第一篇：比爾·蓋茨哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講(一)

比爾·蓋茨哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講

（一）2007-8-3 8:2

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圖：哈佛大學代理校長Derek Bok（最右邊）介紹畢業(yè)典禮主講人比爾·蓋茨出場，一旁觀看的則是NBA傳奇人物Bill Russell.Bok校長不忘開玩笑的說，“若你在哈佛能多讀完兩年才出去，那成就不就更驚人了？”蓋茨當年讀到大三就退學出去創(chuàng)業(yè)，成立了微軟。

下文是比爾·蓋茨今年6月7日在哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講的翻譯。他在其中談到了很多事情，包括他的學生時代、他的退學經歷、以及他眼中人生最有意義的事情。我覺得內容非常好，完全改變了我對比爾·蓋茨的看法，所以花了兩個晚上翻譯出來，希望讓更多的人看到。

愈后，再把冷凍的卵巢解凍（thawed），移回到她的腹腔（abdomen）。我們發(fā)現(xiàn)這種推測是非常符合生活邏輯的。這說明，我們的推測是正確的，是和本段的意義相符的。

不過場面話交代完畢，蓋茨馬上將話題轉到對抗貧窮與愛滋，這是蓋茨與妻子Melinda通過他們的基金會（Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation）所致力改善的目標之一。

蓋茨向哈佛畢業(yè)生說，各位有責任改善世界不公平之處。“想想你們目前享受到的，大家就能明白世界對各位的期望是什么。”

第二篇：比爾·蓋茨哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講(二)

比爾·蓋茨哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講(二).txt36母愛是一縷陽光，讓你的心靈即便在寒冷的冬天也能感受到溫暖如春；母愛是一泓清泉，讓你的情感即使蒙上歲月的風塵仍然清澈澄凈。比爾·蓋茨哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講

（二）2007-8-3 8:24

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演講正文：

President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates:

尊敬的Bok校長，Rudenstine前校長，即將上任的Faust校長，哈佛集團的各位成員，監(jiān)管理事會的各位理事，各位老師，各位家長，各位同學：

I've been waiting more than 30 years to say this: “Dad, I always told you I'd come back and get my degree.”

有一句話我等了三十年，現(xiàn)在終于可以說了：“老爸，我總是跟你說，我會回來拿到我的學位的！”

I want to thank Harvard for this timely honor.I'll be changing my job next year ? and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.我要感謝哈佛大學在這個時候給我這個榮譽。明年，我就要換工作了（注：指從微軟公司退休）??我終于可以在簡歷上寫我有一個本科學位，這真是不錯啊。

I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees.For my part, I'm just happy that the Crimson has called me “Harvard's most successful dropout.” I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class ? I did the best of everyone who failed.我為今天在座的各位同學感到高興，你們拿到學位可比我簡單多了。哈佛的校報稱我是“哈佛大學歷史上最成功的輟學生”。我想這大概使我有資格代表我這一類學生發(fā)言??在所有的失敗者里，我做得最好。

But I also want to be recognized as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school.I'm a bad influence.That's why I was invited to speak at your graduation.If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.但是，我還要提醒大家，我使得Steve Ballmer（注：微軟總經理）也從哈佛商學院退學了。因此，我是個有著惡劣影響力的人。這就是為什么我被邀請來在你們的畢業(yè)典禮上演講。如果我在你們入學歡迎儀式上演講，那么能夠堅持到今天在這里畢業(yè)的人也許會少得多吧。

Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me.Academic life was fascinating.I used to sit in on lots of classes I hadn't even signed up for.And dorm life was terrific.I lived up at Radcliffe, in Currier House.There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, because everyone knew I didn't worry about getting up in the morning.That's how I came to be the leader of the anti-social group.We clung to each other as a way of validating our rejection of all those social people.對我來說，哈佛的求學經歷是一段非凡的經歷。校園生活很有趣，我常去旁聽我沒選修的課。哈佛的課外生活也很棒，我在Radcliffe過著逍遙自在的日子。每天我的寢室里總有很多人一直待到半夜，討論著各種事情。因為每個人都知道我從不考慮第二天早起。這使得我變成了校園里那些不安分學生的頭頭，我們互相粘在一起，做出一種拒絕所有正常學生的姿態(tài)。

Radcliffe was a great place to live.There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types.That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean.This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn't guarantee success.Radcliffe是個過日子的好地方。那里的女生比男生多，而且大多數(shù)男生都是理工科的。這種狀況為我創(chuàng)造了最好的機會，如果你們明白我的意思。可惜的是，我正是在這里學到了人生中悲傷的一課：機會大，并不等于你就會成功。

One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world's first personal computers.I offered to sell them software.我在哈佛最難忘的回憶之一，發(fā)生在1975年1月。那時，我從宿舍樓里給位于Albuquerque的一家公司打了一個電話，那家公司已經在著手制造世界上第一臺個人電腦。我提出想向他們出售軟件。

I worried that they would realize I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me.Instead they said: “We're not quite ready, come see us in a month,” which was a good thing, because we hadn't written the software yet.From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.我很擔心，他們會發(fā)覺我是一個住在宿舍的學生，從而掛斷電話。但是他們卻說：“我們還沒準備好，一個月后你再來找我們吧。”這是個好消息，因為那時 軟件還根本沒有寫出來呢。就是從那個時候起，我日以繼夜地在這個小小的課外項目上工作，這導致了我學生生活的結束，以及通往微軟公司的不平凡的旅程的開 始。

What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence.It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes even discouraging, but always challenging.It was an amazing privilege – and though I left early, I was transformed by my years at Harvard, the friendships I made, and the ideas I worked on.不管怎樣，我對哈佛的回憶主要都與充沛的精力和智力活動有關。哈佛的生活令人愉快，也令人感到有壓力，有時甚至會感到泄氣，但永遠充滿了挑戰(zhàn)性。生 活在哈佛是一種吸引人的特殊待遇??雖然我離開得比較早，但是我在這里的經歷、在這里結識的朋友、在這里發(fā)展起來的一些想法，永遠地改變了我。

But taking a serious look back ? I do have one big regret.但是，如果現(xiàn)在嚴肅地回憶起來，我確實有一個真正的遺憾。

I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world – the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.我離開哈佛的時候，根本沒有意識到這個世界是多么的不平等。人類在健康、財富和機遇上的不平等大得可怕，它們使得無數(shù)的人們被迫生活在絕望之中。

I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics.I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences.我在哈佛學到了很多經濟學和政治學的新思想。我也了解了很多科學上的新進展。

But humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.但是，人類最大的進步并不來自于這些發(fā)現(xiàn)，而是來自于那些有助于減少人類不平等的發(fā)現(xiàn)。不管通過何種手段——民主制度、健全的公共教育體系、高質量的醫(yī)療保健、還是廣泛的經濟機會——減少不平等始終是人類最大的成就。

