聽力課堂TED音頻欄目主要包括TED演講的音頻MP3及中英雙語文稿,供各位英語愛好者學習使用。本文主要內(nèi)容為演講MP3+雙語文稿:為什么要聆聽那些與你意見不同的人?,希望你會喜歡!
【演講人】ZacharyR. Wood
【演講主題】為什么要聆聽那些與你意見不同的人?
【演講文稿-中英文】
翻譯者Thomas Tam 校對:Psjmzmz
00:06
1994年,查爾斯?默里與理查德?赫恩斯坦合著了《鐘形曲線》,一本非常具有爭議性的書,書中聲稱,平均來說,有些種族比其他種族更聰明,更容易取得成功。默里和赫恩斯坦也提出,缺乏批判性的智慧,是貧窮的非裔美國人社區(qū)中的暴力犯罪頻繁發(fā)生的根源。他們并不是唯一持有這種想法的人。
In 1994, Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein coauthored "The Bell Curve," an extremely controversial book which claims that on average, some races are smarter and more likely to succeed than others. Murray and Herrnstein also suggest that a lackof critical intelligence explains the prominence of violent crime in poorAfrican-American communities. But Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein are not the only people who think this.
00:35
2012年,身兼作家、記者和政治評論員的約翰?德比希爾,寫了一篇原本面向非黑人族群的文章,而如今,該文章也成為黑人父母建議孩子們?nèi)绾伪WC自身安全的忠告。在文章中,他提出了如下建議:“不要參加可能會吸引很多黑人的活動”,“遠離有大量黑人的社區(qū)”,和“別太樂善好施,主動幫助困境中的黑人”。而在2016 年,我邀請了約翰?德比希爾,還有查爾斯?默里來我的學校演講,他們完全清楚,我會提供他們一個平臺和關(guān)注度,去表達他們那些令我鄙視和排斥的想法。這只是令人不舒服的人生成長之旅的一個新篇章。
In 2012, a writer, journalist andpolitical commentator named John Derbyshire wrote an article that was supposedto be a non-black version of the talk that many black parents feel they have togive their kids today: advice on how to stay safe. In it, he offeredsuggestions such as: "Do not attend events likely to draw a lot of blacks,""Stay out of heavily black neighborhoods" and "Do not act theGood Samaritan to blacks in distress." And yet, in 2016, I invited
01:29
我10歲時,母親被診斷患有精神分裂癥,一種以情緒波動和偏執(zhí)妄想為特征的精神疾病。在我的整個生活中,母親的憤怒會讓我們的小房子變成一個雷區(qū)。盡管我每天都在恐懼她的憤怒,但也從她那里學到了很多東西。我們的關(guān)系既復(fù)雜又富挑戰(zhàn)性,在14歲時,我決定離開她獨自生活。但這些年來,我變得開始感激母親給予我的關(guān)于人生的教訓。她是第一個教我從對立方那里學習的人。和我一樣,她出生并長大在一個自由的民主黨家庭之中。她鼓勵我去認識到世界是復(fù)雜的,充滿爭議和不斷變化的
When I was 10 years old, my mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mental illness characterized by mood swings and paranoid delusions. Throughout mylife, my mother's rage would turn our small house into a minefield. Yet, thoughI feared her rage on a daily basis, I also learned so much from her. Ourrelationship was complicated and challenging, and at the age of 14, it was decidedthat I needed to live apart from her. But over the years, I've come toappreciate some of the important lessons my mother taught me about life. Shewas the first person who spoke to me about learning from the other side. Andshe, like me, was born and raised in a family of committed liberal democrats.Yet, she encouraged me to see the world and the issues our world faces ascomplex, controversial and ever-changing.
