汤姆-汉克斯在耶鲁大学毕业典礼上的演讲

 　　Tom Hanks, Academy Award-winning actor, writer and director, addresses the Yale College Class of 2011 during the traditional Class Day speech and offers the graduates insight and encouragement.

　　NEW HAVEN¹ ——

　　Minutes before Yale's Class Day began, a tour guide stood on the stone fence outside Old Campus, shouting facts about the university's history as a mass of parents and well-wishers rushed past, seeking their own historic moments — and maybe a peek² at Tom Hanks.

　　The two-time Academy Award winner spoke³ before an audience of 16,000, including 1,300 soon-to-be-graduating seniors wearing somber⁴ robes and hats that made Kentucky Derby toppers seem staid in comparison.

　　Students wore, among every other conceivable thing that could be fastened to a head, Viking helmets, trapper caps, sparkling cowboy hats, a toilet seat and roll of toilet paper, a sign reading "Thanks Mom + Dad," and a proper-looking pink hat with a mass of naked Barbie dolls wired to it.

　　The tall blonde senior beneath it said that the Barbie hat was a tribute to her secret society, the Pundits⁵. The group, famous for throwing naked parties, had recently gotten into hot water with the university for, quite predictably, throwing a naked party.

　　"It's like a royal wedding busted⁶ out," said Hanks (wearing a Yale baseball cap), as he advised graduates not to turn off their electronic devices, telling them that later they could "compare your tweets and Facebook comments to see if anything memorable⁷ went down," or post a video mix-up on YouTube.

　　"If it goes viral, you will be as popular as that cat playing with the paper bag," he said, earning laughs.

　　Hanks' speech was not short on jokes, but the main themes he returned to were serious — the difficulties, duties and responsibilities that the students would face following graduation.

　　"The future now rests with you, in your goofy hats, all because you went to Yale," said Hanks. "You are the anointed."

　　He warned students about technology's distractions⁸ and the distinctly dark implications of the fact that everyone could, and many did, record anything and post it online.

　　"There is a Big Brother," said Hanks. "He is all of us and he lives in our search engines."

1 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

2 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

5 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

6 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

7 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

8 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》