每逢开学季，各大名校的开学典礼精彩演讲便会刷屏。
开学典礼演讲，不仅仅是高校对新生的欢迎和祝福，更是一次大学精神在当下环境的集中展现。
今年是哈佛大学校长 Larry Bacow任期内最后一场开学典礼演讲。这位任期（2018开始）正好撞上了疫情三年的校长，在明年将告别哈佛校长一职。
1636年建校的哈佛大学（图源：unsplash）那么在这场兼具希望和告别性质的开学演讲中，这位哈佛校长会给今年的新生怎样的人生建议呢？
Good afternoon, Class of 2026. It is an honor to add my voice to the chorus（合唱队） welcoming you officially as members of the Harvard community.
下午好，2026届新生，我很荣幸能站在这里发表演讲，欢迎你们正式成为哈佛大家庭中的一员。
Fifty-three years ago this week, I said goodbye to my friends and family in Pontiac, Michigan and arrived here in Cambridge, Massachusetts for my first year of college. Not here, exactly, but just down the street at MIT.
53年前的这一周，我告别了密歇根州庞蒂亚克的家人和朋友，来到马萨诸塞州剑桥市开始我的大学生活。不过并不是在这里，而是旁边的麻省理工学院。
It seems like yesterday.
一切就好像发生在昨天。
I can tell you with complete confidence（信心十足，胸有成竹） that memories of your first few weeks on this campus will remain vivid（生动鲜活的） throughout your lifetime. You will recall who you met, who you befriended, your very first class, your very first burger at Bartley’s—everything.
我可以肯定地告诉各位，你在学校第一周经历的事情，会让你们一辈子记忆犹新。你会记得你遇到了谁，和谁成为了朋友，你的第一堂课，你在Mr. Bartley’s（一家知名汉堡店）吃的第一顿汉堡……一切的一切。
哈佛大学校园（图源：unsplash）Among my most vivid memories is my freshman roommate. His name was Alan. He was a lacrosse player from New Jersey. He was big. I was small. He was messy. I was neat. He brought his stereo（立体声音响） to campus and liked to study with it on. I liked to study with it off. He liked to listen to the Rolling Stones, The Who and The Band. I liked Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. He liked almost all New York sports teams. I hated them. He was politically quite conservative（保守的）. I was anything but.
我最生动的大学记忆是我的室友，他的名字叫阿伦。他是一位来自新泽西州的曲棍球运动员。他身强体壮，我则矮小瘦弱；他不修边幅，我则酷爱整洁。他有一个立体声音响，喜欢一遍听音乐一边学习，我则喜欢在安静的环境中学习。他喜欢听滚石乐队、谁人乐队、The Band乐队；我则喜欢鲍勃·迪伦、詹姆斯·泰勒和琼尼·米歇尔。他几乎喜欢所有纽约的运动队，我则讨厌他们。他在在政治上非常保守，我则截然相反。
“This will never work out,” I thought. So—you can probably tell where this story is going—I could not have been more wrong. Alan, beneath a seemingly crusty（顽固的，易怒的）, loud, opinionated（固执己见的）exterior（外表）, proved to be one of the kindest, most interesting people I met during my time in college.
“我们永远都不可能成为朋友。”我心想。到这里，你大概可能会猜到后面发生了什么，我简直大错特错。尽管阿伦有着看似顽固、聒噪、固执己见的外表，但他其实是我在大学期间遇到的最善良、最有趣的人。
He was incredibly well read, a terrific writer, and very generous with his time, patiently helping me navigate（导航，找到正确方向） through freshman physics, calculus, and chemistry. While we differed on almost everything related to politics, he loved a good argument, and we had many. He became one of my closest friends, and we continued to live together, even as graduate students.
他非常擅长阅读，也是一个出色的写作者，他不吝惜自己的时间帮助我了解大一年级的物理、微积分和化学等课程。虽然我们几乎在所有政治议题上都有分歧，但他很喜欢这种有益的辩论，我们也经常如此。他成了我最亲密的朋友，我们一直住在一起，甚至到了研究生阶段也是如此。
On my first day at Harvard Law School, he fixed me up（修理，安排） on a blind date with his girlfriend’s roommate. That blind date is here today. Let me introduce you to her, my wife of 47 years, Adele. And Alan wound up marrying Adele’s roommate, Debby, one week before Adele and I got married. The two of them came to our wedding on their honeymoon.
