[00:00:02] Life Attitudes and Value of Social Being - 英语演讲
[00:00:07] Commencement Address by Katie Couric
[00:00:10] at Princeton University
[00:00:12] Thank you, Neil, for the kind introduction,
[00:00:17] and thank you for inviting me today,
[00:00:19] Madame President, Deans,
[00:00:21] and most of all Graduating Class of 2009.
[00:00:24] It's a tremendous honor to be part of your Class Day.
[00:00:31] When Princeton called to invite me I was thrilled.
[00:00:34] It also gave me a perfect excuse for
[00:00:37] turning down Harvard and Yale!
[00:00:39] And since I’ve been called a cougar lately
[00:00:42] in the tabloid press - today I’m very happy
[00:00:45] to be an honorary tiger!
[00:00:47] Coming here was a real no brainer!
[00:00:50] After all, I can see New Jersey from my house!
[00:00:53] But, actually, I do have a bone to pick with you.
[00:00:58] I have discovered I am the first female Class Day speaker
[00:01:03] in Princeton's history.
[00:01:05] So, I'd like to officially welcome Princetonto the 21st Century.
[00:01:09] You've embraced the female gender at the perfect time.
[00:01:13] In any event, it is an honor to be here
[00:01:19] and I am moved to be sharing this special moment
[00:01:22] with parents and professors who may have
[00:01:24] woken up to me on the Today show,
[00:01:26] and with students who may wake up in time
[00:01:29] for the CBS Evening News.
[00:01:31] Although based on the average age of our viewers,
[00:01:34] I think you're probably watching "Shot at Love with Tila Tequila" instead.
[00:01:39] But seriously, thanks for inviting me,
[00:01:45] and congratulations to you on your graduation,
[00:01:48] or, more appropriately, your commencement,
[00:01:51] because the fun is just beginning.
[00:01:54] I'm sure you don't need a newsflash
[00:01:59] that getting a job is no stroll down Nassau Street.
[00:02:02] I read a study recently that said only 20 percent
[00:02:06] of graduates who've applied for jobs have one right now.
[00:02:10] That's down from 51 percent in 2007.
[00:02:14] In this economic climate,
[00:02:17] graduates of the Wilson School might actually have
[00:02:20] to get a job in Government!
[00:02:22] There may be some opportunities in the Republican Party.
[00:02:25] They're still looking for an effective spokesman,
[00:02:29] and the only person they can find so far is Rush Limbaugh,
[00:02:32] and he won't take the job
[00:02:34] because he doesn't want to give up his prescription plan.
[00:02:37] But as you head out into this daunting job market,
[00:02:43] at least you have many illustrious alumni lighting the way.
[00:02:47] Like the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama.
[00:02:51] She was class of 1985, and now she's wowing them in Washington.
[00:02:56] Or Queen Noor of Jordan, who has traveled so far
[00:03:01] and done so much in the name of humanitarian causes
[00:03:04] since her days here on this campus.
[00:03:07] There are a few noteworthy men who were proud to
[00:03:12] go to Princeton as well, a list that reads like
[00:03:17] a who's who of American History, James Madison,
[00:03:19] John Foster Dulles, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Malcolm Forbes, James Baker, etc.
[00:03:26] An impressive number of technology giants have
[00:03:32] also graduated from Princeton.
[00:03:32] From the father of modern computing, Alan Turing,
[00:03:35] to Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, to EBay founder Meg Whitman.
[00:03:40] And I understand Amazon's Jeff Bezos is offering
[00:03:45] to replace the Firestone Library with a Kindle.
[00:03:47] It really makes you wonder why they even built Stanford!
[00:03:51] Also doing his part to advance Princeton's
[00:03:57] impressive technology footprint -
[00:03:59] Class of 82's David Duchovny,
[00:04:02] who is single-handedly supporting a major segment of the on-line industry.
[00:04:07] There certainly are many successful graduates of Princeton.
[00:04:11] And now, it's your turn. More than ever in my lifetime,
[00:04:15] this nation needs some big, bold thinkers.
