世界的不平等与复杂(一)

World Inequality and Complexity (一)

原文摘自NCE省心英语-美文

分段翻译

Part 1 翻译

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. Is 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.

But taking a serious look back... I do have one big regret.

我对哈佛的印象是这里面充满了活力与智慧。这里的生活有时让人开心,让人惊讶,有时让人失望,但总是充满挑战。这是一个让人惊讶的地方,然而我早早的就离开了,在哈佛的岁月里,我建立的友谊和一些想法改变了我。

但是,认真回想起来,我很后悔一件事。

Part 1 生词统计

单词音标翻译
intelligenceɪn'tɛlɪdʒənsn. 智力、情报工作、天分
exhilarateɪɡ'zɪləretv. 使高兴、使振奋、使愉快
intimidateɪn'tɪmɪdetv. 恐吓、威胁、胁迫
privilegeˈprɪvəlɪdʒn. 特权、优待; v. 给予...特权、特免

Part 2 翻译

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.

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.

在我离开哈佛的时候,我并没有意识到这个世界有那么多的不公平,这些不平等包括健康,财富和选择。这些不停等让上百万的人生活在绝望中。

我在这里学到了关于经济和政治上的一些新思想。明白了许多科学上的进展

Part 2 生词统计

单词音标翻译
awful'ɔfladj. 可怕的、极坏的
inequityɪn'ɛkwətin. 不公平、不公正
appalə'pɔlv. 使惊骇、惊吓、减弱、变得苍白
disparitydɪ'spærətin. 不同、不一致、不等
condemnkən'dɛmv. 谴责、判刑、定罪
economicˌikəˈnɑmɪkadj. 经济的、经济上的、经济学的
politic'pɑlətɪkadj. 精明的、有策略的、政治的; v. 拉选票
exposureɪk'spoʒɚn. 暴露、曝光、揭露、陈列
advanceəd'vænsn. 发展、前进、增长、预付款; v. 前进、进展; adj. 预先的、现行的

Part 3 翻译

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 achivement.

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.

It took me decades to find out.

但是,人类最大的进步并不在于这些发现,而在于怎样用这些发现去减不公平。通过民主政策、健全的公共教育、高质量的医疗保证、或是更宽广的经济机会。减少不公平才是人类最大的成就。

在这个城市有数百万的人没有收到教育的机会,在我离开的时候,我对这方面知道很少。而我不知道的是,在一些发展中国家,无数的人在极其糟糕的贫穷和疾病中生活。

我花了几十年才明白这些事。

Part 3 生词统计

单词音标翻译
democracydɪˈmɑkrəsin. 民主、民主主义、民主政治
campus'kæmpəsn. 校园、大学、大学生活
cheattʃitn. 欺骗、作弊、骗子; v. 欺骗、骗取
poverty'pɑvɚtin. 贫穷、困难、缺少
diseasedɪ'zizn. 病、疾病; v. 传染、使...有病
decade'dɛkedn. 十年、十年期

Part 4 翻译

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.

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?

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.

During our discussions on this question, Melinda and I read an article about the millions of children who were dying every year in poor countries from diseases that we had long ago made harmless in this coutry, measles, malaria, pneumonia, hepatitis B, yellow fever. One disease I had never even heard of, rotavirus, was killing half a million kids each year - none of them in the United States.

你们来哈佛的时代与我们不同。你们比以前的学生更早的了解世界的不平等。你们在这的时间里,我希望你们有机会去思考以下这个问题,在这个科技告诉发展的时代,我们最终应该怎样面对这些不公平,并且怎样去解决它。

想象以下,只是为了讨论,你每周拿出来几天或每个月捐出来一些钱,你想吧这些时间的钱用在拯救和提高人们生活最有用的地方,你会选择用在哪里呢?

