Verb Master 動詞達人

#一分鐘英語聽力訓練

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement, 2008(7-10)

* 按照順序聽六遍，聽力從0到100

哈利波特作者J.K. Rowling演講的精華，當魯蛇的好處 ，句句血淚，她的人生就是一條魯蛇，三十歲當選英國最大條魯蛇，要不是政府有住房保障，她就變成流浪大魯蛇

當記者在她成功之後，說她有超過常人童話故事般的決心和毅力，她鄭重告訴大家，她沒有，因為她一直是一條魯蛇

沒有人喜歡當魯蛇，當你在黑暗的通道裡，看到一絲絲的亮光，都會感覺是希望，但是魯蛇遇到的都是失望

就在J.K. Rowling成為最大條魯蛇的那天，也就是畢業七年後，她覺悟了？不是，她習慣了

人生最慘也不過是如此，她都能活下來，還怕什麼？所以她決定當魯蛇繼續寫作

Benefits of Failures，這就是當魯蛇的好處嗎？

當大魯蛇，讓她領悟到，要誠實面對自己，更領悟到患難見真情的友誼，她堅持下去，終於成功

她提出兩個我們一般人的迷思：

1) 我不是名牌大學畢業，我沒有任何證照，所以我找不到工作，其實，名牌大學畢業，有各種資歷和證照，也找不到工作，比方Verb Master的作者已經失業兩個月，台灣沒有一家公司要聘用他

2) 人活著要戰戰兢兢，盡量避免失敗，或者盡量不要失敗，J.K. Rowling說，這樣的人不算活過，因為他們出生就是一條魯蛇，似乎她暗指那些富家子弟，拼命守住自己的財富，害怕一無所有，變成超級大魯蛇？也暗指那些小心翼翼的，守住自己一畝三分地，有人威脅到他，就開始在公司內政治角力，打倒對手，這種人也是魯蛇？

今天關鍵字分析，僅列出來，有興趣可以查，可能跟你想像的意思不同，很有趣的…

 

【Part 7】

《詞彙分析》

Distinct

have a knack for

inoculate

caprice

unruffled

 

《聽力挑戰1 – 英文原聲》

 

《聽力挑戰2 – 英文原文》

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

Now, I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known heartbreak, hardship or heartache.

Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.

Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far removed from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown.

 

《聽力訓練3 – 英文+中文提示》

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty(貧窮), but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct(顯著的) lack of motivation(積極動機) at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar(咖啡館) writing stories, and far too little time at lectures(聽講), I had a knack for(特別擅長於…) passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of(衡量) success in my life and that of my peers(同輩).

Now, I am not dull(愚鈍) enough to suppose(推想) that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known heartbreak, hardship or heartache.

Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against(接種以抵抗) the caprice of(反覆無常) the fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence(存在) of unruffled(平靜的) privilege(優惠、特權) and contentment(心滿意足).

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that(表示、說明) you are not very well-acquainted with(非常熟悉) failure. You might be driven(受驅使) by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.

Indeed, your conception(理解) of failure might not be too far removed from the average person’s idea(一般人的想法) of success, so high have you already flown.

 

《聽力訓練4 – 中譯+英文提示》

在你們這年齡我最害怕的不是貧窮poverty，而是失敗

當年，儘管在大學裡很明顯的distinct缺乏學習動機motivation，我用絕大多數的時間在咖啡館裡coffee bar寫小說，非常少去上課聽講lectures，我特別會had a knack for應付考試，考試是幾年來我用以衡量the measure of人生以及跟其他同輩之間peers是否成功的依據

我沒有笨到去dull假設suppose因為你們年輕、有才華、受過良好教育，你們就不曾瞭解心碎、苦難、或心痛

天分和智力從來未曾能夠抵擋inoculated anyone against命運的反覆無常caprice，我沒有一個時刻認為你們大家都享受在此的怡然優渥unruffled privilege和心滿意足contentment

然而，能從哈佛畢業說明suggests that你們不是非常了解well-acquainted with什麼是失敗，你們可能同時受到害怕失敗與渴望成功的驅使be driven

說真的，你們對失敗的理解conception跟一般人對成功的理解average person’s idea相去不遠far removed，因為你們已經飛得太高

 

《聽力挑戰5 – 中英對照》

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty(貧窮), but failure.

在你們這年齡我最害怕的不是貧窮，而是失敗

 

At your age, in spite of a distinct(顯著的) lack of motivation(積極動機) at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar(咖啡館) writing stories, and far too little time at lectures(聽講), I had a knack for(特別擅長於…) passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of(衡量) success in my life and that of my peers(同輩).

