美国大学毕业季，各路名流被邀请去大学参加毕业演讲。
不久前，世界前首富比尔·盖茨出现在 北亚利桑那大学的毕业典礼上。在接受了该校授予他的荣誉博士学位之后，比尔盖茨与毕业生们分享了他的人生经历，并给出了 5条人生建议。
中英文对照版本（机器翻译，仅供参考）：
5 things I wish I heard at the graduation I never had
Gates Notes
Throughout my career, I’ve been lucky to give two commencement speeches: one to Harvard—the alma mater I never graduated from—in 2007, and another to Stanford in 2014. Today, I delivered my third to the forestry and engineering graduates of Northern Arizona University. (You can read more about what drew me to NAU here.)
在我的整个职业生涯中，我有幸发表过两次毕业典礼演讲：一次是 2007 年在哈佛大学——我从未毕业的母校——，另一次是 2014 年在斯坦福大学。今天，我第三次向林业和工程专业的毕业生发表演讲北亚利桑那大学。（你可以在这里阅读更多关于是什么吸引我来到 NAU 的信息。）
1.commencement/kəˈmensmənt/n.1)[U]beginning 开始；开端
eg:the commencement of the financial year 财政年度的开始
2)(NAmE) a ceremony at which students receive their academic degrees or diplomas 学位授予典礼；毕业典礼
2.alma mater [sing.] (especially NAmE) the school, college or university that sb went to 母校
3.forestry/ˈfɒrɪstri/ [U] the science or practice of planting and taking care of trees and forests 林学；林业
The class of 2023 is no ordinary group of graduates. Before most of them completed their first year of college, a once-in-a-generation pandemic came along and changed life—and learning—as we knew it. It took resilience, grit, and a whole lot of ingenuity for them to cross this finish line. So I was excited to congratulate them before they begin the next stages of their lives, and share some wisdom I’ve picked up in the decades since I left my own college campus.
2023 届毕业生不是普通的毕业生群体。在他们中的大多数人完成大学第一年之前，一场百年一遇的大流行病来了，改变了我们所知道的生活和学习。他们需要韧性、勇气和大量的创造力才能越过这条终点线。因此，在他们开始人生的下一阶段之前，我很高兴向他们表示祝贺，并分享我离开自己的大学校园后几十年中学到的一些智慧。
4.once-in-a-generation 千载难逢
5.grit/ɡrɪt/ 作名词表示[U]1)very small pieces of stone or sand 沙粒；沙砾；细沙
eg:I had a piece of grit in my eye. 我眼睛里进了一粒沙子。
2)the courage and determination that makes it possible for sb to continue doing sth difficult or unpleasant 勇气；毅力
作动词表示 to spread grit , salt or sand on a road that is covered with ice （在结冰的路上）撒沙砾，撒盐，撒沙子
6.ingenuity /ˌɪndʒəˈnjuːəti/ [U] the ability to invent things or solve problems in clever new ways 独创力；聪明才智；心灵手巧
7.congratulate /kənˈɡrætʃəleɪt/ v.1)~ sb (on sth) to tell sb that you are pleased about their success or achievements 向（某人）道贺；祝贺
eg:I congratulated them all on their results. 我为他们取得的成就向他们所有人表示祝贺。
2)~ yourself (on sth) to feel pleased and proud because you have achieved sth or been successful at sth （为成就或成功）感到高兴，感到自豪
eg:You can congratulate yourself on having done an excellent job. 你应该为你出色的工作感到自豪。
This is what I told them:
这是我告诉他们的：
Remarks as prepared May 13, 2023 Northern Arizona University Commencement Ceremony for the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences and the College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences
准备好的备注 2023 年 5 月 13 日北亚利桑那大学工程、信息学和应用科学学院以及环境、林业和自然科学学院的毕业典礼
Good afternoon! Thank you, President Cruz Rivera and the Arizona Board of Regents, for this tremendous honor. I am thrilled to be here with NAU’s esteemed faculty and staff.
下午好！克鲁兹·里维拉总统和亚利桑那州校董会，感谢你们给予我如此巨大的荣誉。我很高兴能和 NAU 尊敬的教职员工一起来到这里。
8.thrilled/θrɪld/ adj.~(about/at/with sth) | ~(to do sth) | ~(that...) very excited and pleased 非常兴奋；极为激动
例：He was thrilled at the prospect of seeing them again. 他一想到將要再次见到他们便欣喜若狂。
9.esteemed/ɪsˈti:md/ adj.You use esteemed to describe someone who you greatly admire and respect. 受尊敬的
eg:He was esteemed by his neighbours. 他备受邻居尊重。
Friends and family, the time has finally come to exhale. Today is your accomplishment, too—and I think that deserves a round of applause.