[00:04:19] We need innovators.
[00:04:20] We need people who look beyond a paycheck
[00:04:24] and see possibilities.
[00:04:25] You've got your degree.
[00:04:28] Now, you're about to enroll in a new kind of learning experience.
[00:04:32] There are plenty of lessons along the way,
[00:04:35] if you keep your heart and your mind open on the journey.
[00:04:39] First, success only knocks on your door
[00:04:44] if you win the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.
[00:04:47] All the rest of us have to work for it hard.
[00:04:50] There's that old joke. How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
[00:04:54] Practice, practice, practice.
[00:04:56] That's a major point Malcolm Gladwell
[00:04:59] makes in his book "Outliers."
[00:05:01] He writes that to truly master something,
[00:05:04] you need to spend at least 10-thousand hours doing it.
[00:05:08] Take Bill Gates, for example.
[00:05:10] He dropped out of Harvard and he still became Bill Gates
[00:05:15] by devoting his every waking moment to building
[00:05:18] and understanding computer codes.
[00:05:20] The Beatles might have seemed like an overnight sensation,
[00:05:24] but they played together more than a thousand times
[00:05:27] before that famous appearance
[00:05:28] on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
[00:05:32] For them, it really was a hard day's night.
[00:05:34] Night after night after night for four years!
[00:05:38] I'm no Beatles or Bill Gates,
[00:05:43] but I've learned the importance of hard work, as well.
[00:05:46] I was a desk assistant at ABC News in Washington
[00:05:50] where my major responsibilities were xeroxing (hey,
[00:05:54] it was the dark ages!) and making coffee.
[00:05:57] When I moved to what my network colleagues
[00:06:00] referred to as Chicken Noodle News in 1980,
[00:06:04] I finally got a chance to do some reporting...
[00:06:06] and the President of CNN said he never
[00:06:10] wanted to see me on air again.
[00:06:11] It could have been demoralizing;
[00:06:14] instead I found it motivating!
[00:06:16] And rather than let the turkeys get me down.
[00:06:19] I just kept practicing.
[00:06:21] And I actually got better.
[00:06:23] Even today I spend hours preparing for interviews
[00:06:28] that sometimes are edited down to only a few minutes.
[00:06:32] It takes a lot of effort to make things appear effortless.
[00:06:36] This year I had the privilege of
[00:06:40] interviewing Captain Chesley Sullenberger,
[00:06:43] the man who successfully landed a flight
[00:06:46] on the Hudson River after birds knocked out both engines.
[00:06:50] He saved all 155 lives onboard.
[00:06:54] While his story is about heroism,
[00:06:57] it's also about experience and hard work.
[00:07:01] He said to me: "For 42 years, I've been making small,
[00:07:05] regular deposits in this bank of experience,
[00:07:08] education, and training. And on January 15th,
[00:07:12] the balance was sufficient so that
[00:07:15] I could make a sudden large withdrawal.
[00:07:17] " In other words, practice, practice, practice.
[00:07:21] It always pays off.
[00:07:23] Next, don't be a hater. Princeton
[00:07:27] has taught you to think critically,
[00:07:29] to approach things with a healthy dose
[00:07:31] of skepticism and that's a good thing,
[00:07:34] as Martha Stewart would say.
[00:07:36] But you really must guard against
[00:07:39] the cynicism and nastiness
[00:07:41] that are so pervasive today,
[00:07:42] particularly on the internet.
[00:07:45] It can be a wonderful,
[00:07:47] powerful and equalizing tool,
[00:07:49] but it's also populated by haters and trolls.
[00:07:53] People think they can say or do anything online
[00:07:56] under the cloak of anonymity.
[00:07:58] Don't get sucked in.
[00:08:01] In his book, entitled "Snark", David Denby writes,
[00:08:05] "Snark often functions as an enforcer of
[00:08:09] mediocrity and conformity.
[00:08:10] In its cozy knowingness,
[00:08:13] snark flatters you in assuming
[00:08:15] that you get the contemptuous joke.
