David Brooks Gives the Commencement Address at Dartmouth 2015

来源: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgoiVAI9B1w

霞姐说：这一次呢，我们终于不讲经济学人了，在这个高考和毕业交叉的季节，到处都是撒欢的气氛。天天用英语也应景的给大家准备了一系列的毕业演讲，这一次呢，我们要分享的是美国时评人、作家David Brooks于2015年在Dartmouth做的演讲。作为评论人他风格犀利，本该漫天洒鸡汤的毕业演讲，他也一贯保持，只不过这哥们有毒，很多人听完惨叫一声，倒地身亡！当然有霞姐在，大家不虚哦，我们一起来领教一下这碗毒鸡汤……
本篇演讲文章比较长，大家可以看完整的视频，结合我们的完整版演讲本次我们重点讲解的部分是：5-8, 10, 13-14, 16-20, 22-24。 讲解的部分段落内部也有删减，我们在大家拿到的原文版本中也给标示出来了，而笔记版本我们直接使用的是删减版本，大家会发现删减版本连接起来也是非常流畅的演讲稿，信息传递也非常到位呢。那就好好的体味一下呗!

【本文虽为节选，但是读起来依然如一气呵成之顺畅，大家完全可以对比原文和节选来感受一下一个文章的核心和主心骨是如何构建的。这样以后读英文文章的时候就可以快速抓到重点，从而可以最大限度减少自己获取有效信息的时间哦！】
【1】I’ve decided to use this Commencement to cut through all that, and I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen to you over the next 60 years of your life. So right now I’m giving you the ultimate spoiler alert. If you don’t want to know how this thing called your life is going to turn out, pay less attention to me over the next ten minutes than even you are right now. For the rest of you, this is your life. First, you’re going to graduate today. Parts of the next year will be amazing, and parts are really going to suck. Very few will have jobs as exciting as being a college senior. From now on, no one will be paid to read your writing or your fascinating seminar interventions. You won’t have a social life pre-organized right there in front of you the way it is here at Dartmouth.
commencement [kəˈmɛnsmənt]
n. 开始; 毕业典礼; 开端; 学位授予典礼;
[例句]All applicants should be at least 16 years of age at the commencement of this course.
申请修读这门课程者至少要年满16岁。
spoiler[ˈspɔɪlɚ]
n. 剧透; 气流偏导器; 阻流板; 选举中的搅局者;
[例句]I was a talentless spoiler. If I couldn't be good, why should they?
我是个无能的捣乱分子。如果我做不好，他们有什么理由表现好呢？
seminar [ˈsɛməˌnɑr]
n. 研讨会; 研讨班，讲习会; 研讨小组; 培训会;
[例句]Students are asked to prepare material in advance of each weekly seminar.
学生要在上每星期的研讨课前备好材料。
Dartmouth [ˈdɑrtməθ]
[词典] 达特默斯，美国马萨诸塞东南一城镇，加拿大新斯科舍省南部一城市;
[例句]Donald King is the principal of Dartmouth High School.
唐纳德·金是达特茅斯中学的校长。
【2】Happiness research suggests that after your 60s, your 20s are your happiest phase of life. People are happy in their 20s and then it dips down until it bottoms out at age 47—which is called having teenage children—and then it shoots up again. You’ll have long periods of loneliness and heartbreak. If you’re like the average college graduates, a third of you will move back home at some point in the next two years, and your parents will give you blindingly obvious advice about things you’ve been doing on your own for years. A third of you will be unemployed, underemployed, or making less than $30,000 a year. In two years, half of you will feel that you don’t have a plan for life or a clear direction.

