然而， 我的父母家境都很贫困，两个人都没上过大学，
[00:06.48]took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk，
他们认为我过于丰富的想象力是令人惊讶的个人怪癖，
[00:11.44]that would never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.
根本不足以让我支付按揭，或者获得足够的养老金。
[00:15.48]I know that the irony strikes with the force of a cartoon anvil, now.
我现在明白了反讽就像用卡通铁砧去打击你，但......
[00:22.03]So they hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature.
他们希望我取得高职学位，而我却想攻读英国文学。
[00:27.51]A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody,and I went up to study Modern Languages.
最后，我和父母达成了妥协，我改学现代语言。
[00:35.30]Hardly had my parents' car rounded the corner at the end of the road，
现在回想起来，当时双方都不怎么满意。
[00:39.04]than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.
于是，父母的车刚一开远，我就丢下德语，去学习古典文学。
[00:44.21]I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics;
我不记得告诉过父母自己在学习古典文学，
[00:48.27]they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day.
他们可能是在我毕业典礼那天才知道的。
[00:53.19]Of all the subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful，
我想，他们也许认为，在全世界所有专业中，不会有比研究希腊神话更没用的专业了，
[00:59.42]than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.
那甚至无法换来一间独立宽敞的卫生间。
[01:06.35]I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view.
在这里我想说明一点：我不会因为父母的观点而责怪他们。
[01:12.56]There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction;
不要因为父母给你的人生路指错了方向就无休止地埋怨他们。
[01:17.01]the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.
当你到了一定年龄，可以自己把握人生时，就应该自己承担责任。
