中国农村学子首登哈佛毕业演讲中英全文.docx

中国农村学子首登哈佛毕业演讲
这位来自湖南农村的小伙何江是哈佛大学历史上第一位享此殊荣的中国大陆学生。他从全校数万名毕业生选拔中脱颖而出，在演讲中讲述了一个自己中学时代被毒蜘蛛咬伤的故事，进而推及到自己在哈佛大学所切身体会到的现金科技知识。他说：“作为一名科学家，积极地将我们所学会的知识传递给那些急需这些知识的人是多么的重要。”
美国东部时间2016年5月26日是哈佛的第365个毕业日，在这次的毕业典礼上，来自中国湖南的生物系博士生毕业生何江作为代表做了毕业典礼演讲。每年哈佛毕业典礼都会有三位学生做演讲，而今年，著名导演史蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格作为今年的特邀嘉宾登台演讲。
何江是中国大陆首位登上该演讲台的学生。作为一名从湖南农村长大的生物学博士生，何江用他的亲身经历——被蜘蛛咬伤的往事讲起，说明知识传播、知识分布资源平衡的重要性。在演讲过程中，他面带微笑、镇定自若，向世界展示了中国学子的风采。
以下为演讲全文：

When I was in middle school, a poisonous spider bit my right hand. I ran to my mom for help—but instead of taking me to a doctor, my mom set my hand on fire.After wrapping my hand with several layers of cotton, then soaking it in wine, she put a chopstick into my mouth,and ignited the cotton.
在我上中学的时候，一只有毒蜘蛛咬伤了我的右手，我去找母亲帮忙，但是她没有找医生，却把我的手放在火上面。她用酒浸过的棉纱绕着我的手缠了好几层之后，在我的嘴里放了一根筷子，然后点燃了棉纱。
Heat quickly penetrated the cotton and began to roast my hand. The searing pain made me want to scream, but the chopstick prevented it. All I could do was watch my hand burn - one minute, then two minutes –until mom put out the fire.
棉纱上的温度很快上来了，我的手也开始发烫。这股灼痛让我想要大叫，不过我嘴里含着的筷子让我叫不出来。我唯一能做的就是看着我的手骨，一分钟过去了，两分钟过去了，直到母亲熄灭火。
You see, the part of China I grew up in was a rural village, and at that time pre-industrial. When I was born, my village had no cars, no telephones, no electricity, not even running water. And we certainly didn’t have access to modern medical resources.
所以你看到，我是在中国的一个小山村里成长的，在那个时候，并不发达。在我出生的那个年代，我们村没车、没电话、也没电，甚至都没有自来水！且理所当然地，我没有接触现代医疗资源的办法。
There was no doctor my mother could bring me to see about my spider bite.For those who study biology, you may have grasped the science behind my mom’s cure: heat deactivates proteins, and a spider’s venom is simply a form of protein. It’s cool how that folk remedy actually incorporates basic biochemistry, isn’t it?
当我被蜘蛛咬伤时，并没有医生可以来治疗我。对于学生物学的人来说，你也许能找到我母亲治愈背后所包含的科学原理：热量能够让蛋白质失活，而蜘蛛的毒液都是蛋白质组成的。将这个土方子和生物化学基础联系起来很神奇，不是吗？
But I am a PhD student in biochemistry at Harvard, I now know that better, less painful and less risky treatments existed. So I can’t help but ask myself, why I didn’t receive one at the time
不过我现在是一个在哈佛学习生物化学的博士生，我现在知道了一个更好的、不那么痛、危险系数更小的治疗方法。所以，我忍不住问我自己，为什么那个时候我不能接受更好的治疗吗？
Fifteen years have passed since that incident. I am happy to report that my hand is fine. But this question lingers, and I continue to be troubled by the unequal distribution of scientific knowledge throughout the world.
距离那个事故发生已经十五年了，我很高兴地告诉你们：我的手现在恢复地很好。不过这个问题在我心里萦绕了很久，我也时常会被科学知识分布的不均衡问题所困扰。
We have learned to edit the human genome and unlock many secrets of how cancer progresses. We can manipulate neuronal activity literally with the switch of a light. Each year brings more advances in biomedical research-exciting, transformative accomplishments.
