最后的演讲:荷兰叔叔 (1/3)

英语自学网

Randy Pausch是美国卡内基梅隆大学的计算机科学、人机交互及设计教授。2006年9月，他被诊断患有胰腺癌。2007年9月18日，他在卡内基梅隆大学做了一场风靡全美的“最后的演讲”，根据这次演讲，他出版的“The Last Lecture”一书则成为亚马逊网站上最为畅销的书籍之一。Randy教授所传达的讯息之所以如此震撼人心，是因为他以诚恳、幽默的态度去分享他独特的经验。他谈的不是死亡，而是人生中的重要议题，包括克服障碍、实现儿时梦想、帮助别人实现梦想、把握每一个时刻……
Hints:
Tammy
know-it-all
janitor
mud-soakedAnyone who knows me will tell you I've always had a healthy sense of myself and my abilities. I tend to say what I'm thinking and what I believe. I don't have much patience for incompetence.
These are traits that have mostly served me well. But there are times, believe it or not, when I've come across as arrogant and tactless. That's when those who can help you recalibrate yourself become absolutely crucial.
My sister, Tammy, had to put up with the ultimate know-it-all kid brother. I was always telling her what to do, as if our birth order was a mistake that I was incessantly trying to correct.
One time when I was seven years old and Tammy was nine, we were waiting for the school bus, and as usual, I was mouthing off. She decided she'd had enough. She picked up my metal lunch box and dropped it in a mud puddle … just as the bus pulled up. My sister ended up in the principal's office, while I was sent to the janitor, who cleaned up my lunch box, threw out my mud-soaked sandwich and kindly gave me lunch money.