跟TED演講學英文：成功的哲學

【主講老師簡介】

Nestor, 英語口語達人，對多元文化，思想有些濃厚的興趣愛好。在近幾年的時間裏，接觸了來自世界10個以上不同國家的朋友，感受到了文化差異所帶來的趣味。一直堅信英語是一個開拓視野，拓展思維的工具。在接受了高中啞巴英語教學之後，大學時期通過自學口語，強迫式沉浸24小時英語環境，使英語口語不再是個交流障礙。（據說做夢時都在說英語）

【課程回顧】

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【本課重點】

以下爲本節課TED演講文本節選：

That's exhilarating if you're doing well, and very crushing if you're not. It leads, in the worst cases -- in the analysis of a sociologist like Emil Durkheim -- it leads to increased rates of suicide. There are more suicides in developed, individualistic countries than in any other part of the world. And some of the reason for that is that people take what happens to them extremely personally -- they own their success, but they also own their failure.

如果你做的很好，這是件令人愉快的事 相反的情況，就很令人沮喪 社會學家Emil Durkheim 分析發現 這提高了自殺率 追求個人主義的已發展國家的自殺率 高過於世界上其它地方 原因是人們把發生在自己身上的事情 全當作自己的責任 人們擁有成功，也擁有失敗。

Is there any relief from some of these pressures that I've been outlining? I think there is. I just want to turn to a few of them. Let's take meritocracy. This idea that everybody deserves to get where they get to, I think it's a crazy idea, completely crazy. I will support any politician of Left and Right, with any halfway-decent meritocratic idea; I am a meritocrat in that sense. But I think it's insane to believe that we will ever make a society that is genuinely meritocratic; it's an impossible dream.

有什麼方法可以解決剛纔提到的 這些焦慮呢？ 是有的。我想提出幾項 先說“功績主義” 也就是相信每個人的地位忠實呈現他的能力 我認爲這種想法太瘋狂了 我可以支持所有相信這個想法的 無論是左傾還是右傾的政治家 我同樣相信功績主義 但我認爲一個完全徹底以能力取決地位的社會 是個不可能的夢想。

The idea that we will make a society where literally everybody is graded, the good at the top, bad at the bottom, exactly done as it should be, is impossible. There are simply too many random factors: accidents, accidents of birth, accidents of things dropping on people's heads, illnesses, etc. We will never get to grade them, never get to grade people as they should.

這種我們能創造一個 每個人的能力都忠實地被分級 好的就到頂端，壞的就到底部 而且保證過程毫無差錯，這是不可能的 這世上有太多偶然的契機 不同的機運，出身 疾病，從天而降的意外等等 我們卻無法將這些因素分級 無法完全忠實的將人分級。

I'm drawn to a lovely quote by St. Augustine in "The City of God," where he says, "It's a sin to judge any man by his post." In modern English that would mean it's a sin to come to any view of who you should talk to, dependent on their business card. It's not the post that should count. According to St. Augustine, only God can really put everybody in their place; he's going to do that on the Day of Judgment, with angels and trumpets, and the skies will open. Insane idea, if you're a secularist person, like me. But something very valuable in that idea, nevertheless.

我很喜歡聖奧古斯丁在“上帝之城”裏的一句話 他說“以社會地位評價人是一種罪” 用現在的口吻說 看一個人的名片來決定你是否要和他交談 是罪 對聖奧古斯丁來說 人的價值不在他的社會地位 只有神可以決定一個人的價值 他將在天使圍繞、小號奏鳴 天空破開的世界末日給於最後審判 如果你是像我一樣的世俗論者，這想法太瘋狂了 但這想法有它的價值。

In other words, hold your horses when you're coming to judge people. You don't necessarily know what someone's true value is. That is an unknown part of them, and we shouldn't behave as though it is known. There is another source of solace and comfort for all this. When we think about failing in life, when we think about failure, one of the reasons why we fear failing is not just a loss of income, a loss of status. What we fear is the judgment and ridicule of others. And it exists.

換句話說，最好在你開口評論他人之前懸崖勒馬 你很有可能不知道他人的真正價值 這是不可測的 於是我們不該爲人下定論 還有另一種慰藉 當我們想象人生中的失敗 我們恐懼的原因並不只是 失去收入，失去地位 我們害怕的是他人的評論和嘲笑，它的確存在。

注：以上中英文來自TED官網。

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