[00:08:17] You've been admitted or re-admitted to a club,
[00:08:20] but it may be a club of the second rate."
[00:08:23] Rise above the collegial nastiness and instead,
[00:08:29] celebrate excellence.
[00:08:31] The joy of reveling in someone else's success
[00:08:35] is much sweeter than the bitter vitriol
[00:08:37] of sites like Juicy Campus.
[00:08:40] By the way, Juicy Campus RIP.
[00:08:43] Shutting that website down, in my view,
[00:08:46] was a huge victory for civility.
[00:08:48] Third, I have a message particularly for
[00:08:54] all you young women here today,
[00:08:56] or as Beyonce might say, all the single ladies.
[00:09:00] John Lennon, once wrote "Life is what happens to you
[00:09:04] while you're busy making other plans."
[00:09:06] I'm sure you are all graduating with big career goals.
[00:09:12] You may also have a dream of being married
[00:09:15] and having a family, and at some point the career
[00:09:18] may take a backseat. There is no more challenging,
[00:09:21] rewarding or important job than being a mom.
[00:09:25] I just want to say this -
[00:09:27] sometimes dreams of domestic bliss
[00:09:29] are interrupted by reality. People get divorced.
[00:09:33] People die. You need to protect yourself.
[00:09:36] I was very happily married to a wonderful man.
[00:09:39] He was diagnosed with colon cancer
[00:09:43] and nine months later, he was gone.
[00:09:45] I was a single mom with two very young children.
[00:09:49] This was not part of the plan.
[00:09:52] Luckily, I had a career and therefore
[00:09:55] the financial independence to support my children.
[00:09:59] Many women in my situation are not nearly as fortunate.
[00:10:03] And while I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer,
[00:10:07] I want you all to be prepared for the unexpected
[00:10:10] and approach some of the big life decisions
[00:10:13] you'll be making with your eyes wide open.
[00:10:16] And another thing you probably need to realize:
[00:10:21] it's not all about you.
[00:10:23] As you venture out into this big bad world,
[00:10:27] I hope you each find a way to make it better.
[00:10:30] As anchor of the Evening News,
[00:10:33] I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan.
[00:10:36] I was there for a matter of days,
[00:10:37] not months or years. No matter what your opinion may be
[00:10:42] about the wars this nation is fighting,
[00:10:44] the men and women of the military
[00:10:47] are making sacrifices every day.
[00:10:49] They deserve our respect and support
[00:10:52] when they're deployed, and when they come home.
[00:10:55] But there are many ways to serve.
[00:11:00] When my husband Jay died,
[00:11:03] I felt I needed to do something.
[00:11:05] I needed to educate Americans about colon cancer,
[00:11:09] the second leading cancer killer of men
[00:11:12] and women in this country.
[00:11:13] I needed to help them understand
[00:11:16] that this cancer can often be prevented entirely
[00:11:19] if people get screened.
[00:11:20] I didn't want others to experience
[00:11:23] the pain my family had endured.
[00:11:25] So, I did what any self-respecting journalist
[00:11:31] with a built in bully pulpit would do.
[00:11:34] I had a colonoscopy on national television.
[00:11:37] At one point, loopy on anesthesia,
[00:11:41] I believe I told the world
[00:11:43] that I had a pretty little colon.
[00:11:45] I was fortunate to be able to reach a large audience,
[00:11:48] and colonoscopy screenings increased by 20 percent.
[00:11:52] Researchers called it "The Couric Effect."
[00:11:56] I think it's the Katie and Jay effect.
[00:11:59] There are people I may never meet
[00:12:02] who are now living healthier lives,
[00:12:04] with emphasis on LIVING,
[00:12:07] simply because I helped bring colon cancer out of the closet.
[00:12:11] And I was so gratified to be part of a team
[00:12:17] that helped organize stand up 2nd Cancer,
[00:12:19] which raised over 100 million dollars
[00:12:22] to fund the unsung heroes of this country,
[00:12:25] scientists who work day in a day out,
[00:12:28] without fame or big checks so many more
[00:12:32] people can live with cancer and not die from it.
