海军上将麦瑞文在德州大学奥斯汀分校2019年毕业典礼英语演讲稿-演讲稿

1、海军大将麦瑞文在德州大学奥斯汀分校2019年毕业典礼英语演讲稿PresidentPowers,ProvostFenves,Deans,membersofthefaculty,familyandfriendsandmostimportantly,theclassof2019.Congratulationsonyourachievement.Itsbeenalmost37yearstothedaythatIgraduatedfromUT.Irememberalotofthingsaboutthatday.rememberIhadthrobbingheadachefromapartythenight

2、before.IrememberIhadaseriousgirlfriend,whomIlatermarried-thatsimportanttorememberbytheway-andIrememberthatIwasgettingcommissionedintheNavythatday.ButofallthethingsIremember,IdonthaveacluewhothecommencementspeakerwasthateveningandIcertainlydontrememberanythingtheysaid.Soacknowledgingthatfact-ifIcantm

3、akethiscommencementspeechmemorable-Iwillatleasttrytomakeitshort.TheUniversityssloganis,Whatstartsherechangestheworld.1/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习Ihavetoadmit-Ikindalikeit.Whatstartsherechangestheworld.Tonighttherearealmost8,000studentsgraduatingfromUT.Thatgreatparagonofanalyticalrigor,Ask.Comsaysthattheavera

4、geAmericanwillmeet10,000peopleintheirlifetime.Thatsalotoffolks.But,ifeveryoneofyouchangedthelivesofjusttenpeople-andeachoneofthosefolkschangedthelivesofanothertenpeople-justten-theninfivegenerations-125years-theclassof2019willhavechangedthelivesof800millionpeople.800millionpeople-thinkofit-overtwice

5、thepopulationoftheUnitedStates.Goonemoregenerationandyoucanchangetheentirepopulationoftheworld-8billionpeople.Ifyouthinkitshardtochangethelivesoftenpeople-changetheirlivesforever-yourewrong.IsawithappeneverydayinIraqandAfghanistan.AyoungArmyofficermakesadecisiontogoleftinsteadofrightdownaroadinBaghd

6、adandthetensoldiersinhissquadaresavedfromclose-inambush.InKandaharprovince,Afghanistan,anon-commissionedofficerfromtheFemaleEngagementTeamsensessomethingisnt2/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习rightanddirectstheinfantryplatoonawayfroma500poundIED,savingthelivesofadozensoldiers.But,ifyouthinkaboutit,notonlyweretheses

7、oldierssavedbythedecisionsofoneperson,buttheirchildrenyetunborn-werealsosaved.Andtheirchildrenschildren-weresaved.Generationsweresavedbyonedecision-byoneperson.Butchangingtheworldcanhappenanywhereandanyonecandoit.So,whatstartsherecanindeedchangetheworld,butthequestioniswhatwilltheworldlooklikeaftery

8、ouchangeit?Well,Iamconfidentthatitwilllookmuch,muchbetter,butifyouwillhumorthisoldsailorforjustamoment,Ihaveafewsuggestionsthatmayhelpyouonyourwaytoabetteraworld.Andwhiletheselessonswerelearnedduringmytimeinthemilitary,Icanassureyouthatitmattersnotwhetheryoueverservedadayinuniform.Itmattersnotyourge

9、nder,yourethnicorreligiousbackground,yourorientation,oryoursocialstatus.Ourstrugglesinthisworldaresimilarandthelessonsto3/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习overcomethosestrugglesandtomoveforward-changingourselvesandtheworldaroundus-willapplyequallytoall.IhavebeenaNavySEALfor36years.ButitallbeganwhenIleftUTforBasicSE

10、ALtraininginCoronado,California.BasicSEALtrainingissixmonthsoflongtorturousrunsinthesoftsand,midnightswimsinthecoldwateroffSanDiego,obstaclescourses,unendingcalisthenics,dayswithoutsleepandalwaysbeingcold,wetandmiserable.Itissixmonthsofbeingconstantlyharassedbyprofessionallytrainedwarriorswhoseektof

11、indtheweakofmindandbodyandeliminatethemfromeverbecomingaNavySEAL.But,thetrainingalsoseekstofindthosestudentswhocanleadinanenvironmentofconstantstress,chaos,failureandhardships.TomebasicSEALtrainingwasalifetimeofchallengescrammedintosixmonths.So,herearethetenlessonsIlearnedfrombasicSEALtrainingthatho

