Randy Pausch是美国卡内基梅隆大学的计算机科学、人机交互及设计教授。2006年9月，他被诊断患有胰腺癌。2007年9月18日，他在卡内基梅隆大学做了一场风靡全美的“最后的演讲”，根据这次演讲，他出版的“The Last Lecture”一书则成为亚马逊网站上最为畅销的书籍之一。Randy教授所传达的讯息之所以如此震撼人心，是因为他以诚恳、幽默的态度去分享他独特的经验。他谈的不是死亡，而是人生中的重要议题，包括克服障碍、实现儿时梦想、帮助别人实现梦想、把握每一个时刻……

Hints:
作者的每个童年梦想都是一句话。
NFL
World Book
Captain Kirk
Disney Imagineer
4 The Parent Lottery
titanium
World War II medic
the Battle of the Bulge
inner-city Baltimore
Columbia
Maryland
frugal
My childhood dreams: Being in zero gravity. Playing in the NFL. Authoring an article in the World Book encyclopedia. Being Captain Kirk. Winning stuffed animals. Being a Disney Imagineer. 4 The Parent Lottery I won the parent lottery. I was born with the winning ticket, a major reason I was able to live out my childhood dreams. My mother was a tough old-school English teacher with nerves of titanium. She worked her students hard, enduring those parents who complained that she expected too much from kids. As her son, I knew a thing or two about her high expectations, and that became my good fortune. My dad was a World War II medic who served in the Battle of the Bulge. He founded a nonprofit group to help immigrants' kids learn English. And for his livelihood, he ran a small business which sold auto insurance in inner-city Baltimore. His clients were mostly poor people with bad credit histories or few resources, and he'd find a way to get them insured and on the road. For a million reasons, my dad was my hero. I grew up comfortably middle class in Columbia, Maryland. Money was never an issue in our house, mostly because my parents never saw a need to spend much. They were frugal to a fault. We rarely went out to dinner. We'd see a movie maybe once or twice a year. "Watch TV," my parents would say. "It's free. Or better yet, go to the library. Get a book."
我的童年梦想：感受0重力；在橄榄球联盟打球。在百科全书上发表文章；成为科克船长；赢得填充动物玩具；成为迪士尼幻想工程师。 4. 家长彩票 我的家长彩票中奖了。随着彩票的中奖，我活得了重生，我能够实现自己儿时的梦想了。 我的母亲是一所老学校的英语教师，她很坚强。她努力的为学生们工作，承受着那些对孩子有太多期望的家长们的抱怨。 作为她的儿子，我知道一些关于她的很高的期望，而这些期望为我带来了好运。 我的父亲是二战的医师，他参加了突出部战役。他建立了一个非营利性的组织来帮助移民的孩子学英语。在他的一生中，他做了一个小生意-----在巴尔的摩市中心卖汽车保险。他的客户尽是些穷人，并且有不好的借贷信用或是几乎没什么财力。他想出了让他们买保险的办法，并且到处奔走。有一万个理由可以认为我的爸爸是我的英雄。 我在马里兰的哥伦比亚的不错的中产阶级家庭中长大。钱从来都不是问题。大部分是因为我的父母从来没有什么需要花太多的钱。他们非常节约。我们很少在外面吃晚餐。我们一年只看一两次电影。“看电视。”我的父母说，“那是免费的。或者最好去图书馆。节借本书看。” ——译文来自: 黑暗城堡魔女