偶像勵志英語演講21:失敗的好處和想象的重要性(3)

I know the irony strikes like with the force of a cartoon anvil now, but...

我現(xiàn)在明白了反諷就像用卡通鐵砧去打擊你，但……

So they had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English literature. A compromise was reaced that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents' car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.

他們希望我取得高職學位，而我卻想攻讀英國文學。最后，我和父母達成了妥協(xié)，我改學現(xiàn)代語言，現(xiàn)在回想起來，當時雙方都不怎么滿意。于是，父母的車剛一開遠，我就丟下德語，去學習古典文學。

I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all the subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.

我不記得告訴過父母自己在學習古典文學，他們可能是在我畢業(yè)典禮那一天才知道的。我想，他們也許認為，在全世界的所有專業(yè)中，不會有比研究希臘神話更沒用的專業(yè)了，那甚至無法換來一間獨立寬敞的衛(wèi)生間。

I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibily lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticize my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticized only by fools.

在這里我想說明一點：我不會因為父母的觀點而怪他們。不要因為父母給你的人生路指錯了方向就無休止地埋怨他們。當你到一定年齡，可以自己把握人生時，就應該自己承擔責任。再者，父母這樣做是希望我不會過窮日子，所以我不能責怪他們。他們經(jīng)歷了貧窮，我后來也一度很窮，所以我很理解他們，因為貧窮并不是一種高貴的經(jīng)歷。貧窮會讓人感覺恐懼、有壓力，有時甚至讓人感覺沮喪。貧窮意味著說不盡的羞辱和艱辛?？孔约旱呐[脫貧窮值得自豪，只有傻瓜才會將貧窮浪漫化。

重點講解：

1. in retrospect

回顧;回想;

eg. In retrospect, I wish that I had thought about alternative courses of action.

回想起來，我真希望自己當時考慮過其他做法。

eg. It was a very strange feeling in retrospect — I was frightened, but excited at the same time.

回想起來那是一種非常奇怪的感覺——我當時既害怕又興奮。

2. remember doing sth.

記得做過某事;

eg. I definitely remember sending the letter.

我記得這封信肯定發(fā)出去了。

eg. I remember having heard you speak on that subject.

我記得曾聽你談論過那個題目。

3. when it comes to

談到;涉及;

eg. Most of us know we should cut down on fat. But knowing such things isn't much help when it comes to shopping and eating.

我們大多數(shù)人都知道應該減少脂肪的攝入量。但是在購物和吃東西的時候，這些常識就丟到一邊去了。

eg. However, when it comes down to somebody that they know, they have a different feeling.

然而，涉及他們認識的人，他們的感覺就不同了。

4. in parenthesis

插一句;

eg. In parenthesis, I'd say that there were two aspects to writing you must never lose sight of.

插一句，關于寫作，我認為有兩個方面你絕不能忽視。

5. blame sb./sth. for sth.

因某事歸咎于/責怪/怪罪某人某事;

eg. She blamed him for the failure of their marriage.

她把婚姻的觸礁歸咎於他。

eg. They blamed the rise in oil prices for the big increase in inflation.

他們把通貨膨脹大幅度增長歸咎于石油價格的上漲。

6. what is more

更有甚者;更為重要的是;

eg. She learns quickly, and what's more, she remembers what she has learnt.

她學得很快，而且所學的全都記得。

eg. You should remember it, and what's more, you should get it right.

你應該記住它，更重要的是，應該正確理解它。