12、pefullywillbeofvaluetoyouasyoumoveforwardinlife.EverymorninginbasicSEALtraining,myinstructors,whoatthetimewereallVietnamveterans,wouldshowupinmy4/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习barracksroomandthefirstthingtheywouldinspectwasyourbed.Ifyoudiditright,thecornerswouldbesquare,thecoverspulledtight,thepillowcenteredjust

13、undertheheadboardandtheextrablanketfoldedneatlyatthefootoftherack-rack-thatsNavytalkforbed.Itwasasimpletask-mundaneatbest.Buteverymorningwewererequiredtomakeourbedtoperfection.Itseemedalittleridiculousatthetime,particularlyinlightofthefactthatwereaspiringtoberealwarriors,toughbattlehardenedSEALs-but

14、thewisdomofthissimpleacthasbeenproventomemanytimesover.Ifyoumakeyourbedeverymorningyouwillhaveaccomplishedthefirsttaskoftheday.Itwillgiveyouasmallsenseofprideanditwillencourageyoutodoanothertaskandanotherandanother.Bytheendoftheday,thatonetaskcompletedwillhaveturnedintomanytaskscompleted.Makingyourb

15、edwillalsoreinforcethefactthatlittlethingsinlifematter.Ifyoucantdothelittlethingsright,youwillneverdothebigthingsright.And,ifbychanceyouhaveamiserableday,youwillcome5/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习hometoabedthatismade-thatyoumade-andamadebedgivesyouencouragementthattomorrowwillbebetter.Ifyouwanttochangetheworld,

16、startoffbymakingyourbed.DuringSEALtrainingthestudentsarebrokendownintoboatcrews.Eachcrewissevenstudents-threeoneachsideofasmallrubberboatandonecoxswaintohelpguidethedingy.Everydayyourboatcrewformsuponthebeachandisinstructedtogetthroughthesurfzoneandpaddleseveralmilesdownthecoast.Inthewinter,thesurfo

17、ffSanDiegocangettobe8to10feethighanditisexceedinglydifficulttopaddlethroughtheplungingsurfunlesseveryonedigsin.Everypaddlemustbesynchronizedtothestrokecountofthecoxswain.Everyonemustexertequaleffortortheboatwillturnagainstthewaveandbeunceremoniouslytossedbackonthebeach.Fortheboattomakeittoitsdestina

18、tion,everyonemustpaddle.Youcantchangetheworldalone-youwillneedsomehelp-andtotrulygetfromyourstartingpointtoyourdestination6/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习takesfriends,colleagues,thegoodwillofstrangersandastrongcoxswaintoguidethem.Ifyouwanttochangetheworld,findsomeonetohelpyoupaddle.Overafewweeksofdifficulttraini

19、ngmySEALclasswhichstartedwith150menwasdowntojust35.Therewerenowsixboatcrewsofsevenmeneach.Iwasintheboatwiththetallguys,butthebestboatcrewwehadwasmadeupofthethelittleguys-themunchkincrewwecalledthem-noonewasoverabout5-footfive.ThemunchkinboatcrewhadoneAmericanIndian,oneAfricanAmerican,onePolishAmeric

20、an,oneGreekAmerican,oneItalianAmerican,andtwotoughkidsfromthemid-west.Theyoutpaddled,out-ran,andoutswamalltheotherboatcrews.Thebigmenintheotherboatcrewswouldalwaysmakegoodnaturedfunofthetinylittleflippersthemunchkinsputontheirtinylittlefeetpriortoeveryswim.Butsomehowtheselittleguys,fromeverycornerof

21、theNationandtheworld,alwayshadthelastlaugh-swimmingfasterthaneveryoneandreachingtheshorelongbeforetherestof7/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习us.SEALtrainingwasagreatequalizer.Nothingmatteredbutyourwilltosucceed.Notyourcolor,notyourethnicbackground,notyoureducationandnotyoursocialstatus.Ifyouwanttochangetheworld,me

22、asureapersonbythesizeoftheirheart,notthesizeoftheirflippers.Severaltimesaweek,theinstructorswouldlineuptheclassanddoauniforminspection.Itwasexceptionallythorough.Yourhathadtobeperfectlystarched,youruniformimmaculatelypressedandyourbeltbuckleshinyandvoidofanysmudges.Butitseemedthatnomatterhowmucheffo

