體貼別人要難多了 It’s Harder to Be Kind
On one particular trip, I was about 10 years old. I was rolling around in the big bench seat in the back of the car; my grandfather was driving; and my grandmother had the passenger seat. She smoked throughout thesetrips, and I hated the smell.
有一次旅行時，我大約10 歲。我爺爺在開車，我奶奶坐在乘客座，而我就在車子後面的長座椅上滾來滾去。我奶奶一路上都會抽菸，但我討厭菸味。
At that age, I’d take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic. I’d been hearing an ad campaign about smoking. I can’t remember the details, but basically the ad said, every 1 puff of a cigarette takes some number of minutes off of your life. At any rate, I decided to do the math for my grandmother.
When I was satisfied that I’d come up with a reasonable number, I 2 poked my head into the front of the car, tapped my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed, “At two minutes per puff, you’ve taken nine years off your life!”
在那個年紀，我會找任何機會做估算和一些簡單的算術。我當時聽到關於抽菸的宣傳廣告。我不記得細節了，但那個廣告基本上是在說，每抽一口菸，就會奪走你幾分鐘的生命。反正我當時決定要幫奶奶計算一下。等我覺得自己已經算出一個合理的數字時，我把頭探進前座，拍了拍奶奶的肩膀，驕傲地宣布我的計算結果：「一口菸2分鐘，妳會少活9年！」
I expected to be 3 applauded for my cleverness and arithmetic skills. Instead, my grandmother burst into tears. My grandfather, who had been driving in silence, pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway.
He looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, “Jeff, one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever.”
我期待聽到他們誇讚我有多聰明，算術能力有多強，不料，奶奶突然哭起來。一直默默開車的爺爺，將車子停在高速公路的路肩上。爺爺看著我，沉默了一會兒後，他溫和平靜地說：「傑夫，有一天你會明白，比起表現得聰明伶俐，對人體貼要難多了。」
選擇有時並不容易 Choices Can Be Hard
What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices. Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy—they’re given, after all. Choices can be hard. You can 4 seduce yourself with your gifts if you’re not careful, and if you do, it’ll probably be to the detriment of your choices.
我今天想告訴你們的是，天賦和選擇的不同之處。聰明伶俐是天賦，對人體貼是選擇。天賦很簡單，畢竟那是天生就有的。選擇有時是很難做的。假如你不注意的話，就會隨著天賦的引誘而誤入歧途，若是如此，可能會危害到你的選擇。
This is a group with many gifts. I’m sure one of your gifts is the gift of a smart and capable brain. Your smarts will come in handy because you will travel in a land of marvels. We humans will 5 astonish ourselves. We’ll invent ways to 6 generate clean energy and a lot of it.
Atom by atom, we’ll assemble tiny machines that will enter cell walls and make repairs. I believe you’ll even see us understand the human brain. As a civilization, we will have so many gifts, just as you as individuals have so many individual gifts as you sit before me. How will you use these gifts? And will you take pride in your gifts or pride in your choices?
你們是一群富有許多天賦的人。我相信擁有精明能幹的頭腦一定是你們的天賦之一。你們的聰明才智一定會派上用場，因為你們會遊走在一個充滿奇蹟的世界，連我們人類自己都將為之震驚。我們會發明大量生產乾淨能源的方法，用一個個原子組成微型機器，穿過細胞壁進行修復。我相信你們甚至可以看到我們解開人類大腦的密碼。在文明世界中，我們將擁有如此多的優勢，就如同在座的你們各自擁有許多天賦。你們要如何運用這些天賦？你們會為自己的天賦還是為自己的選擇感到自豪？
你會做什麼選擇？ What Choices Will You Make?
Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life—the life you author from scratch on your own—begins.
明天，說真的，你的人生——一個從頭開始，由你自己作主的人生——就此展開。
How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?
Will 7 inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?
Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?
Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?
Will you 8 wilt under criticism, or will you follow your 9 convictions?
Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?
When it’s tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?
Will you be a 10cynic, or will you be a builder?
Will you be clever at the expense of others, orwill you be kind?
你要如何運用你的天賦，你會做什麼選擇？
你要因循怠惰，還是要追隨你的熱情？
你要墨守成規，還是要創新？
你要選擇安逸的人生，還是要奉獻和冒險的人生？
你會因為受到批評而退縮，還是要堅守自己的信念？
你會因為怕被拒絕而不表白，還是不顧一切墜入愛河？
當處境艱難時，你會放棄，還是堅持不懈？
你要當一個憤世嫉俗的人，或是一個有作為的人？
你要將自己的精明建立在他人的痛苦上，或是對人體貼？
I will 11hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection
12narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most 13 compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story.
我要大膽做個預測。當你們80 歲的時候，在某個靜下來反思的時刻，想對自己訴說一個最貼近自己的人生故事，而且是最精簡、也最有意義的版本，那就是你所做的一連串選擇。最終，我們的選擇，將決定我們成為什麼樣的人。為你自己打造一個精彩的人生故事。
VOCABULARY
1 puff (n.)（ 抽）一口菸
The boy took a puff of the cigarette and started coughing.
2 poke (v.) 伸出，探出
The mole poked its head out of the hole and sniffed the air.
3 applaud (v.) 鼓掌，喝采
The audience applauded at the end of the play.
4 seduce (v.) 吸引，引誘
The audience was seduced by the singer’s beautiful voice.
5 astonish (v.) 使驚訝、驚嘆
The magician astonished the audience with his tricks.
6 generate (v.) 產生（光、熱、電）
Waves can be used to generate power.
7 inertia (n.) 慣性
Martha finally overcame her inertia and went back to school.
8 wilt (v.) 退縮，失去信心
We need somebody who won’t wilt under pressure.
9 conviction (n.) 信念
What are your religious convictions?
10 cynic (n.) 憤世嫉俗的人
Jeffrey is too much of a cynic to believe in love.
11 hazard (v.) 大膽提出
If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say she’s around 40.
12 narrate (v.) 敘述，做旁白
The series is narrated by a famous actor.
13 compact (a.) 簡潔的，精簡的，小型的
The book provides a compact introduction to Hawaiian history.
