英文经典 | 捕捉英语世界的智慧

Outline & Timestramp:00:00 The Golden Bird and the Quest for the PrincessA kingdom's golden bird, stealing apples, leads a young gardener's son on a quest with the help of a talking fox. After overcoming obstacles, including a golden horse and a princess's rescue, the son faces betrayal but is ultimately victorious, discovering the fox is the princess's brother.01:05 The Quest for the Golden BirdThree brothers are tasked with finding a golden bird that steals apples from a king's garden. Despite the fox's warning, the first two brothers are lured away by distractions and do not succeed. The youngest brother, following the fox's advice, travels quickly and stays at a humble inn, ultimately encountering the bird and capturing it.04:38 The Golden Bird's Cage and the Hunt for a Golden HorseA young man, led by a fox, encounters a sleeping troop and a golden bird in a wooden cage. He mistakenly swaps the bird's cage for a golden one, alerting the guards who imprison him. He is sentenced to death unless he brings the king a golden horse, a task he must accomplish to claim the golden bird as his prize.05:56 The Fox's Final Counsel and the Hunt for the Golden HorseAfter failing to heed the fox's earlier advice, the protagonist finds himself in despair. The fox reappears, offering a new plan to secure the golden horse. Following the fox's instructions, the protagonist nearly succeeds, but his act of kindness results in his capture and imminent death. Despite this, the fox promises to guide him further, hinting at more trials ahead.07:23 The Clever Fox's Plan for Escaping a Princess and Her FatherA young man meets a princess at midnight and is tricked into letting her take leave of her family. The fox, who has led them all, advises the young man on how to trick the king into giving up the princess, the golden horse, and the golden bird. Despite the fox's eventual request to be killed, the young man is warned by the fox to be wary of two things before they continue their journey.10:03 The Fox's Final Test and the Reclaimed KingdomA young man, following the advice of an old fox, encounters his transformed brothers who attempt to deceive and harm him. Despite the fox's warnings, he fails to heed and is left to the mercy of his deceitful kin. However, with the help of the fox and his own perseverance, the young man overcomes the trials, restores justice, and ultimately discovers the true identity of the fox, which turns out to be his long-lost brother. His victory leads to his ascension to the throne.

Highlight:And it’s my belief that every single human being can be a great speaker and that their words can create a tipping point, and that their words and theiressence can change the world.The true definition of public speaking is that public speaking is nothing more than having a conversation from your heart about something that you are authentically passionate about.Idon’t want you ever, ever to give another speech. That’s not what great speakers do. They don’t give a speech, they don’t give a performance, theydon’t make a presentation to the audience. They have what? They have a conversation with — it is a circle, it brings us all together. We are a web connected to every other person. That’s what great speakers do.Introduction:Hello,and welcome to another episode of "English Classics." Today, we're diving into a thought-provoking talk titled "The 7 Secrets of the Greatest Speakers in History" by Richard Greene, delivered at the TEDx Orange Coast conference.Richard Greene, a renowned expert in public speaking, shares insights from his extensive study of historical speeches that have shaped the world. In thistalk, he highlights seven key elements that distinguish great speakers from therest. From the power of words and the importance of voice tone and body language, to the significance of connecting with the audience on a personal level, Greene offers practical advice that can transform anyone into acompelling speaker.Hedraws on examples from iconic figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, FranklinRoosevelt, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., andothers, showing how their words and delivery created pivotal moments inhistory. Greene emphasizes the importance of authenticity, passion, and theability to communicate in multiple sensory languages to truly resonate with anaudience.Join us as we explore these timeless principlesand discover how you can apply them to enhance your own speaking skills. Stay tuned!Outline & Timestamp:00:00 The Power of Words: 7 Secrets of Transformative SpeechesRichard Green discusses the essence of public speaking as a heartfelt conversation and shares seven key elements from historical speeches that made them impactful. He showcases examples from influential figures like Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King Jr., illustrating how their words created significant tipping points. Green emphasizes the importance of authenticity, passion, and connecting with the audience to effect change.04:28 The Art of Effective Communication and Public SpeakingEffective communication encompasses words, voice tone, and body language, with the latter two contributing significantly more to the impact of a message. Public speaking, as a misunderstood art, is essentially a heartfelt conversation rather than a performance. Mastery over speaking involves understanding and utilizing the audience's diverse sensory inputs and embracing one's authentic passion. The essence lies in leaving a lasting, meaningful impression on the audience, transcending mere data dissemination.09:47 Significant Speeches That Shaped HistoryThis dialogue explores transformative speeches given by Lou Gehrig, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, and others that marked pivotal moments in history. Gehrig's speech on facing personal challenges with gratitude, Churchill's call to fight against Nazi Germany, JFK's vision for America, and Kennedy's determination to land a man on the moon highlight the power of leadership and conviction. Additionally, the dialogue touches on Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, Barbara Jordan's address against Richard Nixon, and Barack Obama's 2004 speech as turning points that influenced the world.16:55 Einstein's Final Speech: Embracing the Mysteries and Changing the WorldIn his last public speech before passing away, Albert Einstein reflected on the profound experience of comprehending the universe's mysteries. He spoke about the unity of matter and energy, symbolized by the ancient representation of God, the 'Ohm.' He emphasized the importance of doing God's will and seeing the end goal, encouraging others to overcome fears of public speaking by focusing on sharing their unique passions and making the world a better place.

Hello everyone, welcome back toEnglishClassics! I’m Isaac, your host, and today, we’re diving into a book that’snot only brilliant but also incredibly insightful for anyone who wants to makesmarter decisions in life, especially when it comes to finances. The book isTheMost Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investorby HowardMarks.Now, don’t worry—this isn’t just forprofessional investors or Wall Street wizards. This book is about how tothink, how to evaluate risks, and how to make decisions that lead tolong-term success. Marks is one of the world’s top investors, but his lessonsgo beyond investing. They’re life lessons disguised as financial advice.Let’s break it all down into simple termsand get into the key ideas. Stick with me because there’s a lot of gold inhere, and we’ll go step by step.What’s the Most Important Thing?Right off the bat, Marks gets cheeky withthe title. He doesn’t haveonemost important thing—he’s got many.Each chapter covers an essential concept, and together, they form a blueprintfor smart investing and decision-making. Here are the big ones:1. Second-Level ThinkingLet’s start with what Marks callssecond-levelthinking.First-level thinking is basic. It’s like saying, “Oh, this company is doing well; I’llbuy its stock.”But second-level thinking asks deeper questions:“If everyone knows this company is doing well, is the stock overpriced?”“What’s the consensus, and how might reality turn out differently?”This kind of thinking helps you stand outfrom the crowd. Marks encourages us to dig deeper, challenge assumptions, andalways look for angles others might miss.2. Price vs. ValueHere’s a classic Howard Marks nugget: Priceis what you pay, value is what you get.It’s not enough to buy something good; you need to buy it at the right price.Think about it like this:Would you buy a $5 burger for $20? Probably not, no matter how delicious it is.But if that same burger is on sale for $3, it’s a steal!Marks reminds us that no asset—whether it’sa stock, a house, or even a car—is worth overpaying for. Always think aboutwhether what you’re paying aligns with what you’re getting.3. The Role of RiskRisk is a huge theme in this book. Mostpeople focus only on the reward, like how much money they can make. But Marksflips that around. He says, “Focus on the downside. What could go wrong?”Here’s a real-world example:Imagine you’re hiking up a mountain. It’s exciting because the view at the topwill be amazing, right? But Marks would ask, “Have you thought about the riskof slipping and falling?” If you haven’t planned for that, your climb could endbadly.Being aware of risk doesn’t make youpessimistic; it makes you prepared.4. Market CyclesMarks is a big believer in cycles. He saysmarkets—and life—swing like a pendulum:Sometimes everyone’s overly optimistic, and prices skyrocket.Other times, there’s doom and gloom, and prices crash.Knowing where you are in the cycle helpsyou act wisely. For example:When others are panicking and selling, it’s often the best time to buy.When everyone’s euphoric and buying, it’s time to be cautious.5. Patience and HumilityHere’s where Marks gets philosophical. Hetalks about the importance of patience and being humble. Success doesn’t comeovernight, whether in investing or in life.He also reminds us that luck plays arole. You could make all the right decisions and still end up with a badresult. Or, you could get lucky and succeed despite bad decisions. The point isto focus on the process, not just the outcome.6. Embracing ComplexityMarks doesn’t sugarcoat it: investing—andlife—are complicated. There’s no magic formula or one-size-fits-all solution.But that’s okay! The goal is to stay adaptable and learn from every experience.Why This Book MattersSo why should you care about this book?Because the principles Marks shares apply to more than just investing. They’reabout making thoughtful, informed choices, whether you’re deciding on a careermove, buying a house, or even navigating relationships.Let’s Wrap It UpThat’sThe Most Important ThingbyHoward Marks in a nutshell! I hope you found these ideas as fascinating as Idid. If you’re intrigued, I highly recommend reading the book yourself. It’spacked with wisdom and written in a way that’s easy to understand—even ifyou’re new to investing.Before we close, let me remind you to shareyour thoughts! What lesson from this book resonated with you the most? Leave acomment, share this episode with your friends, and don’t forget to subscribe.You can findEnglish Classicson Ximalaya, Xiao Yu Zhou, and Apple Podcasts. Your support means the world tous. Until next time, happy reading, and remember—great minds think critically!

