explain apologetically with a
grin, “The character千differs from 十in merely having one additional short stroke. Aren’t
they about the same?”
One day, he wanted to go to Shanghai by train on urgent business. But he arrived at
the railway station unhurriedly only to find the train already gone, because he was two
minutes late. He stood staring helplessly at the smoke belching from the diminishing train,
and shook his head, “Well, all I can do is leave tomorrow. After all, today and tomorrow
are about the same. But isn’t the railway taking it too seriously? What’s the difference
between departing at 8:30 and 8:32?” He walked home slowly while talking to himself
and kept puzzling over why the train hadn’t waited for him for two minutes more.
One day he suddenly fell ill and immediately told one of his family to fetch Dr. Wang
of East Street. The latter went in hurry, but couldn’t find the physician on East Street. So
he fetched instead Veterinarian Wang of West Street. Mr. Cha Buduo, lying on his sickbed,
knew that a wrong person had been brought home. But, what with pain and worry, he
could ill afford to wait any longer. So he said to himself, “Luckily, Vet Wang is about the
same as Dr. Wang. Why not let Vet Wang have a try?” there- upon, the veterinarian
walked up to his bed to work on him as if he were a cow. Consequently, Mr. Cha Buduo
kicked the bucket before an hour was out.
When Mr. Cha Buduo was about to breathe his last, he uttered intermittently in one
breath, “Live or die, it’s about…about…the same…Whatever we do…it’s OK…to
be …just…just about right... Why…why…take it…so seriously?” as soon as he finished
this pet phrase of his, he stopped breathing.
After Mr. Cha Buduo death, people all praised him for his way of seeing things and
his philosophical approach to life. They say that he refused to take things seriously all his
life and that he was never calculating or particular about personal gains or losses. So they
called him a virtuous man and honored him with the posthumous reverent title Master of
Easy-Going.
His name has spread far and wide and become more and more celebrated with the
passing of time. Innumerable people have come to follow his example, so that everybody
has become a Mr. Cha Buduo. But lo, China will hence be a nation of lazybones!
注释：
胡适（1891-1962）的《差不多先生传》是一篇针砭社会陋习的讽刺小品，1924年6月28
日发表在《申报?平民周刊》的创刊号上，曾不胫而走，传诵一时。此文至今读来，犹感有极深刻的现实意义。
(1)“他姓差，名不多”如仅仅译为His name is Cha and his given name, Buduo，外国读者只
知其音，不知其意，故在后面加补充说明which altogether mean “About the Same”。
(2)“他的思想也不很细密”译为He is…sloppy in thinking, 其中sloppy作“无条理”、“凌
乱”解。
(3)“直隶”为旧省名，即今之“河北”，故译为Ｈebei。
(4)“钱铺”又称“钱庄”，大多仅从事兑换业务，后为银行所代替。“钱铺”可译为private
bank或banking house，但均不如money (exchange) shop确切。
(5)“格言”在这里意同“口头语”，现参照上下文译为pet phrase。
(6)“想得通”意即“达观”或“随遇而安”，故译为philosophical approach to life。
不要抛弃学问(1)
胡适
诸位毕业同学，你们现在要离开母校了，我没有什么礼物送给你们，只好送你
们一句话罢。
这一句话是：“不要抛弃学问。”以前的功课也许有一大部分是为这张文凭，
不得已而做的，从今而后，你们可以依自己的心愿去自由研究了(2)。趁现在年富力强
的时候，努力做一种学问。少年是一去不复返的，等到精力衰时，努力做学问(3)也来
不及了。即为吃饭计，学问决不会辜负人的(4)。吃饭而不求学问，三年五年后，你们
都江堰市要被后来少年淘汰掉的。到那时再想做点学问来补救，恐怕已太晚了。 ↓本↓作↓品↓由↓↓網↓友↓整↓理↓上↓傳↓
有人说：“出去做事之后，生活问题急需解决，哪有工夫去读书？即使要做学
问，既没有图书馆，又没有实验室，哪能做学问？”
我要对你们说：凡是要等到有了图书馆才读书的，有了图书馆也不肯读书。凡
是要等到有了实验室才做研究的，有了实验室也不肯做研究。你有了决心要研究一个
问题，自然会撙衣节食(5)去买书，自然会想出来法子来设置仪器。
至于时间，更不成问题(6)。达尔文一生多病，不能多作工，每天只能做一点钟的
工作。你们看他的成绩！每天花一点钟看10页有用的书，每年可看3600多页书，30
年可读11万页书。
诸位，11万页书可以使你成一个学者了，可是，每天看三种小报也得费你一点
钟的工夫，四圈麻将也得费你一点半钟的光阴。看小报呢，还打麻将呢？还是努力做
一个学者呢？全靠你们自己的选择(7)！
易卜生说：“你的最大责任是把你这块材料铸造成器。”
学问便是铸器的工具。抛弃了学问便是毁了你们自己。
再会了！你们的母校眼睁睁地要看(8)你们十年之后成什么器。
Never Give Up the Pursuit of Learning
Hu Shih
Dear students of the Graduating Class,
As you are leaving your alma mater, I have nothing to offer you as a gift except a
word of advice.
My advice is, “Never give up the pursuit of learning.” You have perhaps finished
your college courses mostly for obtaining the diploma, or, in other words, out of sheer necessity. However, from now you are fr