比爾·蓋茨和夫人梅琳達·蓋茨在斯坦福大學2014年畢業典禮上的演講。整個演講以“樂觀”為主線，強調了他們對科技的樂觀態度，以及對世界美好未來的樂觀態度。蓋茨夫婦輪流講述了自己的親身經歷和故事，告訴學生應該站在他人的立場上，感同身受那些處境不及自己的人，盡自己所能去幫助那些需要幫助的人，讓全世界所有人類同胞都有一樣的美好未來。

Stanford University.

（斯坦福大學）

BILL GATES: Congratulations, class of 2014!

比爾·蓋茨：2014屆畢業生，祝賀你們順利畢業

(Cheers).（歡呼）

Melinda and I are excited to be here. It would be a thrill for anyone to be invited to speak at a Stanford commencement, but it's especially gratifying for us. Stanford is rapidly becoming the favorite university for members of our family, and it's long been a favorite university for Microsoft and our foundation.

我和梅琳達懷著激動的心情與你們歡聚在此共賀畢業。能受邀到斯坦福大學學位授予典禮上做演講是一件讓人激動的事，對我們而言，這尤為榮幸。斯坦福大學正日漸成為我們家庭成員最喜愛的大學。而長久以來，斯坦福也是微軟以及比爾與梅琳達基金會最喜愛的一所大學。”

Our formula has been to get the smartest, most creative people working on the most important problems. It turns out that a disproportionate number of those people are at Stanford. (Cheers).

我們一直致力于讓最聰穎有創造力的人攻克最為重要的問題。結果證明，一大部分這樣的人才都來自于斯坦福校園。（歡呼）

Right now, we have more than 30 foundation research projects underway here. When we want to learn more about the immune system to help cure the worst diseases, we work with Stanford. When we want to understand the changing landscape of higher education in the United States, so that more low-income students get college degrees, we work with Stanford. This is where genius lives.

如今，我們在這里進行著30多個研究項目。當我們想要通過對免疫系統的研究來尋找治愈世界上最可怕疾病的方法，我們需要斯坦福。當我們需要通過對美國高等教育的研究來幫助低收入學生上大學時，我們亦需要斯坦福。這便是人才的搖籃。

There's a flexibility of mind here, an openness to change, an eagerness for what's new. This is where people come to discover the future, and have fun doing it.

在這里，有著靈活的思維，對于改變的開放態度以及對新鮮事物的渴求。在這里，人們善于發現新事物，并樂享這份經歷。

MELINDA GATES: Now, some people call you all nerds and we hear that you claim that label with pride. (Cheers and Applause).

梅琳達?蓋茨：當下，一些人用書呆子這樣詞語稱呼你們，而我們聽說你們正為這個稱呼而倍感驕傲。（歡呼和掌聲）

BILL GATES: Well, so do we. (Cheers and Applause).

比爾蓋茨：嗯，我們與你們同在。（歡呼和掌聲）

BILL GATES: My normal glasses really aren't all that different. (Laughter).

比爾蓋茨：我的這副普通眼鏡也沒多大差異嘛。（笑聲）

There are so many remarkable things going on here at this campus, but if Melinda and I had to put into one word what we love most about Stanford, it's the optimism.

There's an infectious feeling here that innovation can solve almost every problem.That's the belief that drove me in 1975 to leave a college in the suburbs of Boston and go on an endless leave of absence.(Laughter).

在這所校園中，每時每刻都有非凡的事件發生，但如果要我和梅琳達用一個詞來表達對斯坦福的摯愛，那便是“樂觀”。這是一種極富感染力的樂觀精神，那便是，所有的問題在創新之下都能迎刃而解。這便是驅使我在1975年離開波士頓郊區的大學，并永遠輟學的一個動力。（笑聲）

I believed that the magic of computers and software would empower people everywhere and make the world much, much better.

當時的我相信計算機和軟件的魔力能夠賦予全世界人民以力量，并能夠讓這個世界變得更加美好。

It's been 40 years since then, and 20 years since Melinda and I were married.We are both more optimistic now than ever. But on our journey, our optimism evolved.

據那時算起，已有40年之久，我和梅琳達喜結連理也有20年之遠了。這些年間，我們都比過去更為樂觀開朗，但是在這些人生之旅中，我們的樂觀也實現了進化。

We would like to tell you what we learned and talk to you today about how your optimism and ours can do more for more people.When Paul Allen and I started Microsoft, we wanted to bring the power of computers and software to the people, and that was the kind of rhetoric we used.One of the pioneering books in the field had a raised fist on the cover, and it was called "Computer Lib."

我們今天很想與大家分享我們所學到的一切，并和你們聊聊我們的和你們的樂觀精神怎樣為更多的人服務。當初和保羅創立微軟之時，我們的目標是把計算機和軟件的力量普及到普通大眾，這便是我們當時的說法。在早期的一本書上的封面有一個上揚的拳頭，他們稱之為《計算機解放》。

At that time, only big businesses could buy computers.We wanted to offer the same power to regular people and democratize computing.

在那個時候，只有大企業才能購置計算機。我們想讓這種計算機設備普及到社會大眾并讓計算機民主化。

By the 1990s, we saw how profoundly personal computers could empower people, but that success created a new dilemma.If rich kids got computers and poor kids didn't, then technology would make inequality worse.That ran counter to our core belief.

在上個世紀90年代，我們目睹了個人電腦對人們的巨大效用，但是這種成功同時造成了新的困局。如果富人的孩子擁有計算機而窮人的孩子卻不能時，這種科技會加劇不平等。而這與我們的核心理念相抵觸。

Technology should benefit everyone.

科技應當惠及萬眾。

So we worked to close the digital divide. I made it a priority at Microsoft, and Melinda and I made it an early priority at our Foundation. Donating personal computers to public libraries to make sure that everyone had access.

因此我們應當努力縮小這種差距。我將它定位為微軟的首要任務，也是我和梅琳達在建立基金會之初的首要任務。為公眾圖書館捐獻個人電腦從而確保人人都能有機會使用。