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Rich Dad & Poor Dad《富爸爸穷爸爸》中英文对照版

2011-12-29 12:53阅读:
Rich Dad & Poor Dad《富爸爸穷爸爸》中英文对照版
There is a Need

  Does school prepare children for the real world?
这就是你所需要的学校真的让孩子们准备好应付真实的世界了吗?

  'Study hard and get good grades and you will find a high-paying job with great benefits,' my parents used to say. Their goal in life was to provide a college education for my older sister and me, so that we would have the greatest chance for success in life.

When T finally earned my diploma in 1976-graduating with honors, and near the top of my class, in accounting from Florida State University-my parents had realized their goal. It was the crowning achievement of their lives. In accordance with the 'Master Plan,' I was hired by a 'Big 8' accounting firm, and I looked forward to a long career and retirement at an early age.
“努力学习,得到好成绩,你就能找到高薪并且伴有很多其他好处的职位。”我父母过去常这么对我说。他们的生活目标就是供我和姐姐上大学,觉得这样我们就有了在生活中获得成功的最好机会。1976年,当我从佛罗里达州立大学会计专业以全班第~的成绩光荣地获得学位证书时,我的父母实现了他们的目标,并把这作为他们一生中最引以为自豪的成就。根据“大师计划”,我很快便被“八大”会计公司中的一家雇佣,于是我在很早就觉察到了我今后漫长的职业生涯直至退休将是一条不会有太多变化的平稳道路。

  My husband, Michael, followed a similar path. We both came from hard-working families, of modest means but with strong work ethics. Michael also graduated with honors, but he did it twice: first as an engineer and then from law school. He was quickly recruited by a prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm that specialized in patent law, and his future seemed bright, career path well-defined and early retirement guaranteed.
我丈夫迈克尔也走着同样的路。我们都来自努力工作的家庭,有着朴素的生活方式和极强的职业道德观。迈克尔也是以优异的成绩从名牌大学毕业的,他还先后深造过两次:一次是作为工程师,另一次是在法律学校。这之后,他便很快被华盛顿一所著名的法律公司聘用,专攻专利法。和我一样,他的未来看起来非常光明,事业的道路也已被很好的确定了,而且还有充分的退休保障。

  Although we have been successful in our careers, they have not turned out quite as we expected. We both have changed positions several times-for all the right reasons-but there are no pension plans vesting on our behalf. Our retirement funds are growing only through our individual contributions.
虽然我们在事业上很成功,应该说已经达到甚至超出了父母们当初提出的希望,但生活却并不像他们当初为我们所描绘的那么一劳永逸。由于新经济时代的种种原因,我们都曾先后换了几次工作,这使得当初看起来如此诱人的职业养老金计划几乎成了泡影,我们的退休金只能靠自己挣了。

  Michael and I have a wonderful marriage with three great children. As I write this, two are in college and one is just beginning high school. We have spent a fortune making sure our children have received the best education available.
  迈克尔和我婚姻美满并有三个好孩子。当我写这些话时候,其中两个正在大学,另一个也已开始念高中。我们花了许多钱希望使我们的孩子得到尽可能好的教育。

  One day in 1996, one of my children came home disillusioned with school. He was bored and tired of studying. 'Why should I put time into studying subjects I will never use in real life?' he protested.
1996年的一天,最小的孩子带着破灭的幻想从学校归来,他说他已经厌倦了,不想再去学习。“为什么我要花时间去学那些我真实生活中一辈子也用不到的东西呢?”他抗议道。

  Without thinking, I responded, 'Because if you don't get good grades, you won't get into college.'
  我毫不思索地答道:“因为如果你学得不好就进不了大学。”

  'Regardless of whether I go to college,' he replied, 'I'm going to be rich.'
“可我并不想去上大学呢,”他说“我只想发财。”

  'If you don't graduate from college, you won't get a good job,' I responded with a tinge of panic and motherly concern. 'And if you don't have a good job, how do you plan to get rich?'
“如果你不能从大学毕业,就得不到好工作,”我带着一丝惊慌和母亲的关爱说,“如果你得不到好的工作,又怎么发财呢?”