经典语句：
People are happy in their 20s and then it dips down until it bottoms out at age 47—which is called having teenage children—and then it shoots up again.
我们先把句子梳理一下，演讲稿往往会偏口语化表达，所以很多时候演讲人会倾向于多说and，look之类的表达，不要因此而影响自己的理解即可。
People are happy in their 20s：这个小分句的意思是人们在20多岁的时候是最开心快乐的。
and then：然后
it dips down until it bottoms out at age 47：开始下降直到47岁到达谷底。
—which is called having teenage children—：破折号中间内容解释为什么47岁时候到达谷底呢，因为这个时候你的孩子正好青春期。
and then：然后
it shoots up again.：到了谷底了那肯定要反弹了嘛，所谓触底反弹就是这么说的。

所以这一块作者真实的表达了人生的状态。听起来不太友好，但是这就是真的人生啊，作者基本就是告诉这些毕业生，现在才是你人生最开心的时间段，最痛苦的时间还没有到来呢，想着接下来有20几年的人生是越来越痛苦的，真的是一盆冷水泼在脑袋上呢。。。。。。。

In two years, half of you will feel that you don’t have a plan for life or a clear direction.
In two years：两年之后
half of you：你们中间的一半
will feel that：会觉得，that引导宾语从句
you don’t have a plan for life or a clear direction.：你的人生没有规划或者明确的方向。

作者这里讲的时候前提是如果你是一个average graduate，那么两年后，一半的人会觉得人生毫无规划，其实我们很多人也会有过这样的一个阶段觉得找不到人生的方向，无论从职业上还是生活上。
从作者这里我们会发现，对于一半的人来说这就是人生必须经历的一个阶段，我们似乎能做的就是让自己above average，然后不再属于这一半。

【3】But this is part of the process. It’s part of the process of finding your loves and testing your loves. Let me explain. All of us love certain things: certain friends, certain subjects, certain dreams, certain professional goals. But you don’t really know the nature of your love until you’ve tested it with reality. When I graduated from college, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I knew I wanted to do some teaching. I thought I wanted to be a playwright or a novelist, go into politics, have a spouse, children. But I didn’t know exactly what order my loves came in. So like everyone in their 20s, I got to test my loves and I got to sample some new loves. It was like trying on clothes at the mall. After ten years, some of my loves, like playwriting, just didn’t fit or faded away. Some new ones came into view. But most important, over the next ten really formless years, my heart developed some contours and I learned what I loved most—writing was more important to me than politics. I could write out a priority list on a piece of paper of the things I loved,【step 1】 and I could rank them and I could devote my best energies to my highest loves.
playwright [ˈpleˌraɪt]
n. 剧作家;
[例句]His career as a playwright had an auspicious start.
他的剧作家生涯有了一个好的开头。
novelist [ˈnɑ:vəlɪst]
n. 小说家;
[例句]Faulkner has been hailed as the greatest American novelist of his generation
福克纳被誉为他那一代人中最伟大的美国小说家。
spouse [spaʊs, spaʊz]
n. 配偶，夫或妻;
vt. 和…结婚;
[例句]It is often helpful to have your spouse in the room when major news is expected
等待重大消息时最好有配偶在场。
formless [ˈfɔ:rmləs]
adj. 无定形的，没有形状的，形体不明的;
[例句]A series of largely formless images rushed across the screen.
一连串相当混乱的影像在屏幕上闪过。
contour [ˈkɑ:ntʊr]
n. 外形，轮廓; （地图上表示相同海拔各点的） 等高线; 概要; 电路;
vt. 画轮廓（等高线）;
adj. 显示轮廓的;
[例句]I cradled my video camera nervously on my lap, but its cold contours did nothing to comfort me.
我紧张地把摄影机架在大腿上，但是它冰冷的外形并没能给我任何安慰。
priority [praɪˈɔ:rəti]
n. 优先，优先权; （时间，序上的） 先，前; 优先考虑的事; [数] 优先次序;
[例句]Being a parent is her first priority
做好母亲是她的头等大事。

经典语句：
I could write out a priority list on a piece of paper of the things I loved, and I could rank them and I could devote my best energies to my highest loves.
首先还是把句子稍微梳理一下，还是那个问题，作者会说很多and，但是不影响我们对意群的理解。
I could write out a priority list on a piece of paper of the things I loved
这个小分句里on a piece of paper是修饰动词write out的，而后面的of the things介词短语是修饰list的。I loved是一个that引导的定语从句修饰the things，这里省略了that。
所以这个小分句的意思是：我可以在一张纸上把我喜欢的东西按照优先次序排序出来。
and I could rank them：我可以给他们排名。其实这里前一句的priority list就已经暗示作者rank了这些things，但是因为是口语，所以作者又强调一嘴，并无问题。
I could devote my best energies to my highest loves.：我可以把我所有的精力都贡献给我最爱的事物。这里best＝full，全部的，并不是最好的。

