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确实，总有一些人，得到的比他付出的多。对此我有切身体验，因为我从萨斯喀彻温大学所得到的一切都证明了这一点。母校给了我很高的荣誉，但是，从心底里，我今天来是为了赞颂我的母校。
Sometimes we get more than we deserve. I know this, because it is how I have always felt, about what I received from the University of Saskatchewan. The university has honored me, but really, I am here today to honor the university.
30 年前的 1987 年，我和我妻子和我决定走出国门，看看外边的世界。如果你在北京的地下室住过，渴望换一种风景，没有什么比加拿大辽阔的草原风光，会给你带来更震撼的体验（笑声）。
Exactly thirty years ago in 1987, my wife Ling and I decided that we were ready to see the world beyond China. If you had lived in a basement in Beijing, and desire a change of scenery, it doesn’t get any more different than the Canadian prairie.
我妻子申请了这里的音乐系，立即得到了录取。而我，却不得不耐心等待。兜里装着全部家当一百美元，我去了美国华盛顿打工。这样，我妻子一个人生活在萨斯卡通，与她的小提琴为伴。而我，在离她三千公里之外一家叫“春卷先生”的中餐厅，当了一名厨房小工（笑声）。
Ling applied to study music here and was immediately accepted. I, on the other hand, had to wait. I went to Washington, D.C., with a hundred dollars in my pocket, and found a job. So my wife was alone with her violin in Saskatoon. I was three thousand kilometers away on the kitchen staff of Mr. Eggroll.
幸福，终于随着萨斯喀彻温大学给我的录取通知书降临。
连续三天三夜在一辆灰狗大巴上渡过，对谁可能都是一种折磨，但我却一路欢快、一路亢奋地抵达了萨斯喀彻温（笑声）。
我和我妻子都获得了全额奖学金。
这是改变我们命运的决定性因素。每月如期而至的支票，超过当时我在北大教书好几年的收入。
那些与我们素昧平生的人们，为什么要给我们如此巨额的金钱？这在我心灵深处引起的震撼，从此再也不能平息。
The happy day came when I was also accepted at this university. Nobody was ever as excited as I was to spend three days on a Greyhound bus to Saskatchewan. Ling and I had both received scholarships. That made all the difference for us. The same amount of money would have taken many years to earn in China at that time. We were amazed that such a gift could be granted by people who did not even know us.
满怀着挚爱之情，我想起我的研究生导师 David Kaplan 博士的仁爱胸怀。认识他的人，都会感到认识他是一种幸运。他是音乐系的创始人。对于我们外国留学生而言，他是淙淙流淌的友谊、帮助和鼓励的源泉。Kaplan 博士是我生命中一盏明灯，指引着我
像他帮助我一样去帮助别人。
With special affection, I recall the generous spirit of Dr. David Kaplan. If you knew him, it was a privilege. He was the founder of the music department. To many foreign students, he was a source of constant help, friendship, and encouragement. Often in my life, Dr. Kaplan’s example has shined before me, a reminder to share with others as he shared with me.
学校给予我的一切是如此美好，但校园外的生活可并不总是那么阳光明媚。毕业不久我就意识到，做一名音乐人难以维持生计。人们虽然喜欢听莫扎特和巴赫的音乐，但他们并不急着聆听我的演奏（笑声）。我成立了自己的音乐公司，但公司生意惨淡。我谱写并录制民谣，但它们只在谣言里存在（笑声）。
I received so much from the University in those years, but life beyond campus was not nearly as forgiving. Upon graduation, it didn't take long for me to realize that I would not make my fortune as a performing musician. As much as the world loves the sounds of Mozart and Bach, the world was not waiting to hear them from my violin. I started my own music business, but business was slow. I wrote and recorded folksongs, but the folks were not listening.
这段时间对于我来说的确是举步维艰。我在家看孩子，靠我妻子教书养家。
我也尝试做过各种各样的工作，其中一种工作，对速度节奏和交割时效要求极高——在座如果有人在 1995 年叫过必胜客披萨的外卖，我们很可能曾经有缘相逢（笑声）。
It was truly a difficult period for me. I watched our children at home while my wife taught school. I took various jobs, including one job that involved fast-paced and time-sensitive transactions. If anyone here received a delivery from Pizza Hut in 1995, there is a good chance we have met before.
