英文自修134：你为简历而活，还是为悼词而活？（20140719）

本系列内容英文原文取自BBC Thought for the Day节目网站，朋友们也可以下载节目录音收听。

译者：Young

审读：武太白

------------------------

Thought for the Day20140719Martin Wroe

We recently started a family. This week one of the kids graduated from University. Where do the years go?

这周我们的一个孩子大学毕业。结婚成家却像昨天的事。时间都去哪儿了？

Many schools broke up for summer yesterday - young people are waiting for results or looking for work. You remember when that was you, you notice how quickly the days pass, how soon your time will be up.

昨天许多学校开始放暑假，年轻的学子们有的在等考试成绩，有的在找工作。想想那时的你，你就会注意到岁月飞逝，时日所剩无几。

And you look at the news this past few days and realize that nothing is certain. You suppress 抑制 a feeling of dread at how fragile everything is, how ordinary lives can be torn apart by catastrophe.

看看最近几天的新闻，你会意识到没有什么是确定的。世间万物都是那么脆弱，普通的生活会被灾难摧毁，这让你恐惧，但你又抑制这种恐惧感。

So a letter from Headteacher Rachel Tomlinson, to children leaving her Lancashire primary school this week, was inspiring. She praised her Year 6 pupils for their results but reminded them that academic tests measure only a part of who they are.

所以，兰开夏郡的小学校长蕾切尔·汤姆林森这周写给毕业生们的信鼓舞人心。信中表扬了该校6年级学生的成绩，同时提醒他们学习成绩只是衡量自身的一部分。

Rachel Tomlinson

The people who mark those tests, she wrote, don’t know that 'your friends count on you to be there for them' or that 'sometimes you take care of your little brother or sister after school' or 'that you can be trustworthy, kind or thoughtful.'

她在信中写到，阅卷的老师“并不知道你是朋友的依靠”，不知道“你有时候会在放学后照顾年幼的弟弟和妹妹”，也不知道 “你是一个值得信赖、友善、体贴的人。”

There are many ways of being smart, she concluded. Or, to put it another way - there are many ways of living a good life.

她在结语中说聪明的方式有很多种。或者换句话说，过好生活的方式有很多种。

The American author David Brooks makes a distinction between resume virtues and eulogy virtues.

美国作家大卫·布鲁克斯对简历美德和悼词美德进行了区分。

Resume virtues, he says, are how you did in those tests, the evidence of your skillbase, what you bring to work as a grown up.

他说简历美德是你在考试中的表现，是技能的证明，是你作为一个成人带到工作中的优点。

But eulogy virtues - these are different. This is what people will say about you when your life is over.

但是悼词美德却不同。他是在身后人们对你的评价。

At your funeral no-one will mention your exam results. The hours you spent at work - your title or salary. People will remember a different edition of your life.

在你的葬礼上，没有人会提起你的考试成绩、你花在工作上的时间、你的头衔和薪酬。人们记住的是你的别样人生。

‘He loved playing with his kids…’ ‘She’d always stand up for others…’

“他爱陪孩子们玩”……“她总会支持别人……”

Maybe they’ll say: ‘She was generous and patient…’ ‘He was loyal and brave...’ ‘She always listened and was so discreet…’

或许人们会说：“她慷慨大方而又富有耐心。”“他忠诚又勇敢。”“她擅长倾听，言行谨慎。”

Eulogy virtues are hard to measure, but easier to witness. They’re not about your qualifications in life but the quality of your life. They are a glue that hold families and friendships together - that helps us negotiate life’s toughest tests.

悼词美德难以衡量，却容易见证。它们不是生活的资历，而是生活的质量。它们是维系亲情和友情的粘合剂，帮助我们度过生命中最严峻的考验。

A good eulogy paints a picture of someone who recognised their human flaws – and tried to face them down. Are we mean or consumed with envy? Do we hold grudges? Do we ever shut up and let others speak? Can we forgive?

精彩的悼词描绘的是一个能认识到人性的弱点并努力克服的人。我们是否会有卑鄙之心，受妒火炙烧？我们有没有闭口不言，让他人发声？我们能否原谅他人？

As families mourn those they’ve lost on Flight MH17, one image stood out. A memory of a brilliant pioneer in AIDS research. His friend recalled how ‘often times he was cooking for his five girls while on conference calls discussing HIV’.

在马航MH17的遇难者亲属悼念逝者的时候，有一幅情景很突出。人们回忆艾滋病研究方面的杰出先驱。他的朋友回忆起他“经常一边开艾滋病的电话会讨论会，给他的五个女儿做饭。”

A snapshot of a good life. ‘Teach us to number our days,’ says the Psalmist, ‘That we may apply our hearts to wisdom.’

这仿佛是美好生活的快照。“指教我们怎样数算日子，”《诗篇》的作者说，“得着智慧的心。”

In a time when world leaders struggle to wage peace and foster friendship, our hope lies in young people with the courage, compassion and character to do it in theirs.

在这个世界各国领导人努力维护和平，培植友谊的时代，我们寄希望于年轻的、富有勇气、富有同情心和别具个性的一代，能在他们的时代完成此事。