所以我们也可以看得出作者是想给大家一个建议，让大家找到自己的最爱，然后把所有的精力都投入在它上面，这样我们的第一步才算迈出去，人生才算正式启航吧！

【4】When you have the ability to write that list in order, you’ve achieved your agency moment.【step 2】I had a student who was a young Army officer. During one of his tours, he had a terrible superior officer who gave him nothing but negative feedback. During those 18 months, he said he could not rely on external validation or criticism from outside to get a sense of whether he was doing a good job. He had to come up with his own criteria to judge himself. That’s the agency moment. When you hit this moment, you’re not molding yourself to some prefab definition of success. You have your own criteria. You’re not relying on the opinions of others. Your own standard and your own ability to judge your own life. For most people this agency moment comes just before 30. But then you can have a few other agency moments later in life, at age 53 or 75, when your loves change order, and you have to realize that and you have to adjust.
agency [ˈedʒənsi]
n. 代理; 机构; 力量;
[例句]We had to hire maids through an agency.
我们得通过中介雇用女佣。
validation[ˌvælɪ'deɪʃn]
n. 确认;
[例句]JSON helps separate validation data and logic.
JSON帮助分离了验证数据和逻辑。
molding [ˈmoldɪŋ]
n. 成型; 制模; 铸造; [建] 凹凸形;
[例句]They can be divided into two classes, those which are castable and those which must be processed by extrusion or compression molding.
它们可分为两类：可浇铸的和必须由挤压或模压加工的。
prefab[ˈpriˌfæb]
adj. 预制的;
n. 活动房屋;
[例句]When you add a Prefab to a scene, you create an instance of it.
当你添加一个预设件到场景中，就创建了它的一个实例。

经典语句：
He had a terrible superior officer who gave him nothing but negative feedback. During those 18 months, he said he could not rely on external validation or criticism from outside to get a sense of whether he was doing a good job. He had to come up with his own criteria to judge himself. That’s the agency moment.
演讲者描述的这个小故事，我们很多人可能都经历过，可是我们是怎么应对的呢，我们再来看看故事的主人公又是怎么应对的呢？
He had a terrible superior officer：他的上司狠糟糕
who gave him nothing but negative feedback.：who引导的从句来描述这个糟糕的上司是什么样子的，他除了负面反馈，其他什么都没有。其实我们也可以想像一个四肢发达头脑简单的军队leader，只会抨击下属，却并不能很好的领导他们去做好事情。
我们看下一个句子描述在这样一个上司的压榨之下，他的状态：
During those 18 months, he said he could not rely on external validation or criticism from outside to get a sense of whether he was doing a good job.
During those 18 months,：共18个月，也就是一年半的时间
he said：他说
he could not rely on external validation or criticism from outside to get a sense of whether he was doing a good job.：他无法依赖外部的肯定或者批评来理解他的工作是否做的好。
这种感觉在工作中是否有过呢？上司无法对你的工作进行客观评价导致你出现了完全迷失的这种感觉和状态。
He had to come up with his own criteria to judge himself.
他必须创造出自己的标准来衡量自己工作是否做的好。
也就是说自己要开始对于工作怎样做是好的，怎样做是不好的要建立起一个判断力。所以我们会发现在建立判断力的过程中，他积累的经验和对于工作甚至体系的理解深度都会达到最深状态，不止把手头工作做好那么简单。所以我们管这种人叫做self-motivated, 自我激励型。
That’s the agency moment.以上的这个例子就是为了帮助大家理解agency moment是什么鬼的。

