偶像励志英语演讲21:失败的好处和想象的重要性(3)

 　　I know the irony 1 strikes like with the force of a cartoon anvil 2 now, but...

　　我现在明白了反讽就像用卡通铁砧去打击你，但……
　　So they had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English literature. A compromise was reaced that in retrospect 3 satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents' car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled 4 off down the Classics corridor.
　　他们希望我取得高职学位，而我却想攻读英国文学。最后，我和父母达成了妥协，我改学现代语言，现在回想起来，当时双方都不怎么满意。于是，父母的车刚一开远，我就丢下德语，去学习古典文学。
　　I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all the subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology 5 when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.
　　我不记得告诉过父母自己在学习古典文学，他们可能是在我毕业典礼那一天才知道的。我想，他们也许认为，在全世界的所有专业中，不会有比研究希腊神话更没用的专业了，那甚至无法换来一间独立宽敞的卫生间。
　　I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis 6, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering 7 you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibily lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticize my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails 8 fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticized only by fools.
　　在这里我想说明一点：我不会因为父母的观点而怪他们。不要因为父母给你的人生路指错了方向就无休止地埋怨他们。当你到一定年龄，可以自己把握人生时，就应该自己承担责任。再者，父母这样做是希望我不会过穷日子，所以我不能责怪他们。他们经历了贫穷，我后来也一度很穷，所以我很理解他们，因为贫穷并不是一种高贵的经历。贫穷会让人感觉恐惧、有压力，有时甚至让人感觉沮丧。贫穷意味着说不尽的羞辱和艰辛。靠自己的努力摆脱贫穷值得自豪，只有傻瓜才会将贫穷浪漫化。
　　重点讲解：
　　1. in retrospect
　　回顾；回想；
　　eg. In retrospect, I wish that I had thought about alternative courses of action.
　　回想起来，我真希望自己当时考虑过其他做法。
　　eg. It was a very strange feeling in retrospect — I was frightened, but excited at the same time.
　　回想起来那是一种非常奇怪的感觉——我当时既害怕又兴奋。
　　2. remember doing sth.
　　记得做过某事；
　　eg. I definitely remember sending the letter.
　　我记得这封信肯定发出去了。
　　eg. I remember having heard you speak on that subject.
　　我记得曾听你谈论过那个题目。
　　3. when it comes to
　　谈到；涉及；
　　eg. Most of us know we should cut down on fat. But knowing such things isn't much help when it comes to shopping and eating.
　　我们大多数人都知道应该减少脂肪的摄入量。但是在购物和吃东西的时候，这些常识就丢到一边去了。
　　eg. However, when it comes down to somebody that they know, they have a different feeling.
　　然而，涉及他们认识的人，他们的感觉就不同了。
　　4. in parenthesis
　　插一句；
　　eg. In parenthesis, I'd say that there were two aspects to writing you must never lose sight of.
　　插一句，关于写作，我认为有两个方面你绝不能忽视。
　　5. blame sb./sth. for sth.
　　因某事归咎于/责怪/怪罪某人某事；
　　eg. She blamed him for the failure of their marriage.
　　她把婚姻的触礁归咎於他。
　　eg. They blamed the rise in oil prices for the big increase in inflation.
　　他们把通货膨胀大幅度增长归咎于石油价格的上涨。
　　6. what is more
　　更有甚者；更为重要的是；
　　eg. She learns quickly, and what's more, she remembers what she has learnt.
　　她学得很快，而且所学的全都记得。
　　eg. You should remember it, and what's more, you should get it right.
　　你应该记住它，更重要的是，应该正确理解它。