选择造就了我们——杰夫·贝索斯在普林斯顿大学2010届毕业典礼上的演讲.docVIP

选择造就了我们——杰夫·贝索斯在普林斯顿大学2010届毕业典礼上的演讲 　　As a kid， I spent my summers with my grandparents on their ranch1） in Texas. I helped fix windmills2）， vaccinate3） cattle， and do other chores. My grandparents belonged to a Caravan4） Club， a group of Airstream5） trailer6） owners who travel together around the U.S. and Canada. And every few summers we’d join the caravan. We’d hitch up7） the Airstream trailer to my grandfather’s car， and off we’d go. I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked forward to these trips. On one particular trip I was about 10 years old. I was rolling around in the big bench seat8） in the back of the car. My grandfather was driving， and my grandmother had the passenger seat. She smoked throughout these trips， and I hated the smell. 　　At that age， I’d take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic9）. I’d been hearing an ad campaign about smoking. I can’t remember the details， but basically the ad said every puff10） of a cigarette takes some number of minutes off of your life： I think it might have been two minutes per puff. At any rate， I decided to do the math for my grandmother. When I was satisfied that I’d come up with a reasonable number， I poked my head into the front of the car， tapped my grandmother on the shoulder and proudly proclaimed， “At two minutes per puff， you’ve taken nine years off your life！” 　　I have a vivid memory of what happened. I expected to be applauded for my cleverness and arithmetic skills. That’s not what happened. Instead， my grandmother burst into tears. I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do. While my grandmother sat crying， my grandfather pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway. He got out of the car and came around and opened my door and waited for me to follow. My grandfather was a highly intelligent， quiet man. He had never said a harsh word to me， and maybe this was to be the first time？ We stopped beside the trailer. My grandfather looked at me， and after a bit of silenc