【5】Once you have achieved your agency moments, you can begin to make commitments. 【step 3】Making commitments sounds intimidating, but it’s not. Making a commitment simply means falling in love with something, and then building a structure of behavior around it that will carry you through when your love falters. When you make a commitment to something you truly love, whether it’s a spouse, a job, a company, or a school, it won’t feel like you are putting on an uncomfortable lobster shell. It will feel like you are taking off the shell and becoming the shape you were meant to be. When you’re making a commitment, you won’t be paralyzed by self-focus because you’ll have something besides yourself to think about. Specifically, as you go through your 30s, you will make four major commitments, and your life depends on how you do with these four things. First, a commitment to your spouse and to your family. Second, a commitment to a career and a vocation. Third, a commitment to your faith or philosophy. Fourth, a commitment to a community and a village.
【以上讲述找到自己一生所爱的过程】
【接下来，两个commitment，说了四个就讲了俩】
intimidate [ɪnˈtɪmɪˌdet]
vt. 恐吓，威胁;
[例句]Jones had set out to intimidate and dominate Paul
琼斯开始恐吓并控制保罗。
falters
v. （嗓音） 颤抖( falter的第三人称单数 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃;
[例句]That is encouraging because if China falters, then the world recovery will do too.
这一点令人鼓舞，因为如果中国打一个踉跄，全球经济的复苏也将受挫。
paralyze [ˈpærəˌlaɪz]
vt. 使瘫痪，使麻痹; 使不能正常活动;
[例句]Otherwise, my dread of criticism can paralyze me.
不然的话，我对批评的恐惧将让我行为瘫痪。

经典语句：
Making a commitment simply means falling in love with something, and then building a structure of behavior around it that will carry you through when your love falters.
Making a commitment这是句子的主语
simply means：仅仅意味着
falling in love with something；爱上某件事
and then building a structure of behavior around it：并且围绕这件事建立一个行为体系
that will carry you through when your love falters.：这个行为体系在你的爱动摇的时候可以扛着你渡过去。

一生的挚爱，爱一件事就可以坚持下去吗？其实还有非常核心的一步就是building a structure of behavior，行动才是最重要的，行动会在你的爱动摇之时依然能够扛着你坚持下去。很多人热爱足球，可是真正要成为顶级球星那不是一个简单的热爱就够的，需要多少个日日夜夜的超强度训练才可以呢。所以这里carry you through这里的动词用的特别好，就是当你的心想要放弃的时候，你的行为会扛着它渡过去。这也是为什么很多时候经历过的苦痛却成了事成之后最甜美的回忆吧！

【6】Somewhere between the ages or 28 and 32, you will begin to realize you have already begun to make a commitment to a vocation and a career. But a vocation is not a career. A career is something you choose. A vocation is something that summons you. People with vocations don’t ask: What do I want from life? They ask: What is life demanding me to do? What gap is there in my specific circumstances around me that demands my skill set?
¡¾1. a commitment to a vocation and a career.】
vocation [voʊˈkeɪʃn]
n. 职业，使命; 神召，天命;
[例句]It could well be that he has a real vocation
很可能他是找到了自己真正的使命。
summon [ˈsʌmən]
vt. 传唤，召唤; 鼓起（勇气）; 传讯（出庭）; [军] 劲降，招降;
[例句]Howe summoned a doctor and hurried over
豪叫了医生，然后匆忙赶了过来。
circumstances ['sɜ:kəmstənsɪz]
n. 境况; 境遇; （尤指） 经济状况; 命运; 环境( circumstance的名词复数 ); 事件; 境遇; 机遇;
[例句]Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, this year's show has been cancelled
遗憾的是，由于一些意外情况，今年的演出被取消了。

经典语句：
A career is something you choose. A vocation is something that summons you.
这里career和vocation都可以翻译成中文的职业，但是演讲者在这里特别的强调了这个不同点。
说career是你的选择，然后vocation则是对你的呼召。