02:32
有一天,我在一本書中看到了“平權(quán)運動”一詞。當我問她是什么意思時,她居然花了一小時做出了一個徹底的,深思熟慮的解釋,而且對一個小孩來說并不難理解。她甚至讓這個話題聽起來很有趣,不亞于學校教授的講解。她解釋了持有不同政治觀點的人們挑戰(zhàn)和支持平權(quán)運動的各種原因,她強調(diào)自己強烈支持平權(quán)運動,意識到這個具有爭議的問題對我來說是很重要的,它有著悠久的歷史,充滿疑點未來,和一系列復(fù)雜的因素。平權(quán)運動可以增加少數(shù)族裔在精英教育機構(gòu)學習的機會,也可能不利于來自富裕家庭的那些努力學習的不同族裔的人。媽媽想讓我明白絕不該簡單忽視不喜歡或不贊同的意見,因為站在別人的角度,總能學到新的東西,盡管很難做到這一點。
Oneday, I came across the phrase "affirmative action" in a book I wasreading. And when I asked her what the term meant, she spent what felt like anhour giving me a thorough and thoughtful explanation that would make sense to asmall child. She even made the topic sound at least as interesting as any of myprofessors have. She explained the many reasons why people of various politicalviews challenge and support affirmative action, stressing that, while shestrongly supported it herself, it was important for me to view the issue as acontroversial one with a long history, a questionable future and a host ofcomplicating factors. While affirmative action can increase the presence ofminorities at elite educational institutions, she felt that it could also disadvantagehardworking people of different races from more affluent backgrounds. My momwanted me to understand that I should never just write off opinions that Idisagreed with or disliked, because there was always something to learn fromthe perspectives of others, even when doing so might be difficult.
03:46
單與媽媽在家的生活并不是我人生旅途中的唯一塑造性的,讓我感到不適的方面。四年級時,她決定要我上私立學校,以盡可能接受更好的教育。作為就讀于以白人為主的私立學校中的黑人學生,我遇到了帶有種族偏見的態(tài)度和行為。學校里幾位朋友的父母在見到我?guī)追昼娭缶驼J定我最好的本領(lǐng)只是打籃球。讓我不安的是,種族偏見使他們很難把我看作是一個喜愛閱讀,寫作和演講的學生。像這樣的經(jīng)歷,激勵著我孜孜不倦地工作,來反駁對我錯誤的假設(shè)。母親甚至說,如果想要給人留下良好的印象,我必須耐心,警惕,而且要異常的彬彬有禮。為了證明我的能力,我必須表現(xiàn)出平和與自信,有較強的表達能力,并善于傾聽。只有到那時,我的同齡人才會看到我與他們并沒有分別。
Butlife at home with my mom was not the only aspect of my journey that has beenformative and uncomfortable. In fourth grade, she decided that I should attenda private school in order to receive the best education possible. As a blackstudent attending predominantly white private schools, I've encounteredattitudes and behaviors that reflected racial stereotypes. Several of myfriends' parents assumed within minutes of meeting me that my best skill wasplaying basketball. And it really upset me to think that my race made it harderfor them to see me as a student who loved reading, writing and speaking.Experiences like this motivated me to work tirelessly to disprove what I knewpeople had assumed. My mother even said that, in order to put my best footforward, I had to be patient, alert and excruciatingly well-mannered. To provethat I belonged, I had to show poise and confidence, the ability to speak welland listen closely. Only then would my peers see that I deserved to be there asmuch as they did.
04:54
盡管我經(jīng)常感到種族偏見和對環(huán)境的不適應(yīng),但我卻從私立精英學校的其他方面學到了非常有價值的東西。老師鼓勵我開發(fā)內(nèi)在的好奇心,以新的方式挑戰(zhàn)自己,努力探究令我著迷的主題。下一步是大學。我很高興能夠把對待各種想法的動力和興趣帶到更高的層次。我很渴望能與同學,教授和外部發(fā)言人進行熱烈的辯論;傾聽、學習并對自己和其他人有更深入的理解。雖然我有幸遇到了有相同興趣的同學和教授,我渴望參與爭議性課題的渴望卻遭遇了阻力。
Despitethis racial stereotyping and the discomfort I often felt, the learning I gainedfrom other aspects of being at an elite private school were incrediblyvaluable. I was encouraged by my teachers to explore my curiosity, to challengemyself in new ways and to deepen my understanding of subjects that fascinatedme the most. And going to college was the next step. I was excited to take myintellectual drive and interest in the world of ideas to the next level. I waseager to engage in lively debate with peers and professors and with outsidespeakers; to listen, to learn and gain a deeper understanding of myself and ofothers. While I was fortunate to meet peers and professors who were interestedin doing the same thing, my desire to engage with difficult ideas was also metwith resistance.
