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2013年畢業生、全體教職員、家人、朋友和各位嘉賓,請和我一起歡迎美國第47任副總統Joseph R. Biden, Jr.。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)
謝謝。謝謝Price教務長,十分感謝。很榮幸與大家共聚一堂,謝謝大家,請坐下,校長女士。
上次我造訪富蘭克林運動場,是觀賞我大兒子在數百人面前進行與哈佛的輕量級足球對抗賽,我相信他們贏了。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)
如我對今天與我同獲殊榮的來賓所說的,以這種方式取得學位省錢多了,不是嗎?(笑聲)
校長女士,謝謝。感謝你給予我這份榮譽,我不知道你們是否-我有個不光彩的名聲,我沒有-不妨這麼說吧!我的棺材後方將不會跟著U-Haul卡車。當我以副總統身分首次公佈財產時,《華盛頓郵報》說,「或許副總統辦公室沒有人的資產比拜登還少。」(笑聲)我希望他們指的是金融資產。(笑聲)(掌聲)然後出現許多為何我沒錢的討論。我告訴你們為何我沒錢:四年的賓州大學、三年的雪城大學、四年的喬治城大學、三年的耶魯大學、兩年的杜蘭大學、兩年的賓州大學,現在還有個唸賓州大學的孫女。(笑聲)(掌聲)有人問我為何佩戴賓大領帶,我的回答是:「我賺來的。」(笑聲)我賺來的。(笑聲)(掌聲)
教職員、來賓、父母、祖父母、朋友全體畢業生:恭喜。特別恭喜及感謝那些即將前往美國軍隊服役的人。(掌聲)你們將加入史上最優秀的戰鬥團隊,前所未見,我向你們脫帽致敬。所有家長,我向你們獻上特別的祝賀,不僅是因為你們的孩子在我女兒、孫女兒子口中全美最棒的大學完成學業-(歡呼聲)(掌聲)-我不確定那位唸耶魯的兒子有何看法,但我同意另一位兒子的觀點。
女士先生們家長們,你們的收入也即將增加,除非你的孩子打算繼續唸研究所。(笑聲)如我所言,我兩個孩子都畢業於這所卓越的大學,我孫女今天也在現場剛完成第一年學業,確實遵守了賓大入學誓言。因此你們有理由自豪,不僅是因為你們歷盡艱辛才取得今日成就,我向所有畢業生保證,這是值得的。
前往這裡的途中我讀了今天的頭條,《美聯社》說:「拜登將為賓大畢業生提供建議。」我已擁有不提供建議的智慧。我見過太多世面,知道這根本沒用,但我想提供幾項觀察。
沒有任何一屆畢業生能選擇畢業後踏入的世界,每一屆畢業生都面臨獨特的挑戰,每一屆畢業生都踏入已寫好的歷史中,但很少人真正有機會開創新頁,使歷史稍微改寫,我認為你們這一屆擁有這樣的機會。
我承認這會導致焦慮,或許-我是說真的-父母比你更加焦慮。我能理解,因為我這一代面臨同樣的問題和不確定性。你只需閱讀頭條新聞,1968年我畢業時和現在的頭條。今天,你看見2013年1月2日《華盛頓郵報》頭條寫著:「世界因『財政懸崖』而停滯不前,可將其視為美國衰落的徵兆。」1968年我畢業後那個7月,同一家報紙宣稱:「民意調查顯示美國海外地位下降。」去年11月,《華爾街日報》頭條寫著:「財政和經濟不確定性遍及全國。」我記得1968年4月,同一家報紙頭條寫著:「美國陷入1931年以來最嚴重的財政危機。」我們那一代聽見同樣的悲觀和絕望,如同你們這一代。「美國衰落、美國迷失方向、美國該何去何從?」這些聲音不明白的是,無論現在或當時,我們畢業後踏入一個瞬息萬變的世界,如威廉.巴特勒.葉慈描述的世界,寫於一首描述他祖國愛爾蘭、名為《1916年復活節》的詩作中。他寫著:「一切都變了,徹底變了,恐怖之美就此誕生。」
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以下為系統擷取之英文原文
Thank you. Thank you Provost Price. Thank you very much. It’s an honor to be with you today. Thank you all. Please be seated.
Madame President, the last time I was in Franklin Field, I was watching my oldest son before a crowd of hundreds play lightweight football against Harvard, and I believe they won. And as I was saying to my co-honorees today, this is a much cheaper way to get a degree, isn’t it?