其实作者这一段对于霞姐来说触动非常大，因为当年我从北大毕业的时候面临的就完全是选择一份career，还是follow vocation的呼召，只是当时并没有人在我的毕业典礼上跟我这样讲他们之间的区别。当时我自己手上有几个不同的工作机会，一个是在新东方的一家子公司去负责一个项目，解决户口，年薪above average；另一个是一家外资银行的工作机会，年薪是highly above average；还有就是继续在新东方做老师，讲课，年薪是highly above average。当时我也可以有另一种选择就是自己创业做魔力学院，做我认为正确的教育，然而我面临的生活就是接下来至少五年的时间会过的灰头土脸。最后我选择了做魔力学院，几乎没有任何犹豫，完全跟随了自己的心，当时只是简单的觉得没有任何人比我更想做这件事，如果我不去做，这件事实现的时间就会被无限期推迟。所以魔力学院对于我来说是vocation，而不是career。
【7】The second commitment is the one you’ll make to a partner or a spouse or to your kids. I hope you’ve already had one great love affair in college and that you weren’t one of those students who controlled the love life so they could spend more time doing homework. If you’ve already had a great love, you know that it humbles you. You’ve been captured by a delicious madness and lost control of your own mind. Love plows open hard ground, exposing soft, vulnerable soil below. Love decenters the self and reminds you that your true riches are in another person. Marriage is a 30- or 40- or 50-year conversation that ends with a confusion: I don’t just love you. I am you. Like all great commitments, love operates simultaneously on two different levels: the level of gritty reality and the level of transcendent magic.
【The second commitment，家庭，涉及两个层面，普通的柴米油盐和情意绵绵】
plow[plaʊ]
n. 犁; 犁型铲雪机;
v. 耕; 犁耕; 费力穿过;
[例句]The donkey helped them pull the field plow during and carry them to the market.
这头驴平时帮他们种地拉磨，赶集时还要作脚力。
transcendent [trænˈsɛndənt]
adj. 超然的; 卓越的，至高无上的;
n. 卓越的人，尤物; 超越认识的事物;
[例句]This places value on the earth and this world, as distinguished from views of transcendent divinity and creation.
这神性赋予了地球和这个世界，与卓越的神性和创造看法有区别。
【8】The level of gritty reality in marriage is the grocery shopping, the cleaning, and the compromises. Do you do the dishes after each meal or do you put them in the sink and do them at the end of the day? Does the toilet paper roll from over the top or from under the bottom? The gritty reality of love involves the particular gifts and foibles of this or that partner or beloved.
gritty [ˈɡrɪti]
adj. 多沙的，含砂的; 勇敢的，坚毅的，坚定的;
[例句]The sheets fell on the gritty floor, and she just let them lie.
床单掉到满是沙砾的地板上，她都没去捡。
foible [ˈfɔɪbəl]
n. 小缺点，小癖好;
[例句]It is a big foible of all the people.
这是一个很大的怪癖全体人民。
【9】But there is another side to it which is poetic and transcendent and idealistic and universal. This is side that Taylor Swift sings about. Like being summoned by a vocation, this love demands you cast off cost-benefit analysis. This love demands that you enter into a different and inverse logic.
【通过自己的孩子出生进监护室的事情引申讲无逻辑的爱】
poetic [poʊˈetɪk]
adj. 诗的，韵文的; 有诗意的; 诗人的;
n. 诗学; 诗论;
[例句]Nikolai Demidenko gave an exciting yet poetic performance.
尼古拉·杰米坚科的表演激动人心且富有诗意。
inverse [ˌɪnˈvɜ:rs]
adj. 相反的; 逆向的; 倒转的;
n. 相反; 倒转; 相反的事物;
vt. 使倒转; 使颠倒;
[例句]The tension grew in inverse proportion to the distance from their final destination.
拉力的大小与他们离终点的距离成反比。
【10】I remember the birth of my first son involved a very long and painful delivery. It happened in Belgium, and the doctor put a plunger to my kid’s head and yanked him out. He came out after many, many hours blue and in very poor health and was rushed to the intensive care ward. It was scary, and it introduced me to a level of soul-deep anxiety you’re not aware of until you become a parent. But I remember having an awareness in that instant that if he could just live for one hour, it would still be worth it. An hour of his life will be worth a lifetime of grief.
plunger [ˈplʌndʒɚ]
n. 活塞; 手压皮碗泵; 撞针杆; 柱跳水者，潜水者;
[例句]The balance valve circuit is to support the weight of platen and plunger design.
回路中的平衡阀是为支撑压板及柱塞的重量而设计的。
yank[jæŋk]
vt. 快而有力地拉，急拉; [俚语] 突然地移动;
n. 突然的猛拉; 急抽;
[例句]She yanked open the drawer
她猛地拉开了抽屉。
ward [wɔ:rd]
n. 病房，病室; 监视，监督; 保卫; [法] 受监护人;
vt. 监护，守护; 挡住，架住; 避开; 收容;
[例句]A toddler was admitted to the emergency ward with a wound in his chest.
一个蹒跚学步的小孩因胸部受伤被送进急救室。
【11】Now that doesn’t make sense. But every parent here will know it makes perfect sense by some other logic. Every parent here knows that every second of life for one you love has infinite dignity, and the essence of that love is not counting the cost. Love has its own logic. For example, most resources are scarce; you can use them up. But love is the opposite; the more you love, the more you can love. A person who has one child does not love that child less when he or she has another. A person in love is capable of more love. A person who loves his college does not love his country less. Love expands with use.
infinite [ˈɪnfənɪt]
adj. 无限的，无穷的; 无数的，许许多多的; 极大的;
n. 无限，无穷; [数] 无穷大; <宗>造物主，神; 无限的事物;
[例句]With infinite care, John shifted position
约翰小心翼翼地挪动了位置。

