Keynote Speakers1

Betty Liu

普林斯顿大学现任校长克里斯托弗·埃斯格鲁伯

In the academic world, there are a flurry of2. a flurry of: 突然发生的一连串……。activities and ceremonies throughout the year. At the beginning of the year,there are events like convocation, where students and faculty gather to welcome in the new academic year.3. convocation: 集会；faculty: 全体教职工。A few months later, there might be events to celebrate alumni4. alumni: 校友。returning or awards being presented. Of course at the end of the year, there is a graduation ceremony, where the members of the school gather to celebrate the graduation of the senior class. While all of these events celebrate different aspects of the school and have different traditions, there is one tradition that is universally5. universally: 普遍地。present: a keynote speech. Throughout history, a keynote speech is used to establish the underlying theme of a ceremony or event,establishing the framework that ties together the different aspects of an event.6. 一直以来，主旨发言被用来为典礼或重大事件奠定主题，形成一个框架，将各个方面联系到一起。underlying:基本的，根本的；framework: 框架。Often, this speech reflects the core message of the event and is one of the most memorable aspects.7. core: 核心；memorable: 值得纪念的。

每年“毕业季”和“开学季”轮流上演时，校园里最少不了的便是各种各样的仪式和典礼了，其中必有的一道程序就是主旨发言。这些我们都曾经历过，或者正在经历着。不过你是否想过这些发言者是如何被选出、他们的发言又会带给我们怎样的精神财富呢？

With the keynote speaker being such an important part of academic events and ceremonies, selecting one for an event is a task requiring careful consideration. Along with setting the tone8. set the tone: 定下基调。of an event, the speaker is also used to raise interest in an event.Often times, institutions will choose to invite a distinguished individual to speak, such as a notable professor,9. institution: （银行，医院和大学等大型）社会机构，组织；distinguished:杰出的；notable: 著名的。a well-known actress, or a best-selling author, among other possibilities. This year at Princeton University’s commencement ceremony (the graduation ceremony) the speech was given by the president of the university, Christopher Eisgruber, as is customary.10. Princeton University: 普林斯顿大学，美国著名私立研究型大学，八所常春藤盟校之一；commencement:毕业典礼；customary: 惯例的。However,for other ceremonies, the university has invited a variety of speakers, ranging from Ben Bernanke, former chair of the Federal Reserve, to Brooke Shields, a prominent American actress.11. Ben Bernanke: 本·伯南克，前美联储主席；chair: 主席；the Federal Reserve: 美国联邦储备系统，简称美联储；Brooke Shields: 波姬·小丝，美国著名女演员、模特，代表作为《漂亮宝贝》；prominent: 著名的。With different people, each speech is quite unique and imparts12. impart: 传授。a little bit of wisdom to those who were able to hear it. After learning about all of these wonderful speeches given at the university, I became even more excited at the prospect13. prospect: 期望中的事，将要发生的事。of being able to attend Princeton because I would get to hear these speeches in person.I know when I saw that Stephen Colbert, a popular comedian known for his political satire, had once spoken at the university, I gave a little squeal of delight on the inside.14. Stephen Colbert: 斯蒂芬·科尔伯特，美国著名脱口秀主持人、喜剧演员；comedian: 喜剧演员；satire:讽刺；squeal: 长而尖的声音；on the inside: 从内心。

While on the topic of keynote speakers, there is one example concerning Princeton University that shows just how influential a keynote speech can be. On October 21, 1896, Princeton University held its Sesquicentennial15. sesquicentennial: 150周年的。Celebration, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the institution. At this celebration, Woodrow Wilson, then a newly instated faculty member of the political studies department who would later become the 13th President of Princeton University and the 28th President of the United States, gave a speech titled “Princeton in the Nation’s Service.”16. Woodrow Wilson: 伍德罗·威尔逊（1856—1924），美国第28任总统；instate: 任命；Princeton in the Nation’s Service: “普林斯顿——为国家服务”，伍德罗·威尔逊在普林斯顿大学150周年演讲的题目，后来被扩展为“为国家服务，为世界服务”（In the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations），成为普林斯顿大学的非官方格言。In this eloquent17. eloquent: 雄辩的，有口才的。speech, Wilson spoke of Princeton’s long history and declared that it was the duty of institutions of higher learning to aid its nation. As he famously said:

“We dare not keep aloof and closet ourselves while a nation comes to its maturity.18. keep aloof: 避开，对……漠不关心；closet: v.把（自己）关在小房间里； maturity: 成熟。 The days of glad expansion are gone; our life grows tense and difficult; our resource for the future lies in careful thought, providence, and a wise economy; and the school must be of the nation.”19. 快乐的日子的一去不返，我们的生活变得紧张而艰难，我们应对未来之策在于谨慎思考、深谋远虑和明智的经济制度，我们的学校须为国家而服务。expansion: 扩展；providence: 深谋远虑。—Woodrow Wilson, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service”

His speech became such a resounding hit that “In the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations” has since become Princeton University’s unofficial motto.20. resounding: 响亮的；motto: 格言。

Often times during these ceremonies, there are other speakers to complement the keynote speakers or to introduce them. These speakers are usually students who have been chosen to speak due to significant academic achievement or being chosen by classmates. For Princeton University,different student speakers are chosen for different events. For example, during Class Day, an event for seniors to celebrate their class before graduation, members of the senior class chose two or three members to give a light-hearted speech.21. Class Day: （美国大学、中学等毕业生的）班级日；light-hearted: 轻松的。During commencement, it is typically the valedictorian22. valedictorian: （美国）在毕业典礼上致告别辞的毕业生代表。,the student at the top of the class, who gives a speech.These speeches often complement the keynote speeches by addressing a different aspect of the event and make it more relatable to students. An example of this is how inside jokes among students often make it into a speech given by a student speaker.

Writing about all of these speakers and events makes me think of my high school graduation ceremony. Though high school events are done on a much smaller scale than university events, I find that they are nonetheless moving and feature many of the same aspects.23. nonetheless: 然而；feature:以……为特征。During my high school’s graduation ceremony, we were fortunate enough to have Thomas W. Ross, the president of the University of North Carolina24. University of North Carolina: 北卡罗来纳大学，由16所均为公立四年制的北卡罗来纳州大学组成的大学系统，均以“北卡罗来纳大学”命名。system, as our keynote speaker. He gave a wonderful speech about the importance of our high school experience, speaking of how through our experience were able to communicate more effectively and learn to become leaders. He also gave us some advice for the future, stressing the importance of skills such as time management and the wiliness to fight for a greater cause. By the end of his speech, though I had not graduated yet, I was already feeling nostalgic25. nostalgic: 怀旧的。.

Our student speaker was selected through an essay contest26. essay contest: 作文比赛。.Each student who was interested in speaking wrote a speech and submitted27. submit: 提交。it to be judged by a committee of faculty. To this day, one of my regrets is not submitting a speech for consideration. Somehow,I never heard about the essay contest and assumed that our student body president28. student body president: 学生会主席，全校学生代表。would be giving the speech, as is customary for most high schools (Note: Many high schools also use valedictorians,but my school had no ranking system). Nevertheless, I enjoyed the speech given by the student speaker and was able to reminisce29. reminisce: 追忆。about the good times I had during my time in high school. In the end, I suppose that is what a speech is all about: making an emotional connection with the audience and causing them to feel the emotions that you want to express.