[00:12:34] There are smaller, quieter ways to serve,
[00:12:39] which are just as important.
[00:12:41] I recently interviewed two adorable sisters
[00:12:45] for a series we're doing called "Children of the Recession."
[00:12:48] They are nine and five.
[00:12:50] Their parents both lost their jobs
[00:12:53] and the girls ended up riding the trains of Chicago
[00:12:56] with their mother. Then an organization called "Safe Families"
[00:13:00] stepped in and now they're being taken care of
[00:13:03] by a wonderful couple until their parents
[00:13:06] can get back on their feet.
[00:13:07] I met many families who opened their homes
[00:13:10] and hearts to kids in distress.
[00:13:12] That is service. So is tutoring a child.
[00:13:16] Working at a soup kitchen.
[00:13:19] Driving an elderly neighbor to the grocery store.
[00:13:21] Never underestimate the contribution you can make.
[00:13:27] So give something back.
[00:13:29] After all, you're graduating from Princeton!
[00:13:32] You are so lucky. And do me a favor.
[00:13:36] Thank your parents or
[00:13:39] whoever helped you achieve this goal.
[00:13:40] Then, transform your gratitude into action
[00:13:44] and give back to a world
[00:13:46] that has already given you so much.
[00:13:49] When President Obama announced he
[00:13:53] was choosing Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court
[00:13:56] it was a reminder that the American Dream is alive
[00:14:00] and well that a young Puerto Rican girl
[00:14:04] who grew up in a housing project in the Bronx could
[00:14:06] earn a seat in the highest court in the land.
[00:14:09] She congratulated the single mother
[00:14:12] who raised her to be a judge
[00:14:13] and her brother to be a doctor.
[00:14:15] Parents, your children, too,
[00:14:18] can achieve anything because you gave them
[00:14:21] strong shoulders to stand on
[00:14:22] and the tools they'll need to succeed.
[00:14:26] Remind yourselves of this when they ask
[00:14:30] if they can come home and live
[00:14:32] with you while they look for work!
[00:14:33] But maybe the silver lining of
[00:14:37] these tough economic times is
[00:14:39] that it may be the wake up call
[00:14:41] helps recalibrate our values.
[00:14:42] The eighties - thank God - are long over.
[00:14:48] Luckily none of you remember them.
[00:14:50] Gordon Gecko from the movie "Wall Street" was wrong...
[00:14:53] greed is not good. We can finally burn
[00:14:57] the bumper sticker that says:
[00:15:00] "he who dies with the most toys wins."
[00:15:02] The truth is closer to the old Italian Proverb that says:
[00:15:07] "At the end of the game,
[00:15:09] the king and the pawn go back in the same box.
[00:15:12] " What really matters in the end
[00:15:14] is how you've played the game of life,
[00:15:18] that you've lived it with honor,
[00:15:19] integrity and character,
[00:15:20] and these old fashioned qualities
[00:15:23] that never go out of style,
[00:15:26] whether you're a fan of Ella Fitzgerald or Lady Gaga.
[00:15:26] Finally, take some chances.
[00:15:33] Get out of your comfort zone,
[00:15:35] even if that's extremely uncomfortable.
[00:15:38] Mark Twain once wrote,
[00:15:40] "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
[00:15:44] by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."
[00:15:47] When I left the safe confines of NBC News,
[00:15:52] a friend wrote me a note that said,
[00:15:55] "Boats are always safe in the harbor.
[00:15:58] But that's not what boats are built for.
[00:16:00] " So sail away, even if the waters are choppy
[00:16:04] and the territory uncharted.
[00:16:07] You'll be amazed at what you learn about the world
[00:16:10] and about yourself, and through it all,
[00:16:13] cherish the handful of people you can always
[00:16:17] depend on to throw you a life preserver
[00:16:19] when you need it the most.
[00:16:21] And don't forget to wear sunscreen.
[00:16:24] To the Class of 2009, congratulations,
[00:16:29] safe travels, and good luck.
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