I left campus knowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educational opportunities here in this country.And I knew nothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable poverty and disease in developing countries.我離開校園的時候，根本不知道在這個國家里，有幾百萬的年輕人無法獲得接受教育的機會。我也不知道，發(fā)展中國家里有無數(shù)的人們生活在無法形容的貧窮和疾病之中。

It took me decades to find out.我花了幾十年才明白了這些事情。

You graduates came to Harvard at a different time.You know more about the world's inequities than the classes that came before.In your years here, I hope you've had a chance to think about how – in this age of accelerating technology – we can finally take on these inequities, and we can solve them.在座的各位同學，你們是在與我不同的時代來到哈佛的。你們比以前的學生，更多地了解世界是怎樣的不平等。在你們的哈佛求學過程中，我希望你們已經思考過一個問題，那就是在這個新技術加速發(fā)展的時代，我們怎樣最終應對這種不平等，以及我們怎樣來解決這個問題。

Imagine, just for the sake of discussion, that you had a few hours a week and a few dollars a month to donate to a cause – and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives.Where would you spend it?

為了討論的方便，請想象一下，假如你每個星期可以捐獻一些時間、每個月可以捐獻一些錢——你希望這些時間和金錢，可以用到對拯救生命和改善人類生活有最大作用的地方。你會選擇什么地方？

For Melinda and for me, the challenge is the same: how can we do the most good for the greatest number with the resources we have.對Melinda（注：蓋茨的妻子）和我來說，這也是我們面臨的問題：我們如何能將我們擁有的資源發(fā)揮出最大的作用。

第三篇：比爾·蓋茨哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講(二)

比爾·蓋茨哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講

（二）2007-8-3 8:2

4頁面功能 【字體：大 中 小】【打印】【關閉】

演講正文：

President Bok, former President Rudenstine, incoming President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, parents, and especially, the graduates:

尊敬的Bok校長，Rudenstine前校長，即將上任的Faust校長，哈佛集團的各位成員，監(jiān)管理事會的各位理事，各位老師，各位家長，各位同學：

I've been waiting more than 30 years to say this: “Dad, I always told you I'd come back and get my degree.”

有一句話我等了三十年，現(xiàn)在終于可以說了：“老爸，我總是跟你說，我會回來拿到我的學位的！”

I want to thank Harvard for this timely honor.I'll be changing my job next year ? and it will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume.我要感謝哈佛大學在這個時候給我這個榮譽。明年，我就要換工作了（注：指從微軟公司退休）??我終于可以在簡歷上寫我有一個本科學位，這真是不錯啊。

I applaud the graduates today for taking a much more direct route to your degrees.For my part, I'm just happy that the Crimson has called me “Harvard's most successful dropout.” I guess that makes me valedictorian of my own special class ? I did the best of everyone who failed.我為今天在座的各位同學感到高興，你們拿到學位可比我簡單多了。哈佛的校報稱我是“哈佛大學歷史上最成功的輟學生”。我想這大概使我有資格代表我這一類學生發(fā)言??在所有的失敗者里，我做得最好。

But I also want to be recognized as the guy who got Steve Ballmer to drop out of business school.I'm a bad influence.That's why I was invited to speak at your graduation.If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today.但是，我還要提醒大家，我使得Steve Ballmer（注：微軟總經理）也從哈佛商學院退學了。因此，我是個有著惡劣影響力的人。這就是為什么我被邀請來在你們的畢業(yè)典禮上演講。如果我在你們入學歡迎儀式上演講，那么能夠堅持到今天在這里畢業(yè)的人也許會少得多

吧。

Harvard was just a phenomenal experience for me.Academic life was fascinating.I used to sit in on lots of classes I hadn't even signed up for.And dorm life was terrific.I lived up at Radcliffe, in Currier House.There were always lots of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, because everyone knew I didn't worry about getting up in the morning.That's how I came to be the leader of the anti-social group.We clung to each other as a way of validating our rejection of all those social people.對我來說，哈佛的求學經歷是一段非凡的經歷。校園生活很有趣，我常去旁聽我沒選修的課。哈佛的課外生活也很棒，我在Radcliffe過著逍遙自在的日子。每天我的寢室里總有很多人一直待到半夜，討論著各種事情。因為每個人都知道我從不考慮第二天早起。這使得我變成了校園里那些不安分學生的頭頭，我們互相粘在一起，做出一種拒絕所有正常學生的姿態(tài)。

Radcliffe was a great place to live.There were more women up there, and most of the guys were science-math types.That combination offered me the best odds, if you know what I mean.This is where I learned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn't guarantee success.Radcliffe是個過日子的好地方。那里的女生比男生多，而且大多數(shù)男生都是理工科的。這種狀況為我創(chuàng)造了最好的機會，如果你們明白我的意思。可惜的是，我正是在這里學到了人生中悲傷的一課：機會大，并不等于你就會成功。

One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world's first personal computers.I offered to sell them software.我在哈佛最難忘的回憶之一，發(fā)生在1975年1月。那時，我從宿舍樓里給位于Albuquerque的一家公司打了一個電話，那家公司已經在著手制造世界上第一臺個人電腦。我提出想向他們出售軟件。

I worried that they would realize I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me.Instead they said: “We're not quite ready, come see us in a month,” which was a good thing, because we hadn't written the software yet.From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.我很擔心，他們會發(fā)覺我是一個住在宿舍的學生，從而掛斷電話。但是他們卻說：“我們還沒準備好，一個月后你再來找我們吧。”這是個好消息，因為那時 軟件還根本沒有寫出來呢。就是從那個時候起，我日以繼夜地在這個小小的課外項目上工作，這導致了我學生生活的結束，以及通往微軟公司的不平凡的旅程的開 始。

What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence.It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes even discouraging, but always challenging.It was an amazing privilege – and though I left early, I was transformed by my years at Harvard, the friendships I made, and the ideas I worked on.不管怎樣，我對哈佛的回憶主要都與充沛的精力和智力活動有關。哈佛的生活令人愉快，也令人感到有壓力，有時甚至會感到泄氣，但永遠充滿了挑戰(zhàn)性。生 活在哈佛是一種吸引人的特殊待遇??雖然我離開得比較早，但是我在這里的經歷、在這里結識的朋友、在這里發(fā)展起來的一些想法，永遠地改變了我。

But taking a serious look back ? I do have one big regret.但是，如果現(xiàn)在嚴肅地回憶起來，我確實有一個真正的遺憾。

I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world – the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.我離開哈佛的時候，根本沒有意識到這個世界是多么的不平等。人類在健康、財富和機遇上的不平等大得可怕，它們使得無數(shù)的人們被迫生活在絕望之中。

