Hi Well, it's nice to be back at Princeton I find it difficult to believe that it's been almost 11 years
嗨 很高兴能回到普林斯顿 很难相信我离校赴华盛顿任职
Since I departed these halls for Washington I wrote recently to inquire about the status of my leave from the university and the letter I got back began
已经11年了 我最近写信打听学校在我离开后的状况 结果回信开头就说
"Regrettably, Princeton receives many more qualified applicants for faculty positions than we can accommodate" i'll extend my best wishes to the seniors later
"很遗憾 普林斯顿收到了很多出色求职者的求职信" "但学校职位有限" 我稍后再献上对毕业生的美好祝愿
But first I want to congratulate the parents and families sitting out on the lawn As a parent myself I know that putting your kid through college these days is no walk in the park
首先我要恭喜的是 坐在外面草地上的家长和家人们 身为人父 我深知供子女读完大学并非易事
Some years ago I had a colleague who sent three kids through Princeton even though neither he nor his wife attended this university He and his spouse were very proud of that accomplishment as they should have been
几年前我有一位同事 他将其三个子女送往普林斯顿 尽管他们夫妇都没有就读过这所大学 他们夫妇俩对这一成就深感自豪 他们也理应自豪
But my colleague also used to say that, from a financial perspective the experience was like buying a new Cadillac every year and then driving it off a cliff
但我同事曾讲过 从财政角度看 这就像每年买一辆凯迪拉克 然后开下悬崖
