布什总统在耶鲁大学毕业典礼上的演讲

一直对布什总统了解甚少,只是随大流地认为由于他缺乏水准没能把美利坚共和国治理好,直到偶然读到他在耶鲁大学毕业典礼上的演讲。从这篇演讲中至少得出这样一些结论: 1.   布什总统有他自己的幽默方式。这是一种自嘲式的幽默,不惜把自己往死里贬上一通。他坦然地将自己归入C类学生,在赞扬那些获得各种奖励的优秀学生的同时,毫不掩饰地说,C等生也能成功,可以成为美国总统。最为幽默的是,他说,他对从耶鲁中途辍学的CHENNY说,耶鲁大学的学位很值钱,如果你毕业了,你就可以当总统,如果你辍学了,你只能当副总统。
A Yale degree is worth a lot, as I often remind Dick Cheney -- (laughter) -- who studied here, but left a little early. So now we know -- if you graduate from Yale, you become President. If you drop out, you get to be Vice President.

在毕业典礼现场有他当年的同窗、耶鲁大学某学院院长Brodhead。布什总统说,当时他俩常泡图书馆,因为那里有很舒适的沙发。他们俩还有个君子协定,Brodhead不大声朗读,他不打呼噜。
We both put a lot of time in at the Sterling Library, in the reading room, where they have those big leather couches. (Laughter.) We had a mutual understanding -- Dick wouldn't read aloud, and I wouldn't snore. (Laughter.)
整个演讲妙语连珠,耶鲁学子没有因为他的自嘲而看低了他,反而报以阵阵热烈的掌声。
2.   布什总统有他自己的语言风格。这是一种不装腔作势的风格,语句简短,用词平实,但出人意料。他向所有的家长表示祝贺,说,这对你们来说是重要的一天,对你们的钱包来说也是重要的一天。
I congratulate all the parents who are here. It's a glorious day when your child graduates from college. It's a great day for you; it's a great day for your wallet. (Laughter.)
他说,做学生时,他努力保持低调,而且做到了,因为去年纽约时报采访曾经教过他的教授John Morton Blum,教授搜肠刮肚根本想不起有布什这么个学生。
As a student, I tried to keep a low profile. It worked. Last year the New York Times interviewed John Morton Blum because the record showed I had taken one of his courses. Casting his mind's eye over the parade of young faces down through the years, Professor Blum said, and I quote, "I don't have the foggiest recollection of him." (Laughter.)
3.   布什总统有他自己待人接物的态度。这是一种谦虚、宽容和超然的态度。尽管BLUM 教授曾在媒体上说对布什这个学生毫无映象,布什还是说,他能回忆起BLUM教授如何献身于教育事业和他治学如何严谨,由此向所有耶鲁的教师表示感谢。
But I remember Professor Blum. And I still recall his dedication and high standards of learning. In my time there were many great professors at Yale. And there still are. They're the ones who keep Yale going after the commencements, after we have all gone our separate ways. I'm not sure I remembered to thank them the last time I was here, but now that I have a second chance, I thank the professors of Yale University.
我曾经想过,媒体对布什总统的各种能力没少嘲弄,对这些嘲弄他是如何反应的呢?他是否会视之为侮辱而气恼呢?显然他知道媒体对他语言能力的嘲笑,但他却能在毕业典礼这样的场合把这些嘲弄化为幽默。他说,他在耶鲁学了英语,还修了一门与演讲术有关的课程,所以他要将他对于语言的掌握归功于耶鲁;媒体评论他所犯的语言过失,他说,那不是什么过失,因为他曾经在耶鲁学过十五世纪日本韵律严格的诗歌,那是他用完美的古典格律和韵律在说话呢。
I did take English here, and I took a class called "The History and Practice of American Oratory," taught by Rollin G. Osterweis. (Applause.) And, President Levin, I want to give credit where credit is due. I want the entire world to know this -- everything I know about the spoken word, I learned right here at Yale. (Laughter.)
For example, I took a class that studied Japanese Haiku. Haiku, for the uninitiated, is a 15th century form of poetry, each poem having 17 syllables. Haiku is fully understood only by the Zen masters. As I recall, one of my academic advisers was worried about my selection of such a specialized course. He said I should focus on English. (Laughter.) I still hear that quite often. (Laughter.) But my critics don't realize I don't make verbal gaffes. I'm speaking in the perfect forms and rhythms of ancient Haiku. (Applause.)
4.   布什总统的演讲风格独特。那是一种完全属于他个人的风格,是一种面对面谈话式的风格。他谈的大多数是他自己,而不是千篇一律千人一面的套话空话大话,让人听了也白听,不听绝不会感觉遗憾。尽管他最后也有一些励志的语言,但是听了让人感觉亲切,因为它们不复杂不神秘,简单易懂。
In my time, they spoke of the "Yale man." I was really never sure what that was. But I do think that I'm a better man because of Yale. All universities, at their best, teach that degrees and honors are far from the full measure of life. Nor is that measure taken in wealth or in titles. What matters most are the standards you live by, the consideration you show others, and the way you use the gifts you are given.
We begin to understand that life is ours to live, but not to waste, and that the greatest rewards are found in the commitments we make with our whole hearts -- to the people we love and to the causes that earn our sacrifice. I hope that each of you will know these rewards. I hope you will find them in your own way and your own time.
总之,我很喜欢这篇演讲词,不知为何找回了一些多年前刚开始学习英语时那种对美国社会价值观的好感,感觉布什总统在一定程度上代表了充满生命力的美国牛仔精神。
这篇演讲词值得一读。
Remarks by the President in Commencement Address Yale University New Haven, Connecticut