在我入读哈佛法学院的第一天，他安排我和他女朋友的室友相亲。那位相亲对象今天也来到了这里，她便是与我相伴47年的妻子阿黛尔。阿兰和他的女朋友黛比比我们早一周结婚。他们在蜜月期间参加了我们的婚礼。
哈佛大学法学院外景（图源：unsplash）Today, 53 years after we met, Alan and Debby remain two of our closest friends. This summer, they spent three days with us at our home. We have been through all of life’s passages（通道，段落） together—the birth of our children and their children—the work of building careers and families—the joys and disappointments of life—the sweetness of every milestone and the sorrow of every loss.
直到今天，在我们相识53年后，阿伦和黛比依然是我们最亲密的朋友。这个夏天，他们在我们的家里与我们共同度过了三天。我们一起经历了生命的各个阶段，我们的孩子和他们的孩子的出生，事业和家庭的建立，生命的喜悦和失望……我们一起经历了每一个甜蜜的里程碑和失去的悲伤。
We still agree about very little when it comes to politics, but we have civil（公民的，文明的） conversations—even debates from time to time—and usually end up agreeing to disagree. But we always respect each other, and we often learn from each other. And, after 53 years, we love them like family.
在政治方面，我们少有意见相同的地方，但是我们会进行文明的对话，尽管有时候会陷入争论，通常会以同意或不同意收尾，但我们总是尊重彼此，互相学习。在53年后，我们像爱家人一样爱他们。
During your time here, please don’t overlook your Alan. Please don’t judge people quickly based on their outward appearances（外表） or your first impressions（第一印象）. One of the many reasons we admitted students from around the world, people with every interest imaginable, is because we learn from our differences.
在你们的大学时光中，请不要忽略你们的“阿伦”。不要凭借他人的外表或第一印象来评判他人。之所以我们会从世界各地录取学生，录取志趣迥异的人们，其中一个原因就是，我们可以从彼此的差异中学习。
As you get to know your roommates and your classmates, try to be slow to judge and quick to understand.（快速理解，慢下判断） Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, at least initially, not just at Harvard but throughout life and you will be surprised by the number of friends you will acquire（获得，得到）, people quite different from you, but people who will enrich your life immensely.
当你开始认识你的室友和同学的时候，试着不要轻易下判断，并快速理解对方。让每个人都能获得这种“怀疑”带来的益处——至少在最初的时候。你不仅仅应该在哈佛这样做，而是将这种行为贯穿整个人生。那么，你将会惊讶于你所能结识的朋友的数量。这些人或许与你完全与不同，但是他们会极大地丰富你的人生。
哈佛大学纪念教堂（图源：unsplash）If you are like most Harvard students, the friendships you make in the next few days will stay with you forever. A few of you are even likely to meet your spouse（配偶） or life partner here. I know this statement to be true because I attend a lot of Harvard reunions（聚会，同学会）. I hear the same stories over and over about lifelong relationships that started during the first few days of school. Your best friends, people with whom you will share your life together, are sitting among you. Your job is to find them.
如果你和大多数哈佛的学生一样，那么你接下来几天所获得的友谊会伴随你的一生。你们中的一些人甚至可能会邂逅你的配偶或生活伴侣。我之所以这样说，是因为我参加过很多哈佛的同学会。我一遍又一遍地听到类似的故事，那些从大学前几天开始的持续一生的关系。你最好的朋友，与你一起分享生活的人，正坐在你们中间。你要做的就是找到他们。
Let me also acknowledge that you may meet people at Harvard that you do not like. Harvard is a microcosm（缩影） of the larger world, and everything that you may find objectionable（令人不快的） in the larger world is present in some measure here. We are not perfect, but we strive to be better.
我也承认，你在哈佛可能会遇到你不喜欢的人。哈佛是更大的世界的缩影，你在真实世界里可能遇到的一切讨厌的事情，在这里都以某种形式存在着。我们并不完美，但我们努力做得更好。
While trying to be a caring（关心他人的）, understanding（善解人意的）, and welcoming（热情友好的） community, we cannot protect you from everything that is unpleasant. Our job is to prepare you for the world you will inhabit when you graduate. And that world is not going to treat you with kid gloves（极有礼貌地对待） simply because you have a Harvard degree. We would not be doing you a favor if we placed you in an emotional bubble（气泡，泡沫） and did not let your emotional immune systems develop. We are here to prepare you to deal with a world that will challenge you—and sometimes even offend you.
