美国华裔交通部长赵小兰致孩子们的人生感悟

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这段演讲是现任美国交通部长的赵小兰（Elaine L. Chao），给孩子们的演讲，是比较好的英语学习材料。

音频地址

• 喜马拉雅：链接地址

英文原文

Dear children,

The world as we all know now would change a great deal during your lifetime. And as you face these changes, which will bring both challenges and opportunities, remember that your attitude, how you face these changes will be key. You can choose to face the future with optimism, determination and excitement.

When we first came to America, there were so few Asian Americans in America. There was less than 1 percent of Chinese in America. We didn’t have any friends, we have no family members, we didn’t speak English, we didn’t know the country, we didn’t understand the customs, the tradition, the culture, so everything was new and strange, and everything was difficult.

My sisters and I all came to America not speaking a word of English. And we learned in the first year. So in the third grade, I sat in the third grade classroom, not understanding a word that was being said by the teacher and I would just copy everything that was on the blackboard onto my notebook.

My parents had tremendous hope and optimism, determination and also a great sense of excitement for facing the future.

And every night, my father would come back from his work, tired but nevertheless, he always make time to go through my notebook with me and translate that day’s lesson.

So when you have problems in your life, it’s very important that you choose to be positive, optimistic and look forward. You know if I have ever thought that I would have lots of difficulties, moving ahead in my life and career because I was young, because I was female, because I was a minority, I would never give out a bit in my move.

So I think it’s very important for you to be positive, to be optimistic and to have self confident that you can do whatever you want to do.

Dear children,

Advancement in your career comes only with hard work, education and sacrifice.

You know, school is only the first step, it’s essential that you get a good education and you get into the best school that you can. The school is not the final step, it’s just the beginning.

So it’s really important after the school is over to continue to grow, to work hard, to learn and to see how important it is to get along with other people.

I think the Chinese emphasize, you know, people to people relationship. That is very important because in the workplace, the people to people relationship would be very key.

So hard work is a necessity. There is no compromise on hard work. Beyond that, there are other attributes that are successful to your life. And that’s very important to learn as well.

My parents always taught me and my sisters to work very hard even when we were at home, we were taught to help my mother and help my father around the house, outside in the garden, so we had very little leisure time.

We work all the time but we found work interesting and exciting and when I was at my jobs I always put in longer hours than anybody else. I worked longer into the evening, I worked at the weekends, not because I was trying to show off, but because I was really interested and I wanted to do a good job.

I was always very grateful to whoever gave me a job so that I want to do my very very best to merit that person’s trust in giving me the job. So I was interested in my work. I was grateful to have the opportunity and I want to reciprocate, return the confidence that other people had in me.

You know everybody has sacrifices, everybody has things they like to do. What if you really want to succeed and move ahead, there will be some elements on what you like to do that you would not be able to do.

So for example, if you like to go to the movies every Saturday, sometimes when you work, you can’t afford to go to the movies every weekend. You know if you like to spend all your time with your friends, sometimes you can’t. You have to work, and do a good job.

So there are sacrifices whatever it is you like, there will be sometimes you would be asked to sacrifice doing some of the things you like for some of the things you think are necessary. That’s just the natural part of life.

Dear children,

Be grateful for all the good things in your life: your parents, your family, your teachers, your friends, good health.

You know, when you are young, you don’t feel grateful. You kind of expect that your parents will be there and that your teachers will always be there and you don’t think much about it.

But as you get on in life, you’ll realize that your parents, your family are the true treasures of life, and that your teachers are there to care for you as well.

And so as you get older, you develop a sense of gratefulness to be thankful for the basic things in life that are most important, and that is: family, friends, your teachers and good health. Now for those of you that have grandparents if you see they have good health, that is a blessing.

But when I was a little girl, we had just arrived in America, and we didn’t have very much money and yet all the little girls had Barbie dolls and so my dream was to have a Barbie doll, but of course my parents couldn’t afford it.

But somehow overtime my parents save up enough money to buy me a little Barbie doll and my mother made all the clothing for my Barbie doll. And she even made a house for Barbie so that we didn’t have to spend money to buy in the store.

So my mother was a wonderful mother, she cared for her husband, and she cared for her daughters so well our home was so lacking in financial resources, we were not wealthy at all, but she managed to create such a comforting secure home for all of us.

So when you think about what is good in your life, you know, be thankful and be grateful for the big things but also for the little things, like I’m so grateful to my mother for having bought me not the Barbie doll but having the love to save so much to buy the doll, and then to make the clothes for her just so I would be like the other little girls.