dignity [ˈdɪgnəti]
n. 尊严; 自尊; 高尚; 自豪;
[例句]If you were wrong, admit it. You won't lose dignity, but will gain respect
如果你错了，那就承认。你不会因此而失去尊严，反而会赢得尊重。
scarce [skers]
adj. 缺乏的，罕见的;
adv. 勉强; 仅仅; 几乎不; 简直不;
[例句]Food was scarce and expensive
食物供不应求，而且价格昂贵。
【12】Again, against the grain of normal logic, people in love make themselves vulnerable to great suffering, and sometimes they knowingly walk into suffering. Sometimes you tell people in love that it doesn’t make sense for them to be together because they’ll be in different cities or they drive themselves crazy. But lovers rarely break off a love just because that doesn’t make sense. They’d rather be unhappy together than happy apart. And so here we’re coming to an essential feature of commitment making. It’s sort of like quantum mechanics. It doesn’t make sense from a normal logic. A commitment spills outside the bounds of normal utilitarian logic and has a different logic. This logic is a moral logic, and it is filled with inversions. A commitment is a moral act.
【继而从无逻辑无道理的爱，指出其是moral act，继而讲述moral world以及如何成为一个moral people】

knowingly [ˈnoʊɪŋli]
adv. 会意地; 故意地; 狡黠地，机警地; “knowing”的派生;
[例句]He repeated that he had never knowingly taken illegal drugs.
他再三强调自己从没有故意吸毒。
quantum [ˈkwɑ:ntəm]
n. [物] 量子; 定量，总量; 美国昆腾公司（世界领先的硬盘生产商）;
[例句]Both quantum mechanics and chaos theory suggest a world constantly in flux.
量子力学和混沌理论都表明世界永远处于不断变化中。
mechanics [mɪˈkænɪks]
n. 力学; 机械学; 构成法; 技术;
[例句]He has not studied mechanics or engineering.
他没有学习过力学和工程学。
utilitarian [ˌju:tɪlɪˈteriən]
adj. 功利的; 实用的; 功利主义的，实利主义的; 有效用的;
n. 功利主义者; 实用主义者;
[例句]It was James Mill who was the best publicist for utilitarian ideas on government.
詹姆斯·米尔是政府功利主义思想的最具代表性的人物。
【13】The moral world is not structured like the market world. It has an inverse logic. To develop morally and inside you have to follow an inverse set of rules. You have to give to receive. You have to surrender to something outside yourself to gain strength within yourself. You have to conquer your desire to get what you crave. Success leads to the greatest failure, which is arrogance and pride. Failure can lead to the greatest success, which is humility and learning. In order to fulfill yourself, you have to forget yourself. In order to find yourself, you have to lose yourself.
surrender [səˈrɛndɚ]
vi. 投降; 自首; 屈服;
vt. 交出; 放弃; 使投降; 听任;
n. 投降; 放弃; 屈服; （保险的） 解约;
[例句]General Martin Bonnet called on the rebels to surrender
马丁·邦尼特将军呼吁反叛者投降。
【14】Taking a job is not a moral act. Going on a date is not a moral act. Having a vocation is a moral act. Entering a 30- or 50-year marriage is a moral act. Making a commitment is a moral act. And becoming a good, moral person is not being able to control your temptations; it’s about this ability to make commitments.
