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Prologue of My Life
没有人怀疑比尔•克林顿能够写出一本非常精彩的回忆录，因为他拥有太多不同寻常的故事可以讲述。他是一个出生卑微的遗腹子，却全凭个人奋斗登上了美国政治权利的顶峰；他的八年总统任期几乎都是在与对手的政治斗争中度过，却取得了美国历任总统中仅次于林肯和肯尼迪的政绩；他几乎因性丑闻遭到弹劾，却仍然是一位举世公认的偶像式魅力人物。如果说克林顿的身上充满了谜，《我的生活》则或多或少揭示了谜底。
When I was a young man just out of law school and eager to get on with my life, on a whim I briefly put aside my reading preference for fiction and history and bought one of those how—to books: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein. The book’s main point was the necessity of listing short—, medium—, and long—term life goals, then categorizing them in order of their importance, with the A group being the most important, and B group next, and the C the last, then listing under each goal specific activities designed to achieve them. I still have that paperback book, now almost thirty years old. And I’m sure I have that old list somewhere buried in my papers, though I can’t find it. However, I do remember the A list. I wanted to be a good man, have a good marriage and children, have good friends, make a successful political life, and write a great book.
Whether I’m a good man is, of course, for God to judge. I know that I am not as good as my strongest supporters believe or as I hope to become, nor as bad as my harshest critics assert. I have been graced beyond measure by my family life with Hillary Chelsea. Like all families lives, ours is not perfect, but it has been wonderful. Its flaws, as all the world knows, are mostly mine, and its continuing promise is grounded in their love. No person I know ever had more or better friends. Indeed, a strong case can be made that I rose to the presidency on the shoulders of my personal friends, the now legendary FOBs.
My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift peoples spirits, and to bring them together. That’s the way I kept score.
As for the great book, who knows? It sure is a good story.
法学院刚毕业那会儿，我还是个小伙子，十分期待着马上开始自己的生活。这时，我突发奇想，把本来想要看的小说和历史书暂时束之高阁，出去买了本“如何做”一类的书：《如何掌控自己的时间和生活》，作者是阿兰•拉金。该书的主要观点是，我们必须开列出自己短期、中期和长期的生活目标，按其重要程度进行分类，例如A组最为重要，B组次之，C组第三等等。然后，在每一个目标下列出实现这些目标的具体行动。这本简装书我依然保留着，距今已近30个年头。我敢肯定，这个单子准还埋藏在某个故纸堆中，尽管一时无从查找。然而，那个A组的单子我还真没忘记。我要当个好人，娶个好老婆，养几个好孩子，交几个好朋友，做个成功的政治家，写一本了不起的书。
当然，我是不是个好人，得由上帝来判断。我知道，自己并没有像我那些铁杆支持者们想像的，或是如我自己所希望的那样好，但也没有像我最严厉的批评者们所说的那样坏。我的家庭生活因为有了希拉里与切尔西而增添光彩。和所有的家庭一样，我们的生活也并非事事如意，但依然温馨美好。其中的瑕疵，正如世人所知，多数因我而起。她们的爱始终给我们的生活带来希望。就我所知，没人比我拥有更多、更好的朋友。的确，我完全有理由认为，正是在这些密友的大力扶持下，我才得以入主白宫，现在他们已成为传奇般的“比尔之友”。
我的政治生活充满了欢乐。我喜欢竞选，我喜欢主政。我总是努力让事情朝着正确的方向发展，给更多人梦想成真的机会，让人们振奋精神，携手共进。我就是这样给自己打分的。
至于那本了不起的书，谁知道呢？但准是个精彩故事。
没有人怀疑比尔•克林顿能够写出一本非常精彩的回忆录，因为他拥有太多不同寻常的故事可以讲述。他是一个出生卑微的遗腹子，却全凭个人奋斗登上了美国政治权利的顶峰；他的八年总统任期几乎都是在与对手的政治斗争中度过，却取得了美国历任总统中仅次于林肯和肯尼迪的政绩；他几乎因性丑闻遭到弹劾，却仍然是一位举世公认的偶像式魅力人物。如果说克林顿的身上充满了谜，《我的生活》则或多或少揭示了谜底。
When I was a young man just out of law school and eager to get on with my life, on a whim I briefly put aside my reading preference for fiction and history and bought one of those how—to books: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein. The book’s main point was the necessity of listing short—, medium—, and long—term life goals, then categorizing them in order of their importance, with the A group being the most important, and B group next, and the C the last, then listing under each goal specific activities designed to achieve them. I still have that paperback book, now almost thirty years old. And I’m sure I have that old list somewhere buried in my papers, though I can’t find it. However, I do remember the A list. I wanted to be a good man, have a good marriage and children, have good friends, make a successful political life, and write a great book.
Whether I’m a good man is, of course, for God to judge. I know that I am not as good as my strongest supporters believe or as I hope to become, nor as bad as my harshest critics assert. I have been graced beyond measure by my family life with Hillary Chelsea. Like all families lives, ours is not perfect, but it has been wonderful. Its flaws, as all the world knows, are mostly mine, and its continuing promise is grounded in their love. No person I know ever had more or better friends. Indeed, a strong case can be made that I rose to the presidency on the shoulders of my personal friends, the now legendary FOBs.
My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift peoples spirits, and to bring them together. That’s the way I kept score.
As for the great book, who knows? It sure is a good story.
法学院刚毕业那会儿，我还是个小伙子，十分期待着马上开始自己的生活。这时，我突发奇想，把本来想要看的小说和历史书暂时束之高阁，出去买了本“如何做”一类的书：《如何掌控自己的时间和生活》，作者是阿兰•拉金。该书的主要观点是，我们必须开列出自己短期、中期和长期的生活目标，按其重要程度进行分类，例如A组最为重要，B组次之，C组第三等等。然后，在每一个目标下列出实现这些目标的具体行动。这本简装书我依然保留着，距今已近30个年头。我敢肯定，这个单子准还埋藏在某个故纸堆中，尽管一时无从查找。然而，那个A组的单子我还真没忘记。我要当个好人，娶个好老婆，养几个好孩子，交几个好朋友，做个成功的政治家，写一本了不起的书。
当然，我是不是个好人，得由上帝来判断。我知道，自己并没有像我那些铁杆支持者们想像的，或是如我自己所希望的那样好，但也没有像我最严厉的批评者们所说的那样坏。我的家庭生活因为有了希拉里与切尔西而增添光彩。和所有的家庭一样，我们的生活也并非事事如意，但依然温馨美好。其中的瑕疵，正如世人所知，多数因我而起。她们的爱始终给我们的生活带来希望。就我所知，没人比我拥有更多、更好的朋友。的确，我完全有理由认为，正是在这些密友的大力扶持下，我才得以入主白宫，现在他们已成为传奇般的“比尔之友”。
我的政治生活充满了欢乐。我喜欢竞选，我喜欢主政。我总是努力让事情朝着正确的方向发展，给更多人梦想成真的机会，让人们振奋精神，携手共进。我就是这样给自己打分的。
至于那本了不起的书，谁知道呢？但准是个精彩故事。