  My son smirked and slowly shook his head with mild boredom. We have had this talk many times before. He lowered his head and rolled his eyes. My words of motherly wisdom were falling on deaf ears once again.
儿子笑了,带着一点厌烦之情慢慢地摇了摇头。我们以前已经进行过多次类似的谈话了,每次都会归结到这个结论上。他低下头转转眼睛,显然,我那母亲式的智慧之词又一次在装聋的耳朵面前失败了。

  Though smart and strong-willed, he has always been a polite and respectful young man.
  儿子虽然很聪明并且有着强烈的自我意愿,但他仍不失为一个有礼貌、尊敬人的年轻人。

  'Mom,' he began. It was my turn to be lectured. 'Get with the times! Look around; the richest people didn't get rich because of their educations. Look at Michael Jordan and Madonna. Even Bill Gates, who dropped out of Harvard, founded Microsoft; he is now the richest man in America, and he's still in his 30s. There is a baseball pitcher who makes more than $4 million a year even though he has been labeled `mentally challenged.' '
“妈妈,”他又开口了,这次轮到我听演讲了,“跟上时代吧!你看看周围,那些最富有的人并不是因为受了良好的教育才致富的,看看迈克尔。乔丹和麦当娜吧,再看看比尔。盖茨,他退出了哈佛,建立了微软,他现在是全美最富的人,而他才30多岁。即使被贴上了“标新立异”的标签,他还是拥有每年花费400万美元的棒球场。”

  There was a long silence between us. It was dawning on me that I was giving my son the same advice my parents had given me. The world around us has changed, but the advice hasn't.
我们都沉默了很久,我想该是轮到我把父母曾给我的忠告传授给儿子的时候了,但我却没有意识到世界已经变了,那忠告或许也需要变一变了。

  Getting a good education and making good grades no longer ensures success, and nobody seems to have noticed, except our children.
当我的努力持续了大约十分钟后,我发现我已经无法再用当初父母说服我的话去说服儿子了,因为时代的确是变了,现实的许多例子告诉我们:得到好的教育和好的成绩不再能确保成功了。而孩子们似乎比我们先意识到了这一点。

  'Mom,' he continued, 'I don't want to work as hard as you and dad do. You make a lot of money, and we live in a huge house with lots of toys. If I follow your advice, I'll wind up like you, working harder and harder only to pay more taxes and wind up in debt. There is no job security anymore; I know all about downsizing and rightsizing. I also know that college graduates today earn less than you did when you graduated. Look at doctors. They don't make nearly as much money as they used to. I know I can't rely on Social Security or company pensions for retirement. I need new answers.'
“妈,”儿子还在继续他的演讲,“我不想将来像你和爸那样辛苦地工作。你们是挣了很多钱,使我们住在一所有很多玩具的大房子里,但同时你们每个月也要付大量的账单。如果听从你们的建议,我将来就会像你们一样,加倍努力地工作只是为了付更多的税和欠更多的债务。现在世界上根本没有什么稳定的工作了,人生潮起潮落、变化莫测。相信你也知道大学毕业生在今天已经比你们毕业时挣的钱少多了。再看看医生,他们今天挣的也已经远不如从前了。我知道我不能再寄希望于社会保障或公司的退休金了,我要寻求新的出路。”

  He was right. He needed new answers, and so did I. My parents' advice may have worked for people born before 1945, but it may be disastrous for those of us born into a rapidly changing world. No longer can I simply say to my children, 'Go to school, get good grades, and look for a safe, secure job.' I knew I had to look for new ways to guide my children's education.
  沉默了片刻,我想他是对的,他的确需要新的答案,我也是、我父母的忠告也许对1945年出生的人来说是有用的,但对出生于当今这个迅速变化的时代的人来说则可能已经派不上用场了。我不能再只是简单地对孩子们重复:“去上学,争取拿好成绩,然后找到安全、稳定的工作,它会供养你一辈子。”我知道我必须找到一条新路并指引给孩子们。

  As a mother as well as an accountant, I have been concerned by the lack of financial education our children receive in school. Many of today's youth have credit cards before they leave high school, yet they have never had a course in money or how to invest it, let alone understand how compound interest works on credit cards. Simply put, without financial literacy

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