I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics.I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences.我在哈佛學到了很多經濟學和政治學的新思想。我也了解了很多科學上的新進展。

But humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.但是，人類最大的進步并不來自于這些發(fā)現(xiàn)，而是來自于那些有助于減少人類不平等的發(fā)現(xiàn)。不管通過何種手段——民主制度、健全的公共教育體系、高質量的醫(yī)療保健、還是廣泛的經濟機會——減少不平等始終是人類最大的成就。

I left campus knowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educational opportunities here in this country.And I knew nothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable poverty and disease in developing countries.我離開校園的時候，根本不知道在這個國家里，有幾百萬的年輕人無法獲得接受教育的機會。我也不知道，發(fā)展中國家里有無數(shù)的人們生活在無法形容的貧窮和疾病之中。

It took me decades to find out.我花了幾十年才明白了這些事情。

You graduates came to Harvard at a different time.You know more about the world's inequities than the classes that came before.In your years here, I hope you've had a chance to think about how – in this age of accelerating technology – we can finally take on these inequities, and we can solve them.在座的各位同學，你們是在與我不同的時代來到哈佛的。你們比以前的學生，更多地了解世界是怎樣的不平等。在你們的哈佛求學過程中，我希望你們已經思考過一個問題，那就是在這個新技術加速發(fā)展的時代，我們怎樣最終應對這種不平等，以及我們怎樣來解決這個問題。

Imagine, just for the sake of discussion, that you had a few hours a week and a few dollars a month to donate to a cause – and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives.Where would you spend it?

為了討論的方便，請想象一下，假如你每個星期可以捐獻一些時間、每個月可以捐獻一些錢——你希望這些時間和金錢，可以用到對拯救生命和改善人類生活有最大作用的地方。你會選擇什么地方？

For Melinda and for me, the challenge is the same: how can we do the most good for the greatest number with the resources we have.對Melinda（注：蓋茨的妻子）和我來說，這也是我們面臨的問題：我們如何能將我們擁有的資源發(fā)揮出最大的作用。

第四篇：比爾·蓋茨在哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講(中英文對照)

比爾·蓋茨和夫人梅琳達·蓋茨在斯坦福大學2014年畢業(yè)典禮上的演講。整個演講以“樂觀”為主線，強調了他們對科技的樂觀態(tài)度，以及對世界美好未來的樂觀態(tài)度。蓋茨夫婦輪流講述了自己的親身經歷和故事，告訴學生應該站在他人的立場上，感同身受那些處境不及自己的人，盡自己所能去幫助那些需要幫助的人，讓全世界所有人類同胞都有一樣的美好未來。

Stanford University.（斯坦福大學）

BILL GATES: Congratulations, class of 2014!比爾·蓋茨：2014屆畢業(yè)生，祝賀你們順利畢業(yè)(Cheers).（歡呼）

Melinda and I are excited to be here.It would be a thrill for anyone to be invited to speak at a Stanford commencement, but it's especially gratifying for us.Stanford is rapidly becoming the favorite university for members of our family, and it's long been a favorite university for Microsoft and our foundation.我和梅琳達懷著激動的心情與你們歡聚在此共賀畢業(yè)。能受邀到斯坦福大學學位授予典禮上做演講是一件讓人激動的事，對我們而言，這尤為榮幸。斯坦福大學正日漸成為我們家庭成員最喜愛的大學。而長久以來，斯坦福也是微軟以及比爾與梅琳達基金會最喜愛的一所大學。”

Our formula has been to get the smartest, most creative people working on the most important problems.It turns out that a disproportionate number of those people are at Stanford.(Cheers).我們一直致力于讓最聰穎有創(chuàng)造力的人攻克最為重要的問題。結果證明，一大部分這樣的人才都來自于斯坦福校園。（歡呼）Right now, we have more than 30 foundation research projects underway here.When we want to learn more about the immune system to help cure the worst diseases, we work with Stanford.When we want to understand the changing landscape of higher education in the United States, so that more low-income students get college degrees, we work with Stanford.This is where genius lives.如今，我們在這里進行著30多個研究項目。當我們想要通過對免疫系統(tǒng)的研究來尋找治愈世界上最可怕疾病的方法，我們需要斯坦福。當我們需要通過對美國高等教育的研究來幫助低收入學生上大學時，我們亦需要斯坦福。這便是人才的搖籃。

There's a flexibility of mind here, an openness to change, an eagerness for what's new.This is where people come to discover the future, and have fun doing it.在這里，有著靈活的思維，對于改變的開放態(tài)度以及對新鮮事物的渴求。在這里，人們善于發(fā)現(xiàn)新事物，并樂享這份經歷。

MELINDA GATES: Now, some people call you all nerds and we hear that you claim that label with pride.(Cheers and Applause).梅琳達?蓋茨：當下，一些人用書呆子這樣詞語稱呼你們，而我們聽說你們正為這個稱呼而倍感驕傲。（歡呼和掌聲）

BILL GATES: Well, so do we.(Cheers and Applause).比爾蓋茨：嗯，我們與你們同在。（歡呼和掌聲）

BILL GATES: My normal glasses really aren't all that different.(Laughter).比爾蓋茨：我的這副普通眼鏡也沒多大差異嘛。（笑聲）

There are so many remarkable things going on here at this campus, but if Melinda and I had to put into one word what we love most about Stanford, it's the optimism.There's an infectious feeling here that innovation can solve almost every problem.That's the belief that drove me in 1975 to leave a college in the suburbs of Boston and go on an endless leave of absence.(Laughter).在這所校園中，每時每刻都有非凡的事件發(fā)生，但如果要我和梅琳達用一個詞來表達對斯坦福的摯愛，那便是“樂觀”。這是一種極富感染力的樂觀精神，那便是，所有的問題在創(chuàng)新之下都能迎刃而解。這便是驅使我在1975年離開波士頓郊區(qū)的大學，并永遠輟學的一個動力。（笑聲）I believed that the magic of computers and software would empower people everywhere and make the world much, much better.當時的我相信計算機和軟件的魔力能夠賦予全世界人民以力量，并能夠讓這個世界變得更加美好。

It's been 40 years since then, and 20 years since Melinda and I were married.We are both more optimistic now than ever.But on our journey, our optimism evolved.據(jù)那時算起，已有40年之久，我和梅琳達喜結連理也有20年之遠了。這些年間，我們都比過去更為樂觀開朗，但是在這些人生之旅中，我們的樂觀也實現(xiàn)了進化。

We would like to tell you what we learned and talk to you today about how your optimism and ours can do more for more people.When Paul Allen and I started Microsoft, we wanted to bring the power of computers and software to the people, and that was the kind of rhetoric we used.One of the pioneering books in the field had a raised fist on the cover, and it was called “Computer Lib.” 我們今天很想與大家分享我們所學到的一切，并和你們聊聊我們的和你們的樂觀精神怎樣為更多的人服務。當初和保羅創(chuàng)立微軟之時，我們的目標是把計算機和軟件的力量普及到普通大眾，這便是我們當時的說法。在早期的一本書上的封面有一個上揚的拳頭，他們稱之為《計算機解放》。

