“The Finish Line Is the Starting Point”“终点即起点”

We are gathered here this beautiful morning， this unseasonably cold morning， in historic Wallace Wade Stadium， the site of many joyful triumphs over the years.

在这个美丽的早晨，天气异常寒冷，我们聚集在历史悠久的华莱士·韦德体育场，多年来这里见证了许多令人喜悦的胜利。

The Classics scholars among you may know that the word ‘stadium’ comes from the Latin for the standard distance of a footrace. And a race may be what many of you may feel you’ve just completed—an extraordinary run with unforeseen turns along the way. And to be sure， you’ve earned the opportunity to sit here and to revel at the finish line， with your fans surrounding you.

你们当中的古典文学学者可能知道，“体育场”这个词来自拉丁语，指的是赛跑的标准距离。今天在座的许多人也许感觉刚刚完成了一场赛跑——沿路一个个弯道突现，比赛惊心动魄。不过可以肯定的是，你们已经赢得了坐在这里的机会，在终点线上，粉丝环绕，尽情狂欢。

And you may also feel that you are just beginning another race—one with its own turns and hurdles—and a finish line that seems impossibly far off.

同时也许你会觉得自己刚刚又开始一场新的赛跑——会遇到各种新的弯道和路障——而终点线似乎遥不可及。

Though it’s gone now， there used to be a track here， and it was here in this stadium that the great Al Buehler， who spent six decades at Duke， coached track and field.

这里原先有一条跑道，虽然现在没有了。了不起的阿尔·比勒曾在杜克大学担任田径教练，执教六十余年。

It was right here that Coach Buehler brought out2 the best in All-Americans3， ACC4 Champions， and Olympians—a hall-of-fame5 career that led none other than6 Mike Krzyzewski7 to say that， quote， “Al defines the word Coach， and sets an example for all of us.”

正是在这里，比勒教练让全美最佳运动员、大西洋海岸联盟赛冠军和奥运会选手发挥出了最好的竞技水平——他的执教生涯如此辉煌，甚至迈克·克日热夫斯基都评价道：“阿尔定义了教练这个词，为我们所有人树立了榜样。”

What the runners he’s coached over those many years most appreciate is his quiet wisdom， and a guiding philosophy built around three core principles.

多年来，他指导过的赛跑选手最欣赏他言不在多的智慧，以及他围绕三个核心原则建立起来的指导理念。

First， you set up your own race.

第一，规划自己的赛跑。

What he meant by this was to prepare， and train， and keep on learning. You’ve all learned this lesson time and again here at Duke， in late nights in the library and endless hours poring over problem sets. And today， you are ready at the starting line.

比勒的意思是做好准备、坚持训练，并不断鞭策自己学习。在杜克大学，你们一次又一次地学习这一门课，比如在图书馆里熬夜苦读，无休无止地钻研习题。今天，你们终于站在了起跑线上。

None of us knows the future， but setting up our own race， imagining what we want， and training for it， will help us step off with purpose and with confidence.

我们谁也无法预知未来，可是，规划自己的赛跑，设想自己所求，并且为此不断训练，这能帮助我们目标明确、信心百倍地出发。

Coach Buehler’s second principle was to stay conscious. He said， “Don’t just plod along—think.”

比勒教练的第二个原则是保持清醒。他说，“别只闷头跑——要思考。”

As an undergraduate runner at the University of Maryland， Buehler kept a piece of tape on the insole of his spikes with the question “why” scrawled on it. And when the going got tough8， when his lungs were burning on a cold morning like this， or the lactic acid9 was building up in his legs， he would feel that tape against his foot and he would ask himself—“why？ Why am I doing this？”—and he would remember the answer—“because I enjoy doing it， and I am good at it.”

比勒曾是马里兰大学的一名田径本科生。他在自己的钉鞋鞋垫上贴了一块胶带，上面潦草地写着“为什么”。每当训练接近极限，肺部在像今天这样的寒冷清晨都烧得难受，或双腿酸痛难耐，他就会感觉到脚底贴着的胶带，就会问自己——“为什么？我为什么要练跑步？”——他也会想起自己的答案——“因为我喜爱跑步，我擅长跑步。”

The reward for all that preparation， for all that getting ready， are those breakthrough moments—the words that finally came to you in that paper， that key finding from an experiment， perhaps， or the flawless performance of a piece you rehearsed time and again—those wonderful moments when you feel you could run forever.

所有的辛苦准备，所有的未雨绸缪，最好的回报就是那些突破性时刻——或许是写论文有了灵感，实验有了重要发现，抑或是反复排练的一场表演终入佳境——在那些美妙的时刻，你感觉自己可以永远地跑下去。

Here， at the start， remember that in the turns and the stumbles and the hurdles to come， a joyful breakthrough might be just ahead.

让我们从一开始就记住，前方少不了弯道、磕绊和路障，但令人喜不自禁的突破也许就在不远处。

Coach Buehler’s third principle was teamwork.

比勒教练的第三条原则是团队合作。

In his office， he had a reminder posted on the wall to always take good care of those you love. You are surrounded here today by people who love you—families and friends and classmates and faculty. In moments of uncertainty， you can turn to them for support and wisdom and guidance.

他的办公室墙上贴了一张提示条，提醒自己要始终好好照顾心中所爱之人。今天，你们身边环绕着深爱你们的人——家人、朋友、同学和老师。彷徨不定时，你们可以向他们寻求支持、智慧和指导。

Coach Buehler believes that these guiding principles can carry you through any of the races ahead. But there will be times when despite the breakthroughs， despite your best prepar-ation， despite the love and the support of your family and friends， it just won’t be your day.

比勒教练相信，这些指导原则可以帮助你们顺利完成未来人生路上的任何赛跑。然而，免不了有些时候，尽管你们取得了各种突破，做了充分准备，有家人和朋友的爱与支持，你们仍然没有获得最后的成功。

And at these moments， I hope you will remember that life is so much more than a race from a starting line to a finish.

这个时候，我希望你们记住：生活绝不仅仅是一场从起点到终点的赛跑。

Here’s where Coach Buehler’s best advice comes in： “the finish line is the starting point.” Or to put it in another way， whatever our standing in the race we think we’re running， life goes on. This is a commencement， yes; but our education—our growth as learners， as citizens， professionals， as good and thoughtful people—is a continuous process and it’s not marked by beginnings and ends.