告诉过你,我的母亲 是一个极端现实的人
She was an unbelievable role model . 她是一个令人难以置信的行为榜样
unbelievable:adj.(非正式)难以置信的;不可信的 role model:n.榜样;崇拜对象;
She was the kind of person who got to be the way she was because she was a single mom with six kids in Chicago. 她的这种性格的形成 有其必然性 因为她是一个芝加哥的单身母亲 有6个孩子
She was in the real estate business, where she worked extraordinarily hard but oftentimes had a hard time making ends meet. 她在房地产行業工作 她工作极为努力 但依然会经常入不敷出
real estate:n.房地产;不动产; oftentimes:adv.时常地;
And that meant sometimes we got our phone disconnected , or our lights turned off, or we got evicted . 也就是说有时候 我们的电话会断掉 会停电 会被赶出家门
disconnected:adj.分离的; v.切断(煤气、水或电的供应); (disconnect的过去式和过去分词) evicted:v.驱逐,赶出,逐出;(evict的过去分词和过去式)
When we got evicted, sometimes we lived in these small apartments that she owned, sometimes in only one or two rooms, because they weren't completed, and we would heat our bathwater on hot plates. 被赶出家门之后,我们有时候 会住在她自己的小公寓里 有时候只有一两个房间 因为这不是一个完整的公寓 我们用电炉子加热洗澡水
bathwater:n.浴缸里的水;洗涤用水;
But she never gave up hope, ever, and she never allowed us to give up hope either. 但是她从未放弃希望 她也从不让我们放弃希望
This brutal pragmatism that she had, 她的这种残酷的实用主义态度
brutal:adj.残忍的;野蛮的,不讲理的; pragmatism:n.实用主义;独断;
I mean, I was four and she told me, 我是说,在我4岁的时候,她告诉我:
Mommy is Santa. (Laughter) 「妈咪是圣诞老人。 」（笑声）
She was this brutal pragmatism. 她就是这种残酷的实用主义者
She taught me so many lessons, but the most important lesson was that every single day she told me, 她教会了我太多东西 但是最重要的一课 是她每一天都会告诉我的
Mellody, you can be anything. 「Mellody,你可以成就一切。 」
And because of those words, 因为这些话
I would wake up at the crack of dawn , and because of those words, 我每天黎明即起 因为这些话
the crack of dawn:破晓;
I would love school more than anything, and because of those words, when I was on a bus going to school, I dreamed the biggest dreams. 学校成为了我的摯爱 因为这些话,我乘坐公车 上学,憧憬着最伟大的梦想
And it's because of those words that I stand here right now full of passion , asking you to be brave for the kids who are dreaming those dreams today. 因为这些话,我现在站在这里 充满激情 请求你们为今天那些怀着 梦想的孩子们勇敢起来
passion:n.激情;热情;酷爱;盛怒;
(Applause) （鼓掌）
You see, I want them to look at a CEO on television and say, I can be like her, or, He looks like me. 我希望他们看着电视里的CEO 说:「我可以变得和她一样。 」 或者「他看起来很像我。 」
And I want them to know that anything is possible, that they can achieve the highest level that they ever imagined, that they will be welcome in any corporate boardroom, or they can lead any company. 我希望他们知道 一切皆有可能 他们可以成就想像中 最高的梦想 任何一家公司的董事会都向他们敞开大门 他们可以领导任何一家公司
You see this idea of being the land of the free and the home of the brave, it's woven into the fabric of America. 自由之地和勇敢家园 的思想 编织成美国这幅巨布
woven:v.编织;交织(weave的过去分词);编造;adj.织物的;n.机织织物; fabric:n.织物;布料;(社会,机构等的)结构;
America, when we have a challenge, we take it head on, we don't shrink away from it. 美国,当我们遭遇挑战 我们勇敢面对,从不退缩
shrink:v.收缩;减少;退缩;畏缩;n.精神病学家;心理学家;
We take a stand . We show courage. 我们立场鲜明,展示勇气
take a stand:表态;采取立场,表示立场;
So right now, what I'm asking you to do, 所以现在,我请你们做的
I'm asking you to show courage. 我请你们展示出勇气
I'm asking you to be bold. 我请你们放开胆量
As business leaders, I'm asking you not to leave anything on the table. 作为商界领袖,我请你们 不要浪费大好时机
As citizens, I'm asking you not to leave any child behind. 作为公民,我请你们不要丢下任何一个孩子
I'm asking you not to be color blind, but to be color brave, so that every child knows that their future matters and their dreams are possible. 我请你们不要变成色盲 而是成为色勇 这样每一个孩子都会知道未来的重要性 知道他们的梦想可能实现
Thank you. 谢谢
(Applause) （鼓掌）
Thank you. Thanks. Thanks. (Applause) 谢谢,谢谢,谢谢（鼓掌）