我们曾学习过如何编辑人类基因谱，揭示了许多关于癌症的秘密。我们能够轻松地操控神经元的活动。生物医药研究每年都会有很多进步和令人振奋的变革、成就。
Yet, despite the knowledge we have amassed, we haven’t been so successful in deploying it to where it’s needed most. According to the World Bank, twelve percent of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day.
虽然我们取得了很多成就，但是我们却不能将这些成就传递到最需要它的地方。据世界银行统计数据表明，世界人口的12%一天的生活费不到2美元。
Malnutrition kills more than 3 million children annually. Three hundred million people are afflicted by malaria globally. All over the world, we constantly see these problems of poverty, illness, and lack of resources impeding the flow of scientific information.
每年都有三百万的儿童死于营养不良。全球有三亿的人收到疟疾的影响。在全世界，我们能看到无数的贫困问题，病痛问题以及资源匮乏导致科学信息不流通的问题。
Lifesaving knowledge we take for granted in the modern world is often unavailable in these underdeveloped regions.And in far too many places, people are still essentially trying to cure a spider bite with fire.
救生知识在现代化的世界是理所当然的，不过在经济欠发达地区却是高不可及的。所以，在许许多多地方，人们还是用火来治疗蜘蛛的咬伤。
While studying at Harvard, I saw how scientific knowledge can help others in simple, yet profound ways. The bird flu pandemic in the 2000s looked to my village like a spell cast by demons.
在哈佛学习期间，我知道了科学知识是如何用简单的又深刻的方式帮助到其他人的。2000年的一次流感使我的家乡像被恶魔下了诅咒一般。
Our folk medicine didn’t even have half-measures to offer. What’s more, farmers didn’t know the difference between common cold and flu; they didn’t understand that the flu was much more lethal than the common cold. Most people were also unaware that the virus could transmit across different species.
我们的民间治疗根本找不到解决办法。更严重的是，农民们不知道普通的感冒和流感之间的区别。他们不明白流感比普通的感冒要致命地多。他们中的大多数人都对病毒在动物种类间的传播没有概念。
So when I realized that simple hygiene practices like separating different animal species could contain the spread of the disease, and that I could help make this knowledge available to my village.
所以我意识到简单的卫生治疗方法例如将动物隔离可以治疗这种病时，我可以用这种方式让我的家乡更快接受这种科学知识。
That was my first “Aha” moment as a budding scientist. But it was more than that: it was also a vital inflection point in my own ethical development, my own self-understanding as a member of the global community.
那是我作为生物科学家的第一次惊叹。不过也不仅仅就此而已：这也是我自身理念提升的至关重要的一个转折，也是关于我作为地球上一员的自我理解的转折。
Harvard dares us to dream big, to aspire to change the world. Here on this Commencement Day, we are probably thinking of grand destinations and big adventures that await us.
哈佛鼓励我们有大梦想，去激励我们改变这个世界。在这个毕业日，我们也可以想象等待我们的伟大宏图。
As for me, I am also thinking of the farmers in my village. My experience here reminds me how important it is for researchers to communicate our knowledge to those who need it. Because by using the science we already have, we could probably bring my village and thousands like it into the world you and I take for granted every day. And that’s an impact every one of us can make!
但是对于我来说，我还在想着我家乡的农民们。我的经历让我意识到，将知识传递给需要的人是多么重要。因为，运用我们所知道的知识，我们可以将知识传递到我的家乡和千万个像我家乡一样的地方带进这个我们在座每个人所习以为常的世界。
But the question is, will we make the effort , or not?
不过问题是，我们会不会尽力呢？
More than ever before,our society emphasizes science and innovation. But an equally important emphasis should be on distributing the knowledge we have to where it’s needed.
很久之前，我们的社会就强调过科学和创新的重要性，但是同等重要的，我们应该强调将这些知识平等地传递给需要它的人的重要性。
Changing the world doesn’t mean that everyone has to find the next big thing. It can be as simple as becoming better communicators, and finding more creative ways to pass on the knowledge we have to people like my mom and the farmers in their local community.
