名校励志英语演讲 17:失败的额外收益和想象力的重要性

 　　You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person's idea of success, so high have you already flown.

　　你们对失败的恐惧很可能与你们对成功的渴望一样强烈。实际上，你们眼中的失败可能在常人看来就是成功，毕竟你们在学业上已经相当成功了。

　　Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria¹ if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere² seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic³ scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded⁵, and I was jobless, a lone⁶ parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

　　最终，我们所有人都必须自己判断什么事失败，但是如果你乐意的话，这个世界是非常渴望给你一套标准的。因此根据任何传统的标准都可以说，我在毕业后短短七年里经历了惨痛的失败：短暂的婚姻闪电般破裂，失业，成为单身母亲。在现代化的英国，我变得极度贫困，只是还没有到无家可归的地步。父母和我自己对未来的担忧，当年都变成了现实。无论按什么标准，当时我都是我所知道是最失败的人。

　　Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea then how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

　　现在，我不打算站在这里告诉你们失败是有趣的。那段日子是我生命中的黑暗岁月，我不知道我会写出被新闻界成为“童话故事的革命”的作品。我也不知道自己还要在黑暗中走多久，不知道还要过多久才能看到希望的光芒而不是现实的黑暗。

　　conception

　　n. 概念

　　eg. This conception has been rigidified.

　　这种观念已被僵化。

　　constitute

　　vt. 构成

　　eg. Listening, speaking, reading, then writing constitute the fundamental order in language learning.

　　听、说、读、写是学习语言的根本顺序。

　　criteria

　　n. 标准（criterion 的复数）

　　eg. The criteria will be different from those that pertain⁷ elsewhere. 这里的标准将不同于其他地方适用的标准。

　　conventional

　　adj. 传统的

　　eg. The conventional practice flourishes in the United States.

　　这种常规做法在美国很盛行。

　　epic

　　adj. 规模的大的，有重大历史意义的

　　eg. Having created this bond with the audience and taken them on an epic journey, he turned in on himself.

　　此前他与观众互动，并将他们领进了一段史诗般的旅程，而现在他开始转入自己的内心。

　　implode⁴

　　vi. 内爆

　　eg. As the traditional journalism⁸ business continues to implode, the almost-journalists will come to play an increasingly important role in the media ecosystem⁹.

　　随着传统的新闻业务不断地内爆，这些准新闻记者将会在媒体生态环境中扮演越来越重要的角色。

　　resolution

　　n. 决心；决定

　　eg. We subscribe¹⁰ to the resolution.

　　我们赞同这项决议。

　　tunnel

　　n. 隧道

　　eg. A tunnel was to be blasted through the mountains.

　　一条隧道要被炸开，穿山而过。

1 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

4 implode   

v.内爆，剧减

参考例句：

• The engine imploded.发动机内爆了。
• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding.他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。

5 imploded   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The economies of Brazil and Russia imploded in 1998. 巴西与俄罗斯的经济在1998年宣告破裂。 来自互联网
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

6 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

7 pertain   

v.(to)附属，从属；关于；有关；适合，相称

参考例句：

• His remark did not pertain to the question.他的话同这个问题不相干。
• It does not pertain to you to instruct him.你不适合教训他。

8 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

9 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

10 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。