當年，儘管在大學裡很明顯的缺乏學習動機，我用絕大多數的時間在咖啡館裡寫小說，非常少去上課聽講，我特別會應付考試，考試是幾年來我用以衡量人生以及跟其他同輩之間是否成功的依據

 

Now, I am not dull(愚鈍) enough to suppose(推想) that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known heartbreak, hardship or heartache.

我沒有笨到去假設因為你們年輕、有才華、受過良好教育，你們就不曾瞭解心碎、苦難、或心痛

 

Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against(接種以抵抗) the caprice of(反覆無常) the fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence(存在) of unruffled(平靜的) privilege(優惠、特權) and contentment(心滿意足).

天分和智力從來未曾能夠抵擋命運的反覆無常，我沒有一個時刻認為你們大家都享受在此的怡然優渥和心滿意足

 

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that(表示、說明) you are not very well-acquainted with(非常熟悉) failure. You might be driven(受驅使) by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.

然而，能從哈佛畢業說明你們不是非常了解什麼是失敗，你們可能同時受到害怕失敗與渴望成功的驅使

 

Indeed, your conception(理解) of failure might not be too far removed from the average person’s idea(一般人的想法) of success, so high have you already flown.

說真的，你們對失敗的理解跟一般人對成功的理解相去不遠，因為你們已經飛得太高

 

《聽力挑戰6 – 英文原聲》

 

【Part 8】

《詞彙分析》

decide for ourselves

on an epic scale

exceptionally

come to pass

represent

 

《聽力挑戰1 – 英文原聲》

 

《聽力挑戰2 – 英文原文》

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it.

So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale.

An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless.

The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun.

That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution.

I had no idea then how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

 

《聽力訓練3 – 英文+中文提示》

Ultimately(最終), we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes(構成) failure, but the world is quite eager to(渴望) give you a set of criteria(準則) if you let it(放任).

So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure(傳統的衡量方式), a mere(僅僅) seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale(非常巨大的規模).

An exceptionally(極端的) short-lived marriage(短命婚姻) had imploded(由內爆發、突然失敗), and I was jobless(失業), a lone parent(單親父母), and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless.

The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass(發生), and by every usual standard(用任何普通的標準), I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun.

That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press(記者) has since represented(公開說明；代表) as a kind of fairy tale resolution(童話故事般的決心).

I had no idea then how far the tunnel(通道) extended(延伸), and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

 

《聽力訓練4 – 中譯+英文提示》

最終Ultimately，我們都必須自己判定decide for ourselves魯蛇是那些因素構成的constitutes，但是，如果放任不管let it，這個世界都會硬塞給你一套判斷標準criteria

所以我認為很合理，用任何傳統的衡量方式conventional measure，僅僅mere畢業後七年的時間裡，我是一敗塗地failed on an epic scale

一個不可思議的exceptionally短暫婚姻的short-lived marriage爆發imploded，我失業jobless，單身母親a lone parent，現代英國裡最窮的，只差還有地方住(因為政府保障)

我父母長久以來對我的擔心害怕，我對自己的擔心害怕，同時發生come to pass，用每一個普通的標準看by every usual standard，我知道我自己是條最大魯蛇

我站在這裡不是要跟大家講當魯蛇很有趣

那是我一段黑暗期，我不明白後來怎麼會有記者press公開說represented是因為我有童話般的決心fairy tale resolution

我不曉得這條通道tunnel還要延伸到extended多遠，很長一段時間，任何在另一端盡頭看到的亮光，都只是希望，都不是真的

 

《聽力挑戰5 – 中英對照》

Ultimately(最終), we all have to decide for ourselves(自己做決定) what constitutes(構成) failure, but the world is quite eager to(渴望) give you a set of criteria(準則) if you let it(放任).

最終，我們都必須自己判定魯蛇是那些因素構成的，但是，如果放任不管，這個世界都會硬塞給你一套判斷標準

 

So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure(傳統的衡量方式), a mere(僅僅) seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale(非常巨大的規模).

所以我認為很合理，用任何傳統的衡量方式，僅僅畢業後七年的時間裡，我是一敗塗地

 

An exceptionally(極端的) short-lived marriage(短命婚姻) had imploded(由內爆發、突然失敗), and I was jobless(失業), a lone parent(單親父母), and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless.

一個不可思議的短暫婚姻的爆發，我失業，單身母親，現代英國裡最窮的，只差還有地方住(因為政府保障)

 

The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass(發生), and by every usual standard(用任何普通的標準), I was the biggest failure I knew.