Dear children,

And finally remember to always help others, foster a generous sprit to others. You can choose to be happy or sad. Always choose to be happy to make life better for those around you. Having such an attitude will help you become a more fulfill person.

For Chinese, I think it’s really important that we emphasize Chinese emphasis of being a good person. This to the Chinese is very important and it’s also very precious and very true.

My parents have always been very very helpful to other people. You know to other Chinese students, for example, who come to the United States, they used to invite them to our house all the time for meals so that they can not feel so lonely for they had a friendly face that they can talk to.

On the day that the President of the United States announced my nomination as Secretary of Labor, my mother and the rest of my family were of course very excited but my mother also had a little secret of her own, a little news, and that was that she had received from her doctors that very terrible news that she had lymphoma, it’s a form of cancer.

But she didn’t tell me, nor anybody else in the family because it was my day and the whole family was so excited. So she did not want to shatter the happiness of that day by sharing the news that she had cancer.

So my mother was a very inspiring, very touching person and she was always thinking about other people, you know, her husband, her children, her community. She was a great volunteer. So she was always thinking about other people first before thinking about herself.

You know everybody talks about being happy these days, and I guess my secret to you is that happiness comes from you. It doesn’t come from outside and it doesn’t come from other people.

So you have the power to decide within yourself whether you want to be happy or sad and even when bad things are happening, you have the choice to either handle it well with courage, fortitude, or you can just completely give up. So you have that power to either be happy or to be sad.

And I would suggest that you always choose to be happy, be brave when bad things happen. And be able to handle any situation that comes along you know with great courage and with great fortitude. That will make you happy.

中文原文

亲爱的孩子们，

我们所熟知的世界将会在你们的时代发生巨大的改变，这会带来诸多的挑战与机会。当你们面对这一切的时候，请记住态度决定一切。请选用乐观坚定和兴奋去面对未来。

我们刚到美国的时候，美国的亚裔非常少，其中华裔更是不足美国人口比例的1%。我们一个朋友也没有，也没有亲戚。

我们不会说英语，我们对于这个国家无比陌生，我们完全不理解这个国家的习俗、传统和文化。所以我们周遭的每件事都那么陌生，做什么都很艰难。

我和我的妹妹们刚到美国时一句英语都不会说，我们是在到美国的第一年开始学习的英语。我刚去上三年级的时候，我坐在一个陌生的教室里，完全听不懂老师在讲些什么，所以我只好把老师的板书统统抄在我的笔记本上。

我的父母对未来充满无尽的希望，他们乐观、坚决并且热情激昂。每天晚上爸爸下班回家后，不论多么疲惫，他都会抽出时间为我讲解笔记，翻译当天的课程。

所以，当你们在生活中遇到问题的时候，一定要乐观积极，勇往直前。

要知道，如果我曾有一秒钟认为，我会在人生和政治事业上步履维艰，就因为自己年轻，自己是一个女性，自己是少数派，那我恐怕早上都会难过得不愿意起床。

所以我认为你一定要学会积极，学会乐观，并相信，自己可以做到你想做的任何事情。

亲爱的孩子们，

在事业上取得成功，唯一路径是努力工作，接受更高的教育和不断的付出。

要知道学校仅仅是你人生的第一步，获得好的教育，尽量进入你最理想的大学确实很重要，但是学校并不是终点，它仅仅是一个开始。

所以一定要记住，在离开学校后一定要继续丰富自己，继续努力，继续学习，并理解人际交往的重要性。

我认为中国人很讲究人际关系，这确实非常重要，因为在工作场所人际关系是很关键的。

所以努力工作是一个必要条件，在对自己努力工作的要求上是不能有丝毫让步的，在做到了这点之外，还有一些能帮助你成功的事情，是需要学习掌握的。

我的父母总是教导我们姐妹要刻苦努力，就连我们在家的时候，父母也会让我们在房子里和外面的花园里帮忙，所以我们很少有自己闲暇的时间。我们一直在工作，但是在我们眼中，工作是有趣并且让人感到兴奋的事情。

所以，不论我在任何一份工作中，我总是比任何人都多工作一段时间，我总是会从下午工作到晚上，周末也不会休息。而我不是故意做给别人看的，而是因为我对每份工作都充满兴趣，并且一心想做好。

对于任何一个聘用我的人我都心怀感激，所以我会尽力做到我的最好，不辜负他们对我的信任。所以我不光对工作充满兴趣，我对于每次机会都十分感激，我希望通过努力的工作把别人对我的信任报答回去。