改变世界并不是说每个人都应该发现下一个伟大的东西。改变世界可以是简单的方式，比如成为一个更好的传播者，发现更多有创造力的传播知识给像我的妈妈和农民这样生活在未工业化地区的人的方式。
Our society also needs to recognize that the equal distribution of knowledge is a pivotal step of human development, and work to bring this into reality.
我们的社会也应当明白知识的平衡分布是人类进步不可或缺的一步，这需要我们的努力来实现。
And if we do that, then perhaps a teenager in rural China who is bitten by a spider will not have to burn his hand but will know to seek a doctor instead.When I was in middle school, a poisonous spider bit my right hand. I ran to my mom for help—but instead of taking me to a doctor, my mom set my hand on fire.After wrapping my hand with several layers of cotton, then soaking it in wine, she put a chopstick into my mouth,and ignited the cotton.
在我上中学的时候，一只有毒蜘蛛咬伤了我的右手，我去找母亲帮忙，但是她没有找医生，却把我的手放在火上面。她用酒浸过的棉纱绕着我的手缠了好几层之后，在我的嘴里放了一根筷子，然后点燃了棉纱。
Heat quickly penetrated the cotton and began to roast my hand. The searing pain made me want to scream, but the chopstick prevented it. All I could do was watch my hand burn - one minute, then two minutes –until mom put out the fire.
棉纱上的温度很快上来了，我的手也开始发烫。这股灼痛让我想要大叫，不过我嘴里含着的筷子让我叫不出来。我唯一能做的就是看着我的手骨，一分钟过去了，两分钟过去了，直到母亲熄灭火。
You see, the part of China I grew up in was a rural village, and at that time pre-industrial. When I was born, my village had no cars, no telephones, no electricity, not even running water. And we certainly didn’t have access to modern medical resources.
所以你看到，我是在中国的一个小山村里成长的，在那个时候，并不发达。在我出生的那个年代，我们村没车、没电话、也没电，甚至都没有自来水！且理所当然地，我没有接触现代医疗资源的办法。
There was no doctor my mother could bring me to see about my spider bite.For those who study biology, you may have grasped the science behind my mom’s cure: heat deactivates proteins, and a spider’s venom is simply a form of protein. It’s cool how that folk remedy actually incorporates basic biochemistry, isn’t it?
当我被蜘蛛咬伤时，并没有医生可以来治疗我。对于学生物学的人来说，你也许能找到我母亲治愈背后所包含的科学原理：热量能够让蛋白质失活，而蜘蛛的毒液都是蛋白质组成的。将这个土方子和生物化学基础联系起来很神奇，不是吗？
But I am a PhD student in biochemistry at Harvard, I now know that better, less painful and less risky treatments existed. So I can’t help but ask myself, why I didn’t receive one at the time?
不过我现在是一个在哈佛学习生物化学的博士生，我现在知道了一个更好的、不那么痛、危险系数更小的治疗方法。所以，我忍不住问我自己，为什么那个时候我不能接受更好的治疗吗？
Fifteen years have passed since that incident. I am happy to report that my hand is fine. But this question lingers, and I continue to be troubled by the unequal distribution of scientific knowledge throughout the world.
距离那个事故发生已经十五年了，我很高兴地告诉你们：我的手现在恢复地很好。不过这个问题在我心里萦绕了很久，我也时常会被科学知识分布的不均衡问题所困扰。
We have learned to edit the human genome and unlock many secrets of how cancer progresses. We can manipulate neuronal activity literally with the switch of a light. Each year brings more advances in biomedical research-exciting, transformative accomplishments.
我们曾学习过如何编辑人类基因谱，揭示了许多关于癌症的秘密。我们能够轻松地操控神经元的活动。生物医药研究每年都会有很多进步和令人振奋的变革、成就。
Yet, despite the knowledge we have amassed, we haven’t been so successful in deploying it to where it’s needed most. According to the World Bank, twelve percent of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day.
虽然我们取得了很多成就，但是我们却不能将这些成就传递到最需要它的地方。据世界银行统计数据表明，世界人口的12%一天的生活费不到2美元。
Malnutrition kills more than 3 million children annually. Three hundred million people are afflicted by malaria globally. All over the world, we constantly see these problems of poverty, illness, and lack of resources impeding the flow of scientific information.