我父母長久以來對我的擔心害怕，我對自己的擔心害怕，同時發生，用每一個普通的標準看，我知道我自己是條大魯蛇

 

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun.

我站在這裡不是要跟大家講當魯蛇很有趣

 

That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press(記者) has since represented(公開說明；代表) as a kind of fairy tale resolution(童話故事般的決心).

那是我一段黑暗期，我不明白後來怎麼會有記者公開說是因為我有童話般的決心

 

I had no idea then how far the tunnel(通道) extended(延伸), and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

我不曉得這條通道還要延伸到多遠，很長一段時間，任何在另一端盡頭看到的亮光，都只是希望，都不是真的

 

《聽力挑戰6 – 英文原聲》

 

【Part 9】

《詞彙分析》

by default

 

《聽力挑戰1 – 英文原聲》

 

《聽力挑戰2 – 英文原文》

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure?

Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.

I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.

Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena where I believed I truly belonged.

I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea.

And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable.

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case, you fail by default.

 

《聽力訓練3 – 英文+中文提示》

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure?

Simply because failure meant a stripping away(擺脫、脫掉) of the inessential(無關緊要的東西).

I stopped pretending to myself(欺騙自己) that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct(引導) all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me(我在乎的、跟我有關的).

Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination(決心) to succeed in the one arena(競技舞台) where I believed I truly belonged.

I was set free(解脫), because my greatest fear had been realized(實現), and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored(心愛), and I had an old typewriter and a big idea.

And so rock bottom(谷底) became the solid foundation(堅實的基礎) on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable(不可避免的).

It is impossible to live without failing(不曾失敗) at something, unless you live so cautiously(謹慎小心地) that you might as well not have lived at all(根本沒活過), in which case, you fail by default(注定失敗).

 

《聽力訓練4 – 中譯+英文提示》

那我為什麼要講失敗的好處呢？

簡單說就是因為失敗代表你甩開stripping away跟你無關緊要的東西inessential

我不再騙自己pretending to myself我不是我，我開始把精力導入direct我的工作，這才是跟我有關的mattered to me

如果我當時有任何方面的成功，我很可能不會決心determination成功，在一個我相信屬於我的競技舞台上arena

我解脫了set free，因為我最大的恐懼已經出現been realized，而我還活著，我還有心愛的adored女兒，我還有一台老打字機和一個大創意

所以谷底rock bottom，變成我建築自己人生的堅實基礎solid foundation

你們可能永遠不會失敗到我這樣的地步，但是有人生中的魯蛇是無法避免的inevitable

活在世上從未失敗live without failing是不可能的，除非你活得戰戰兢兢cautiously，這樣就等於是你根本沒有活過not have lived at all，這樣的情況，你出生就是一條魯蛇fail by default

 

《聽力挑戰5 – 中英對照》

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure?

那我為什麼要講失敗的好處呢？

 

Simply because failure meant a stripping away(擺脫、脫掉) of the inessential(無關緊要的東西).

簡單說就是因為失敗代表你甩開跟你無關緊要的東西

 

I stopped pretending to myself(欺騙自己) that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct(引導) all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me(我在乎的、跟我有關的).

我不再騙自己我不是我，我開始把精力導入我的工作，這才是跟我有關的

 

Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination(決心) to succeed in the one arena(競技舞台) where I believed I truly belonged.

如果我當時有任何方面的成功，我很可能不會決心成功，在一個我相信屬於我的競技舞台上

 

I was set free(解脫), because my greatest fear had been realized(實現), and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored(心愛), and I had an old typewriter and a big idea.

我解脫了，因為我最大的恐懼已經出現，而我還活著，我還有心愛的女兒，我還有一台老打字機和一個大創意

 

And so rock bottom(谷底) became the solid foundation(堅實的基礎) on which I rebuilt my life.

所以谷底，變成我建築自己人生的堅實基礎

 

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable(不可避免的).

你們可能永遠不會失敗到我這樣的地步，但是有人生中的魯蛇是無法避免的

 

It is impossible to live without failing(不曾失敗) at something, unless you live so cautiously(謹慎小心地) that you might as well not have lived at all(根本沒活過), in which case, you fail by default(注定失敗).

活在世上從未失敗是不可能的，除非你活得戰戰兢兢，這樣就等於是你根本沒有活過，這樣的情況，你出生就是一條魯蛇

 

《聽力挑戰6 – 英文原聲》

 

【Part 10】

《詞彙分析》

Setback

vicissitude

 

《聽力挑戰1 – 英文原聲》

 

《聽力挑戰2 – 英文原文》

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations.

Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way.

I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected.

I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.