Madame President, thank you, thank you for the honor. I have the dubious distinction of not having—well let me put it this way—there’ll be no U-Haul truck behind my casket. When I did my financial disclosure as Vice President the first time, the Washington Post said, “it’s probable no man has assumed the office of Vice President with fewer assets than Joe Biden.” I hope they were talking financial assets! Then there was all this discussion about why I had no money. I’ll tell you why I had no money: four years of Penn, three years of Syracuse, four years at Georgetown, three years at Yale, two years at Tulane, two years at Penn, and now a granddaughter at Penn. I was asked why I wore a Penn tie. My answer is “I earned it.”
Faculty, distinguished guests, parents, grandparents, friends, all graduates: congratulations, and special congratulations and thanks to those of you who are going to be commissioned in the United States Military today. You are about to join the finest group of warriors the world has ever seen. Ever, ever seen. My hat is off to you.
To all the parents, I offer you special congratulations today. Not only have your sons and daughters completed an education at what my daughter and my granddaughter and my son say is the finest university in America. Not sure how my son who went to Yale feels about that, but I happen to agree with my other son. Ladies and gentlemen, parents, you’re also about to get a pay raise, unless your child is going on to graduate school. As I indicated, two of my children have graduated from this great university, and my granddaughter who is here with me today, just finished her first year and survived pledging at Penn. So your pride is justified. Not only because it took an awful lot of hard work for all of you to get to this day, I promise you all of you graduates, it’s worth it.
I read the headlines today on the way up… the Associated Press has said “Biden to Offer Advice to Penn Graduates.” I have gained too much wisdom to offer any advice. I’ve been around too long to know that’s not useful. But I would like to make a couple of observations. No graduating class gets to choose the world into which they graduate. Every graduating class faces unique challenges. Every class enters the history that up to this point has been written for you. But few enter at a point where they genuinely have a chance to write a new chapter, to bend history just a little bit. I would suggest your class has that chance, and I acknowledge it creates anxiety, probably more—and I mean this seriously—among your parents than you. I understand, because my generation faced the same kind of questions and uncertainties. All you have to do is look at the headlines. When I graduated in 1968, and now. And today you see headlines in the Washington Post, January 2, 2013 saying “The world is baffled by the ‘fiscal cliff,’ sees it as a sign of American decline.” The July after I graduated in ’68, the same publication declared, “Pollsters report decline in US standing abroad.” When you see the headlines in the Wall Street Journal of November this past year about “widespread fiscal and economic uncertainty,” I remember the headline in April of ’68, the same publication that said, “US in worst fiscal crisis since 1931.” My generation heard the same voices of doom and despair that your generation hears today. “American decline,” “America’s lost its way,” “whither America?” What those voices do not and did not understand is that in both instances—yours and mine—we graduated into a world that had changed: the world of William Butler Yeats. Writing about his Ireland in a poem called “Easter 1916,” he said, “All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born.”