朋友和家人，终于到了松一口气的时候了。今天也是你的成就——我认为这值得掌声。
10.exhale/eksˈheɪl/ v.to breathe out the air or smoke, etc. in your lungs 呼出，吐出（肺中的空气、烟等）；呼气
eg:He sat back and exhaled deeply. 他仰坐着深深地呼气。
Graduates, you made it. You finished your capstones and your internships. You survived junior-level writing class and multiple Tequila Sunrises. You had your last Dimes Night at Museum Club, and you earned your rubber duck from Collins.
毕业生，你做到了。你完成了毕业典礼和实习。你在初级写作课和多次龙舌兰日出中幸存下来。你在博物馆俱乐部度过了最后一角钱之夜，你从柯林斯那里得到了你的橡皮鸭。
11.capstone n.1)a stone placed at the top of a building or wall 拱顶石；压顶石
2)(especially NAmE) the best and final thing that sb achieves, thought of as making their career or life complete （使事业等臻于圆满的）顶点
You might be happy to know that I have joined your ranks. I am now the proud recipient of an honorary doctorate and an honorary ducky.
你可能会很高兴知道我加入了你的行列。我现在是荣誉博士学位和荣誉鸭子的骄傲获得者。
12.doctorate/ˈdɒktərət/ n.the highest university degree 博士学位
eg:She's studying for her doctorate. 她正在攻读博士学位。
I am honored to have the opportunity to address you today, because I believe more people should know about the tremendous value of an NAU education. You are graduating from an institution that creates opportunity, fosters innovation, and builds community, and it has prepared you to find solutions to some of the biggest problems facing us today.
我很荣幸今天有机会向您致辞，因为我相信应该有更多人了解 NAU 教育的巨大价值。你毕业于一个创造机会、促进创新和建立社区的机构，它让你准备好找到解决我们当今面临的一些最大问题的方法。
NAU is also giving you something I never received: A real college degree.
NAU 还为您提供了我从未获得过的东西：真正的大学学位。
Some of you might know that I never made it to my own graduation. I left after three semesters to start Microsoft. So, what does a college dropout know about graduation? Not much personally, to be honest.
你们中的一些人可能知道我从来没有参加过自己的毕业典礼。三个学期后我离开了，创办了 Microsoft。那么，大学辍学生对毕业了解多少？老实说，个人不多。
As I prepared for today, I thought about how you, as new graduates, can have the biggest impact on the world with the education you received here. That led me to thinking about the graduation I never had, the commencement speech I never heard, and the advice I wasn’t given on a day just like this one.
当我为今天做准备时，我想到了作为新毕业生的你们如何通过在这里接受的教育对世界产生最大的影响。这让我想到了我从未有过的毕业典礼，我从未听过的毕业典礼演讲，以及我在这样的一天没有得到的建议。
That is what I want to share with you this afternoon: The five things I wish I was told at the graduation I never attended.
这就是我今天下午想与大家分享的：我希望在我从未参加过的毕业典礼上被告知的五件事。
The first thing is,your life isn’t a one-act play.
首先，你的生活不是一出独角戏。
13.a one-act play 独角戏
You probably feel a lot of pressure right now to make the right decisions about your career. It might feel like those decisions are permanent. They’re not. What you do tomorrow—or for the next ten years—does not have to be what you do forever.
你现在可能会感到很大的压力，需要对你的职业做出正确的决定。可能感觉这些决定是永久性的。他们不是。你明天或未来十年所做的事不一定是你永远做的事。
When I left school, I thought I would work at Microsoft for the rest of my life.
当我离开学校时，我以为我会在微软工作一辈子。
Today, I still love my work on software, but philanthropy is my full-time job. I spend my days working to create innovations that fight climate change and reduce inequalities around the world—including in health and education.
今天，我仍然热爱我的软件工作，但慈善事业是我的全职工作。我每天都致力于创造应对气候变化和减少世界各地不平等现象的创新——包括在健康和教育方面。
14.philanthropy/fɪˈlænθrəpi/ [U] the practice of helping the poor and those in need, especially by giving money 博爱；慈善；乐善好施
I feel lucky that our foundation gets to support amazing institutions like NAU—even if it’s not what I imagined I’d be doing when I was 22. Not only is it okay to change your mind or have a second career… it can be a very good thing.
我感到幸运的是，我们的基金会能够支持像 NAU 这样令人惊叹的机构——即使这不是我 22 岁时想象的那样。改变主意或从事第二职业不仅可以……它可以是很好的东西。
The second piece of advice I wish I heard at my graduation is thatyou are never too smart to be confused.