05:52
為了準備在現(xiàn)實世界中與爭議進行對抗,我加入了一個將有爭議的演講人帶入校園的小組。但很多人強烈的反對這個團體,我遇到了來自學生,教師和校方行政部門方面的巨大阻力。對很多人來說,遇到?jīng)_突時,很難認識到將有爭議的演講者帶進校園,其實是利大于弊。當面對個人攻擊,當校方取消了對演講人的邀請,當我的意圖被周圍的人扭曲,這一切都讓我倍感失望。我明白自己做的事情傷害了很多人的感受。當然,沒有人喜歡被冒犯,我當然也不喜歡聽到有爭議的演講者認為女性主義是一場對男性的戰(zhàn)爭,或者黑人的智商比白人低。我也明白有些人在生活中經(jīng)歷了巨大的創(chuàng)傷。聽到這些冒犯的觀點,就如同重溫曾經(jīng)努力克服的創(chuàng)傷。許多人認為給極具爭議的人提供平臺來發(fā)聲,是弊大于利的,但每次我聽到這樣的提醒,都感到很痛心。
To prepare myself to engage with controversy in the real world, I joined a group that brought controversial speakers to campus. But many people fiercely opposedthis group, and I received significant pushback from students, faculty and myadministration. For many, it was difficult to see how bringing controversialspeakers to campus could be valuable, when they caused harm. And it wasdisappointing to me facing personal attacks, having my administration cancelspeakers and hearing my intentions distorted by those around me. My work alsohurt the feelings of many, and I understood that. Of course, no one likes beingoffended, and I certainly don't like hearing controversial speakers argue thatfeminism has become a war against men or that blacks have lower IQs thanwhites. I also understand that some people have experienced traumaticexperiences in their lives. And for some, listening to offensive views can belike reliving the very traumas that they've worked so hard to overcome. Many argue that by giving these people a platform, you're doing more harm than good, and I'm reminded of this every time I listen to these points of view and feel my stomach turn.
07:17
壓制反對觀點并不會讓意見消失,因為它們背后仍有數(shù)百萬的支持者。為了了解社會向前邁進的潛力,我們需要了解反面的力量。通過參與帶有爭議和冒犯的想法,我相信我們可以找到共同的基礎(chǔ),如果不來自演講者本身,就會來自被他們所吸引或感化的觀眾。通過積極參與,我相信我們彼此間可以達成更好的理解,更深入地了解各自的信仰,并保留解決問題的能力,如果我們彼此間不能坦誠交流,不能耐心地傾聽他人,就沒法做到這一點。
Yet, tuning out opposing view points doesn't make them go away, because millions of people agree with them. In order to understand the potential of society toprogress forward, we need to understand the counterforces. By engaging withcontroversial and offensive ideas, I believe that we can find common ground, ifnot with the speakers themselves, then with the audiences they may attract orindoctrinate. Through engaging, I believe that we may reach a betterunderstanding, a deeper understanding, of our own beliefs and preserve theability to solve problems, which we can't do if we don't talk to each other andmake an effort to be good listeners.
08:04
但在我宣布約翰?德比希爾將在校園發(fā)表演講后不久,社交媒體上就出現(xiàn)了學生們鋪天蓋地的反對之聲。抵制的情緒如此激烈,我們大學的校長不得不取消了這次邀請。我為此深感失望,因為這樣一來,我和我的任何同學都無法做到在未來的工作環(huán)境中讓贊同他的人保持沉默。
But soon after I announced that John Derbyshire would be speaking on campus, student backlash erupted on social media. The tide of resistance, in fact, wasso intense, that my college president rescinded the invitation. I was deeply disappointed by this because, as I saw it, there would be nothing that any of my peers or I could do to silence someone who agreed with him in the office environment of our future employers.
