MBA英语素材：苹果CEO库克在杜克毕业生上的演讲

        5月13日苹果公司CEO蒂姆·库克(Tim Cook)来到阔别30年的母校--杜克大学，对2018届毕业生发表了一番慷慨激扬的演说，我觉得咱们中国的年轻人听一听，也是很有好处的。

全文如下：

Hello, Blue Devils! It’s great to be back.

你们好，蓝魔们(蓝魔是杜克大学的昵称，源于杜克大学篮球队)，很高兴回到母校。

It’s an honor to stand before you—both as your commencement speaker and a fellow Duke graduate.

很荣幸能够站在大家的面前，你们都是毕业典礼的主角，也是杜克大学最新的毕业生。

I earned my degree from the Fuqua School in 1988. In preparing for this speech, I reached out to one of my favorite professors from back then. Bob Reinheimer taught a great course in Management Communications, which included sharpening your public speaking skills.

我在1988年获得了福库商学院的学位。在准备这次演讲的时候，我与当时最喜欢的一位教授取得了联系。他的名字叫做鲍勃-雷宁海默(Bob Reinheimer)，负责“管理交流”课程的教学，这门课程可以提高你的演讲技巧。

We hadn’t spoken for decades, so I was thrilled when he told me: he remembered a particularly gifted public speaker who took his class in the 1980s with a bright mind and a charming personality! He said he knew—way back then—this person was destined for greatness.

我们已经有几十年没有联系过了，所以当他告诉我可以在母校演讲之后，我很激动。他说他想起了一位在上世纪80年代教过的学生，不仅极具演讲天赋，而且还有聪明的头脑和迷人的个性。他说当时他就知道，这个人注定不平凡。

You can imagine how this made me feel. Professor Reinheimer had an eye for talent. And, if I do say so, I think his instincts were right. Melinda Gates has really made her mark on the world. I’m grateful to Bob, Dean Boulding, and all of my Duke professors. Their teachings have stayed with me throughout my career.

你能想象听到这些赞美后我是什么感觉，雷宁海默对人才一向有着敏锐的嗅觉，如果非要我评价的话，我觉得他的看法都是正确的。梅琳达-盖茨(Melinda Gates，比尔盖茨夫人)之前也来过这里演讲，我很感激鲍勃、迪安-博尔丁(Dean Boulding)和所有教过我的杜克大学教授。在我的职业生涯中，他们的谆谆教导一直陪伴着我。

梅琳达·盖茨和比尔盖茨

I want to thank President Price, the Duke Faculty, and my fellow members of the Board of Trustees for the honor of speaking with you today. I’d also like to recognize this year’s honorary degree recipients. And most of all, congratulations to the class of 2018!

我想感谢普莱斯校长、杜克大学全体教员以及校董事会的同事们，很荣幸今天能在这里与你们汇聚一堂。我还想认识今年的荣誉学位获得者。最重要的，我要祝贺2018届毕业生。

No graduate gets to this moment alone. I want to acknowledge your parents, grandparents and friends here cheering you on, just as they have every step of the way. Let’s give them our thanks.

没有人能只靠自己取得成绩，因此我还要替大家感谢你们的父母、祖父母和为你们加油的朋友，就像他们每天陪伴你们一样，让我们向他们表示感谢。

Today especially, I remember my mother, who watched me graduate from Duke. I wouldn’t have been there that day—or made it here today—without her support. Let’s give our special thanks to all the mothers here today, on Mother’s Day.

今天让我想起了我的母亲，她看着我从杜克大学毕业。如果没有她的支持，我当年不会站在这里，今天更不会站在这里。今天是母亲节，在这里我们要特别感谢所有的母亲。

I have wonderful memories here. Studying—and not studying—with people I still count as friends to this day. Cheering at Cameron for every victory. Cheering even louder when that victory is over Carolina.

杜克大学给我留下了美好的回忆。在这里，我与直到现在还是好友的同学一起学习，享受其他大学生活，在Cameron篮球馆庆祝每一场胜利。当取得北卡罗来纳州胜利时，欢呼声更大。

杜克大学的Cameron篮球馆

Look back over your shoulder fondly and say goodbye to act one of your life. And then quickly look forward. Act two begins today. It’s your turn to reach out and take the baton.

深情地回顾大学时光，和人生的第一幕说再见。然后迅速展望未来，人生的第二幕从今天开始，轮到你们接过接力棒了。

You enter the world at a time of great challenge.

你们活在一个充满挑战的时代与世界。

Our country is deeply divided—and too many Americans refuse to hear any opinion that differs from their own.

我们的国家现在存在严重的分歧，太多的美国人拒绝听取任何与自己不同的意见。

Our planet is warming with devastating consequences—and there are some who deny it’s even happening.

我们的星球正在变暖，未来会有毁灭性的后果，但有人却否认这样的现实。

Our schools and communities suffer from deep inequality—we fail to guarantee every student the right to a good education.

我们的学校和社区都在遭受着严重的不平等待遇，不能保证每个学生都能接受良好的教育。

And yet we are not powerless in the face of these problems. You are not powerless to fix them.

但面对这些问题，我们并非无能为力，可以通过自己的努力去纠正它。

No generation has ever held more power than yours. And no generation has a chance to change things faster than yours can. The pace at which progress is possible has accelerated dramatically. Aided by technology, every individual has the tools, potential, and reach to build a better world.

没有哪一代人比你们拥有更强大的力量，没有哪一代人比你们能够更快的做出改变。我们现在实现目标的速度已经大幅缩短，在科技的帮助下，每个人都可以通过工具、潜能和自己的能力建设一个更美好的世界。

That makes this the best time in history to be alive. Whatever you choose to do with your life, wherever your passion takes you.

这是有史以来最好的时代，无论你选择如何对待自己的生活，也无论你将自己的激情燃烧在哪里。

I urge you to take the power you have been given and use it for good. Aspire to leave this world better than you found it.

我希望大家能好好利用自己的力量，这个世界远远要比你想象得更美好。

I didn’t always see life as clearly as I do now. But I’ve learned the greatest challenge of life is knowing when to break with conventional wisdom.

其实我也并非总是能够清晰的看清自己，但我明白，人生最大的挑战就是拥有知道何时打破传统的智慧与勇气。

Don’t just accept the world you inherit today. Don’t just accept the status quo.

不要只是一昧的接受今天你所生活的世界，不要安于现状。

No big challenge has ever been solved, and no lasting improvement has ever been achieved, unless people dare to try something different. Dare to think different.

没有任何重大挑战得到解决，也没有取得任何持久的改善，除非人们敢于尝试不同的东西。敢于“不同凡想”。

I was lucky to learn from someone who believed this deeply. Someone who knew that changing the world starts with “following a vision, not a path.” He was my friend and mentor, Steve Jobs.

我很幸运，能够从一位坚信这条理念的人那里学习很多东西。他之所以能够改变世界，就是因为他坚信要追随自己的理想，不能循规蹈矩。他就是我的朋友和导师，史蒂夫-乔布斯。