Words of Advice at Graduation
毕业赠言
Graduates and my fellow students,
诸位毕业同学：
You are all leaving you Alma Mater now.
你们现在要离开母校了。
I have no gift to present to you all except a piece of advice.
我没有什么礼物送给你们，只好送你们一句话吧。
What I would like to advice is that you"Don't give up your study."
这句话就是"不要放弃了学问"。
Most of the courses you have taken are partly for your certificate.
以前的课程也许有一大部分是为了这张文凭，
You had no choice but to take them. From now on,you may study on your own.
不得已而选读的。从今以后，你们可以以自己的心愿去研究了。
I would advise you to work hard at some special field
建议你们做一种专门的学问，
when you are still young and vigorous.
趁着现在年富力强。
Your youth will be gone and will never come back to you again.
少年是一去不复返的，
When you are old,and when your energy is getting poorer,
等到精力衰退时，
you will not be able to do as you wish to
要做学问也来不及了。
Even though you have to study in order to make a living,
即使为生存而学，
studies will never live up to you.
学问决不会辜负人的。
Making a living without studying,
为生存而不求学问，
you will be shifted out in three or five years.
三五年之后，你们都会要被先进的少年淘汰掉的。
At this time when you hope to make it up,you will say it is too late.
到那时再想做点学问来补救，恐怕已晚了。
Perhaps you will say"After graduation and entering society
有人说:"毕业之后进入社会，
we will meet with an urgent problem,that is,to make a living.
我们会遇到紧急的问题也就是生存，
For this we have no time to study. Even though we hope to study,
哪还有工夫去读书？即使想学习，
we have no library nor labs,so how can we study further?"
既没有图书馆，也没有实验室，哪能深入学习？"
I would like to say that all those who wait to have a library
我要对你们说：凡是要等到有了图书馆才读书的人，
will not study further
他们不会读书，
even though they have one
即使有了图书馆。
and all these who wait to have a lab will not do experiments
凡是等到有了实验室才做研究的人，他们不会做研究
even though they have one.
即使有了实验室。
When you have a firm resolution and determination to solve a problem,
你有了决心要解决一个问题，
you will naturally economize on food and clothing.
自然会节衣缩食。
As for time,I should say it's not a problem.
至于时间，更不成问题。
You may know that every day Darwin could do an hour work,
达尔文每天只能有一个小时的工作，
not much more than that because he was ill for all his life
由于疾病他不能多工作
You must have read his achievements.
你们看看他的成就！
Every day you spend an hour in reading 10 useful pages,
每天花1小时看10页有用的书，
then you will read more than 3,650 pages every year.
每年可看3,650多页书，
In 30 years you will have read 110,000 pages.
30年读11万页书。
My fellow students, reading 110,000 pages will make you a scholar.
诸位，11万页的书可以使你成为一个学者了。
But it will take you an hour to read three kinds of small-sized newspapers
可是，每天看3种小报
and it will take you an hour and a half to play four rounds of Mahjian pieces.
也得费你1小时的工夫；四圈麻将也得费你一个半小时的光阴。
Reading small-sized newspapers or playing Mahjian pieces,
看小报呢？打麻将呢？
or working hard to be a scholar? It's all up to you.
还是努力做一位学者？全靠你自己选择！
Henrik Ibsen said,"It is your greatest duty to make yourself out."
易卜生说:"你的最大责任就是把你这块材料铸成器。"
Studying is then as tool as casting.
学问便是铸器的工具。
Giving up studying will destroy yourself.
抛弃了学问便是毁了你自己。
I have to say goodbye to you all.
我得向诸位道别了。
Your Alma Mater will open her eyes to see what you will be in 10 years.Goodbye!
你们的母校会关注10年后的你们。再会了！
