耶鲁校长2019开学演讲：一个母亲重要的问题，成就了自己璀璨的人生！（英汉对照全文+视频）

8月24日，耶鲁大学新生在戊西礼堂参加了耶鲁大学开学典礼。校长苏必德（Peter Salovey）发表了讲话。

他在演讲中不断强调耶鲁大学的“好奇文化”，认为“一切伟大的发现，都是基于提出问题。” 世界有太多的未知，我们必须敢于承认自己的困惑和迷茫，并且勇于提出问题，时刻保持一颗好奇心。

演讲全文

Good morning! To all Eli Whitney students, transfer students, visiting international students, and first-year Yale College students: Welcome to Yale!

早上好！所有Eli Whitney项目的学生，所有的交换生，国际访问学生以及我们新一届的耶鲁新生们，欢迎你们来到耶鲁！

On behalf of my colleagues here on stage, I extend a warm greeting to the families here today and thank you all for joining us. Please remember these first moments of your loved one’s college career.

在这里，我谨代表学校里的同事，对今天来参加活动的家庭致以诚挚的问候。请诸位尽情享受与家人共度大学第一段生涯的美好时光。

Usually in an opening address, university presidents tell undergraduates that they are amazing individuals, selected from among the most talented high school students in the world today.

通常来说，在开学演讲中，校长都会告诉学生：你们是从世界上万千的精英高中生里选拔出来的，都是能独挡一面的个体。

That is, of course, true, but it is not the point I want to make. Instead, I want to encourage you: to approach college unimpressed by how impressive you are; have more questions than answers; admit to being puzzled or confused; be willing to say, “I don’t know…but I want to find out.” And, most important, have the courage to say, “Perhaps I am wrong, and others are right.”

当然，这是事实，不过这并非我今天想要表达的观点。相比之下，我更想鼓励你们：不要因为自己的独特而自命不凡；多接触我们的校园；相比答案，能更多地提出自己的问题；能承认自己处于迷茫或困惑的状态；愿意说：“虽然我不太了解......但我会去寻找答案。” 并且，最重要的是，要勇于承认：“或许我错了，或许其他人的观点是正确的。”

That is how you will learn the most from your teachers and classmates. And that is why we have all come to this place. We are here to ask questions—questions about one another and about the world around us. We are at Yale to nurture a culture of curiosity.

怀着这样的态度，你才能从你的老师和同学身上学到最多的东西。并且，这也是我们聚集于此的原因。我们来耶鲁是为了提出问题，提出关于彼此；关于世界的问题。

1

学会提问

This summer I read a story about Isidor Isaac Rabi, one of this country’s most extraordinary scientists.

在刚刚度过的夏天里，我阅读了一个有关于伊西多·艾萨克·拉比的故事，他是美国最优秀的科学家之一。

He remembered an important question his mother asked him. Brought to this country as an infant, Rabi conducted research into particle beams that led to the development of the MRI and many other scientific advances. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1944.

拉比一直记得母亲问他的一个重要问题。他出生之后就被带到了美国。他对粒子束的研究相关研究让MR核磁共振及诸多学科获得了提升。1944年，拉比还因为自身的成就获得了诺贝尔物理学奖。

Rabi’s parents ran a small grocery store in Brooklyn. His mother had no formal education. The other moms, he remembered, asked their children every afternoon if they had learned anything in school. “Not my mother,” he recalled. “She always asked me a different question. ‘Izzy,’ she would say, ‘did you ask a good question today?’”

拉比的父母在布鲁克林经营着一家小杂货店。他的母亲没有受过正规教育。其他的母亲在放学后总会问孩子在学校学到了什么。“我的母亲不一样，“拉比回忆道：”她会叫着我的小名Izzy问我，'你今天有提出一个好问题吗？'“

He believed her reminder to ask good questions helped set him on a path to becoming a distinguished scientist.

拉比认为，正是这个问题，引领他成为一名优秀的科学家，成就了自己璀璨的人生。

So, to all the families here today, when you call your Yale students—when you ask them about their classes and their roommates and the food—remember also to ask about their questions.