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舊的答案、前一代的政策十分適用於我這一代,卻不適用於我畢業後的世界。
我畢業前夕,金恩博士被暗殺,越戰如火如荼;畢業典禮期間,羅伯特.甘迺迪被暗殺,我們的政治體系亂成一團。但我們跨越那個階段,取得文憑。我們以絕對的信心宣稱否定者錯了,我們擁有無限的可能性。我們結束越戰、結束核武僵局,蘇聯(應該是指美國)保障了民權,從根本上改善婦女權利,開始從事至今仍持續進行的環保運動;開啟資訊時代,將世界無比地縮小,在這個過程中奠定科技革新時代的基礎,形成70、80、90年代世上最強的經濟體。
你們今天即將畢業,踏入另一個世界。同樣瞬息萬變,存在不同的危險、不同的可能性。與我共事的一些人對氣候變化毫不在意,我震驚不已,懷疑他們是否受過教育。(笑聲)我是認真的。在現今這個時代否認氣候變化?如我兄弟Jim所說的:「搞不懂」。
國際恐怖主義、無國籍人士、流行疾病;你的手機可組織一場政治運動,Twitter可發動一場革命,驚天動地的新聞可從你的餐桌傳播到全世界。現今科技已改變我們與世界其他地區及彼此間的互動方式,現今天有比以往更多的聲音影響政府和事件發展過程,因此這應該不令人意外。
為何那些不像你們那麼瞭解這世界的人會感到不安?但我對你們的自信毫不驚訝。當你們今天從這所卓越的大學畢業,你們準備得如此充分,你們已開始造成顯著改變,甚至在你踏出這個運動場之前。不妨回顧自從你進高中後發生了什麼。
美國對LGBT(同性戀、雙性戀、跨性別)聯盟觀點的徹底改變,根本上的改變,現在美國絕大多數人全力支持賦予LGBT聯盟所有權利,包括選擇結婚對象的權利。11個州已著手推動婚姻平等法案,這都是因為你們!因為你們!至於移民政策,現在獲得美國人民壓倒性支持,使1100萬無合法身份的男性、女性及孩童擺脫陰影,邁向取得公民權的道路。這些變化都發生在過去四年,我們結束伊拉克戰爭,我們也將結束阿富汗戰爭,在經濟上我們重新站穩腳步。如今我們擁有更好的立足點,勝於世上任何國家,引領21世紀的發展。
我喜歡聽人們告訴我-引用他們的說法:「中國人將吃掉我們的午餐。」中國是個偉大的國家,我們應該期待它的持續擴張。但女士先生們,他們的問題很大,他們缺乏許多我們擁有的東西。我們有世上最好的大學,我們有開放、公正的法律系統,我們有世上最敏捷的風險資本家,我們引領世界的創新和科技,這都在於一個簡單的基本原因。
史蒂夫.賈伯斯在史丹佛演講時有個年輕人問他:「我如何才能像你這樣?我如何才能成為像你這樣的人?」史蒂夫.賈伯斯的著名回答是:「以不同方式思考。」你無法在一個不能自由呼吸的國家以不同方式思考,你無法在一個不能挑戰正統的國家以不同方式思考,因為變化只能來自挑戰正統。你在這所卓越大學和整個體系學到的就是挑戰正統,這就是為什麼如今我們的經濟規模仍比世上任何國家大兩倍半,我們工人的生產力是世上其他工人的三倍,高科技製造業正回歸美國。你們這一代已加入這個行列,領導世界創新和創造就業機會。我們即將邁入擁有驚人變化和進步的時代,我們站在創新的前線,我們將真正改變世界。
某些和我同獲榮譽學位的人可告訴你們更多相關資訊,因為他們已改變我們生活的世界。一個擁有超導體的世界每秒可執行10^18次計算,比目前世上任何電腦的速度快一百倍,這將徹底改變科學、醫學、應用科技;3-D列印機可修復受傷的組織,使灼傷的皮膚恢復完美無瑕的狀態;使受損或失去的器官及四肢再生的能力可拯救千萬人的生命,使受傷的戰士恢復原有行動能力。不久的將來,白血球細胞將得以改造,以攻擊癌細胞腫瘤,留下完整的健康細胞,使癌症病人擁有正常生活,不須經歷化療及放療的艱苦過程。在一小時內為整個人類基因組定序的能力,將提供快速、個人化的醫療;能爬山的義肢、能彈鋼琴的義肢-過去四年我目睹這一切,當我訪視超過1500名截肢者後,劇烈的變化正在發生,使他們恢復正常行動能力。
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Old answers, the policies of the previous generation that has served my generation so well, have little applicability to the world into which I was graduating. On the eve of my graduation, Dr. King had been assassinated, the Vietnam War was raging, and in the shadow of my convocation, Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Our political system was in chaos. But as we strode across that stage to receive our diplomas, to a person we were absolutely confident that the naysayers were wrong, and that there were significant possibilities available to us. We ended the war in Vietnam, we ended the nuclear stalemate, the Soviet Union secured civil rights, fundamentally altered women’s rights for the better, began an environmental movement that’s far from finished, ushered in an information age that shrunk the world beyond recognition and in the process lay the foundation for a period of technological innovation that generated the world’s strongest economy in the 70s, 80s and the 90s. Today, you’re all graduating into another world that has changed equally and profoundly. Different dangers and different possibilities. Climate change left unattended by people with whom I work, and I marvel at whether they got an education. I’m serious. To deny climate change today, as my brother Jim would say, “go figure.” International terrorism, stateless actors, pandemic disease, a political movement that can be organized from your cell phone, Twitter can literally unleash a revolution, and ground-breaking journalism can be transmitted around the world from your kitchen table. Today’s technology has transformed the way we interact with the rest of the world and among one another. There are more voices today than ever influencing governments and the course of events, so it should be no surprise why those who understand this world less well than you do feel uneasy.