Gerard Reid （杰拉德·里德）是 Alexa Capital 的创始合伙人，该公司在能源、能源基础设施和能源技术领域提供企业咨询、融资和资产管理解决方案。他在过去十年中一直在股权研究、基金管理和企业金融领域工作，并作为全球能源领域的领先专家建立了强大的声誉。Gerard Reid 还是作家、博主，以及德国能源行业出版物 Biz Energy Today 的月度专栏作家。在创立 Alexa Capital 之前，他曾是 Jefferies & Co. 的董事总经理和欧洲清洁技术研究的负责人Introduction:Hello, everyone, and welcome back to English Classics! Today, we’re diving into a truly impactful speech by Gerard Reid, a renowned expert in energy and finance, who takes us into what he calls "The Era of Energy Disruption." This talk, presented at TEDxBerlinSalon 2024, isn’t just a prediction about where energy is going—it’s a call to understand that we're experiencing a full-blown revolution in how we power our lives.Reid argues that four major forces are reshaping our world: solar technology, advanced batteries, energy intelligence, and, intriguingly, the role of China. First, he discusses how solar energy has become as impactful as nuclear energy in electricity production—only in a fraction of the time—thanks to incredible tech advancements. Then he explains how lithium-ion batteries have transformed everything from our phones to our cars by making energy storage easier and more efficient.He introduces the concept of "energy intelligence," which combines AI, connectivity, and smart systems to give us more control over energy use, making it affordable and accessible. And finally, Reid sheds light on China’s enormous investment in renewable energy, positioning it as a global leader while Western countries risk falling behind.His message is powerful: the future will be electric, affordable, and renewable, but only if the rest of the world catches up quickly. So, sit back, listen closely, and prepare for a thought-provoking journey through the energy revolution with Gerard Reid. Let’s dive in!Outline & Timestamp:00:00 China Leads the Energy Revolution in Solar, Wind, and EV BatteriesGerard Reed emphasizes China's pivotal role in financing and scaling renewable energy and electric vehicle technologies, highlighting their dominance in solar, wind power, and battery innovations, surpassing the efforts of Europe and the US. He mentions Volkswagen's challenge in adapting to these changes, noting a significant disparity in gross margins between Chinese and German automotive industries.00:53 The OFB Revolution: Solar, Batteries, Intelligence, and China's Role in Energy FutureGerard Reed discusses the rapid transformation of the energy sector driven by solar technology, advancements in lithium-ion batteries, the concept of energy intelligence, and China's leading role in renewable energy investments. He highlights the potential for a future of electric, affordable, and renewable energy, urging a swift global adoption to avoid falling behind.06:06 The Evolution of Energy Management through Connectivity and AIThe dialogue emphasizes how economics, not subsidies, are driving changes in energy management. It introduces 'energy intelligence,' highlighting connectivity, power electronics, and AI as key components that allow for more efficient and controlled electricity generation and consumption. An example given showcases a cost-effective, self-installable solar panel system, illustrating how such technologies enable users to generate electricity at significantly lower costs than purchasing from the grid, thereby reducing inefficiencies in the energy system.07:34 China Leads the Global Energy RevolutionChina is significantly advancing the energy sector through substantial investments in renewable technologies, surpassing the combined efforts of the United States and Europe. It holds a dominant position in the production of key energy technologies and is on track to peak carbon emissions by 2030, potentially setting a global precedent. The electrification and reliance on renewables contribute to a decrease in demand for raw materials, showcasing a shift towards sustainable practices. Furthermore, the global south, influenced by China's strategies, is rapidly adopting solar energy, marking a departure from traditional energy systems towards deep electrification and a low-cost renewable energy future.12:05 Volkswagen's Struggle and the Rise of BYD in the Electric Car MarketBYD's significantly higher gross margins compared to Volkswagen suggest lower production costs, posing a challenge for Volkswagen as it must either innovate or risk losing market share. The dialogue also highlights the resistance from established players in various industries and predicts a global redistribution of wealth due to the energy transition, with China leading the shift, unlike previous energy revolutions dominated by the US. The speaker sees positive developments, especially in storage technology, as a potential game-changer.

Introduction:Welcome to "English Classics," where we bring you timeless stories that have captivated readers for generations. Today, we're sharing the well-known tale of "Hansel and Gretel" from GrimmBrothers.In a small village, a woodcutter, his wife, and their children, Hansel and Gretel, struggle to survive during a time of great hardship. To save the family from starvation, the woodcutter's wife suggests leaving the childrenin the forest. Hansel, hearing their plan, leaves a trail of pebbles to find their way back home.However, when they are left again, Hansel uses bread crumbs as atrail home, but the birds eat them. Lost and hungry, they come across a house made of gingerbread and sweets. Inside lives a wicked witch who captures them, planning to eat Hansel. But the clever siblings trick the witch and escape, returning home safely with the witch's treasures.The story ends with the family reunited and living happily everafter. Join us as we explore the adventures of "Hansel and Gretel," a tale of bravery and sibling love.Outline & Timestamp:00:00 The Clever Trickery of Hansel and GretelThis tale revolves around a family facing hardship, with the children, Hansel and Gretel, being abandoned in the forest to save the family from starvation. Through their resourcefulness, they outsmart a wicked witch, demonstrating bravery and sibling love, and eventually return home safely.01:26 The Orphaned Children and the Enchanted ForestA poor woodcutter and his wife, faced with starvation, decide to abandon their children in the forest. The children, using a ruse involving white pebbles, navigate through the forest and reunite with their father.06:24 The Ordeal of Hansel and Gretel in the ForestA family, facing famine, decides to abandon Hansel and Gretel in the forest to ensure their own survival. Despite the hardship, the children's hope and determination lead them through the night, guided by crumbs, in the vain attempt to retrace their steps home.09:25 The Enchanted House of Bread and CakeA brother and sister, Hansel and Gretel, pursued by hunger and fatigue in the forest, stumble upon a magical house made entirely of edible materials. Curiosity leads them to nibble on the house's components, unknowingly entering a trap set by a wicked witch. This enchanting yet perilous encounter marks the beginning of their dire situation, where food is plentiful but their freedom is uncertain, as the witch devises a sinister plan to ensnare and consume them.13:21 Gretel's Escape from the WitchGretel, in a dire situation at the hands of a witch who planned to cook Hansel and intended to do the same to Gretel, cleverly deceives the witch. The witch, attempting to bake bread, is unexpectedly confined in the oven by Gretel's swift actions, resulting in her demise.14:56 The Rescuement and Reward of Hansel and GretelHansel and Gretel, freed from the witch's clutches, discover wealth in the witch's house. Confronting a river, they ask a white duck to ferry them across, displaying resourcefulness and kindness. Reunited with their father, they bring joy and prosperity back to his lifeSource: GrimmBrothers, . (1905). Hansel and Gretel. Grimm'sFairy Tales (Lit2Go Edition).