【回到主题，学校时光会为你带来什么】
temptation [tɛmpˈteʃən]
n. 诱惑，引诱; 诱惑物;
[例句]Will they be able to resist the temptation to buy?
他们能忍住诱惑不买吗？
【15】Your education has opened you up to possibilities. Adulthood is about closing around commitments. Dartmouth has opened your mind. The purpose of an open mind is to close around certain beliefs. The highest joy is found in sending down roots. There will come a time 20 years from now, or 25 years from now, when you will come back to this spot for your reunion. And as you walk and drink wine and beer, you’ll think of your former selves and your current selves and the decades of life that will still be in front of you. You’ll realize that Dartmouth had set off little time bombs in your head that give you pieces of wisdom that only come decades later when you are ready to receive them.
【16】At reflective moments like this, it feels like time is suspended and reality will slip outside its bounds, and you’ll experience a sense of gratitude that your life is filled with joy, a joy beyond anything you could possibly have earned. There’s nothing to be done at such moments except be thankful, to be thankful for people, places, ideas, and causes that you have embraced and that embraced you back. And that is the moment come to the realization that is the full definition of maturity: It’s the things you chain yourself to that set you free.
suspended [sə'spendɪd]
adj. 暂停的，缓期的（宣判），悬浮的;
v. 暂停; 悬( suspend的过去式和过去分词 ); 延缓; 使暂时停职（或停学等）;
[例句]The union suspended strike action this week
这周工会暂停了罢工。
gratitude [ˈgrætɪtu:d]
n. 谢意; 感激，感谢; 感激的样子; 恩义;
[例句]I wish to express my gratitude to Kathy Davis for her immense practical help.
凯茜·戴维斯实实在在地帮了大忙，我想对她表示感谢。
Congratulations Class of 2015.

结语：
这一篇演讲的作者走的路线跟任何人都不一样，他并不会跟我们讲人生多么充满可能性，他的演讲可以被称为是毒舌。
他在演讲刚开始的扯闲篇的时候讲到：
I especially like all the Commencement addresses telling graduates how important it is to fail. These started a few years ago with a Steve Jobs address at Stanford built around the message. Well, failure is wonderful if you’re Steve Jobs. For most people, failure just stinks. Don’t fail.
我特别喜欢所有的毕业演讲都告诉大家失败是多么重要的一件事。这从一个叫乔布斯的家伙在斯坦福大家的演讲开始的。但是，如果你是乔布斯，那失败很棒。对于大部分人来说，失败糟糕极了，所以别失败。
我们再来体会一下作者的毒舌风格，虽然听完一身冷汗，但是还有一种贱贱的想要再读一遍的感觉对不对。那我们就再读一遍。。。。。
Well, failure is wonderful if you’re Steve Jobs. For most people, failure just stinks. Don’t fail.
如果你是乔布斯，失败很棒，可对于大部分人来说，失败糟糕偷了，所以别失败。
啊。。。。。。
有没有让你想起前段时间网络上比较火的负能量段子呢？
又一天过去了，今天过得怎么样，是不是离梦想更远了?
这个作者的这篇演讲如果让大家用一个词来形容，那就是“酸爽”，还记得“酸爽”霞姐教过用英语怎么说吗？“bitter but refreshing”！

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