23、rtyouputintostarchingyourhat,orpressingyouruniformorpolishingyourbeltbuckle-itjustwasntgoodenough.Theinstructorswouldfinesomethingwrong.Forfailingtheuniforminspection,thestudenthadtorun,fullyclothedintothesurfzoneandthen,wetfromheadtotoe,rollaroundonthebeachuntileverypartofyourbodywascoveredwithsand

24、.Theeffectwasknownasasugarcookie.Youstayedinthatuniformtherestoftheday-cold,wetandsandy.8/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习Thereweremanyastudentwhojustcouldntacceptthefactthatalltheireffortwasinvain.Thatnomatterhowhardtheytriedtogettheuniformright-itwasunappreciated.Thosestudentsdidntmakeitthroughtraining.Thosestud

25、entsdidntunderstandthepurposeofthedrill.Youwerenevergoingtosucceed.Youwerenevergoingtohaveaperfectuniform.Sometimesnomatterhowwellyouprepareorhowwellyouperformyoustillendupasasugarcookie.Itsjustthewaylifeissometimes.Ifyouwanttochangetheworldgetoverbeingasugarcookieandkeepmovingforward.Everydayduring

26、trainingyouwerechallengedwithmultiplephysicalevents-longruns,longswims,obstaclecourses,hoursofcalisthenics-somethingdesignedtotestyourmettle.Everyeventhadstandards-timesyouhadtomeet.Ifyoufailedtomeetthosestandardsyournamewaspostedonalistandattheendofthedaythoseonthelistwereinvitedto-acircus.Acircusw

27、astwohoursofadditionalcalisthenics-designedtowearyoudown,tobreakyourspirit,toforceyoutoquit.9/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习Noonewantedacircus.Acircusmeantthatforthatdayyoudidntmeasureup.Acircusmeantmorefatigue-andmorefatiguemeantthatthefollowingdaywouldbemoredifficult-andmorecircuseswerelikely.Butatsometimeduri

28、ngSEALtraining,everyone-everyone-madethecircuslist.Butaninterestingthinghappenedtothosewhowereconstantlyonthelist.Overtimethosestudents-whodidtwohoursofextracalisthenics-gotstrongerandstronger.Thepainofthecircusesbuiltinnerstrength-builtphysicalresiliency.Lifeisfilledwithcircuses.Youwillfail.Youwill

29、likelyfailoften.Itwillbepainful.Itwillbediscouraging.Attimesitwilltestyoutoyourverycore.Butifyouwanttochangetheworld,dontbeafraidofthecircuses.Atleasttwiceaweek,thetraineeswererequiredtoruntheobstaclecourse.Theobstaclecoursecontained25obstaclesincludinga10-foothighwall,a30-footcargonet,anda10/17文章根源

30、网络整理，仅供参照学习barbedwirecrawltonameafew.Butthemostchallengingobstaclewastheslideforlife.Ithadathreelevel30foottoweratoneendandaoneleveltowerattheother.Inbetweenwasa200-footlongrope.Youhadtoclimbthethreetieredtowerandonceatthetop,yougrabbedtherope,swungunderneaththeropeandpulledyourselfhandoverhanduntil

31、yougottotheotherend.Therecordfortheobstaclecoursehadstoodforyearswhenmyclassbegantrainingin1977.Therecordseemedunbeatable,untiloneday,astudentdecidedtogodowntheslideforlife-headfirst.Insteadofswinginghisbodyunderneaththeropeandinchinghiswaydown,hebravelymountedtheTOPoftheropeandthrusthimselfforward.

