伯南克2013年普林斯頓畢業演講

4. Who is worthy of admiration? The admonition from Luke--which is shared by most ethical and philosophical traditions, by the way--helps with this question as well. Those most worthy of admiration are those who have made the best use of their advantages or, alternatively, coped most courageously with their adversities. I think most of us would agree that people who have, say, little formal schooling but labor honestly and diligently to help feed, clothe, and educate their families are deserving of greater respect--and help, if necessary--than many people who are superficially more successful. They're more fun to have a beer with, too. That's all that I know about sociology.

4、誰值得尊重？是那些充分利用其優勢，或勇敢面對逆境的人。我想我們會認同，那些雖然接受的正式教育不多，但誠實勞動、勤勉的為家人提供衣食和教育的人，相比更多表面上很成功的人，更值得尊重，和他們喝兩杯是更有趣的事情。

5. Since I have covered what I know about sociology, I might as well say something about political science as well. In regard to politics, I have always liked Lily Tomlin's line, in paraphrase: "I try to be cynical, but I just can't keep up." We all feel that way sometime. Actually, having been in Washington now for almost 11 years, as I mentioned, I feel that way quite a bit. Ultimately, though, cynicism is a poor substitute for critical thought and constructive action. Sure, interests and money and ideology all matter, as you learned in political science. But my experience is that most of our politicians and policymakers are trying to do the right thing, according to their own views and consciences, most of the time. If you think that the bad or indifferent results that too often come out of Washington are due to base motives and bad intentions, you are giving politicians and policymakers way too much credit for being effective. Honest error in the face of complex and possibly intractable problems is a far more important source of bad results than are bad motives. For these reasons, the greatest forces in Washington are ideas, and people prepared to act on those ideas. Public service isn't easy. But, in the end, if you are inclined in that direction, it is a worthy and challenging pursuit.

5、 提到政治，憤世嫉俗是批判性思考和建設性行動的更糟糕的替代品。當然，利益、金錢和意識形態都有影響力，如你在政治課上所學。但我的感受是大部分政界人士 都在尋求做正確的事情，大部分時候，這由他們的觀點和意識決定。在復雜及難于處理的問題上所犯的誠實錯誤，更是糟糕結果的主要原因，而非不良動機。因此， 華盛頓最有影響的力量是觀念和想法，人們基于這些觀念去行動。公共服務并不輕松，如果你選擇了這一道路，那是值得的，并頗具挑戰性。

6. Having taken a stab at sociology and political science, let me wrap up economics while I'm at it. Economics is a highly sophisticated field of thought that is superb at explaining to policymakers precisely why the choices they made in the past were wrong. About the future, not so much. However, careful economic analysis does have one important benefit, which is that it can help kill ideas that are completely logically inconsistent or wildly at variance with the data. This insight covers at least 90 percent of proposed economic policies.

6、經濟學是頗具詭辯性的思維領域，她在解釋決策者以往所犯錯誤方面顯得很崇高，但在預測未來時，則不僅如此。然而，謹慎的經濟分析確有重要益處，她能去除那些不合邏輯或與數據不符的想法，這對90%的經濟政策建議有影響。

7. I'm not going to tell you that money doesn't matter, because you wouldn't believe me anyway. In fact, for too many people around the world, money is literally a life-or-death proposition. But if you are part of the lucky minority with the ability to choose, remember that money is a means, not an end. A career decision based only on money and not on love of the work or a desire to make a difference is a recipe for unhappiness.

7、我不會告訴你們金錢無用，反正你們也不會聽的。事實上，對全球很多人來說，金錢能夠決定生存還是死亡。但如果你屬于那些幸運得有能力進行抉擇的少數人，請記住，金錢只是途徑，而非最終目標。職業選擇基于收入、而非熱愛，或做出貢獻的熱情，是日后苦惱的根源。

8. Nobody likes to fail but failure is an essential part of life and of learning. If your uniform isn't dirty, you haven't been in the game.

8、沒有人希望失敗，但失敗是生活和學習的一部分。如果你衣衫整齊，你并沒有進入比賽。

9. I spoke earlier about definitions of personal success in an unpredictable world. I hope that as you develop your own definition of success, you will be able to do so, if you wish, with a close companion on your journey. In making that choice, remember that physical beauty is evolution's way of assuring us that the other person doesn't have too many intestinal parasites. Don't get me wrong, I am all for beauty, romance, and sexual attraction--where would Hollywood and Madison Avenue be without them? But while important, those are not the only things to look for in a partner. The two of you will have a long trip together, I hope, and you will need each other's support and sympathy more times than you can count. Speaking as somebody who has been happily married for 35 years, I can't imagine any choice more consequential for a lifelong journey than the choice of a traveling companion.

9、 我希望你們能夠發展自身對成功的定義，在這一過程中，你們能夠選擇一位親密的伴侶。在做出選擇時，要記住外表美只是人類演變的一種方式，它使我們確信對方 沒有腸道寄生蟲。不要誤解我，我也為美麗、浪漫和性所吸引，不然美國影視業和廣告業怎么生存下去呢？但盡管重要，這些不是尋找人生伴侶時唯一需要考慮的事 情。你們將共同走過人生旅程，需要對方的支持和關愛。作為已婚35年的人士，我想象不到比選擇人生伴侶更重要的事情。

10. Call your mom and dad once in a while. A time will come when you will want your own grown-up, busy, hyper-successful children to call you. Also, remember who paid your tuition to Princeton.

Those are my ten suggestions. They're probably worth exactly what you paid for them. But they come from someone who shares your affection for this great institution and who wishes you the best for the future.

Congratulations, graduates. Give 'em hell.

10、時不時的給父母去個電話。早晚有一天，你希望自己長大成人的、工作繁忙的、超級成功的孩子給你來個電話，再者，請記著誰供養你上的大學。

以上就是我的十點建議。這些建議可能只是給了你們一些有用的提示，但它們來自于一個跟你們一樣對這所學校充滿感情并希望你們未來一切順利的人。

最后，畢業生們，給他們點顏色看看。

（來源：滬江英語，編輯 Helen）