At that time, only big businesses could buy computers.We wanted to offer the same power to regular people and democratize computing.在那個時候，只有大企業(yè)才能購置計算機。我們想讓這種計算機設備普及到社會大眾并讓計算機民主化。

By the 1990s, we saw how profoundly personal computers could empower people, but that success created a new dilemma.If rich kids got computers and poor kids didn't, then technology would make inequality worse.That ran counter to our core belief.在上個世紀90年代，我們目睹了個人電腦對人們的巨大效用，但是這種成功同時造成了新的困局。如果富人的孩子擁有計算機而窮人的孩子卻不能時，這種科技會加劇不平等。而這與我們的核心理念相抵觸。

Technology should benefit everyone.科技應當惠及萬眾。

So we worked to close the digital divide.I made it a priority at Microsoft, and Melinda and I made it an early priority at our Foundation.Donating personal computers to public libraries to make sure that everyone had access.因此我們應當努力縮小這種差距。我將它定位為微軟的首要任務，也是我和梅琳達在建立基金會之初的首要任務。為公眾圖書館捐獻個人電腦從而確保人人都能有機會使用。The digital divide was a focus of mine in 1997, when I took my first trip to South Africa.I went there on business so I spent most of my time in meetings in downtown Johannesburg.I stayed in the home of one of the richest families in South Africa.當我在1997年首次出訪南非時，我便開始關注“數(shù)碼鴻溝”。因公事出差的我將大部分時間都花費在約翰內斯堡的市區(qū)開會中。當時我住在南非最富裕的一戶家庭中。It had only been three years since the election of Nelson Mandela marked the end of apartheid.When I sat down for dinner with my hosts, they used a bell to call the butler.After dinner, the women and men separated and the men smoked cigars.I thought, good thing I read Jane Austen, or I wouldn't have known what was going on.(Laughter).那時距離尼爾森?曼德拉上臺，并結束種族隔離只有3年。當我同主人共進晚餐時，他們使用鈴鐺來使喚管家。在晚飯后，男女相互分開而男人們開始抽雪茄。當時我想，幸好我讀過簡?奧斯汀的書否則我就不知道發(fā)生了什么。（笑聲）But the next day I went to Soweto, the poor township southwest of Johannesburg, that had been the center of the anti-apartheid movement.It was a short distance from the city into the township, but the entry was sudden, jarring and harsh.但在第二天我去了索韋托，約翰內斯堡西南的一個貧窮小鎮(zhèn)，那里曾經是反種族隔離的中心。盡管從約翰內斯堡到索韋托路程不長，但從進入索韋托的那一刻起，一切都令人無比震驚。

I passed into a world completely unlike the one I came from.My visit to Soweto became an early lesson in how naive I was.Microsoft was donating computers and software to a community center there.The kind of thing we did in the United States.我覺得我來到了一個和我所來自的地方截然不同的世界。索韋托之行讓我很早便意識到自己竟是如此天真。微軟向那里的一個社區(qū)中心捐贈計算機和軟件。和我們在美國所做的一切相同。

But it became clear to me, very quickly, that this was not the United States.但是我很快明白了，這里并不是美國。

I had seen statistics on poverty, but I had never really seen poverty.The people there lived in corrugated tin shacks with no electricity, no water, no toilets.Most people didn't wear shoes.They walked barefoot along the streets, except there were no streets, just ruts in the mud.我曾經閱覽過有關貧窮的調查數(shù)據(jù)，但是卻未曾目睹過貧窮。那里的人們住在用鐵皮搭成的簡陋棚戶里，沒有電，沒有自來水，也沒有廁所。人們幾乎不穿鞋，赤腳行走。或者可以說根本沒有街道，只是一些坑洼的泥土路。

The community center had no consistent source of power.So they rigged up an extension cord that ran 200 feet from the center to the diesel generator outside.Looking at this setup, I knew the minute the reporters left, the generator would get moved to a more urgent task.And the people who used the community center would go back to worrying about challenges that couldn't be solved by a personal computer.由于社區(qū)中心沒有持續(xù)供電的設施，所以他們安裝了一根延長線連接到200英尺以外的柴油發(fā)電機上。看過了這些裝置，我明白了一旦記者離開后，發(fā)電機將會被運用到更緊迫的任務上。使用社區(qū)中心的人們也會因此而離開，為電腦所不能解決的問題而擔憂。When I gave my prepared remarks to the press, I said Soweto is a milestone.There are major decisions ahead about whether technology will leave the developing world behind.This is to close the gap.當我向媒體道出已準備好的發(fā)言時，我談到索韋托的經歷對我而言是一個里程碑，我們所面臨的重大決定是科技是否會讓發(fā)展中國家落后。這也便是要縮小差距。

But as I read those words, I knew they weren't super relevant.What I didn't say was, by the way, we're not focused on the fact that half a million people on this continent are dying every year from malaria.But we are sure as hell going to bring you computers.但當我說出這些詞時，我發(fā)現(xiàn)他們并不是如此相關。我沒有說的是，“順便說一下，我們并沒有注意到這個大洲上每年都會有50萬人死于瘧疾的事實。”但我們還是萬分確信我們會為他們帶來計算機。

Before I went to Soweto, I thought I understood the world's problems but I was blind to many of the most important ones.I was so taken aback by what I saw that I had to ask

myself, did I still believe that innovation could solve the world's toughest problems? I promised myself that before I came back to Africa, I would find out more about what keeps people poor.在我去索韋托之前，我認為自己很理解這個世界存在的問題，可那時我才明白我忽視了最重要的問題，我不停問自己‘你還認為創(chuàng)新能解決世界上最棘手的問題嗎？’我向自己保證，在重回非洲之前，會找到更多讓人們貧窮的原因。

Over the years, Melinda and I did learn more about the pressing needs of the poor.數(shù)年來，我和梅琳達確實發(fā)現(xiàn)了窮人們的當務之需。

On a later trip to South Africa, I paid a visit to a hospital for patients with MDR-TB, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, a disease with a cure rate of under 50%.I remember that hospital as a place of despair.在后來一次到南非的時候，我去了一家住有很多抗藥性肺結核患者和耐多藥結核病患者的醫(yī)院，這是一種治愈率不到50%的頑疾。我還記得那個充滿絕望的地方。