But I’m not at all surprised by the confidence you all feel today as you graduate from this great University. You are so much better prepared and you’ve already begun to change things significantly, even before you’ve stepped off this field. Just look at what’s happened since you’ve entered college. The fundamental shift that’s taken place in America with regard to the LGBT community, fundamental—now an absolute majority of the American people are fully supportive of extending all rights to the LGBT community, including the right to choose who they marry. Eleven states have already moved on marriage equality. That’s you! On immigration, there is now overwhelming support among the American people to bring 11 million undocumented men, women and children out of the shadows, on the path to earn citizenship. And that’s all changed within the last four years. We’ve ended the war in Iraq and we will end the war in Afghanistan. And economically, we regained our footing. Today, we’re better positioned than any nation in the world to lead the 21st century. I love to hear people tell me—now to use the vernacular—“China’s going to eat our lunch.” China’s a great nation, and we should hope for the continued expansion, but ladies and gentlemen, their problems are immense, and they lack much of what we have.
We have the best universities in the world, we have a legal system that is open and fair, we have the most agile venture capitalists in the world, we lead the world in innovation and technology, all for a simple basic reason. Steve Jobs, speaking at Stanford, was asked by a young man “how can I be more like you? How can I become like you?” Steve Jobs famously answered “think different.” You cannot think different in a nation where you cannot breathe free. You cannot think different in a nation where you aren’t able to challenge orthodoxy, because change only comes from challenging orthodoxy. And what you’ve learned at this great University and throughout this system is to challenge orthodoxy. That’s why today, our economy is still two and a half times bigger than any other in the world, our workers are three times as productive as any worker in the world, high-tech manufacturing is coming back to the United States and your generation has already joined the ranks of those who are leading the world in innovation and job creation.
We’re about to enter an era of breathtaking change and progress. We’re on the cusp of innovations that will literally change the world, and some of the people who I had the honor of being honored with today with degrees can tell you more about this than I can because they’re already changing the world we live in. A world where there’d be superconductors capable of performing a million trillion calculations per second, which is one-hundred times faster than any computer on Earth today. It will revolutionize science, medicine, applied technology. 3-D printers able to restore tissue after traumatic injury and restore skin damaged by fire to unblemished skin. The ability to regenerate organs and limbs that have been damaged or lost, saving tens of thousands of lives and restoring our wounded warriors to their full capabilities. The ability in the near term of being able to engineer your white blood cells to attack cancer tumors and leave healthy cells untouched, allowing cancer patients to live out their lives without undergoing difficult and painful chemotherapy and radiation procedures. The ability to sequence the entire human genome in under an hour, delivering rapid, personalized medicine. Prosthetic legs that are able to climb mountains, prosthetic arms able to play the piano. I’ve watched just in the last four years, visiting well over 1,500 amputees, the radical change that is taking place, restoring them to full capacity, and it’s only now just beginning.
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目前這只是起步階段,公共事業節省一度電的收益如同生產一度電的時代即將來臨;行駛距離達300英哩的電動汽車充電成本將比汽油便宜;NASA目前使用的堅固、輕巧材料將廉價得足以用於汽車、卡車和風力機;如煤炭和天然氣般廉價的太陽能將於十年內實現;微生物和奈米科技將使廢物處理所需成本和時間減少50%;即時語音翻譯將使你隨時隨地都能與使用任何語言的人交談;高畫質立體視訊會議將大幅減少空中旅行的需求;自動化精確製造技術將使我們創造比鋼更堅硬、重量更輕的材料;自動駕駛汽車將使交通事故死亡率降低80%,並減少通勤時間;不需土壤、水、肥料或農藥就能成長茁壯的作物將使世界不再有飢荒。
我並非信口開河。科技辦公室,總統的團隊-每位總統都擁有一個傑出的科學團隊,部分由現任總統領導,提供關於先進研究的建議。當你的孩子於這所卓越大學畢業之際,我所說的大多已成為現實,這都是指日可待之事。這一切不僅將改變我們的生活方式,也將創造成千上萬個新型態高薪工作。你們是其中一份子,事實上這將由你們實現,你們將獲益良多。
