2017考研英语拓展阅读：最有力量的哈佛大学毕业演讲

考研英语来源：新东方网整理 2016-06-01　

It’s the speech Harvard University is calling "the most powerful, heartfelt" speech "you will ever hear."

这篇演讲被称作“你从未听过的”，“最有力量的，最诚挚的”哈佛大学演讲。

Donovan Livingston, a master’s graduate at the university, was chosen by a committee of faculty, staff and students to speak at the School of Education’s convocation, a rep for Harvard told ABC News.

一名哈佛代表告诉ABC新闻，发表演讲的多诺万·利文斯顿是哈佛大学硕士毕业生，他由学校教职员工和学生委员会选中，在学校教育集会上发言。

Instead of a traditional speech, Livingston used spoken word to perform his poem, "Lift Off."

区别于传统演讲，利文斯顿朗诵了他的诗歌《启飞》。

Livingston told ABC News that the "true inspiration behind the piece" was the fact that he couldn’t perform a poem when he gave his commencement remarks during his senior year of high school.

利文斯顿告诉ABC新闻，“诗歌背后真正的灵感”来自于他在高中毕业典礼上做毕业致辞时不能朗诵诗歌的真实经历。

"The teacher who was in charge...threatened to take me offstage or cut my microphone when she caught wind that I wanted to incorporate a poem," he recalled. "She wanted it to be traditional. So I complied, but I really wanted to address my class in my most authentic voice, which is what I said onstage Wednesday."

“负责老师威胁说一旦发现我在讲话时想要念诗她就要把我拉下台或者把我的麦克风切断，”他回忆道。“她希望演讲就是传统型的。所以我遵从了，但我真的想以我最真实的声音来对我的同学们讲话，就像星期三我在台上讲的那样。”

Livingston told his fellow classmates in part:

利文斯顿在诗中告诉他的同学们：

"I’ve been a black hole in the classroom for far too long;

“我像黑洞一样在教室里潜伏了许久;

Absorbing everything, without allowing my light to escape.

我拼命吸收一切，不让任何一点光芒逃跑。

But those days are done. I belong among the stars.

但那些日子已经过去。我融进了星河。

And so do you. And so do they.

你们也是如此。他们也是如此。

Together, we can inspire galaxies of greatness

让我们携手，激发出银河系中的伟大

For generations to come.

以待后辈。

So no, sky is not the limit. It is only the beginning.

所以啊，不，天空并不是极限。天空仅仅是开始。

Lift off."

启飞吧。”

The speech has been seen by more than 5 million people and was even shared by Justin Timberlake and Hillary Clinton.

演讲视频已经有超过500万人次观看，连由贾斯汀·汀布莱克和希拉里·克林顿都分享了这段视频。

Livingston -- who hopes to become a faculty member or an administrator at a university one day -- said he did not expect to get a standing ovation, nor did he expect the speech to go viral.

利文斯顿的愿望是成为一名大学教员或管理员。他说他原本并不期望得到大家长时间的起立鼓掌，他也没有想到的这段演讲会在网上大规模的流传。

It makes sense for the son of two educators: His father is a retired principal and his mother is a speech pathologist, working with special needs students.

作为两名教育者的儿子，利文斯顿做关于教育的演讲是有理由的：他的父亲是一名退休校长，他的母亲是一名语言病理学家，同有语言障碍的学生工作。

"I’ve always been around education, but I didn’t know it was something I was really passionate about until I got to college and looked around and saw ... that everything I did catered to college access [and] college success. It felt natural," the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, resident said. "I’m just really happy to carry on the legacy of my mother and father and I’m just grateful to walk in their footsteps."

“我的生活和教育息息相关，但在我上大学前，在我环顾四周，发现我所做的一切都是为了上大学并在大学里取得成功前，我都不知道我是如此热爱教育。这很自然。”这位来自北卡罗来纳州温斯顿塞勒姆的市民如此说道。“我真的很高兴能继承我的母亲和父亲的志向，我也很感激能够沿着他们的足迹前行。”