It was a giant open ward, with a sea of patients shuffling around in pajamas, wearing masks.There was one floor just for children, including some babies lying in bed.They had a little school for kids who were well enough to learn, but many of the children couldn't make it, and the hospital didn't seem to know whether it was worth it to keep the school open.在一個巨大的開放性病房里，住著很多很多病人，他們穿著睡衣，帶著口罩，慢慢挪動著。有一層樓是專為孩童開設的，其中包括還在臥床的嬰兒們。醫(yī)院中也為適齡兒童設有小學校，但是大多數(shù)孩子都無法戰(zhàn)勝病魔踏入學堂，因此醫(yī)院似乎并不確信是否有必要開設這所學校。

I talked to a patient there in her early 30s.She had been a worker at a TB hospital when she came down with a cough.She went to a doctor and he told her said she had drug-resistant TB.She was later diagnosed with AIDS.She wasn't going to live much longer, but there were plenty of MDR patients waiting to take her bed when she vacated it.This was hell with a waiting list.我同一位30多歲的病人做了交談，并了解到她曾肺結核醫(yī)院的一名職工，因為咳嗽而病倒。她看了醫(yī)生，醫(yī)生告訴她患上了耐藥性結核病，在后來也被診斷患有艾滋。她活不了過久了，但有很多耐多藥結核病患者卻“覬覦”著她即將空出的床位。這是一個有很多候場病人的地獄。

But seeing this hell didn't reduce my optimism.It channeled it.I got into the car as I left and I told the doctor we were working with I know MDR-TB is hard to cure, but we must do something for these people.And, in fact, this year, we are entering phase three with the new TB drug regime for patients who respond, instead of a 50% cure rate after 18 months for $2,000, we get an 80% cure rate after six months for under $100.(Applause).但是目睹了這個地域并不能減少我的樂觀心態(tài)，相反，它指導著樂觀的前行。在我們離開時，我在車里跟與我們同行的醫(yī)生說，我雖然知道耐多藥結核病是一種頑疾，但我們必須為這些人做一些實事。實際上，在今年，我們進入了新結核藥物研發(fā)的第三階段，對于那些病人而言，他們不再需為18個月50%的治愈率而花費2000美元，我們的新藥物花費不超100美元便能在6個月后實現(xiàn)80%的治愈率。（掌聲）Optimism is often dismissed as false hope.But there is also false hopelessness.That's the attitude that says we can't defeat poverty and disease.We absolutely can.樂觀常被視為錯誤的希望。但是錯誤的無望也存在于世，那就是我們無法擊敗貧困和疾病的態(tài)度。但我們卻能夠做到。

MELINDA GATES: Bill called me that day after he visited the TB hospital and normally if one of us is on an international trip, we will go through our agenda for the day and who we met and where we have been.But this call was different.在比爾去過結核病醫(yī)院后，他曾給我致電。（因為）慣例上當我們其中一個出國的話，我們都會聊聊這天我們遇到的人和我們去過的地方。但是這番電話有些特別。

Bill said to me, Melinda, I have been somewhere that I have never been before.And then he choked up and he couldn't go on.And he finally just said, I will tell you more when I get home.And I knew what he was going through because when you see people with so little hope, it breaks your heart.比爾說，梅琳達，我（今天）去了一個我之前從未去過的地方。然后他哽咽地說不出話了。他最后只是說，等我回來了再詳細告訴你。（其實）我知道他經歷了什么，因為當你看到瀕臨絕望的人們，他會讓你十分悲痛。

But if you want to do the most, you have to go see the worst, and I've had days like that too.About ten years ago, I traveled with a group of friends to India.And on last day I was there, I had a meeting with a group of prostitutes and I expected to talk to them about the risk of AIDS that they were facing, but what they wanted to talk to me about was stigma.但是如果你想做得更多，你必須要看到最壞的情況，我也經歷過那些日子。大概十年前，我和一群朋友去印度旅游。在我臨走的那一天，我和一群妓女進行了交談，我希望跟她們講她們所面對得艾滋病的風險，但是她們想跟我聊的只是（作為妓女的）恥辱。Many of these women had been abandoned by their husbands.That's why they even went into prostitution.They wanted to be able to feed their children.They were so low in the eyes of society that they could be raped and robbed and beaten by anyone, even the police, and nobody cared.這當中的很多人都是被她們的丈夫所拋棄。這就是為什么她們去賣淫的原因。她們想養(yǎng)活自己的孩子。他們在社會的眼中是如此卑微，以致于她們可以被任何人甚至是警察強奸，搶劫，甚至挨揍，（而）根本沒有人會在意（她們）

Talking to them about their lives was so moving to me, but what I remember most was how much they wanted to be touched.They wanted to touch me and to be touched by them.It was if physical contact somehow proved their worth.And so before I left, we linked arms hand in hand and did a photo together.聊起她們的生活讓我感觸至深。但是我印象最深的就是她們多么想接觸他人。她們希望觸摸我，也希望讓我能去觸碰她們也許是通過這種身體上的觸碰證明了她們存在的價值。所以當我離開之前，我們肩并肩，手牽手，一起照了相。

Later that same day, I spent some time in India in a home for the dying.I walked into a large hall and I saw rows and rows of cot and every cot was attended to except for one, that was far off in the corner.And so I decided to go over there.之后在那天，我去了印度的一個彌留者的家中。我走進大廳，我看見一排排的床，除了遠在角落的一張床，每張床都有人在照顧。所以我決定過去看看。

The patient who was in this room was a woman in her 30s.And I remember her eyes.She had these huge, brown, sorrowful eyes.She was emaciated and on the verge of death.Her intestines were not holding anything and so the workers had they put a pan under her bed, and cut a hole in the bottom of the bed and everything in her was just pouring out into that pan.And I could tell that she had AIDS.Both in the way she looked and the fact that she was off in this corner alone.這位病人是一個30歲左右的婦女。我還記得她的眼睛的樣子。她有著大而悲傷的棕色的眼睛。當時的她如此憔悴并且徘徊在死亡的邊緣。她的腸道里什么東西也盛不下，所以那里的工作人員就在她的床下放了一個盤子，然后在床的底部開了個洞，這樣一切東西就能傾瀉到那個盤子中。我看得出她得了艾滋病。不僅可以從她的外表，而且也可以從她獨自在這個角落中看出來。

The stigma of AIDS is vicious, especially for women.And the punishment is abandonment.When I arrived at her cot, I suddenly felt completely and totally helpless.I had absolutely nothing I could offer this woman.I knew I couldn't save her.But I didn't want her to be alone.So I knelt down with her and I put my hand out and she reached for my hand and grabbed it and she wouldn't let it go.I didn't speak her language and I couldn't think of what I should say to her.And finally I just said to her, it's going to be okay.It's going to be okay.It's not your fault.得艾滋病令人聲名狼藉，特別是對女性。并且得病的懲罰就是被拋棄。當我走進她床邊時，我突然感覺徹底的無力和無助感。我無能為力實施幫助。我知道我不能救活她。但是我不想讓她獨自一人（死去）。所以我跪下來然后伸出手，她摸到我的手然后就抓住，不松開。我不會說她們的語言而且我也不知道我能對她說什么。最后我只是對她說，一切都會好起來的。一切都會好起來的。這不是你的錯。

And after I had been with her for sometime, she started pointing to the roof top.She clearly wanted to go up and I realized the sun was going down and what she wanted to do was go up on the roof top and see the sunset.So the workers in this home for the dying were very busy and I said to them, you know, can we take her up on the roof top?

No.No.We have to pass out medicines.So I waited that for that to happen and I asked another worker and they said, No no no, we are too busy.We can't get her up there.And so finally I just scooped this woman up in my arms.在我陪著她待了一會之后，她的手指向了屋頂。很顯然她很想上屋頂，而我發(fā)現(xiàn)太陽快要落山了，所以她想做的就是等上屋頂并且看日落。那時房子里的工作人員非常忙碌，然后我對他們說，我們能不能把她抬到屋頂上？不行。我們現(xiàn)在必須要分派藥物。所以我就等著他們分派藥物，然后我又問了另外的工作人員，他們說不行，我們太忙了。我們不能抬她上去。所以，最后我就把她抱在了懷中。

She was nothing more than skin over bones and I took her up on the roof top, and I found one of those plastic chairs that blows over in a light breeze.I put her there, sat her down, put a blanket over her legs and she sat there facing to the west, watching the sunset.The workers knew--I made sure they knew that she was up there so that they would bring her down later that evening after the sun went down and then I had to leave.她不過是骨瘦如柴，我就抱著她上了屋頂。找到了一個在微風的吹拂下響著的破舊不堪塑料凳。我把她放在椅子上，拿一個毛毯蓋住她的腿，然后她就坐在那里望向西邊，看著日落。工作人員知道她在屋頂上，我確保他們知道并且會在日落以后把她帶下來。而不久后我就要離開。

But she never left me.I felt completely and totally inadequate in the face of this woman's death.But sometimes, it's the people that you can't help that inspire you the most.但是她從未離開過我。我感到徹底的無力去面對這位婦女的死亡。但是有時，就正是這些你不能幫助的人群給了你最大的激勵。

I knew that those sex workers I had met in the morning could be the woman that I carried upstairs later that evening.Unless we found a way to defy the stigma that hung over their lives.我知道早上我碰到的那些性工作者將來可能就會是那天夜晚我抱上屋頂婦女的樣子。除非我們找到一個方法來對抗這個羈絆她們一生的恥辱。

Over the past ten years, our Foundation has helped sex workers build support groups so they could empower one another to speak up and demand safe sex and that their clients use condoms.Their brave efforts have helped to keep HIV prevalence low among sex workers and a lot of studies show that's the big reason why the AIDS epidemic has not exploded in India.過去的十年中，我們的基金已經幫助性工作者建立了支持小組，那樣她們可以互相協(xié)助，要求安全的性行為，讓客戶就使用安全套。正是因為性服務者們勇敢的努力保持了性工作者的低HIV感染率，并且很多研究表明這就是為什么印度沒有大范圍地爆發(fā)艾滋病的一個重要原因。

When these sex workers gathered together to help stop AIDS transmission，something unexpected and wonderful happened.The community they formed became a platform for everything.Police and others who raped and robbed them couldn't get away with it anymore.The women set up systems to encourage savings for one another and with those savings, they were able to leave sex work.This was all done by people that society considered the lowest of the low.如果這些性工作者一起幫助阻止艾滋病的傳播，就會發(fā)生意想不到的好事。她們形成的這個社區(qū)成為了一個任何事互相協(xié)助的平臺。警察和其他任何強奸或者搶劫她們的人都不可能無法無天。婦女們組建起了互相鼓勵儲蓄財產的系統(tǒng)，這樣有了足夠的儲蓄，她們就可以離開性服務行業(yè)。這就是那些在社會上被視作底層中的最下等人做的事情。Optimism, for me, is not a passive expectation that things are going to get better.For me, it's a conviction and a belief that we can make things better.So no matter how much suffering we see, no matter how bad it is, we can help people if we don't lose hope help and if we don't look away.(Applause).對我而言，樂觀并非消極地期待事情會變好而是一種相信事情會做的更好的確信和信念。因此不管我們目睹了怎樣的痛苦，不管事態(tài)如何糟糕，如果我們沒有失去希望不轉頭而去，那么我們便能伸出援手。（掌聲）BILL GATES: Melinda and I have described some devastating scenes, but we want to make the strongest case we can for the power of optimism.Even in dire situations, optimism fuels innovation and leads to new approaches that eliminate suffering.But if you never really see the people that are suffering, your optimism can't help them.You will never change their world.And that brings me to what I see is a paradox.比爾蓋茨：我和梅琳達描述了幾個最為在男性的畫面，但是我們還是要盡量強調樂觀的力量。即使是在絕境之中，樂觀也會加速創(chuàng)新，產生新的避免痛苦的方法。但是如果你從未看過那些痛苦折磨著的人時，你的樂觀也將無能為力。你也將不會改變他們的世界。這讓我想到了我眼中的一個悖論。

The modern world is an incredible source of innovation and Stanford stands at the center of that, creating new companies, new schools of thought, prize-winning professors, inspired art and literature, miracle drugs, and amazing graduates.Whether you are a scientist with a new discovery, or working in the trenches to understand the needs of the most marginalized, you are advancing amazing breakthroughs in what human beings can do for each other.現(xiàn)代社會擁有無與倫比的創(chuàng)新精神，而斯坦福大學正處在創(chuàng)新的核心。斯坦福孕育了許許多多的新公司，有思想的學校，碩果累累的教授，富有靈感的藝術文化，創(chuàng)新的軟件，藥品，還有優(yōu)秀的畢業(yè)生。無論你是收獲新發(fā)現(xiàn)的科學家，還是在深溝中了解社會最邊緣人的需求，你都在為人類相互間的協(xié)作做出驚人的突破。

At the same time, if you ask people across the United States is the future going to be better than the past, most say no.My kids will be worse off than I am.They think innovation won't make the world better for them or their children.9

同時，如果你問全美國的人——未來回避過去更好嗎？大部分人會說不，我的孩子不如我優(yōu)秀。他們認為創(chuàng)新不會讓自己或孩子的世界更好。

So who is right? The people who say innovation will create new possibilities and make the world better? Or the people who see a trend toward inequality and a decline in opportunity and don't think innovation will change that? 那么誰是對的？是那些說創(chuàng)新產生新機遇讓世界更好的人么？還是那些目睹不平衡的趨勢，目睹機遇減少且不指望創(chuàng)新帶來改變的人呢？