08:30
我在大學校園發(fā)生的事情中看到了憤怒。我非常理解。但我希望告訴人們的是,這種令人不適的體驗是值得的,去聆聽是有意義的,這樣并不會削弱我們的力量,反而會讓我們更強大。當我想到過去那些不愉快的學習經(jīng)歷時,我認真進行了反思,發(fā)現(xiàn)要改變自己身處的知識界存在的偏見,是非常困難的。但我感到還有希望,當我想到跟學生的個人互動時,他們有的支持,有的拿不定主意,還有的表示了反對。我發(fā)現(xiàn),盡管很難去改變整個社區(qū)的價值觀,但個人互動可以讓我們受益匪淺。
Ilook out at what's happening on college campuses, and I see the anger. And Iget it. But what I wish I could tell people is that it's worth the discomfort,it's worth listening, and that we're stronger, not weaker, because of it. WhenI think about my experiences with uncomfortable learning, and I reflect uponthem, I've found that it's been very difficult to change the values of theintellectual community that I've been a part of. But I do feel a sense of hopewhen I think about the individual interactions that I've been able to have withstudents who both support the work that I'm doing and who feel challenged by itand who do not support it. What I've found is that, while it can be difficultto change the values of a community, we can gain a lot from individualinteractions.
09:23
由于校長取消了我的邀請,我無緣與約翰?德比希爾會面,但在查爾斯?默里的演講之前,我可以和他共進晚餐。我知道這個談話會很困難,也沒奢望這個過程會是愉快的。但事實上,談話的氣氛非常熱情友好,我對他的論點也有了更深入的理解。我發(fā)現(xiàn)他和我一樣,想建立一個更加公正的社會。問題是,他理解的正義與我自己的理解非常不同。他看問題的方式,解決不平等問題的方式也與我不同。我發(fā)現(xiàn)他對福利等問題和平權(quán)行動的理解,深深根植并被束縛于他的自由主義和保守的信仰中,什么因素會減少和增加他們在社會中的存在感。雖然他雄辯地表達了自己的觀點,我卻始終不敢茍同。但對此我的確有了更深的了解。
WhileI didn't get to engage with John Derbyshire due to my president'sdisinvitation, I was able to have dinner with Charles Murray before his talk. Iknew the conversation would be difficult. And I didn't expect it to bepleasant. But it was cordial, and I did gain a deeper understanding of hisarguments. I found that he, like me, believed in creating a more just society.The thing is, his understanding of what justice entailed was very differentfrom my own. The way in which he wanted to understand the issue, the way inwhich he wanted to approach the issue of inequality also differed from my own.And I found that his understanding of issues like welfare and affirmativeaction was tied and deeply rooted in his understanding of various libertarianand conservative beliefs, what diminishes and increases their presence in oursociety. While he expressed his viewpoints eloquently, I remained thoroughlyunconvinced. But I did walk away with a deeper understanding.
10:29
這是我的信念,為了在逆境中取得進步,我們需要一個真正的承諾,深入了解人性。我希望可以看到一個有更多領(lǐng)導者能深度了解對立群體的意見的世界。這樣他們就能夠理解所代表的每個人的細微差別。這是一個持續(xù)不斷的學習過程,而我相信,如果繼續(xù)構(gòu)建我的同理心和理解,并投身學習自己所不了解的那些觀點,我就能夠為此貢獻自己的一份力量。
It's my belief that to achieve progress in the face of adversity, we need a genuine commitment to gaining a deeper understanding of humanity. I'd like to see aworld with more leaders who are familiar with the depths of the views of thosethey deeply disagree with, so that they can understand the nuances of everyonethey're representing. I see this as an ongoing process involving constant learning, and I'm confident that I'll be able to add value down the line if I continue building empathy and understanding through engaging with unfamiliar perspectives.
11:08
謝謝
Thank you.
11:09
(掌聲)
(Applause)