所以，我建议在场的所有家长，当你们给孩子打电话的时候，在关注他们的同学、室友与就餐情况之外，请记得问问孩子，看他们近期提出过怎样的问题。

Imagine all the great discoveries that have come from asking a question—from Newton’s theory of gravity to the astonishing breakthroughs in quantum science—some of which are happening at Yale.

从牛顿的万有引力到量力科学的重大突破，这些或来自耶鲁或来自其他顶尖高校的伟大发现，其实都是基于提问所产生的。

When a musician experiments with a new melody, or a sociologist observes a social interaction, they ask “why” and “what would happen if…?” Their curiosity lights up our world and points us in new directions.

当音乐家开始采用一段新的旋律；当社会学家开始观察一段社交行为时，他们都会问“为什么？”，“如果这样/那样的话，会发生什么事情呢？”正是他们的好奇心，点燃了人们心中的火苗，并且引领世界往全新的方向前进。

Self-discoveries come from asking questions, too. What do you learn when you ask yourself, “Why do I believe that?” or “Why did I do that?”

对自我的发掘与提升，同样来自于提问。举例来说，当我们质疑一件事并表示“为什么我要相信它？”，“为什么我要这么做？”的时候，我们其实已经学会了反思，并获得了成长。

I think of these lines from the poet Billy Collins: “the trouble with poetry is that it encourages the writing of more poetry.”

我想起了诗人比利·柯林斯的话：“诗歌存在的问题，就是在鼓励更多诗歌的出现。”

I would say the same of asking questions. One leads to another, which opens doors to still another. Sometimes our questions lead us to a dead-end. We realize the question we asked wasn’t quite right, and a door closes. But along the way we have learned something. Perhaps in the future we will ask better questions.

提问也同样如此。诗歌和提问，都是一扇门，去打开更多的门。有些时候，我们问题会把我们引向一条死胡同。这个问题或许并不能带来正确的答案。但请你们牢记，沿途中的那些收获，能帮助我们在将来提出更优秀的问题。

In a well-known scene in the movie, Inspector Clouseau checks into a hotel in Germany. He sees a dachshund in the lobby and asks the hotel owner, “Does your dog bite?” The owner replies, “No.” When Clouseau goes to pet the dog, it bites his hand—hard! Shocked, he tells the hotel owner, “I thought you said your dog doesn’t bite!” The owner responds, “That is not my dog.” Clouseau simply hadn't asked the right question.

电影《粉红豹》中有这么一个著名的场景：“乌龙探长”克鲁索在一家德国酒店检查，他在酒店大堂看到了一只腊肠犬，所以向酒店老板询问： “你的狗咬人么？” “我的狗不会咬人，先生。” 得到答复的克鲁索便放开戒备逗狗，没想到自己的手却被深深地咬了一口。他开始与老板对峙： “我记得你告诉过我，你的小狗不咬人。” “那只腊肠犬并不是我的狗，先生。”显而易见，克鲁索没有问对问题。

Years ago, I co-taught an undergraduate seminar. One of the questions on the application to the course was, “What is the most important thing you’ve changed your mind about?” We were surprised that quite a few students had not changed their minds about anything at all! We decided to accept to the class only students who had changed their minds about something important.

几年前，我曾参与组织了一场本科研讨会。这个课程讨论的其中一个问题是——你曾为哪一件重要的事情改变过自己的想法？令我感到惊奇的是，有少部分学生从来没有为任何一件事而改变自身最初的想法！最终，我们决定，这门课只接收那些改变过想法的学生。

So, be willing to change your mind. Ask questions and embrace Yale’s culture of curiosity. Be open to different viewpoints and experiences, and see them as opportunities to learn—even if sometimes you get your hand bit.

所以，乐于转变思维方式、勇于提问并且拥抱耶鲁的“好奇文化”；对不同的观点与经验持开放的态度，并将其视为一种学习的契机，即使有时会因此受挫。