英語美文名人勵志故事67:比爾.蓋茨在哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮上的演講

67. Bill Gates: Never Surrender to Complexity

67. 比爾·蓋茨：永遠別向復雜低頭

If we can really see a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step: cutting through the complexity to find a solution.

就算我們真正發(fā)現(xiàn)了問題所在，也不過是邁出了第一步，接著還有第二步：那就是從復雜的事件中找到解決辦法。

Finding solutions is essential if we want to make the most of our caring. If we have clear and proven answers anytime an organization or individual asks "How can I help?" then we can get action---and we can make sure that none of the caring in the world is wasted. But complexity makes it hard to mark a path of action for everyone who cares---and that makes it hard for their caring to matter.

如果我們要讓關心落到實處，我們就必須找到解決辦法。如果我們有一個清晰可靠的答案，那么當任何組織和個人發(fā)出疑問“我能如何提供幫助?”的時候，我們就能采取行動。我們就能夠保證不浪費一丁點全世界人類對他人的關心。但是，世界的復雜性使得很難找到對全世界每一個有愛心的人都有效的行動方法，因此人類對他人的關心往往很難產(chǎn)生實際效果。

Cutting through complexity to find a solution runs through four fredictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the technology that you already have---whether it's something sophisticated, like a drug, or something simpler, like a bed net.

從這個復雜的世界中找到解決辦法，可以分為四個步驟：確定目標，找到最高效的方法，發(fā)現(xiàn)適用于這個方法的新技術，同時最聰明地利用現(xiàn)有的技術，不管它是復雜的藥物，還是最簡單的蚊帳。

The AIDS epidemic offers an example. The broad goal, of course, is to end the disease. The highest-leverage approach is prevention. The ideal technology would be a vaccine that gives lifetime immunity with a single does. So governments, drug companies, and foundations fund vaccine research. But their work is likely to take more than a decade, So in the meantime we have to work with what we have in hand---and the best prevention approach we have now is getting people to avoid risky behavior.

艾滋病就是一個例子。總的目標，毫無疑問是消滅這種疾病。最高效的方法是預防。最理想的技術是發(fā)明一種疫苗，只要注射一次，就可以終生免疫。所以，政府、制藥公司、基金會應該資助疫苗研究。但是，這項研究工作很可能十年之內(nèi)都無法完成。因此，與此同時，我們必須使用現(xiàn)有的技術，目前最有效的預防方法——就是設法讓人們避免那些危險的行為。

本文中重難點詞匯解析：

complexity：n. 復雜，復雜性;復雜錯綜的事物

例句：So how you do manage this complexity?
那么您如何管理這種復雜性呢?

determine：v. (使)下決心，(使)做出決定

例句：He determined to rescue his two countrymen.
他決心要援救他的兩位同胞。

essential：adj. 基本的;必要的;本質(zhì)的;精華的

例句：It was absolutely essential to separate crops from the areas that animals used as pasture.
把莊稼與牲畜的放牧區(qū)分開至關重要。

epidemic：n. 傳染病;流行病;風尚等的流行

例句：A flu epidemic is sweeping through Moscow.
一場流感正席卷莫斯科。

vaccine：n. 疫苗;牛痘苗

例句：So what does the vaccine do?
那么這疫苗是如何生效的呢?