每年都有三百万的儿童死于营养不良。全球有三亿的人收到疟疾的影响。在全世界，我们能看到无数的贫困问题，病痛问题以及资源匮乏导致科学信息不流通的问题。
Lifesaving knowledge we take for granted in the modern world is often unavailable in these underdeveloped regions.And in far too many places, people are still essentially trying to cure a spider bite with fire.
救生知识在现代化的世界是理所当然的，不过在经济欠发达地区却是高不可及的。所以，在许许多多地方，人们还是用火来治疗蜘蛛的咬伤。
While studying at Harvard, I saw how scientific knowledge can help others in simple, yet profound ways. The bird flu pandemic in the 2000s looked to my village like a spell cast by demons.
在哈佛学习期间，我知道了科学知识是如何用简单的又深刻的方式帮助到其他人的。2000年的一次流感使我的家乡像被恶魔下了诅咒一般。
Our folk medicine didn’t even have half-measures to offer. What’s more, farmers didn’t know the difference between common cold and flu; they didn’t understand that the flu was much more lethal than the common cold. Most people were also unaware that the virus could transmit across different species.
我们的民间治疗根本找不到解决办法。更严重的是，农民们不知道普通的感冒和流感之间的区别。他们不明白流感比普通的感冒要致命地多。他们中的大多数人都对病毒在动物种类间的传播没有概念。
So when I realized that simple hygiene practices like separating different animal species could contain the spread of the disease, and that I could help make this knowledge available to my village.
所以我意识到简单的卫生治疗方法例如将动物隔离可以治疗这种病时，我可以用这种方式让我的家乡更快接受这种科学知识。
That was my first “Aha” moment as a budding scientist. But it was more than that: it was also a vital inflection point in my own ethical development, my own self-understanding as a member of the global community.
那是我作为生物科学家的第一次惊叹。不过也不仅仅就此而已：这也是我自身理念提升的至关重要的一个转折，也是关于我作为地球上一员的自我理解的转折。
Harvard dares us to dream big, to aspire to change the world. Here on this Commencement Day, we are probably thinking of grand destinations and big adventures that await us.
哈佛鼓励我们有大梦想，去激励我们改变这个世界。在这个毕业日，我们也可以想象等待我们的伟大宏图。
As for me, I am also thinking of the farmers in my village. My experience here reminds me how important it is for researchers to communicate our knowledge to those who need it. Because by using the science we already have, we could probably bring my village and thousands like it into the world you and I take for granted every day. And that’s an impact every one of us can make!
但是对于我来说，我还在想着我家乡的农民们。我的经历让我意识到，将知识传递给需要的人是多么重要。因为，运用我们所知道的知识，我们可以将知识传递到我的家乡和千万个像我家乡一样的地方带进这个我们在座每个人所习以为常的世界。
But the question is, will we make the effort , or not?
不过问题是，我们会不会尽力呢？
More than ever before,our society emphasizes science and innovation. But an equally important emphasis should be on distributing the knowledge we have to where it’s needed.
很久之前，我们的社会就强调过科学和创新的重要性，但是同等重要的，我们应该强调将这些知识平等地传递给需要它的人的重要性。
Changing the world doesn’t mean that everyone has to find the next big thing. It can be as simple as becoming better communicators, and finding more creative ways to pass on the knowledge we have to people like my mom and the farmers in their local community.
改变世界并不是说每个人都应该发现下一个伟大的东西。改变世界可以是简单的方式，比如成为一个更好的传播者，发现更多有创造力的传播知识给像我的妈妈和农民这样生活在未工业化地区的人的方式。
Our society also needs to recognize that the equal distribution of knowledge is a pivotal step of human development, and work to bring this into reality.
我们的社会也应当明白知识的平衡分布是人类进步不可或缺的一步，这需要我们的努力来实现。
And if we do that, then perhaps a teenager in rural China who is bitten by a spider will not have to burn his hand, but will know to seek a doctor instead.
如果我们努力了，一个在中国农村的青少年被毒蜘蛛咬了的话，就不用再火疗而是去见医生了。
Thank you !
谢谢！
---SG.YU
---2016.5.31