我希望在毕业时听到的第二条建议是，你永远不会太聪明而不会被混淆。
I thought I knew everything I needed to know when I left college. But the first step to learning something new is embracing what you don’t know, instead of focusing on what you do know.
当我离开大学时，我以为我知道我需要知道的一切。但学习新事物的第一步是拥抱你不知道的东西，而不是专注于你所知道的东西。
At some point in your career, you will find yourself facing a problem you cannot solve on your own. When that happens, don’t panic. Take a breath. Force yourself to think things through. And then find smart people to learn from.
在你职业生涯的某个时刻，你会发现自己面临着一个你无法独自解决的问题。发生这种情况时，请不要惊慌。喘口气。强迫自己把事情想清楚。然后找聪明人学习。
It could be a colleague with more experience. It could be one of your fellow graduates, who has a good perspective and will push you to think differently. It could be an expert in the field who is willing to reply to your questions over DM.
可能是经验更丰富的同事。它可能是你的一位毕业生，他有很好的视角，会促使你以不同的方式思考。它可能是该领域的专家，愿意通过 DM 回复您的问题。
Just about everything I have accomplished came because I sought out others who knew more. People want to help you. The key is to not be afraid to ask.
我所取得的一切成就几乎都是因为我找到了知道更多的人。人们想帮助你。关键是不要害怕问。
You may be done with school. But you can—and should—see the rest of your life as an education.
你可能已经完成学业了。但你可以——也应该——将余生视为一种教育。
My third piece of advice is togravitate toward work that solves an important problem.
我的第三条建议是专注于解决重要问题的工作。
15.gravitate/ˈɡrævɪteɪt/ toward/to
to move towards sb/sth that you are attracted to 被吸引到；受吸引而转向
eg:Many young people gravitate to the cities in search of work. 许多年轻人被吸引到城里找工作。
The good news is, you are graduating at a time when there are many important problems to solve. New industries and companies are emerging every day that will allow you to make a livingand make a difference, and advances in science and technology have made it easier than ever to make a big impact.
好消息是，你毕业的时候有很多重要的问题需要解决。新的行业和公司每天都在涌现，它们将使您谋生并有所作为，而科学技术的进步使产生重大影响变得比以往任何时候都容易。
For example, many of you are becoming foresters. Your professors taught you about cutting-edge tools, like drones that use LIDAR to produce accurate maps of the forest floor. You could find new ways to use that technology to help fight climate change.
例如，你们中的许多人正在成为护林员。您的教授教给您有关尖端工具的知识，例如使用激光雷达生成准确的森林地面地图的无人机。您可以找到使用该技术帮助应对气候变化的新方法。
Some of you are heading off to start careers as programmers. You could use your talents to make sure all people can benefit from artificial intelligence—or to help eliminate biases in AI.
你们中的一些人正准备开始程序员的职业生涯。你可以利用你的才能来确保所有人都能从人工智能中受益——或者帮助消除人工智能中的偏见。
16.bias/ˈbaɪəs/ 作名词表示1)[U][Cusually sing.] a strong feeling in favour of or against one group of people, or one side in an argument, often not based on fair judgement 偏见；偏心；偏向
eg:accusations of political bias in news programmes (= that reports are unfair and show favour to one political party) 对新闻报道中政治偏袒的指责
2)[C usually sing.] an interest in one thing more than others; a special ability 偏爱；特殊能力
eg:The course has a strong practical bias. 这个课程偏重实用。
3)[U sing.]the bias of a piece of cloth is an edge cut diagonally across the threads 斜裁
eg:The skirt is cut on the bias. 这条裙子是斜裁的。
作动词表示~ sb/sth (towards/against/in favour of sb/sth) to unfairly influence sb's opinions or decisions 使有偏见；使偏心；使偏向
eg:The newspapers have biased people against her. 报章使人们对她产生了偏见。
When you spend your days doing something that solves a big problem, it energizes you to do your best work. It forces you to be more creative, and it gives your life a strong sense of purpose.
当你花时间做一些解决大问题的事情时，它会激励你把工作做到最好。它迫使你变得更有创造力，它给你的生活一种强烈的目标感。
My fourth piece of advice is simple:Don’t underestimate the power of friendship.
我的第四条建议很简单：不要低估友谊的力量。
When I was in school, I became friends with another student who shared a lot of my interests, like science fiction novels and computer magazines.
当我在学校的时候，我和另一个和我有很多共同兴趣的学生成为了朋友，比如科幻小说和电脑杂志。
Little did I know how important that friendship would be. My friend’s name was Paul Allen—and we started Microsoft together.