在努力成为一个充满关怀、善解人意、热情友好的社区的同时，我们无法让你免受一切不好事物的影响。我们的任务是为你进入真正的世界做好准备。这个世界不会仅仅因为你拥有哈佛的学位就善待你。我们只有将你放在情绪的泡沫中，你的情绪免疫系统才能真正得到发展。我们要帮你学会应对这个世界，一个可能会挑战你，甚至冒犯你的世界。
I hope you will master these skills while you are at Harvard so you can devote your life to repairing a world that we all know is far from（远远不，根本不） perfect.
我们希望你们能在哈佛掌握这些技能，这样你就可以致力于去修复这个远远不完美的世界。
I know from conversations that I have already had with some of you that you want to change the world. Good for you. That is one of the reasons we admitted you. But if you want to change the world, you need to master the art of persuading people to change their minds. And I guarantee（保证，确保） that you will not be effective at doing so unless you first have the experience of changing your own.
从你们对话中，我知道你们中的一些人想要改变世界。这种抱负是有益的，这正是我们录取你们的原因。但是，如果你想改变这个世界，你需要学会说服他人改变想法的艺术。我保证，你首先要学着改变自己的想法，否则你不会掌握这种技艺。
Our motto at Harvard is Veritas. It is more than a motto. It is the reason we exist, to seek the truth. Over time, truth is revealed, it needs to be tested on the anvil（铁砧） of competing ideas. If you really seek the truth, you must engage with those who think differently than you.
哈佛的校训是“真理”。这不仅仅是一句校训。它是我们存在的理由，那就是寻求真理。真理需要经过不同观点较量的试金石的检验。随着时间的推移，真理便可以被揭示。如果你想寻求真理，你必须与那些与你想法不同的人接触。
Even more importantly, you must be willing to change your mind – to be persuaded（劝说，说服） by a better argument or new information. Only when you have this experience will you be well equipped to make a difference in the world. This is another skill I hope you will master at Harvard.
更重要的是，如果你被更好的观点和信息说服，你必须愿意改变自己的想法。你只有拥有这种经历，你才真正为改变世界做好了准备。这是我希望你在哈佛学习到的另外一种技能。
哈佛的校徽，上面写着“真理”（图源：unsplash）On move in day, Adele and I met many of your families. We witnessed more than one emotional goodbye. Most of you have been at the center of your loved one’s lives since the day you entered their world. Now you are gone, and, for many left behind, the silence is deafening（震耳欲聋的）.
在你们搬来的那天，我和阿黛尔遇到了很多你们的家人。我们目睹了很多深情的告别。自从你们进入他们的世界以来，你们中的大多数人都是他们生命的中心。现在，你们离开了，对于他们来说，家中安静是的苦涩而难熬的。
You have many people to help you make your transition to college—academic advisors, peer advisors, residential advisors, proctors（监考人）, deans—you name it. But your loved ones are on their own. They are also going through a big adjustment, and it is up to you to help them through it. Please give them a call from time to time, not a text – a call, and ask them how they are doing. I guarantee you they will appreciate it.
有很多人会帮助你完成大学的过渡，比如学术顾问、同伴顾问、住宿顾问、监考人员、院长等。但是你的父母只能靠他们自己。他们同样会经历一次重大的生活调整，你要去帮助他们渡过难关。请偶尔给他们打个电话，不是发信息，是打电话，问问他们过得如何。我向你保证，他们会非常感激。
Class of 2026, we have great expectations for you. I hope that Harvard is everything you dreamed it will be—intellectually, socially and personally. I only wish I could be there at your 50th reunion so you could tell me how your life turned out and the role that Harvard played in it.
2026届的新生们，我们对你们寄予厚望。我希望哈佛在各个方面都是你们梦想中的样子，无论是学术、社交还是个人层面。我唯一的希望就是能出席你们50周年的同学会，那样你们就可告诉我你们的人生过得如何，以及哈佛在其中扮演了怎样的角色。
Best of luck to each of you, and Godspeed（对远行的人祝福语，一路顺风，一切顺利）.
祝大家好运，一切顺利。