Introduction:In this episode of "English Classics," we bring you a conversation between Chris Anderson and Elon Musk from the TED conference in the year 2014. Elon Musk is known for founding companies like PayPal, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX. During the chat, Musk shares his thoughts on why he believes sustainable transport and energy are crucial for the future. He explains how electric cars can be more efficient than traditional vehicles,even when powered by electricity generated from fossil fuels.Musk also talks about his vision for making humans a multi-planetary species, whichled him to start SpaceX. He discusses the challenges and innovations involved in reducing the cost of space travel and the importance of developing reusable rockets. The interview gives insight into Musk's unique approach to problem-solving, emphasizing the value of first-principles thinking and the importance of taking calculated risks. Join us as we explore the mind behind some of the most innovative technologies of our time.Outline & Timestamps:00:00 The Evolution of Technology and its Impact on Sustainable EnergyElon Musk discusses the significance of sustainable transport and energy, aiming to address humanity's major challenges by revolutionizing the auto industry with electric cars. He emphasizes the critical need for sustainable energy solutions and outlines his vision for making humans a multiplanetary species through SpaceX, highlighting the importance of reducing space travel costs and developing reusable rockets.04:25 Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption: Design and EfficiencyThe dialogue focuses on developing an energy-efficient electric car with a lightweight aluminum body, low drag coefficient, and advanced battery pack for extended range. Highlighting the car's performance, it mentions achieving competitive ranges, emphasizing the importance of responsiveness and the difference electric vehicles offer in driving experience.06:34 Roadmap to Mass Market: Tesla's Strategy for Affordable Electric VehiclesTesla's objective is to transition through three stages of vehicle development: initial low-volume, medium-volume, and eventually high-volume production with affordable pricing. Having started with the high-end Roadster and followed it up with the Model S, the company aims to introduce a $30,000 vehicle in the near future. This progression is essential for making electric cars competitive in the mass market.09:11 SolarCity's Strategy for Competing with Natural GasSolarCity, aiming to dominate the energy market with solar power, offers lease options to consumers with no upfront costs. The company installs solar panels, allowing customers to reduce their utility bills. SolarCity finances the installations through capital raised from partners like Google, generating a steady return on investment. The goal is to create a distributed utility model, providing a viable alternative to traditional power distribution by empowering homeowners and businesses with lower energy costs and sustainable power sources. The speaker expresses confidence in solar energy's growth, predicting it will surpass natural gas and become the predominant power source within a decade.13:51 SpaceX's Journey to Advance Rocket Technology for a Spacefaring CivilizationElon Musk discusses the motivation behind founding SpaceX, focusing on the development of fully reusable rockets to lower the cost of space travel and pave the way for humanity's expansion into the stars. He highlights the company's achievements in rocket technology, engine design, and launch operations, and shares the principle of not patenting certain innovations to foster competition, especially with national governments. The conversation emphasizes the potential of reusable rockets to significantly reduce space mission expenses and the broader implications for making space exploration a routine part of human civilization.19:49 The Systemic Approach and Physics Reasoning of Elon MuskThe dialogue discusses Elon Musk's unique ability to innovate on a grand scale, achieved through a systemic approach that combines design, technology, and business. It emphasizes his confidence in his 'click together' ideas, which allow him to take significant risks, potentially multiple times. The speaker suggests that understanding physics and applying first principles reasoning can be a framework for creativity, especially when breaking new ground. Additionally, it's highlighted the importance of negative feedback, particularly from friends, in refining ideas.

Highlights:1. So take the time to find the thing thatexcites you more than anything else in the world, not the thing your parentswant you to do, or the thing that all your friends are doing, or that societyexpects of you.2. Be open, be impatient, be hopeful.3. History will remember the Class of 2020, notfor what you lost, but for what you changed. You have the chance to changeeverything.Outline & Timestamp:00:00 Sundar Pichai's Commencement Speech to the Class of 2020: Find Your Passion and Change the World01:42 Prevailing Through Challenges04:25 The Power of Patience and Openness in Technology and Change

Highlights:If I’m going tofall, I don’t want to fall back on anything, except my faith. I want to fallforward. At least I figure that way I’ll see what I’m about to hit.Every failedexperiment is one step closer to success. You’ve got to take risks.If you don’t fail…you’re not even trying.To get something younever had, you have to do something you never did.Timestamp:00:00 Embracing Risk and Overcoming Failure for Personal Growth05:17 The Dilemma of Delivering an Ivy League Speech08:13 Embracing Failure as a Path to Success14:22 The Significance of Failure and Unleashing Your Potential16:51 Turning Personal Failures into Pathways to Success19:07 From School Dropout to Global Movie Star20:18 The Power of Taking Risks and Embracing Life's Challenges

Song of MyselfbyWalt Whitman [Read by David Yezzi]1I celebrate myself, and sing myself,And what I assume you shall assume,For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.I loafe and invite my soul,I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, thisair,Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and theirparents the same,I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,Hoping to cease not till death.Creeds and schools in abeyance,Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but neverforgotten,I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,Nature without check with original energy.2Houses and rooms are full of perfumes, the shelves are crowdedwith perfumes,I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not letit.The atmosphere is not a perfume, it has no taste of thedistillation, it is odorless,It is for my mouth forever, I am in love with it,I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised andnaked,I am mad for it to be in contact with me.The smoke of my own breath,Echoes, ripples, buzz’d whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotchand vine,My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, thepassing of blood and air through my lungs,The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore anddark-color’d sea-rocks, and of hay in the barn,The sound of the belch’d words of my voice loos’d to the eddiesof the wind,A few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms,The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughswag,The delight alone or in the rush of the streets, or along thefields and hill-sides,The feeling of health, the full-noon trill, the song of merising from bed and meeting the sun.Have you reckon’d a thousand acres much? have you reckon’d theearth much?Have you practis’d so long to learn to read?Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the originof all poems,You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there aremillions of suns left,)You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, norlook through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things fromme,You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.3I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of thebeginning and the end,But I do not talk of the beginning or the end.There was never any more inception than there is now,Nor any more youth or age than there is now,And will never be any more perfection than there is now,Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.Urge and urge and urge,Always the procreant urge of the world.Out of the dimness opposite equals advance, always substance andincrease, always sex,Always a knit of identity, always distinction, always a breed oflife.To elaborate is no avail, learn’d and unlearn’d feel that it isso.Sure as the most certain sure, plumb in the uprights, wellentretied, braced in the beams,Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical,I and this mystery here we stand.Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that isnot my soul.Lack one lacks both, and the unseen is proved by the seen,Till that becomes unseen and receives proof in its turn.Showing the best and dividing it from the worst age vexes age,Knowing the perfect fitness and equanimity of things, while theydiscuss I am silent, and go bathe and admire myself.Welcome is every organ and attribute of me, and of any manhearty and clean,Not an inch nor a particle of an inch is vile, and none shall beless familiar than the rest.I am satisfied—I see, dance, laugh, sing;As the hugging and loving bed-fellow sleeps at my side throughthe night, and withdraws at the peep of the day with stealthy tread,Leaving me baskets cover’d with white towels swelling the housewith their plenty,Shall I postpone my acceptation and realization and scream at myeyes,That they turn from gazing after and down the road,And forthwith cipher and show me to a cent,Exactly the value of one and exactly the value of two, and whichis ahead?4Trippers and askers surround me,People I meet, the effect upon me of my early life or the wardand city I live in, or the nation,The latest dates, discoveries, inventions, societies, authorsold and new,My dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues,The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,The sickness of one of my folks or of myself, or ill-doing orloss or lack of money, or depressions or exaltations,Battles, the horrors of fratricidal war, the fever of doubtfulnews, the fitful events;These come to me days and nights and go from me again,But they are not the Me myself.Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am,Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary,Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certainrest,Looking with side-curved head curious what will come next,Both in and out of the game and watching and wondering at it.Backward I see in my own days where I sweated through fog withlinguists and contenders,I have no mockings or arguments, I witness and wait.5I believe in you my soul, the other I am must not abase itselfto you,And you must not be abased to the other.Loafe with me on the grass, loose the stop from your throat,Not words, not music or rhyme I want, not custom or lecture, noteven the best,Only the lull I like, the hum of your valv’d voice.I mind how once we lay such a transparent summer morning,How you settled your head athwart my hips and gently turn’d overupon me,And parted the shirt from my bosom-bone, and plunged your tongueto my bare-stript heart,And reach’d till you felt my beard, and reach’d till you held myfeet.Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and knowledge thatpass all the argument of the earth,And I know that the hand of God is the promise of my own,And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own,And that all the men ever born are also my brothers, and thewomen my sisters and lovers,And that a kelson of the creation is love,And limitless are leaves stiff or drooping in the fields,And brown ants in the little wells beneath them,And mossy scabs of the worm fence, heap’d stones, elder, mulleinand poke-weed.6A child said Whatis the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any morethan he.I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopefulgreen stuff woven.Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we may seeand remark, and say Whose?Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of thevegetation.Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,Growing among black folks as among white,Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, Ireceive them the same.And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.Tenderly will I use you curling grass,It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,It may be if I had known them I would have loved them,It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken soonout of their mothers’ laps,And here you are the mothers’ laps.This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of oldmothers,Darker than the colorless beards of old men,Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues,And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths fornothing.I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men andwomen,And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring takensoon out of their laps.What do you think has become of the young and old men?And what do you think has become of the women and children?They are alive and well somewhere,The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait atthe end to arrest it,And ceas’d the moment life appear’d.All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,Andto die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier

Transcript:Welcome to "English Classics," where we exploreenduring tales. Today, we feature Aesop's "The Ass and His Masters."This fable tells of a donkey who, tired of his hard work and meager food, asksJupiter for a new master. Each change brings new troubles, teaching a lesson incontentment and the risks of discontent. Enjoy this timeless wisdom fromAesop's world.The Ass and His MastersAn Ass, belonging to an herb-seller who gave him toolittle food andtoo much work made a petition to Jupiter to be releasedfrom his present service and provided with another master. Jupiter, afterwarning him that he would repent his request, caused him to be sold to atile-maker.Shortly afterwards, finding that he had heavier loads tocarry and harder work in the brick-field, he petitioned for anotherchange of master. Jupiter, telling him that it would be the lasttime that he could grant his request, ordained that he be sold to atanner. The Ass found that he had fallen into worse hands, and notinghis master's occupation, said, groaning: "It would have been better for meto have been either starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the otherof my former masters, than to have been bought by my present owner, who willeven after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him."中文翻译：草药商人的一头驴，因不满自己吃不饱还要干重活，向朱庇特请愿，希望能给自己换个主人，使自己从眼前的苦难中解脱出来。朱庇特提醒他，也许他会后悔做这个请求。驴执意。于是朱庇特使他被卖给了一个烧砖工。驴很快就发现自己在砖地里要干更重的活，驮更重的东西。于是他再一次请求更换主人。朱庇特告诉他，这将是他的最后一次机会。这一次，驴被一个皮革匠给买走了。知道了新主人的行当后，驴发现自己落入了更悲惨的境地，他痛苦的呻吟道，“在第一位主人那儿挨饿也好，在第二位主人那累死累活也罢，怎么着也比现在这种情况好啊。等我死了，他还要扒了我的皮，当做我对他的最后一点用处。”

Outline & Timestamp:00:00 Embrace Innovation and Question Clichés: Peter Thiel's Commencement Address01:21 From Law School to Technology Investment: A New Beginning03:59 The Unintended Journey Beyond the Law06:29 The Continuous Quest for Innovation in a Stagnant World09:21 Questioning Clichés and Embracing a Life of ContinuityTranscript:Welcome to "English Classics". Today, we're focusing on Peter Thiel's 2016 commencement address at Hamilton College. Thiel, a tech investor and entrepreneur, challenges graduates to embrace the new and uncharted. He reflects on his own career shift from a conventional path to disrupting the status quo with PayPal. Thiel urges students to question clichés and to build for the long term, emphasizing the power of innovation and lasting relationships. In this speech, Thiel inspires us to think beyond the familiar and to shape our own futures. Tune in as we dissect the wisdom of Thiel's words.Speech:Thank you. Thank you so much for the kind introduction. It’s a tremendous honor to be here. Like most graduation speakers my main qualification would seem to be that I am one of the few people who are even more clueless about what is going on in your lives than your parents and your professors.Most of you are about 21 or 22 years old. You’re about to begin working. I haven’t worked for anybody for 21 years. But if I try to give a reason for why it makes sense for me to speak here today, I would say it’s because thinking about the future is what I do for a living. And this is a commencement. It’s a new beginning. As a technology investor, I invest in new beginnings. I believe in what hasn’t yet been seen or been done.This is not what I set out to do when I began my career. When I was sitting where you are, back in 1989, I would’ve told you that I wanted to be a lawyer. I didn’t really know what lawyers do all day, but I knew they first had to go to law school, and school was familiar to me.I had been competitively tracked from middle school to high school to college, and by going straight to law school, I knew I would be competing at the same kinds of tests I’d been taking ever since I was a kid, but I could tell everyone that I was now doing it for the sake of becoming a professional adult.I did well enough in law school to be hired by a big New York law firm, but it turned out to be a very strange place. From the outside, everybody wanted to get in, and from the inside, everybody wanted to get out.When I left the firm, after seven months and three days, my coworkers were surprised. One of them told me that he hadn’t known it was possible to escape from Alcatraz. Now that might sound odd, because all you had to do to escape was walk through the front door and not come back. But people really did find it very hard to leave, because so much of their identity was wrapped up in having won the competitions to get there in the first place.Just as I was leaving the law firm, I got an interview for a Supreme Court clerkship. This is sort of the top prize that you can get as a young lawyer. It was the absolute last stage of the competition. But I lost. And at the time I was totally devastated. It seemed just like the end of the world.About a decade later, I ran into an old friend — someone who had helped me prepare for the Supreme Court interview, whom I hadn’t seen in years. His first words to me were not, you know, “Hi Peter” or “How are you doing?” but rather, “So, aren’t you glad you didn’t get that clerkship?” Because if I hadn’t lost that last competition, we both knew that I never would have left the track laid down since middle school, I wouldn’t have moved to California and co-founded a startup, I wouldn’t have done anything new.Looking back at my ambition to become a lawyer, it looks less like a plan for the future and more like an alibi for the present. It was a way to explain to anyone who would ask — to my parents, to my peers and most of all to myself — that there was no need to worry. I was perfectly on track. But it turned out in retrospect that my biggest problem was taking the track without thinking really hard about where it was going.When I co-founded a technology startup, we took the opposite approach. We consciously set out to change the direction of the world: very definite, very big plans. Our goal was nothing less than to replace the U.S. dollar by creating a new digital currency.We had a young team. When we started, I was the only person over 23 years old. When we released our first product, the first users were simply the 24 people who worked at our company. Outside, there were millions of people working in the global financial industry, and when we told some of them about our plans we noticed a clear pattern: the more experience someone had in banking, the more certain they were that our venture could never succeed.They were wrong. People around the world now rely on PayPal to move more than $200 billion every year. We did fail at our greater goal. The dollar’s still dominant. We didn’t succeed in taking over the whole world, but we did create a successful company in the process. And more importantly, we learned that while doing new things is difficult, it is far from impossible.At this moment in your life you know fewer limits, fewer taboos and fewer fears than you will ever in the future. So do not squander your ignorance. Go out and do what your teachers and parents thought could not be done and what they never thought of doing.Now this is not to say that we should assume there is no value in teaching and tradition. And here we can take inspiration from a graduate of Hamilton College, the illustrious Ezra Pound, Class of 1905. Pound was a poet, and he was also a prophet of sorts, and he announced his mission in three words: “Make it new”. When Pound said make it new, he was talking about the old. He wanted to recover what was best in tradition and to render it fresh.Here at Hamilton, in America and that part of the world called the West, we are all part of an unusual kind of tradition. The tradition we’ve inherited is itself about doing new things. The new science of Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton discovered truths that had never been written down in books. Our whole continent is a new world. The founders of this country set out to create what they called a new order for the ages. America is the frontier country. We are not true to our own tradition unless we seek what is new.So how are we doing? How much is new today? It is a cliché to say that we are living through a time of rapid change, but it is an open secret that the truth is closer to stagnation. Computers are getting faster and smartphones are somewhat new. But on the other hand, jets are slower, trains are breaking down, houses are expensive and incomes are flat.Today the word technology means information technology. The so-called tech industry builds computers and software. But in the 1960s, technology had a more expansive meaning and meant not just computers, but also airplanes, medicines, fertilizers, materials, space travel — all sorts of things. Technology was advancing on every front and leading to a world of underwater cities, vacations on the moon and energy too cheap to meter.We’ve all heard America described as a developed country, setting it apart from countries that are still developing. This description pretends to be neutral. But I find it far from neutral. Because it suggests that our tradition of making new things is over. When we say that we are developed, we’re saying, that’s it. That for us, history is over. We are saying that everything there is to do has already been done, and now the only thing left is for others in the world to catch up. And in this view, the 1960s vision of a fantastic and far better future was just a mistake.I think we should strongly refuse this temptation to assume that our history is over. Of course, if we choose to believe that we’re powerless to do anything that is not familiar, we will be right, but only in a sort of self-fulfilling way. We should not, however, blame nature. It will only be our own faults.Familiar tracks and traditions are like clichés — they are everywhere, they may sometimes be correct, but often they are justified by nothing except constant repetition. Let me end today by questioning two clichés in particular.The first comes from Shakespeare, who wrote this well-known piece of advice: To thine own self be true. Now Shakespeare wrote that, but he didn’t say it. He put it in the mouth of a character named Polonius, who Hamlet accurately describes as a tedious old fool, even though Polonius was senior counselor to the King of Denmark.And so, in reality, Shakespeare is telling us two things. First, do not be true to yourself. How do you know you even have such a thing as a self? Your self might be motivated by competition with others, like I was. You need to discipline your self, to cultivate it and care for it. Not to follow it blindly.Second, Shakespeare’s saying that you should be skeptical of advice, even from your elders. Polonius is a father speaking to his daughter, but his advice is terrible. Here Shakespeare’s a faithful example of our western tradition, which does not honor what is merely inherited.The other cliché goes like this: Live each day as if it were your last. The best way to take this as advice is to do exactly the opposite. Live each day as if you will live forever. That means, first and foremost, that you should treat the people around you as if they too will be around for a very long time to come. The choices that you make today matter, because their consequences will grow greater and greater.That is what Einstein was getting at when he supposedly said that compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. This isn’t just about finance or money, but it’s about the idea that you’ll get the best returns in life from investing your time in building durable friendships and long-lasting relationships.In one sense

Transcript:Edith Nesbit's "The Things That Matter" is a beautiful poem. Itreflects on what truly holds value in life. Nesbit uses vivid language to makeus think about the importance of simple joys and meaningful connections. Thepoem might remind you to cherish the moments that often go unnoticed. It's areminder that the things that matter aren't always grand or expensive but canbe found in the small details of our daily lives. Stay with us in "EnglishClassics" to explore this wonderful poem further.The Things That MatterBy Edith Nesbit [Read by Patience Agbabi]Now that I’ve nearly done my days,And grown too stiff to sweep or sew,I sit and think, till I’m amaze,About what lots of things I know:Things as I’ve found out one by one–And when I’m fast down in the clay,My knowing things and how they’re doneWill all be lost and thrown away.There’s things, I know, as won’t be lost,Things as folks write and talk about:The way to keep your roots from frost,And how to get your ink spots out.What medicine’s good for sores and sprains,What way to salt your butter down,What charms will cure your different pains,And what will bright your faded gown.But more important things than these,They can’t be written in a book:How fast to boil your greens and peas,And how good bacon ought to look;The feel of real good wearing stuff,The kind of apple as will keep,The look of bread that’s rose enough,And how to get a child asleep.Whether the jam is fit to pot,Whether the milk is going to turn,Whether a hen will lay or not,Is things as some folks never learn.I know the weather by the sky,I know what herbs grow in what lane;And if sick men are going to die,Or if they’ll get about again.Young wives come in, a-smiling, grave,With secrets that they itch to tell:I know what sort of times they’ll have,And if they’ll have a boy or gell.And if a lad is ill to bind,Or some young maid is hard to lead,I know when you should speak ’em kind,And when it’s scolding as they need.I used to know where birds ud set,And likely spots for trout or hare,And God may want me to forgetThe way to set a line or snare;But not the way to truss a chick,To fry a fish, or baste a roast,Nor how to tell, when folks are sick,What kind of herb will ease them most!Forgetting seems such silly waste!I know so many little things,And now the Angels will make hasteTo dust it all away with wings!O God, you made me like to know,You kept the things straight in my head,Please God, if you can make it so,Let me know something when I’m dead.中文翻译（由于目前没有中文翻译，本文由AI翻译）：真正重要的事如今我已时日无多，身子僵得连清扫、缝纫都难，我坐着沉思，直至惊讶不已，想着我知晓的诸多事情：那些我逐一发现的事情 ——等我深埋于黄土之下，我所知晓的一切以及做事的方法都将遗失、被抛却。我知道有些事不会失传，人们会将它们著书言谈：防止根茎受冻的办法，去除墨渍的窍门。何种药物能治伤痛扭伤，怎样腌制黄油才好，何种符咒能疗不同伤痛，又用什么能让褪色的衣裙鲜亮。但还有比这些更重要的事，它们无法写进书本里：青菜豌豆该煮多久才好，上好的熏肉该是啥模样；优质衣料的触感如何，哪种苹果能存放得久，面包发得够高是啥样，还有怎样哄孩子入睡。果酱是否适合装罐，牛奶是否快要变质，母鸡会不会下蛋，这些事有些人永远学不会。我看天色便知天气，我知道哪条小径长着何种香草；我也知道病人是否将离世，或者能否再次康复。年轻的媳妇们笑着，神情庄重地进来，怀揣着急于倾诉的秘密：我知道她们会有怎样的境遇，会生男孩还是女孩。要是哪个小伙子难以管教，或是哪个年轻姑娘不好引领，我知道何时该好言相劝，何时该加以责骂。我曾知道鸟儿会在哪儿筑巢，哪里是钓鳟鱼或猎野兔的好去处，上帝或许想让我忘掉设陷阱或下套的法子；但不会忘掉捆扎小鸡的技巧，煎鱼、给烤肉抹油的方法，也不会忘掉当人们生病时，哪种草药最能减轻他们的痛苦！遗忘似乎是愚蠢的浪费！我知道这么多琐碎小事，如今天使们会匆匆赶来，用翅膀将这一切都拂去！哦，上帝，是你让我喜欢求知，让我头脑中的事情条理分明，上帝啊，若你能成全，请让我死后仍有所知。

Bill Gates’ Commencement Speech at Harvard 2007President Bok, former PresidentRudenstine, incoming President Faust, members of the Harvard corporation andthe board of overseers. Members of the faculty, parents and especially thegraduates.I’ve beenwaiting more than 30 years to say this: “Dad, I always told you I’d come backand get my degree.”I want to thankHarvard for this honor. I’ll be changing my job next year and it will be niceto finally have a college degree on my resume.I applaud thegraduates for taking a much more direct route to your degrees.For my part, I’mjust happy that the Crimson called me Harvard’s most successful drop out.I guess thatmakes me valedictorian of my own special class. I did the best of everyone whofailed.But I also wantto be recognized as the guy who got Steve Balmer to drop out of businessschool.I’m a badinfluence. That’s why I was invited to speak at your graduation.If I’d spoken atyour orientation, fewer of you might be here today.Harvard was aphenomenal experience for me. Academic life was fascinating.I used to sit inon lots of classes that I hadn’t even signed up for. And dorm life wasterrific. I lived up at Radcliffe, in Courier House.There werealways a lot of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things, becauseeveryone knew that I didn’t worry about getting up in the morning.That’s how Icame to be the leader of the antisocial group. We clunged each other as a wayof validating our rejection of all those social people.Radcliffe was agreat place to live. There were more women up there and most of the guys weremath-science types. The combination offered me the best odds, if you know whatI mean.That’s where Ilearned the sad lesson that improving your odds doesn’t guarantee you success.One of mybiggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975. When I made a call fromCourier House to a company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that had begun makingthe world’s first personal computer. I offered to sell them software.I worried theywould realize I was just a student in a dorm and hang up on me. Instead theysaid, we’re not quite ready, come see us in a month. Which was a good thingbecause we hadn’t written the software yet.From that momentI worked day and night on the extra credit project that marked the end of mycollege education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.What I rememberabove all about Harvard, was being in the midst of so much energy andintelligence. It could be exhilarating, intimidating, sometimes evendiscouraging but always challenging.It was anamazing privilege and though I left early, I was transformed by my years atHarvard, the friendships I made and the ideas I worked on.But taking aserious look back, I do have one big regret.I left Harvardwith no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world, appallingdisparities of health and wealth, and opportunity, that condemn millions ofpeople to lives of despair.I learned a lothere at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. I got great exposureto the advances being made in the sciences.But humanity’sgreatest advances are not in its discoveries, but in how those discoveries areapplied to reduce inequity.Whether throughdemocracy, strong public education, quality healthcare or broad economicopportunity, reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.I left campusknowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educationalopportunities here in this country.And I knewnothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable poverty and diseasein developing countries. It took me decades to find out.You graduatescame to Harvard at a different time. You know more about the world’s inequitiesthan the classes that came before.In your yearshere I hope you’ve had a chance to think about how in this age of acceleratingtechnology we can finally take on these inequities and we can solve them.Imagine just forthe sake of discussion that you have a few hours a week and a few dollars amonth to donate to a cause. And you wanted to spend that time and money whereit would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives.Where would youspend it?For Melinda andI the challenge is the same. How can we do the most good for the greatestnumber with the resources we have?During ourdiscussions on this question, Melinda and I read an article about the millionsof children who are dying every year in poor countries from diseases that wehave long ago made harmless in this country.Measles,malaria, pneumonia, hepatitis-B, yellow fever.One disease thatI had never heard of, rotavirus, was killing half a million children each year.None of them in the United States.We were shocked.We had assumedthat if millions of children were dying and they could be saved, the worldwould make it a priority to discover and deliver the medicines to save them.But it did not.For under adollar there were interventions that could save lives that just weren’t beingdelivered.If you believethat every life has equal value, it’s revolting to learn that some lives areseen as worth saving and others are not.We said toourselves this can’t be true, but if it is true it deserves to be the priorityof our giving.So we began ourwork in the same way anyone here would begin it. We asked: how could the worldlet these children die?The answer issimple and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these childrenand governments did not subsidize it. So the children die because their mothersand fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.But you and Ihave both. We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can developa more creative capitalism.If we canstretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit or atleast earn a living, serving people who are suffering from the greatinequities.We can alsopress governments around the world to spend tax-payer money in ways that betterreflect the values of the people who pay the taxes.If we can findapproaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits forbusiness and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way toreduce inequity in the world.Now this task isopen ended. It can never be finished, but a conscious effort to answer thischallenge can change the world. I’m optimistic that we can do this.But I talk toskeptics who claim there is no hope. They say inequity has been with us sincethe beginning and will be with us until the end, because people just don’tcare.I completelydisagree.I believe wehave more caring than we know what to do with. All of us here in this yard, atone time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our heart.And yet we didnothing. Not because we don’t care, but because we didn’t know what to do. Ifwe had known how to help, we would have acted.The barrier tochange is not too little caring. It is too much complexity.To turn caringinto action, we need to see a problem, see a solution and see the impact. Butcomplexity blocks all three steps.Even with theadvent of the internet and 24-hour news, it is still a complex enterprise toget people to truly see the problems.When an airplanecrashes, officials immediately call a press conference. They promise toinvestigate, determine the cause and prevent similar crashes in the futures.But if theofficials were brutally honest, they would say, “Of all the people in the worldwho died today from preventable causes, 1 half of 1 percent were on thisplane.”We’re determinedto do everything possible to solve the problem that took the lives of the 1half of 1 percent.The problem isnot just the plane crash but the millions of preventable deaths.We don’t readmuch about these deaths, the media covers what’s new and millions of peopledying is nothing new. So it stays in the background where it’s easy to ignore.But even when wedo see it or read about it, it’s difficult to keep our eyes on the problem.It’s difficult to look at suffering if the situation is so complex that wedon’t know how to help and so we look away.If we can reallysee a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step. Cuttingthrough the complexity to find a solution.Findingsolutions is essential if we want to make the most of our caring. If we haveclear and proven answers any time an organization or an individual asks, “Howcan I help?”, then we can get action.And we can makesure that none of the caring in the world is wasted.The complexitymakes it hard to mark a path of action for everyone who cares and makes it hardfor that caring to matter. Cutting through complexity to find solutions runsthrough four predictable stages: Determine a goal. Find the highest impactapproach. Deliver the technology ideal for that approach and in the meantimeuse the best application of technology you already have.Whether it’ssomething sophisticated like a new drug or something simple like a bed net. TheAIDS epidemic offers an example, the broad goal of course is to end thedisease.The highestleverage approach is prevention, the ideal technology would be a vaccine thatgives life-long immunity with a single dose.So governments,drug companies and foundations are funding vaccine research. But their work islikely to take more than a decade.So in themeantime we have to work with what we have in hand and the best preventionapproach we have now is getting people to avoid risky behavior.Pursuing thatgoal starts the 4-step cycle again. This is the pattern.The crucialthing is to never stop thinking and working. And never do what we did withmalaria and tuberculosis in the 20th century. Which is to surrender tocomplexity and quit.The final stepafter seeing the problem and finding an approach, is to measure the impact ofthe work and to share that, success or failure, so that others can learn fromthe efforts.You have to havethe statistics, of course. You have to be able to show for example that aprogram is vaccinating millions more children. You have to be able to show forexample a decline in the number of children

Full Transcript of the podcast and the Declaration of Independence:Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to English Classics. I amPatrick.Today, we're diving into a cornerstone ofAmerican history: the Declaration of Independence. Signed in 1776, thisdocument was a bold statement by the thirteen American colonies that they werebreaking away from British rule to form a new nation. It's written in clear,powerful language that speaks about the rights of individuals to life, liberty,and the pursuit of happiness. It emphasizes that when a government fails toprotect its citizens, those citizens have the right to change or abolish thatgovernment. This document not only laid the groundwork for the United Statesbut also inspired movements for freedom around the world. Join us as we explorethe profound impact and enduring legacy of the Declaration of Independence.Today’s audio is read and performed by the hosts andreports from American National Public Radio Station.This is morning edition from NPR morning news, on theFriday before Independence Day, we bring you the Declaration of Independence.The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen unitedStates of AmericaWhen in the Course of human events, itbecomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which haveconnected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, theseparate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's Godentitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that theyshould declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold thesetruths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they areendowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these areLife, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights,Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from theconsent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomesdestructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolishit, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principlesand organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely toeffect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate thatGovernments long established should not be changed for light and transientcauses; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are moredisposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves byabolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train ofabuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design toreduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, tothrow off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their futuresecurity.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such isnow the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems ofGovernment. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history ofrepeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object theestablishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, letFacts be submitted to a candid world.He has refusedhis Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.He has forbiddenhis Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unlesssuspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when sosuspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.He has refusedto pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unlessthose people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, aright inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.He has calledtogether legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant fromthe depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing theminto compliance with his measures.He has dissolvedRepresentative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness hisinvasions on the rights of the people.He has refusedfor a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected;whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to thePeople at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean timeexposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.He hasendeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purposeobstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass othersto encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of newAppropriations of Lands.He hasobstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws forestablishing Judiciary powers.He has madeJudges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and theamount and payment of their salaries.He has erected amultitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass ourpeople, and eat out their substance.He has keptamong us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of ourlegislatures.He has affectedto render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.He has combinedwith others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, andunacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretendedLegislation:For Quarteringlarge bodies of armed troops among us:For protectingthem, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commiton the Inhabitants of these States:For cutting offour Trade with all parts of the world:For imposingTaxes on us without our Consent:For depriving usin many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:For transportingus beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offencesFor abolishingthe free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishingtherein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to renderit at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute ruleinto these Colonies:For taking awayour Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally theForms of our Governments:For suspendingour own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislatefor us in all cases whatsoever.He has abdicatedGovernment here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War againstus.He has plunderedour seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of ourpeople.He is at thistime transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works ofdeath, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty& perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totallyunworthy the Head of a civilized nation.He hasconstrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Armsagainst their Country, to become the executioners of their friends andBrethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.He has exciteddomestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on theinhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule ofwarfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.In every stageof these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms:Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Princewhose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfitto be the ruler of a free people.Nor have We beenwanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time totime of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdictionover us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlementhere. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we haveconjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations,which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They toohave been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must,therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and holdthem, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.We, therefore, theRepresentatives of the united States of America, in General Congress,Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of ourintentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of theseColonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and ofRight ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from allAllegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between themand the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and thatas Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, concludePeace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts andThings which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of thisDeclaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, wemutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.Map of British Colonies in North America:Original Manuscript:Carved in Stone:

“When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be"是英国浪漫主义诗人约翰·济慈（John Keats）创作的一首诗歌。这首诗表达了诗人对于生命、死亡、爱情和名誉的深刻思考。这首诗是济慈在1818年创作的，直到他去世27年后才被发表。诗歌中，济慈表达了他对于可能在实现自己的文学抱负之前就去世的恐惧，以及对于可能无法再见到他所爱的人的哀伤。诗歌全文：When I have Fears That I May Cease to BeBy John KeatsWhen I have fearsthat I may cease to be   Beforemy pen has gleaned my teeming brain,Before high-pilèdbooks, in charactery,   Holdlike rich garners the full ripened grain;When I behold,upon the night’s starred face,   Hugecloudy symbols of a high romance,And think that Imay never live to trace   Theirshadows with the magic hand of chance;And when I feel,fair creature of an hour,   ThatI shall never look upon thee more,Never have relishin the faery power   Ofunreflecting love—then on the shoreOf the wide worldI stand alone, and thinkTill love and fameto nothingness do sink.

今天我们来欣赏英国浪漫主义文学的代表人物乔治·戈登·拜伦勋爵的诗歌《她在美中徜徉 | She Walks in Beauty》。这首诗歌赞美了一位女性的美丽，她的美不仅仅是外表的，更是内在的。拜伦通过对比暗与亮、夜与日，描绘了这位女性如同夜空中繁星般璀璨的美丽。她的美是如此恰到好处，无论是多一丝阴影还是少一缕光线，都会损害她那难以言喻的优雅。她的每一个微笑和光彩都透露出她善良的心灵和纯洁的爱情。诗歌全文：She Walks in BeautyBy Lord Byron [Read by Jude Law]She walks in beauty, like the nightOf cloudless climes and starry skies;And all that’s best of dark and brightMeet in her aspect and her eyes;Thus mellowed to that tender lightWhich heaven to gaudy day denies.One shade the more, one ray the less,Had half impaired the nameless graceWhich waves in every raven tress,Or softly lightens o’er her face;Where thoughts serenely sweet express,How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,The smiles that win, the tints that glow,But tell of days in goodness spent,A mind at peace with all below,A heart whose love is innocent!

时间轴:00:00 Jeff Bezos Reflects on Amazon's Early Beginnings and the Decision to Start with Books02:18 Deciding to Enter the Online Book Selling Business03:45 The Regret Minimization Framework in Decision Making06:31 Startup Success Despite Initial Skepticism and Challenges08:37 The Evolution of Amazon's Customer-Centric CultureTranscript:Hello, I am Garth Fagan. I am going tobe speaking to you about choreography!Almost sevenyears ago now, I started this most incredible journey called Amazon.com.Actually at that time, it wasn’t even called Amazon. It was called Cadabra,Inc. — as in Abracadabra. That was the original name of the company.And I had phoneda lawyer on the way to Seattle from a cell phone. And he said – what do you doto incorporate the company. He said, what do you want the company to be called,and I said Cadabra. And he said, Cadaver, and I knew that was a bad name. Wechanged it a few months later.The wake-up callthat led to starting Amazon.com was finding that web usage in the spring of1994 was growing at 2300% a year. And things just do not grow that fast.Outside of, I guess, usually like petri dishes or something. I mean it’s a veryvery unusual growth rate and that you could tell anecdotally even though therewasn’t good research on this at the time, the baseline of web usage wasn’ttrivial.And so somethingwith a nontrivial baseline growing at 2300% a year is clearly going to beeverywhere tomorrow. And so the question was what kind of business plan wouldmake sense in the context of that growth.And I wentthrough a whole bunch of different things. I made a list of 20 differentproducts, looking for the first best products to sell online. Came up withbooks for a bunch of reasons but primarily because books are very unusual inone respect and that is that there are more of them than there are products ofthe other category. So there are literally millions of different books in printin any given time.And computersare good at organizing such large selections of products and you could buildsomething online that literally couldn’t be built any other way. You couldn’thave a physical world bookstore or paper catalog with millions of differentbooks. And the primitive technology that was the web in 1994 clearly requiredthat kind of characteristic for business. It had to be something that couldonly be done in that way. So that’s what led to books.When I decidedto do this, I first talked to my wife who is sitting here in the audience. Andshe had married a relatively stable goofy but still relatively stable personworking at a Wall Street firm. I worked at a quantitative hedge fund and thiswas a hard decision.And I waslooking for the right framework in which to make that kind of importantdecision and the right framework I found is the regret minimizationframework and that’s just a nerdy way of saying that you want toproject yourself to age 80. And then think back over your life and if you are81, you want to minimize number of regrets you have throughout that period oftime. I think this is something a lot of people do maybe subconsciously beprobably – very few people probably name at regret minimization frameworkbecause most people are healthier than that.But it was avery clear way for me to think about making that kind of life decision. And theway it helped was I thought, okay, if I go do this thing and participate inthis thing called the Internet, though I genuinely believe is going to be a bigdeal. And if I fail, am I going to regret having tried and failed? I knew theanswer of that was no.But I also knewthat if I didn’t try that I would always regret that. I would always wonder andit would haunt me until that mythical day which I actually hope will come. Mywife would try to get me to eat better. One of her heroes is Dr. Wild. So ifyou are in the audience — that your dietary constraints are currently beinginflicted upon me. But I suspect it may help me over the long-term.And so that washow the decision was made to do this. And there are just literally tons ofstories about the early days of getting Amazon.com set up.We spent about ayear building the software infrastructure and getting all the vendorrelationships in place and so on and so on. The day before we were ready tolaunch the store in July of 1995, one of the software engineers who werelooking at our little 400 square foot distribution center. And I remember veryclearly this person looked at the 400 square feet, about the size of one cargarage. So it was kind of a toy distribution center and they would buildsoftware systems behind it.And he said — helooked at this little space, he’s like, “I can’t figure out if this isincredibly optimistic or hopelessly pathetic”. And indeed, we didn’t know.There really was no way to know how customers were going to adopt this kind oftechnology in these very early days. There was a lot of risk involved. In fact,also in the audience today are my parents who were the original funders of Amazon.com.They invested about $300,000 which was roughly — was a reasonably largefraction of their life savings.And my dad’sfirst question was, “What’s the Internet?” So they were not betting on theconcept or the idea. They were betting on their son.I told him, Ithought there was a 70% chance they would lose their entire investment. Andthat was an important disclosure because I wanted to be able to go home forThanksgiving dinner no matter what happened. I’m very happy that, thatinvestment has worked out very well for them.But it was a – Iwas going to myself triple the normal odds. Start-up companies are very trickythings and fewer than 10% of them actually go on to make any return on aninvestment at all. And so I was doing myself a 30% chance and just wildlyoverconfident.But thingsactually worked out. The planets aligned in those early days and start-upcompanies need early planetary alignment, because there are so many things thatcan go wrong. And when we launched that store in July of 1995, we were shockedat the customer response.Literally in thefirst 30 days, we had orders from all 50 states and 45 different countries. Andwe were woefully unprepared from an operational point of view to handle thatkind of volume. And in fact, this — we quickly expanded, we talked to ourlandlord and we expanded into a 2000 square foot basement warehouse space thathad 6 foot ceilings. One of our 10 employees was 6 foot 2 inch. He went aroundlike this the whole time.And we weredoing our day jobs which might’ve been computer programming and all thedifferent things that 10 people will do in a little tiny start-up company. Andthen we would spend all afternoon and into the wee hours of the morning packingup the orders and shipping them out – I would drive these things to UPS and sowe get the last one – and we wait to the last second. I get to UPS, and I’dsort of bang on the glass door that was closed. And they always would take pityon me, and sort of open up and let us ship things late.We had so manyorders that we weren’t ready for that we had no real organization in ourdistribution centers at all. In fact, we didn’t – we were packing on our handsand knees on a hard concrete floor and — I remember just to show you how stupidI can be – my only defense is that it was late. But we were packing thesethings — everybody in the company and I had this brainstorming, and I said tothe person next to me, “This packing is killing me. You know, my back hurts,this is killing my knees on this hard cement floor. And the person said, “Yeah,I know what you mean”.And I said, “No,we need – it’s my brilliant insight — we need knee pads”. I was very serious,and this person looked at me like I was the stupidest person he’d ever seen,and like, “I’m working for this person. This is great” And said, “What we needis packing tables”And I look atthis person and I thought that was the smartest idea I’d ever heard. The nextday we got packing tables, and I think we doubled our productivity.That early stageby the way of Amazon.com where we were so unprepared is probably one of theluckiest things that ever happened to us because it formed a culture ofcustomer service in every department of the company, every single person in thecompany because we had to work with our hands so close to the customers makingsure those orders went out, really set up a culture that served us well, andthat is our goal to be earth’s most customer-centric company.

Facebook创始人马克·扎克伯格在2017年哈佛大学毕业典礼上的演讲。扎克伯格分享了他对目标、平等和社区建设的看法，以及我们这一代人如何共同创造一个每个人都有目标感的世界。让我们一起聆听这位科技巨头的洞见，思考如何在快速变化的时代中找到个人和集体的意义。时间轴：00:00 Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard Commencement Speech: Creating Purpose and Building Community04:50 The Significance of Serendipity at Harvard06:45 Creating a World with Purpose for All11:40 Creating a World of Purpose Through Collective Endeavors12:39 The Power of Taking Action and Idea Evolution15:49 Creating a World with Purpose and Equality through Entrepreneurship19:13 A Society Measuring Progress Beyond GDP and Supporting Lifelong Learning22:03 Building Global Communities for a Sense of Purpose27:49 The Power of Community and Purpose in Global Change

HalloweenBy Lindsay TurnerSome yellow sunflowers open down the street,A ladder is open beneath someone’s apple tree.Beneath a dead sky the contours are flattened.So the land of the dead is closer today.The land of the dead, they say, is closer.But what if my lot lies with the living?Out in the yard a long-billed bird eats something from dust.Its throat has a dark patch in the shape of a smileBut full, as if its throat had been slit open.But look, the bird is still pecking and alive.Elsewhere, a sports game, ropes of rain come down and open the earth.Here it’s so dry they’d just roll off the dust.But what if my loves, like the bird, are living?What if my loves, like the bird, are living for now?Most of the apples have already fallen.The sunflowers turn into dusty spiked balls.But what if my land is the land of the living?The bird from the dust takes flightThen turns multiple—A handful of birds rising in the dead skyOpened to receive them. But my loves for now are here and living, and I want more of them.Like the bird on the ground I pick what I need from the dust.

《初恋|First Love》是英国浪漫主义诗人约翰·克莱尔（John Clare）的一首著名诗作。这首诗描绘了诗人对初恋的深切感受，充满了甜蜜、突然而强烈的情感。诗中，诗人用“她的脸像甜美的花朵一样绽放，完全偷走了我的心”来表达初恋的震撼，随后描述了自己因爱情而变得苍白、无法移动，甚至视线模糊，仿佛在白昼中看到了午夜。诗的结尾，诗人用“我的心已经离开了它的居所，再也无法返回”来表达初恋那种改变一生的影响。全诗以其真挚的情感和简洁的语言，展现了初恋的美好与失落，是克莱尔诗歌中广受喜爱的作品之一。诗歌全文：First LoveBy John ClareI ne’er was struck before that hourWith love so sudden and so sweet,Her face it bloomed like a sweet flowerAnd stole my heart away complete.My face turned pale as deadly pale,My legs refused to walk away,And when she looked, what could I ail?My life and all seemed turned to clay.And then my blood rushed to my faceAnd took my eyesight quite away,The trees and bushes round the placeSeemed midnight at noonday.I could not see a single thing,Words from my eyes did start—They spoke as chords do from the string,And blood burnt round my heart.Are flowers the winter’s choice?Is love’s bed always snow?She seemed to hear my silent voice,Not love's appeals to know.I never saw so sweet a faceAs that I stood before.My heart has left its dwelling-placeAnd can return no more.