我几乎不知道这种友谊会有多重要。我朋友的名字叫保罗·艾伦——我们一起创办了微软。
Remember that people you’ve sat next to in lectures, skied Snowbowl with, and competed against on Wingo night are not just your classmates. They are your network. Your future co-founders and colleagues. A great future source of support, information, and advice.
请记住，您在讲座中坐在旁边、一起滑雪过 Snowbowl 以及在 Wingo 之夜与之竞争的人不仅仅是您的同学。他们是你的网络。您未来的联合创始人和同事。一个很好的未来支持、信息和建议来源。
The only thing more valuable than what you walk offstage with today is who you walk onstage with.
今天唯一比你和谁一起走下舞台更有价值的是你和谁一起走上舞台。
My last piece of advice is the one I could have used the most. It took me a long time to learn. And it is this:You are not a slacker if you cut yourself some slack.
我的最后一条建议是我最常使用的建议。我花了很长时间才学会。就是这样：如果你让自己放松一些，你就不是一个懒鬼。
17.slacker/ˈslækə(r)/ n.a person who is lazy and avoids work 偷懒的人；怠惰的人
When I was your age, I didn’t believe in vacations. I didn’t believe in weekends. I pushed everyone around me to work very long hours. In the early days of Microsoft, my office overlooked the parking lot—and I would keep track of who was leaving early and staying late.
当我像你这么大的时候，我不相信假期。我不相信周末。我强迫我周围的每个人长时间工作。在微软的早期，我的办公室俯瞰着停车场——我会记录谁早退晚归。
But as I got older—and especially once I became a father—I realized there is more to life than work.
但随着年龄的增长——尤其是当了父亲之后——我意识到生活比工作更重要。
Don’t wait as long as I did to learn this lesson. Take time to nurture your relationships, to celebrate your successes, and to recover from your losses.
不要像我一样等那么久才学习这一课。花时间培养你的人际关系，庆祝你的成功，并从你的损失中恢复过来。
Take a break when you need to. Take it easy on the people around you when they need it, too.
需要时休息一下。当您周围的人需要时，也请放轻松。
And before you begin the next stage of your lives, take a moment and have some fun. Tonight, this weekend, this summer, whenever. You deserve it.
在你开始人生的下一阶段之前，花点时间享受一些乐趣。今晚，这个周末，这个夏天，无论何时。你应得的。
Class of 2023, the future belongs to you. I believe you will be the ones to solve the climate crisis and reduce the gap between the rich and poor.
2023级，未来属于你们。我相信你们将是解决气候危机和缩小贫富差距的人。
You have already made history by attending college during some truly unprecedented times. I have no doubt that you will continue to make history throughout the rest of your lives. I cannot wait to see how you will drive progress around the world.
在一些真正前所未有的时期上大学，你已经创造了历史。我毫不怀疑你将在余生中继续创造历史。我迫不及待地想看看您将如何推动世界各地的进步。
Congratulations/on/reaching/this/momentous/milestone. Go Lumberjacks!
祝贺您达到这一重要里程碑。去伐木工人！
18.momentous/məˈmentəs/ adj.very important or serious, especially because there may be important results 关键的；重要的；重大的
例：a momentous decision/event/occasion 重大决定╱事件；重要时刻
---★---
原文：
5 things I wish I heard at the graduation I never had
Gates Notes
Throughout my career, I’ve been lucky to give two commencement speeches: one to Harvard—the alma mater I never graduated from—in 2007, and another to Stanford in 2014. Today, I delivered my third to the forestry and engineering graduates of Northern Arizona University. (You can read more about what drew me to NAUhere.)
The class of 2023 is no ordinary group of graduates. Before most of them completed their first year of college, a once-in-a-generation pandemic came along and changed life—and learning—as we knew it. It took resilience, grit, and a whole lot of ingenuity for them to cross this finish line. So I was excited to congratulate them before they begin the next stages of their lives, and share some wisdom I’ve picked up in the decades since I left my own college campus.
This is what I told them:
Remarks as prepared May 13, 2023 Northern Arizona University Commencement Ceremony for the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences and the College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences
Good afternoon! Thank you, President Cruz Rivera and the Arizona Board of Regents, for this tremendous honor. I am thrilled to be here with NAU’s esteemed faculty and staff.
Friends and family, the time has finally come to exhale. Today is your accomplishment, too—and I think that deserves a round of applause.
Graduates, you made it. You finished your capstones and your internships. You survived junior-level writing class and multiple Tequila Sunrises. You had your last Dimes Night at Museum Club, and you earned your rubber duck from Collins.