要知道每个人都有要做出牺牲的时候，每个人都有自己喜欢去做的事情，如果你真的想成功，想走在别人的面前，那么就会有一些你喜欢的事情，你无法去做。

比如说如果你喜欢每周六都去看电影，但是有时因为你有工作，你就不可能有时间再每个周末都去电影院。如果你喜欢天天跟你的朋友们在一起，你有时候必须放弃，因为你有工作要做，而且还必须做好。

所以，总会有需要牺牲的，不管这对你来说是什么。有的时候你会被迫舍弃一些东西，用那些你喜欢做的事情去成就你必须去做的事情，这是生命的法则。

亲爱的孩子们，

要对你们生命中美好的事物充满感激，感激你的父母，你的家人，你的老师，你的朋友和你健康的身体。

当你年轻的时候你很少感恩，你会理所应当地认为，你的父母就应在你身边为你做好一切，你的老师就应为你的学习操劳，而你并不会去想太多。但是在人生的某一刻，你会意识到你的父母，你的家庭，他们是你人生中真正的财富，关爱你的老师，也是你该珍惜的。

所以，当你渐渐长大，你会开始懂得感恩，对你生命中那些看似基本其实最为重要的人和事心存感激，包括你的家庭、朋友、你的老师和健康。对于你们当中那些外公、外婆、爷爷、奶奶仍健在的人来说，他们的健康就是一种福分。

当我还是小女孩的时候，我们全家刚刚到美国，那时我们家里没有多少钱，但我看到别的小女孩都有芭比娃娃，所以我当时的梦想就是有一个自己的芭比娃娃。但是，当然了，我的父母无法负担这笔消费。

没想到过了一段时间，我的父母居然攒够了钱为我买了一个芭比娃娃，我的妈妈还自己动手为我的芭比娃娃做了许多衣服，甚至还为芭比做了她自己的房子，这样我们就不用花钱在商店里买了。

我的妈妈真的是个伟大的母亲，她不仅很好地照顾丈夫，还有家里的所有女儿，即使在我们家境如此贫寒的时候，生活虽然艰苦，但她总是能想出办法营造如此温暖而无忧无虑的家庭气氛。

所以，当你想起生命中那些美好的事情时，记得要学会感谢，感恩那些大事，但也要感恩那些看似平凡的小事。就像我真的很感激我的母亲，不是因为她给我买了芭比娃娃，而是由此展现出的那份对我的爱，她费尽周折为我攒钱买这个娃娃，还为她做衣服，就是为了能让我跟其他小女孩一样。

亲爱的孩子们，

乐于帮助他人，培养慷慨、真诚之心，无论是快乐与悲伤都源自你的选择。快乐地过每一天，为你身边的人和美好的事物而活得更精彩，直至永远。

对于中国人来说，我认为我们应该强调中国文化所提倡的要「做个好人」，这对中国人来说是很重要的，而且这样的观念至真而宝贵。

我父母一直非常乐于帮助他人，比如说对那些在美国留学的中国学生，我父母常常邀请他们来家里吃饭，用友善的面庞给他们一个倾诉的机会，能够让这些学生在异国他乡不会感到那么孤单。

在布什总统宣布我提名任职劳工部长的时候，我的母亲和全家上下都非常高兴。但是我的母亲其实隐藏着一个小秘密，一条关于她的消息，那就是在同一天，她从医生那里得知自己患上了淋巴瘤，是癌症的一种。

但是母亲没有告诉我，也没有告诉家里的任何人，因为那一天是我的庆祝日，大家都很高兴，她不想因为自己的病痛让全家的喜悦蒙上一层阴影。

所以我常常用母亲感人的故事来激励自己，她总是优先考虑他人，不论是她的丈夫、孩子还是她身边的人。她还是社区中一个积极的志愿者，她永远都会先考虑别人再想到自己。

现在大家都喜欢说要快乐，我想告诉你的秘密就是，快乐来源于你自己，而不是外界。你的快乐不是任何人给的，所以你有能力去用你的内心决定你是想做一个快乐的，还是苦闷的人。

就算当坏事正在发生，你依然可以选择，要么用勇气与坚定去直面挑战，要么选择完全放弃。

你有权力去选择快乐或苦闷，而我建议你在灾难面前永远选择快乐，勇敢地去面对困难。

当你能利用自身强大的勇气和意志力去面对各种境地，你就会快乐。

关于赵小兰

赵小兰（Elaine Chao），1953年03月26日生于中国台北，美籍华人。2001年1月11日，当选总统乔治·沃克·布什提名赵小兰出任美国劳工部长。赵小兰是首位两度进入美国政府内阁的华裔女性，同时也是内阁中的第一位亚裔女性。赵小兰丈夫是美国参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔。2017年1月31日，赵小兰宣誓就职美国第十八任交通部长。