Your Legacy
汤尼·D.德安吉洛 / Tony D. Angelo
I had a philosophy professor who was the quintessential eccentric philosopher. His disheveled appearance was highlighted by a well-worn tweed sport coat and poor-fitting thick glasses, which often rested on the tip of his nose. Every now and then, as most philosophy professors do, he would go off on one of those esoteric and existential “what’s the meaning of life” discussions. Many of those discussions went nowhere, but there were a few that really hit home. This was one of them:
“Respond to the following questions by a show of hands,” my professor instructed.
“How many of you can tell me something about your parents?” Everyone’s hand went up.
“How many of you can tell me something about your grandparents?” About three-fourths of the class raised their hands.
“How many of you can tell me something about your great grandparents?” Two out of sixty students raised their hands.
“Look around the room,” he said. “In just two short generations hardly any of us even know who our own great-grandparents were. Oh sure, maybe we have an old, tattered photograph tucked away in a musty cigar box or know the classic family story about how one of them walked five miles to school barefoot. But how many of us really know who they were, what they thought, what they were proud of, what they were afraid of, or what they dreamed about? Think about that. Within three generations our ancestors are all but forgotten. Will this happen to you?
“Here’s a better question. Look ahead three generations. You are long gone. Insatead of you sitting in this room, now it’s your great-grandchildren. What will they have to say about you? Will they know about you? Or will you be forgotten, too?
“Is your life going to be a warning or an example? What legacy will you leave? The choice is yours. Class dismissed.”
Nobody rose from their seat for a good five minutes.
我有一位教哲学的教授，他算得上是最典型的怪人了。他身穿一件旧斜纹软呢运动装，鼻子上架着一副极不相称的厚眼镜，这样一来，他看上去就更邋遢了。和大多数哲学教授一样，他常常会就一些深奥的存在主义问题进行讨论，像“生命的意义是什么”。诸如此类的讨论大都毫无结果，然而的确有一小部分恰恰说到了实质。以下就是其中的一个例子：
“请举手回答以下问题。”教授发出了指令。
“你们中有谁可以告诉我有关你们父母的事？”所有的人举起了手。
“你们中有谁可以告诉我有关你们祖父母的事？”班上大概有3/4的人举起了手。
“你们中有谁可以告诉我有关你们曾祖父母的事？”60人中只有两个同学举起了手。
“看看吧，”他说，“仅仅相隔两代人，几乎就没人了解自己的曾祖父母了。的确，我们或许会有一张破旧不堪的照片，塞在发着霉味的烟盒里；抑或我们知道家族里的经典逸事，据说某个先祖上学要光着脚步行五英里。然而我们中有多少人真正知道他们是谁，想的是什么，以什么为荣，对什么感到恐惧，胸怀怎样的梦想。想想吧，三代之内，祖先就被后人们遗忘了。同样的情形会发生在你们的身上吗？
“还有一个更好的问题。再过三代，你们离开人世已经很久了。在这个房间里，取而代之的是你们的曾孙们。对于你们，他们会说些什么？他们知不知道你们的事？或者，你们也会被忘记吗？
“你们的一生会成为他们的前车之鉴还是榜样？你们会给他们留下什么样的遗产？选择权掌握在你们的手中。下课。”
足足五分钟时间，没有人从座位上站起来。
记忆填空
1. now and then, as most philosophy professors , he would go off on one of those esoteric and existential“what’s the meaning of ” discussions. Many of those discussions went nowhere, there were a few that really hit home.
2. But how of us really know who they were, they thought, what they were proud of, what they were afraid , or what they dreamed about? Think about . Within three generations our ancestors are all forgotten. Will this happen to you?
佳句翻译
1. 诸如此类的讨论大都毫无结果，然而的确有一小部分恰恰说到了实质。
2. 然而我们中有多少人真正知道他们是谁，想的是什么，以什么为荣，对什么感到恐惧，胸怀怎样的梦想。
3. 再过三代，你们离开人世已经很久了。在这个房间里，取而代之的是你们的曾孙们。
短语应用
1. His disheveled appearance was highlighted by a well-worn tweed sport coat and poor-fitting thick glasses, which often rested on the tip of his nose.
on the tip of：在……的尖端，顶端
2.“Respond to the following questions by a show of hands,”my professor instructed.
respond to：对……做出反应，响应