You might be happy to know that I have joined your ranks. I am now the proud recipient of an honorary doctorate and an honorary ducky.
I am honored to have the opportunity to address you today, because I believe more people should know about the tremendous value of an NAU education. You are graduating from an institution that creates opportunity, fosters innovation, and builds community, and it has prepared you to find solutions to some of the biggest problems facing us today.
NAU is also giving you something I never received: A real college degree.
Some of you might know that I never made it to my own graduation. I left after three semesters to start Microsoft. So, what does a college dropout know about graduation? Not much personally, to be honest.
As I prepared for today, I thought about how you, as new graduates, can have the biggest impact on the world with the education you received here. That led me to thinking about the graduation I never had, the commencement speech I never heard, and the advice I wasn’t given on a day just like this one.
That is what I want to share with you this afternoon: The five things I wish I was told at the graduation I never attended.
The first thing is,your life isn’t a one-act play.
You probably feel a lot of pressure right now to make the right decisions about your career. It might feel like those decisions are permanent. They’re not. What you do tomorrow—or for the next ten years—does not have to be what you do forever.
When I left school, I thought I would work at Microsoft for the rest of my life.
Today, I still love my work on software, but philanthropy is my full-time job. I spend my days working to create innovations that fight climate change and reduce inequalities around the world—including in health and education.
I feel lucky that our foundation gets to support amazing institutions like NAU—even if it’s not what I imagined I’d be doing when I was 22. Not only is it okay to change your mind or have a second career… it can be a very good thing.
The second piece of advice I wish I heard at my graduation is thatyou are never too smart to be confused.
I thought I knew everything I needed to know when I left college. But the first step to learning something new is embracing what you don’t know, instead of focusing on what you do know.
At some point in your career, you will find yourself facing a problem you cannot solve on your own. When that happens, don’t panic. Take a breath. Force yourself to think things through. And then find smart people to learn from.
It could be a colleague with more experience. It could be one of your fellow graduates, who has a good perspective and will push you to think differently. It could be an expert in the field who is willing to reply to your questions over DM.
Just about everything I have accomplished came because I sought out others who knew more. People want to help you. The key is to not be afraid to ask.
You may be done with school. But you can—and should—see the rest of your life as an education.
My third piece of advice is togravitate toward work that solves an important problem.
The good news is, you are graduating at a time when there are many important problems to solve. New industries and companies are emerging every day that will allow you to make a livingand make a difference, and advances in science and technology have made it easier than ever to make a big impact.
For example, many of you are becoming foresters. Your professors taught you about cutting-edge tools, like drones that use LIDAR to produce accurate maps of the forest floor. You could find new ways to use that technology to help fight climate change.
Some of you are heading off to start careers as programmers. You could use your talents to make sure all people can benefit from artificial intelligence—or to help eliminate biases in AI.
When you spend your days doing something that solves a big problem, it energizes you to do your best work. It forces you to be more creative, and it gives your life a strong sense of purpose.
My fourth piece of advice is simple:Don’t underestimate the power of friendship.
When I was in school, I became friends with another student who shared a lot of my interests, like science fiction novels and computer magazines.
Little did I know how important that friendship would be. My friend’s name was Paul Allen—and we started Microsoft together.
Remember that people you’ve sat next to in lectures, skied Snowbowl with, and competed against on Wingo night are not just your classmates. They are your network. Your future co-founders and colleagues. A great future source of support, information, and advice.
The only thing more valuable than what you walk offstage with today is who you walk onstage with.
My last piece of advice is the one I could have used the most. It took me a long time to learn. And it is this:You are not a slacker if you cut yourself some slack.
When I was your age, I didn’t believe in vacations. I didn’t believe in weekends. I pushed everyone around me to work very long hours. In the early days of Microsoft, my office overlooked the parking lot—and I would keep track of who was leaving early and staying late.
But as I got older—and especially once I became a father—I realized there is more to life than work.
Don’t wait as long as I did to learn this lesson. Take time to nurture your relationships, to celebrate your successes, and to recover from your losses.
Take a break when you need to. Take it easy on the people around you when they need it, too.
And before you begin the next stage of your lives, take a moment and have some fun. Tonight, this weekend, this summer, whenever. You deserve it.
Class of 2023, the future belongs to you. I believe you will be the ones to solve the climate crisis and reduce the gap between the rich and poor.
You have already made history by attending college during some truly unprecedented times. I have no doubt that you will continue to make history throughout the rest of your lives. I cannot wait to see how you will drive progress around the world.
Congratulations on reaching this momentous milestone. Go Lumberjacks!
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