You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity.

Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned.

So, given a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement.

Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two.

Life is difficult and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

 

《聽力訓練3 – 英文+中文提示》

Failure gave me an inner security(內在的安全感) that I had never attained(獲得) by passing examinations.

Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way(只有一個方法能學到).

I discovered that I had a strong will(堅強的意志), and more discipline(自制力、紀律) than I had suspected(猜想).

I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies(紅寶石).

The knowledge that you have emerged(出現) wiser and stronger from setbacks(挫折、小失敗) means that you are, ever after, secure(到手的) in your ability to survive.

You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity(逆境、災難).

Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won(痛苦地贏得), and it has been worth more than any qualification(資格條件、證照資格) I ever earned.

So, given(假定有) a Time Turner(時間轉換器), I would tell my 21-year-old self(21歲的自己) that personal happiness lies in(在於…) knowing that life is not a check-list(檢查表) of acquisition(獲得) or achievement.

Your qualifications(證照), your CV(簡歷), are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse(搞不清楚情況) the two.

Life is difficult and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility(謙卑) to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes(變遷).

 

《聽力訓練4 – 中譯+英文提示》

魯蛇帶給我內在的安全感inner security，不是從考試過關所能獲得的attained

魯蛇教我認識自己，沒有其他方法能學到learned no other way

我發現我堅強的意志a strong will和自制力discipline超過我的想像suspected

我同時發現我的朋友的價值遠超過紅寶石rubies

從挫折中setbacks冒出頭emerged，更有智慧，更加強壯，帶給你這樣的認知(知識)，此認知代表你從此往後都擁有secure生存的能力

只有經過逆境的adversity考驗，你才會真正了解自己，你才會知道(朋友)關係的力量

這樣的知識是真正的禮物，全都是痛苦獲得的painfully won，比我獲得的任何認證資格qualification都來得有價值

所以，假定有given一台時間轉換器Time Turner，我會告訴21歲的自己my 21-year-old self，人的快樂在於lies in明白人生不是一張你獲得多少acquisition、有多少成就的檢查表check-list

你的證照qualifications，你的簡歷CV，不是你的人生，雖然你們或遇到我這樣年齡或者更大的的人還迷惑在confuse此二者

(就是因為我不是台清交，就因為我沒有英文認證，所以我沒有工作)

人生是辛苦和複雜的，超過你所能控制，謙卑的humility理解這一點，你就會有能力在人生的變遷中vicissitudes生存

 

《聽力挑戰5 – 中英對照》

Failure gave me an inner security(內在的安全感) that I had never attained(獲得) by passing examinations.

魯蛇帶給我內在的安全感，不是從考試過關所能獲得的

 

Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way(只有一個方法能學到).

魯蛇教我認識自己，沒有其他方法能學到

 

I discovered that I had a strong will(堅強的意志), and more discipline(自制力、紀律) than I had suspected(猜想).

我發現我堅強的意志和自制力超過我的想像

 

I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies(紅寶石).

我同時發現我的朋友的價值遠超過紅寶石

 

The knowledge that you have emerged(出現) wiser and stronger from setbacks(挫折、小失敗) means that you are, ever after, secure(到手的) in your ability to survive.

從挫折中冒出頭，更有智慧，更加強壯，帶給你這樣的認知(知識)，此認知代表你從此往後都擁有生存的能力

 

You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity(逆境、災難).

只有經過逆境的考驗，你才會真正了解自己，你才會知道(朋友)關係的力量

 

Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won(痛苦地贏得), and it has been worth more than any qualification(資格條件、證照資格) I ever earned.

這樣的知識是真正的禮物，全都是痛苦獲得的，比我獲得的任何認證資格都來得有價值

 

So, given(假定有) a Time Turner(時間轉換器), I would tell my 21-year-old self(21歲的自己) that personal happiness lies in(在於…) knowing that life is not a check-list(檢查表) of acquisition(獲得) or achievement.

所以，假定有一台時間轉換器，我會告訴21歲的自己，人的快樂在於明白人生不是一張你獲得多少、有多少成就的檢查表

 

Your qualifications(證照), your CV(簡歷), are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse(搞不清楚情況) the two.

你的證照，你的簡歷，不是你的人生，雖然你們或遇到我這樣年齡或者比我更大的人還迷惑在此二者(就是因為我不是台清交，就因為我沒有英文認證)

 

Life is difficult and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility(謙卑) to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes(變遷).

人生是辛苦和複雜的，超過你所能控制，謙卑的理解這一點，你就會有能力在人生的變遷中生存

 

《聽力挑戰6 – 英文原聲》