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/05/20010521-2.html
THE PRESIDENT: President Levin, thank you very much. Dean Brodhead, fellows of the Yale Corporation, fellow Yale parents, families, and graduates: It's a special privilege to receive this honorary degree. I was proud 33 years ago to receive my first Yale degree. I'm even prouder that in your eyes I've earned this one.
I congratulate my fellow honorees. I'm pleased to share this honor with such a distinguished group. I'm particularly pleased to be here with my friend, the former of Mexico. Senor Presidente, usted es un verdadero lider, y un gran amigo. (Applause.)
I congratulate all the parents who are here. It's a glorious day when your child graduates from college. It's a great day for you; it's a great day for your wallet. (Laughter.)
Most important, congratulations to the class of 2001. (Applause.) To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say, well done. And to the C students -- (applause) -- I say, you, too, can be President of the United States. (Laughter and applause.) A Yale degree is worth a lot, as I often remind Dick Cheney -- (laughter) -- who studied here, but left a little early. So now we know -- if you graduate from Yale, you become President. If you drop out, you get to be Vice President. (Laughter.)
I appreciate so very much the chance to say a few words on this occasion. I know Yale has a tradition of having no commencement speaker. I also know that you've carved out a single exception. Most people think that to speak at Yale's commencement, you have to be President. But over the years, the specifications have become far more demanding. Now you have to be a Yale graduate, you have to be President, and you have had to have lost the Yale vote to Ralph Nader. (Applause.)
This is my first time back here in quite a while. I'm sure that each of you will make your own journey back at least a few times in your life. If you're like me, you won't remember everything you did here. (Laughter.) That can be a good thing. (Laughter.) But there will be some people, and some moments, you will never forget.
Take, for example, my old classmate, Dick Brodhead, the accomplished dean of this great university. (Applause.) I remember him as a young scholar, a bright lad -- (laughter) -- a hard worker. We both put a lot of time in at the Sterling Library, in the reading room, where they have those big leather couches. (Laughter.) We had a mutual understanding -- Dick wouldn't read aloud, and I wouldn't snore. (Laughter.)
Our course selections were different, as we followed our own path to academic discovery. Dick was an English major, and loved the classics. I loved history, and pursued a diversified course of study. I like to think of it as the academic road less traveled. (Laughter.)
For example, I took a class that studied Japanese Haiku. Haiku, for the uninitiated, is a 15th century form of poetry, each poem having 17 syllables. Haiku is fully understood only by the Zen masters. As I recall, one of my academic advisers was worried about my selection of such a specialized course. He said I should focus on English. (Laughter.) I still hear that quite often. (Laughter.) But my critics don't realize I don't make verbal gaffes. I'm speaking in the perfect forms and rhythms of ancient Haiku. (Applause.)
I did take English here, and I took a class called "The History and Practice of American Oratory," taught by Rollin G. Osterweis. (Applause.) And, President Levin, I want to give credit where credit is due. I want the entire world to know this -- everything I know about the spoken word, I learned right here at Yale. (Laughter.)
As a student, I tried to keep a low profile. It worked. Last year the New York Times interviewed John Morton Blum because the record showed I had taken one of his courses. Casting his mind's eye over the parade of young faces down through the years, Professor Blum said, and I quote, "I don't have the foggiest recollection of him." (Laughter.)
But I remember Professor Blum. And I still recall his dedication and high standards of learning. In my time there were many great professors at Yale. And there still are. They're the ones who keep Yale going after the commencements, after we have all gone our separate ways. I'm not sure I remembered to thank them the last time I was here, but now that I have a second chance, I thank the professors of Yale University. (Applause.)
That's how I've come to feel about the Yale experience -- grateful. I studied hard, I played hard, and I made a lot of lifelong friends. What stays with you from college is the part of your education you hardly ever notice at the time. It's the expectations and examples around you, the ideals you believe in, and the friends you make.
In my time, they spoke of the "Yale man." I was really never sure what that was. But I do think that I'm a better man because of Yale. All universities, at their best, teach that degrees and honors are far from the full measure of life. Nor is that measure taken in wealth or in titles. What matters most are the standards you live by, the consideration you show others, and the way you use the gifts you are given.
Now you leave Yale behind, carrying the written proof of your success here, at a college older than America. When I left here, I didn't have much in the way of a life plan. I knew some people who thought they did. But it turned out that we were all in for ups and downs, most of them unexpected. Life takes its own turns, makes its own demands, writes its own story. And along the way, we start to realize we are not the author.
We begin to understand that life is ours to live, but not to waste, and that the greatest rewards are found in the commitments we make with our whole hearts -- to the people we love and to the causes that earn our sacrifice. I hope that each of you will know these rewards. I hope you will find them in your own way and your own time.
For some, that might mean some time in public service. And if you hear that calling, I hope you answer. Each of you has unique gifts and you were given them for a reason. Use them and share them. Public service is one way -- an honorable way -- to mark your life with meaning.
Today I visit not only my alma mater, but the city of my birth. My life began just a few blocks from here, but I was raised in West Texas. From there, Yale always seemed a world away, maybe a part of my future. Now it's part of my past, and Yale for me is a source of great pride.
I hope that there will come a time for you to return to Yale to say that, and feel as I do today. And I hope you won't wait as long. Congratulations and God bless. (Applause.)