The pessimists are wrong, in my view.But they are not crazy.If innovation is purely market driven, and we don't focus on the big inequities, then we could have amazing advances and in inventions that leave the world even more divided.We won't improve cure public schools, we won't cure malaria, we won't end poverty.We won't develop the innovations poor farmers need to grow food in a changing climate.在我看來，悲觀者是錯誤的。但是他們并不瘋狂。如果創(chuàng)新僅憑市場驅動，我們都不關注不公正現(xiàn)象，那么我們的重大發(fā)明將令世界的兩極分化更加嚴重。我們不會改善公立學校，我們不會治愈瘧疾，更不會終止貧窮。我們不會研發(fā)出讓貧困農民在氣候變化中也能種出植物的發(fā)明。

If our optimism doesn't address the problems that affect so many of our fellow human beings, then our optimism needs more empathy.If empathy channels our optimism, we will see the poverty and the disease and the poor schools.We will answer with our innovations and we will surprise the pessimists.如果我們的樂觀無法用來解決那些影響許許多多同胞的問題，那么這種樂觀主義還需要融入更多的移情元素。如果我們能在樂觀中融入同情，我們就能解決貧困，疾病以及教育匱乏的問題。我們會以創(chuàng)新作答，并震驚那些悲觀主義者。

Over the next generation, you, Stanford graduates, will lead a new wave of innovation.Which problems will you decide to solve? If your world is wide, you can create the future we all want.If your world is narrow, you may create the future the pessimists fear.在下一代中，你們，這些斯坦福畢業(yè)生，將開啟一波創(chuàng)新的新潮。你們會決定解決哪些問題呢？如果你的世界很寬，那么就能創(chuàng)造出我們理想的未來。如果你的世界很狹隘，就會造出悲觀者恐懼的未來。

I started learning in Soweto, that if we are going to make our optimism matter to everyone, and empower people everyone, we have to see the lives of those most in need.If we have optimism, without empathy, then it doesn't matter how much we master the secrets of science.正如我在索維托所學到的，如果我們要讓自己的樂觀影響所有人，并賦予他們力量，我們就要看到他們最緊迫的需求。如果我們的樂觀沒有融入同情，那么我們掌握多少科學秘密也沒有任何用處。

We are not really solving problems.We are just working on puzzles.I think most of you have a broader world view than I had at your age.You can do better at this than I did.If you put your hearts and minds to it, you can surprise the pessimists.We are eager to see it.(Applause).我們都解決不了世界上的難題。我們只是在玩智力游戲罷了。我想，你們中的大多數(shù)人比當時的我視野更寬廣。你們會比曾經的我做得更出色。如果你們全身心地投身于此，你們便能震驚那些悲觀者。我們對之迫不及待。（掌聲）MELINDA GATES: So let your heart break.It will change what you do with your optimism.梅琳達?蓋茨：讓你們的心為之而碎。這會改變你們處理樂觀的方式。

On a trip to south Asia, I met a desperately poor Indian woman.She had two children and she begged me to take them home with me.And when I begged her for her forgiveness she said, well then, please, just take one of them.在去南亞的旅行中，我遇見了一位貧困潦倒的印度婦女。育有兩子，她后來乞求我讓我把這兩個孩子帶走。當我祈求她原諒時，她說，那好吧，請至少帶走一個也可以吧。On another trip to south Los Angeles, I met with a group of the students from a tough neighborhood.A young girl said to me, do you ever feel like we are the kids' whose parents shirked their responsibilities and we are just the leftovers? These women broke my heart.在另一個去洛杉磯南部的旅途中，我遇見了一群來自貧困社區(qū)的學生。一個年輕女孩對我說，你是不是覺得我們就是那群父母逃避責任，我們只是留守兒童呢？這些女性讓我心碎。

And they still do.And the empathy intensifies if I admit to myself, that could be me.When I talk with the mothers I meet during my travels, there's no difference between what we want for our children.The only difference is our ability to provide it to our children.而她們現(xiàn)在依然讓我心碎。當我對自己承認，我也可能會是她們中的一員。我與旅途中的母親交流時發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們想給予孩子的沒有什么不同。唯一的不同在于我們將其給予孩子的能力。

So what accounts for that difference? Bill and I talk about this with our own kids around the dinner table.Bill worked incredibly hard and he took risks and he made sacrifices for success.But there's another essential ingredient of success, and that is luck.Absolute and total luck.When were you born? Who are your parents? Where did you grow up? None of us earn these things.These things were given to us.那么差距何在呢？我和比爾曾就此問題與我們的孩子在餐桌上共同討論。比爾工作非常努力，他冒過風險，為成功做出不少犧牲。但是還有一個成功的重要因素，那便是運氣。11

完完全全的運氣。你出生何處？你的父母是誰？你在哪里成長？沒有任何人賺得這些東西，我們只是被賜予了這些東西而已。

So when we strip away all of our luck and our privilege and we consider where we would be without them, it becomes someone much easier to see someone who is poor and say, that could be me.And that's empathy.Empathy tears down barriers and it opens up whole new frontiers for optimism.所以當我們剝去運氣和優(yōu)待，并思考沒有他們我們會將如何時，這個人就更容易看到那些貧困者，并說，這可能就是我。這就是同情心，同情心抹平障礙，為樂觀敞開新的大門。

So here is our appeal to you all.As you leave Stanford, take all your genius and your optimism and your empathy, and go change the world in ways that will make millions of people optimistic.You don't have to rush.You have careers to launch and debts to pay and spouses to meet and marry.That's plenty enough for right now.But in the course of your lives, perhaps without any plan on your part, you will see suffering that's going to break your heart.And when it happens, don't turn away from it.That's the moment that change is born.所以這就是我們對你們所有人的呼吁。在你離開斯坦福校園之后，帶著你的天分，樂觀以及同情心，改變這個世界，讓數(shù)百萬人為之樂觀起來。你無須急功近利，你還要開創(chuàng)事業(yè)，付清債款，找尋另一半并喜結良緣。現(xiàn)在就這些便足夠了，但是在你們的生命之中，可能你們并未計劃過，你會目睹那些讓你心碎的苦楚。當這些痛苦發(fā)生時，不要掩面離開，在這一刻，改變因此而孕育。

Congratulations and good luck to the class of 2014!最后，向2014屆畢業(yè)生表示祝賀，并祝你們好運！

第五篇：比爾、蓋茨斯坦福大學123演講

樂觀不是等待事情變好

比爾·蓋茨在斯坦福大學123屆畢業(yè)典禮演講

恭喜你們，2014屆畢業(yè)生!能受邀到斯坦福大學做演講，每個人都會感到興奮，對我來說尤其如此。斯坦福大學是我的家庭成員和微軟員工們最喜歡的大學。我們在這里收獲了最聰明、最有創(chuàng)造力的同仁，而他們只是斯坦福畢業(yè)生中的一小部分。