对于Melinda和我来说,我们也有同样的问题:我们怎样用我们的资源为最多的人做最好的事。

在我们讨论这个问题期间,Melinda和我读到了一篇文章,在一些贫穷的国家,每年都有数百万的孩子死于一些在这里已经不算问的疾病,麻疹、痢疾、肺炎、肝炎、黄热病。还有一种我从未听说的过疾病,环状病毒,每年导致50多万的孩子死亡,在美国一例这种死亡病例也没有。

Part 4 生词统计

单词音标翻译
accelerateəkˈsɛləˌretv. 使...加快、使...增速
sakesekn. 目的、利益、理由
donate'donetv. 捐赠、捐献
impactɪm'pæktn. 影响、效果、碰撞; v. 影响、撞击、挤入、冲突
measlesmizəlzn. 麻疹
malariamə'lɛrɪən. 痢疾、瘴气
pneumonianʊ'monɪən. 肺炎
hepatitis'hɛpə'taɪtɪsn. 肝炎
fever'fivɚn. 发烧、发热、狂热; v. 使发烧、使患热病
rotavirus'rotə'vaɪrəsn. 轮状病毒(一种致婴儿或新生畜胃肠炎的病毒)

Part 5 翻译

We were shocked. We had just assumed that if millions of children were dying and they could be saved, the world would make it a priority to discover and deliver the medicines to save them. But it did not. For under a dollar, there were interventions that could save lives that just weren't being delivered.

If you belive that every life has equal value, it's revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves, "This can't be true, but if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving."

So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it. We asked, "How could the world let these children die."

The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it. So the children died because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.

But you and I have both.

We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism - if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the great inequities. We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes.

这让我们很惊讶,我们假设一下,如果说数百万濒临死亡的孩子他们是可以获救的,那么这个世界应该优先去研发并把这些药物给到他们。但事实并非如此,在金钱的干预下,这些可以救他们的药并没有被送到他们手中。

如果你相信每个生命都是同等的,那么当你听到有些生命值得被拯救而有些并不值得的时候会感到非常反感。我们告诉自己:这不是真的,但是如果这是真的,那么塔也应该按照我们所付出的优先权。

所以我们用在做的每个人都会做的方式开始工作,这个世界怎么可以让孩子们死去。

答案很简单,也很严酷。市场上并没有对拯救这些孩子的生命给予报酬,政府也没有提供资助。孩子们之所以会死亡,是因为他们的妈妈和爸爸没有经济实力,同时在整个系统中也没能力发声。

但是我们有这个能力。

如果我们能创造一个更好的资本市场,让市场的资金力量更倾向于服务穷人,如果我们可以扩宽市场范围,让更多人可以创造利润,至少活下去,为那些在极不公平的地方生活的人服务。我们也可以向全世界的政府部门施压,把纳税人的钱用在更能反映纳税的价值的地方。

Part 5 生词统计

单词音标翻译
shockʃɑkn. 休克、震惊、震动、打击; v. 使休克、使震惊; adj. 蓬乱的、浓密的
assumeə'sumv. 假定、设想、承担、采取
prioritypraɪ'ɔrətin. 优先、优先权
interventionɪntɚ'vɛnʃənn. 介入、调停、妨碍
revoltrɪ'voltv. 反叛、反抗、反感; n. 反抗、叛乱、反感
deservedɪ'zɝvv. 应受、应得
rewardrɪ'wɔrdn. 报酬、报答、酬谢; v. 奖励、奖赏
subsidizesʌbsə'daɪzv. 资助、给予奖助金、向...行贿
forcefɔrsn. 力量、武力、军队、魄力; v. 促使、推动、强迫、加强
capitalism'kæpɪtəlɪzəmn. 资本主义
stretchstrɛtʃv. 伸展、张开、消耗、全力以赴; n. 伸展、延伸
reachritʃn. 范围、延伸、河段、横风行驶; v. 达到、延伸、伸出手、传开

原文阅读

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.

But taking a serious look back... I do have one big regret.

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.

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.

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 achivement.

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.

It took me decades to find out.

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.

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?

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.

During our discussions on this question, Melinda and I read an article about the millions of children who were dying every year in poor countries from diseases that we had long ago made harmless in this coutry, measles, malaria, pneumonia, hepatitis B, yellow fever. One disease I had never even heard of, rotavirus, was killing half a million kids each year - none of them in the United States.

We were shocked. We had just assumed that if millions of children were dying and they could be saved, the world would make it a priority to discover and deliver the medicines to save them. But it did not. For under a dollar, there were interventions that could save lives that just weren't being delivered.

If you believe that every life has equal value, it's revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves, "This can't be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving."

So we began our work in the same way anyone here would begin it. We asked, "How could the world let these children die?"

The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it. So the children died because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.

But you and I have both.

We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism - if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the great inequities. We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes.