I remember one night a few years ago when my daughter was frantic3 with worry. After my Harvard Extension School4 classes, I usually arrived at the bus station near my home by 11 p.m., but on that night I was nowhere to be found. My daughter was nervous. It wasn't safe for a single woman to walk alone on the streets at night, especially one as defenseless5 as I am.
That night my daughter checked the bus station, drove around the streets, and contacted some friends. However, she couldn't find me, until she called my astronomy6 professor who told her that I was on top of the Science Center using the telescope to gaze at7 the stars. Unaware of8 the time, I had gotten lost in the heavens and was only thinking about the new things I had learned that night in class.
This story illustrates9 a habit I have developed over the years—I lose track of time when it comes to10 learning. How else do you explain a woman who began high school at age 71 and who is graduating with a bachelor's11 degree at 89? I may have started late, but I will continue to learn as long as I am able because there is no greater feeling, in my opinion, than traveling to a far away country as I have and being able to identify12 by sight the painting of a famous artist and the statue of an obscure sculptor13. I have found that the world is a final exam that you can never be prepared enough for. So I will continue to take classes and tell my story.
Lately it seems that everyone is asking me, “Mary, what advice do you have for other students?” so, while I have you all here, I'm going to ease14 my burden of answering you each individually.
If the saying is true that wisdom comes with age, you may safely assume15 that I am one of the wisest people in this hall and possibly at this University today. So listen to me when I tell you this—knowledge is power.
My studies were interrupted when I was in the 7th grade, back sometime around World War Ⅰ. I loved school but I was forced to leave it to care for my family. I was consigned16 to work in a Rhode Island cotton mill where I labored for many years. I eventually married and raised 5 children, 20 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. But all the while I felt inferior to17 those around me. I knew I was as smart as a college graduate. I knew I was capable of doing a job well; I had proved it by running a successful family business for decades that still exists. But I wanted more. I wanted to feel confident when I spoke and I wanted people to respect my opinions.
Does it surprise you to discover how much you have in common with18 an 89-year-old woman? I know that many of you graduates today, whether you were born in 1907 or 1967, have faced similar barriers19 to completing your studies and have sometimes felt inferior around those you work or socialize with just because you didn't have a degree.
But I am here today—as you are—to prove that it can be done; that the power gained by understanding and appreciating the world around us can be obtained by anyone regardless of social status, personal challenges, or age. That belief is what has motivated20 me for the last 75 years to get this degree. It is also the mission21 of the Harvard Extension School. Without the support I received from this School, I might not have graduated until I was 100—a phrase that many of you have probably used in jest22.
There are many students here who do not have the opportunity that I do to speak their minds and have everybody listen, whether they want to or not. But be assured23, fellow graduates, that we are more similar than you might think. If you have treated education as your main goal, and not as a means to an end24, then you, too, have probably been claimed as a missing person once in your academic25 career, whether you were lost in26 the stars or the stacks27 of Widener Library.
And you, too, know that the journey was worth it, and that the power of knowledge makes me the most formidable28 89-year-old woman at the bus stop.
我记得几年以前有天晚上，我女儿都快急疯了。我在哈佛大学的继续教育学院听课，一般晚上11点左右到达我家附近的车站，那天我却踪影全无。我女儿很紧张。一个女人独自走在午夜的街头是很危险的，尤其像我这样毫无自卫能力的人。
那天晚上，女儿在汽车站找过，又开车在街上转悠，还跟一些朋友联系，但就是找不到我。后来她打电话给我的天文学教授，才得知我在科学中心的顶楼用望远镜观测星座。我忘记了时间，完全沉迷于天象之中，满脑子全是当晚学到的新东西。 这个故事说明了我多年以来养成的一个习惯：只要学习我就会忘记时间，否则你怎么解释一个女人71岁开始读高中，89岁毕业拿到学士学位呢？我起步可能有点晚，可是只要我还能学习，我就会坚持下去。因为在我看来，能像我一样去一个遥远的国度旅行，不管是鼎鼎大名的艺术家的画作，还是名不见经传的雕刻家的雕塑，我都能一眼辨出，那感觉真是再好不过了。我发现，这个世界就像是一场期末考试，你怎么准备也觉得不够。所以我将继续听课，继续讲我的故事。
最近好像每个人都在问我，“玛丽，你对别的学生有什么建议吗？”既然大家都在这儿，也就免除了我逐个回答的负担了。
俗话说，年长智高。如果这句话说得不错，你大可以说今天在这个礼堂里我是个智者了，也许在整个大学里也是如此。因此听我一句忠告：“知识就是力量。”
我读到7年级时辍学了，那是在第一次世界大战期间。我爱上学，可我别无选择，因为要照顾家庭。我去了罗德岛的一家棉纺厂，在那里辛苦工作了很多年。后来我结了婚，养有5个孩子，20个孙子孙女，18个曾孙，但我一直觉得我不如周围的人。我知道我不比大学毕业生笨。我知道我能把工作做好；而且也已经证明了这一点，我经营了一个家庭企业，几十年来都很成功，直到现在还在运营。但我要的不只是这些。我要的是能自信地说话，我要人们尊重我的意见。
发现自己与89岁的老太太有这么多的共同之处，你们是不是很吃惊呢？我知道今天的很多毕业生中，1907年出生的也好，1967年出生的也好，在完成学业的过程中都曾面对过类似的困难，有时会觉得自己不如同事或朋友，仅仅是因为自己没有学位。
但像你们一样，我今天站在这里，我要证明，这是可以做到的；理解和欣赏我们所在的这个世界能够赐予我们力量，这种力量是每个人都可以得到的，不管社会地位高低，会遇到什么样的挑战，或者年龄有多大。正是这个信念，在过去的75年中，一直激励着我去获取这个学位。这也正是哈佛继续教育学院的使命。如果没有学校的支持，我可能100岁时还不能毕业——100岁，你们很多人大概只有在开玩笑时才会用到这个词吧。 在座的还有很多同学，虽说没有机会像我这样，把自己的心声说给大家听（至于他们乐不乐意那是另外一回事了）。但可以肯定，同学们，我们之间的相似之处，要比你们可能想到的多，只要你把接受教育当作自己的目标，而不是达到目的的手段，那么，一旦潜心求学，你就很可能被称为“失踪”过，也许是沉迷于满天繁星，也许是埋头于魏德纳图书馆的浩瀚卷帙。
那样，你同样会感觉不虚此行，并能理解，正是知识的力量使我成为公共汽车站最令人敬佩的89岁老太太。
1． commencement address 毕业致词
the commencement 毕业典礼
2． degree awarding ceremony 学位颁发典礼
3． frantic adj． 狂乱的，疯狂的
4． extension school 继续教育学院
extension n． 延长，扩充
5． defenseless adj． 毫无防备的
6． astronomy n． 天文学
7． gaze at 凝视
8． unaware of 不知道，没察觉到
9． illustrate v． （举例）说明
10． track n． 踪迹lose track of 失去线索 when it comes to 谈到
11． bachelor n． 学士 如：bachelor of Arts／Science 文／理学士
12． identify ] v． 鉴别，识别
13． statue n． 雕像 obscure adj． 名不见经传的 sculptor n． 雕刻家
14． ease v． 减轻，减弱
15． assume v． 假定，设想
16． consign v． 把……托付给
17． inferior to 低于……，与……相比处于劣势
18． have in common with 与……有共同点
19． barrier n． 障碍
20． motivate v． 激发
21． mission n． 使命，任务
22． jest n． 笑话
23． assured adj． 肯定的，自信的
24． and not．．．end 不是达到终点的手段
25． academic adj． 学院的，学术的
26． be lost in 全神贯注于，沉湎于
27． stack n． （图书馆的）书架
28． formidable adj． 令人敬畏的