現(xiàn)在，我們在這里進行著30多個研究項目。當我們想更深入地了解免疫系統(tǒng)，以治愈更多病人時，我們與斯坦福合作;并我們想了解高等教育的發(fā)展和變革時，我們與斯坦福合作。這里是天才的居住地。這里有靈動的心，正敞開懷抱迎接改變，渴望著所有創(chuàng)新之物。人們在這里探索未來，樂在其中。這個校園有那么多了不起的東西，但如果一定要用一個詞來概括我們最喜歡斯坦福大學的地方，那便是“樂觀主義”。

(蓋茨夫人)一些人叫你們書呆子，我們聽說你們正為此而感到驕傲。(蓋茨)“我們也是(書呆子)。” 樂觀是一種極具傳染性的情緒，它讓每個人堅信創(chuàng)新幾乎可以解決所有的問題。這種信念驅使我在1975年輟學，并隨著時間的不斷流逝而與日劇增。到現(xiàn)在40年過去了，我們結婚也20年了。現(xiàn)在我們也比過往任何時候都樂觀。所以今天我想談談：我們?yōu)槭裁葱枰獦酚^精神。

胸有成竹之前，去看看這個世界先 當我開始寫微軟的第一行代碼時，我希望將計算機和軟件的力量最大化。在當時，只有大企業(yè)可以購買電腦。

到了90年代，個人電腦開始深刻地影響人們的日常生活，卻在同時造成了一個新的困境：只有富家子弟能得到計算機。技術正使不平等現(xiàn)象惡化，這違背了我們的核心信念——科技應當使所有人受益。因此，我們開始致力于縮小數(shù)字鴻溝。我們給公共圖書館捐贈個人電腦，以確保每個人都有機會使用。

1997年，我到南非訪問，住在當?shù)刈罡挥械募彝ブ弧．斘液瓦@個家的主人坐下來準備吃飯的時候，他們敲了一下鐘，叫來管家。晚餐后，男人和女人分開，男人們開始抽雪茄。當時，我腦海里閃過一個念頭，“還好我讀過簡〃奧斯汀，不然我可搞不清眼前這一切是怎么回事。” 第二天，我去了索韋托，約翰內斯堡市西南部的一個鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)，這里一直是反種族隔離運動的中心。我們給那里的社區(qū)中心捐贈了一批電腦和軟件，就像我們在美國所做的事情一樣，但很快，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，這里并不是美國。從城市到鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)的距離非常短，但城鄉(xiāng)之間卻是卻那么地不和諧。我感覺自己仿佛到了另一個世界。我見過貧困數(shù)據(jù)統(tǒng)計，但我從未真正目睹過貧困。那里的人民生活在瓦楞鐵皮棚，沒

有電，沒有水，沒有廁所。大多數(shù)人沒有穿鞋，他們光著腳走在街上。那里的街道空空如也，泥濘中透出隱約的車轍。

社區(qū)中心沒有固定的穩(wěn)定電源，靠一條連到大約200英尺外的中央柴油發(fā)電機的延長線，勉強維持電力供應。當我和隨行的記者準備離開時，發(fā)電機的任務便結束了，社區(qū)中心里的人也將回家繼續(xù)擔心自己的生計，而這并不是一臺個人電腦就能解決的難題。我把事先準備好的講稿遞給記者，上面寫道，“索韋托是一個里程碑，在有關技術是否會使發(fā)展中國家越來越落后的議題上，答案越來越明確——它們正在縮小差距，而非擴大。”

然而我沒有說的是，“順便說一下，我們并沒有關注到這片土地上每年有50萬人民死于瘧疾的事實，我們只負責把電腦送給他們。”

在此之前，我以為我明白世界上所有的問題，但事實上，我卻在這件事情上當了“睜眼瞎”，我不得不問自己，“難道我還相信，創(chuàng)新能夠解決世界上最棘手的問題嗎?”我們不能為了救助，而把最重要的事情卻給忽略了。我們必須找到貧困者的當務之急，和當下之需。

見證痛苦，才能讓樂觀兌現(xiàn) 當然，這種自我懷疑并沒有持續(xù)太久。很快我就意識到，即使在嚴峻的情況下，樂觀也可以推動創(chuàng)新，并催生新的工具，以消除痛苦。但是，如果你從來沒有看到真正痛苦的人，你的樂觀便不能幫助他們——你將永遠不會改變他們的世界。多年來，我和我的太太都致力于了解貧困人士們最迫切的需求。在后來的南非之行，我拜訪了一家醫(yī)院，那里滿是患結核病的患者，簡直是一個巨大的戴著口罩的海洋，上面飄著一大張地獄候選名單。但與第一次索韋托之行不同，后來再深入“地獄”讓我更想做些事情。我從醫(yī)院出來，上了車，告訴與我們合作的醫(yī)生：“我知道結核病是難以治愈的，但我們應該能夠做一些事情。” 有人習慣把樂觀指稱為“錯誤的希望”，但想一下，“錯誤的無望”是否同樣存在?有人說，我們不能戰(zhàn)勝貧困和疾病，但我并不這么認為。今年，我們的抗結核藥物研究正在進入第三階段，經過努力，這種病的治愈率已從50%提升到了80-90%。

樂觀不是等待事情變好，而是相信自己能夠做得更好 現(xiàn)代社會有無與倫比的創(chuàng)新精神，而斯坦福大學正處在創(chuàng)新的核心。斯坦福孕育了許許多多的新公司，各行各業(yè)的教授，創(chuàng)新的軟件和藥品。這里的人們對未來充滿渴望。然而，如果你在美國街頭問問人們，“未來會比過去更好嗎?”大多數(shù)人會回答，“不，我的孩子未必會比我過得更好。”他們認為創(chuàng)新不能改善這個世界。這些悲觀論調是錯誤的，他們的想法一點都不“瘋狂”。如果我們不注重創(chuàng)新，那么我們就不可能有驚人的發(fā)明，我們不會改善公立學校，不會治愈瘧疾，不會結束貧困，不會幫助貧困農民應付不斷變化的氣候。

樂觀不是消極地期待事情變好，而是一種信念，相信自己可以做的更好。任何時候，樂觀都能加速創(chuàng)新，避免或減輕痛苦。我們需要同理心，它能引導我們的樂觀，帶我們走近貧窮和疾病，找到一個個充滿創(chuàng)意的回答，給悲觀主義者們一個又一個驚喜。

當我在你們這個年齡時，我的世界觀并沒有像你們中的大多數(shù)人所擁有的更廣闊。接下來，你們將引領新的創(chuàng)新浪潮，并把它應用到你的世界。如果你的世界很寬廣，你可以創(chuàng)建我們都希望的未來，如果你的世界是狹窄的，你可能迎來一個悲觀恐懼的未來。毋庸置疑的是，你們會比我做得更好。