因此今天你們或許將感到各種不確定性,但千萬別忘了,未來掌握在你們手中。別理會憤世嫉俗者的話語-這是我給你們唯一的建議,我絕對確定這一點。他們看錯了我們這一代,也看錯了你們這一代。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)
各位畢業生,歷史可證,看衰美國絕非明智的賭注,看衰你們這一代更是糟糕透頂的決定。你們是我國有史以來最稱職、最能幹、最能付出關懷的一代,我相信你們將為美國歷史寫下嶄新而美好的一頁。因此要有信心,信心十足,跟隨心中的直覺,你們擁有無限的可能性。
我曾與中國新任主席習近平共處十天,這是應前主席胡錦濤和歐巴馬總統的請求,以建立個人關係。歐尼爾(美國前國會議長)說過一句名言:「所有政治都是地方性的。」我並非想改進老友歐尼爾的話,但我認為所有政治都是個人性的,包括國際政治。
女士先生們,我仔細聆聽他提出的問題和感興趣的事,主席問我相處十天後的想法-五天在中國,五天在這裡。我說他是一位強大而聰明的人,但看起來像一位即將接手新工作、但無法確定結果是否順利的人。我是說真的。我們準備得如此充分,我們已為領導21世紀的世界做好充分準備,我們必須善用這個優勢。而你們-這並非誇大之詞-你們所有今天取得大學及研究所文憑的你們正是使這一切成為可能的人。
因此我想對你們說恭喜祝好運,2013年畢業生。讓我們看看你們的本事,因為你們有能力做更多的事,度過史上最瞬息萬變、最令人振奮和興奮的時期。我很高興自己能參與各位的旅程。
上帝保佑你們,上帝保佑我們的軍隊。(歡呼聲)(掌聲)
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An era when utilities will make as much money saving a kilowatt hour as generating a kilowatt hour. Electric vehicles, travelling 300 miles and filling up on electrons cheaper than gasoline. Strong, lightweight materials now used by NASA cheap enough to use in cars, trucks and wind machines. Solar energy as cheap as coal and natural gas, generations before the end of this decade. Microbes and nanotechnology lowering the cost and time required to clean waste by 50%. Real-time speech translation allowing you to talk with anyone in any language at any time. High-fidelity holographic video conferencing, dramatically reducing the need for air travel. Automatically precise manufacturing allowing us to create materials that are stronger than steel and a fraction of the weight. Self-driving automobiles reducing traffic fatalities by 80% while freeing up our commute time. A world in which hunger is vanquished by crops that don’t need soil, water, fertilizer, or pesticides to thrive.
I’m not making this up. The Office of Science & Technology, the President’s group—every President has a group of brilliant scientists, part of which are headed by your President, who come and advise us on those things that are just on the cusp. By the time you stand before your children graduating from this great University, much of what I said will already have happened. All these things are on the horizon, and all of it will not only change the way we live but will create millions upon millions of new, good-paying jobs. And you’re a part of it. In fact, you’re gonna build it. You will take advantage of it. So today, for all the uncertainty you may feel, never forget the future is within your control. Don’t listen to the cynics—that’s the only piece of advice I will give you and of which I am absolutely certain. They were wrong about my generation and they’re wrong about yours.
Graduates, there’s the statement of history, it’s never ever been a good bet to bet against America, and it’s a very bad bet to bet against your generation. You’re the most competent, capable, caring generation this country has ever produced, and I’m confident you’ll write a new and better chapter of American history. So have faith. Do what you feel in your heart. The possibilities are unlimited. I spent ten days with President Xi, the new president of China, at the request of then-President Hu and President Obama, to establish a personal relationship. Tip O’Neill made famous the expression, “all politics is local.” Far be it from me to improve upon my friend Tip O’Neill, but I think all politics is personal, including international politics. Ladies and gentlemen, I looked and listened to the questions he had to ask, and the interest he had. And the President asked me, what did I think after ten days, five in China and five here? And I said, he’s a strong, bright man, but he has the look of a man who’s about to take on a job he’s not at all sure is going to end well. I mean that seriously. We are so well-positioned, we are so well-positioned to lead the world in the 21st century, that we have to take advantage of it. And you—this is not hyperbole—you, all those receiving your graduate and undergraduate degrees today, are the people that are gonna make it possible. So I say to you, congratulations and very good luck, Class of 2013. Show us what you can do, because you will be able to do more and live through a period of change more rapid and exhilarating and exciting than any generation in the history of the world. I’m just happy I’m gonna be along for part of the ride. God bless you all and may God protect our troops.