32、Itwasadangerousmove-seeminglyfoolish,andfraughtwithrisk.Failurecouldmeaninjuryandbeingdroppedfromthetraining.Withouthesitation-thestudentsliddowntherope-perilouslyfast,insteadofseveralminutes,itonlytookhimhalfthattimeandbytheendofthecoursehehadbrokentherecord.11/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习Ifyouwanttochangethe

33、worldsometimesyouhavetoslidedowntheobstacleheadfirst.Duringthelandwarfarephaseoftraining,thestudentsareflownouttoSanClementeIslandwhichliesoffthecoastofSanDiego.ThewatersoffSanClementeareabreedinggroundforthegreatwhitesharks.TopassSEALtrainingthereareaseriesoflongswimsthatmustbecompleted.One-istheni

34、ghtswim.BeforetheswimtheinstructorsjoyfullybriefthetraineesonallthespeciesofsharksthatinhabitthewatersoffSanClemente.Theyassureyou,however,thatnostudenthaseverbeeneatenbyashark-atleastnotrecently.But,youarealsotaughtthatifasharkbeginstocircleyourposition-standyourground.Donotswimaway.Donotactafraid.

35、Andiftheshark,hungryforamidnightsnack,dartstowardsyou-thensummonsupallyourstrengthandpunchhiminthesnoutandhewillturnandswimaway.Therearealotofsharksintheworld.Ifyouhopetocompletetheswimyouwillhavetodealwiththem.12/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习So,Ifyouwanttochangetheworld,dontbackdownfromthesharks.AsNavySEALsone

36、ofourjobsistoconductunderwaterattacksagainstenemyshipping.Wepracticedthistechniqueextensivelyduringbasictraining.TheshipattackmissioniswhereapairofSEALdiversisdroppedoffoutsideanenemyharborandthenswimswellovertwomiles-underwater-usingnothingbutadepthgaugeandacompasstogettotheirtarget.Duringtheentire

37、swim,evenwellbelowthesurfacethereissomelightthatcomesthrough.Itiscomfortingtoknowthatthereisopenwateraboveyou.Butasyouapproachtheship,whichistiedtoapier,thelightbeginstofade.Thesteelstructureoftheshipblocksthemoonlight-itblocksthesurroundingstreetlamps-itblocksallambientlight.Tobesuccessfulinyourmis

38、sion,youhavetoswimundertheshipandfindthekeel-thecenterlineandthedeepestpartoftheship.Thisisyourobjective.Butthekeelisalsothedarkestpartoftheship-whereyoucannotseeyourhandinfrontofyour13/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习face,wherethenoisefromtheshipsmachineryisdeafeningandwhereitiseasytogetdisorientedandfail.EverySE

39、ALknowsthatunderthekeel,atthedarkestmomentofthemission-isthetimewhenyoumustbecalm,composed-whenallyourtacticalskills,yourphysicalpowerandallyourinnerstrengthmustbebroughttobear.Ifyouwanttochangetheworld,youmustbeyourverybestinthedarkestmoment.TheninthweekoftrainingisreferredtoasHellWeek.Itissixdayso

40、fnosleep,constantphysicalandmentalharassmentand-onespecialdayattheMudFlats-theMudFlatsareareabetweenSanDiegoandTijuanawherethewaterrunsoffandcreatestheTijuanaslues-aswampypatchofterrainwherethemudwillengulfyou.ItisonWednesdayofHellWeekthatyoupaddledowntothemudflatsandspendthenext15hourstryingtosurvi

41、vethefreezingcoldmud,thehowlingwindandtheincessantpressuretoquitfromtheinstructors.AsthesunbegantosetthatWednesdayevening,mytrainingclass,havingcommittedsomeegregiousinfractionoftheruleswasorderedintothemud.14/17文章根源网络整理，仅供参照学习Themudconsumedeachmantilltherewasnothingvisiblebutourheads.Theinstructors

42、tolduswecouldleavethemudifonlyfivemenwouldquit-justfivemenandwecouldgetoutoftheoppressivecold.Lookingaroundthemudflatitwasapparentthatsomestudentswereabouttogiveup.Itwasstillovereighthourstillthesuncameup-eightmorehoursofbonechillingcold.Thechatteringteethandshiveringmoansofthetraineesweresolouditwa

43、shardtohearanythingandthen,onevoicebegantoechothroughthenight-onevoiceraisedinsong.Thesongwasterriblyoutoftune,butsungwithgreatenthusiasm.Onevoicebecametwoandtwobecamethreeandbeforelongeveryoneintheclasswassinging.Weknewthatifonemancouldriseabovethemiserythenotherscouldaswell.Theinstructorsthreateneduswithmoretimeinthemudifwekeptupthesinging-butthesingingpersisted.Andsomehow-themudseemedalittlewarmer,thewindalittletamerandthedawnnotsofara