公众人物毕业演讲第27期:比尔盖茨夫妇于斯坦福大学(8)

I was so taken aback by what I saw that I had to askmyself,

亲眼所见的情形让我非常惊讶 我不得不问自己

did I still believe that innovation could solve theworld's toughest problems?

我还相信创新能够解决世界上最困难的问题吗

I promised myself that before I came back to Africa,

我许下承诺 要在下次回到非洲之前

I would find out more about what keeps people poor.

更了解到底是什么导致了人们的持续贫穷

Over the years, Melinda and I did learn more about the pressing needs of the poor.

这些年来 我和梅琳达确实更了解了穷人的急切需求

On a later trip to South Africa,

在之后一次去南非的过程中

I paid a visit to a hospital for patients with MDR-TB,

我造访了一家治疗MDR-TB病人的医院

multidrug resistant tuberculosis,

MDR-TB也就是多耐药肺结核

a disease with a cure rate of under 50%.

这种疾病的治愈率低于50%

I remember that hospital as a place of despair.

我还记得 那所医院是一个充满绝望的地方

It was a giant open ward,

一个开放式的巨大病房中

with a sea of patients shuffling around in pajamas, wearing masks.

到处都是身着病服和口罩 拖着沉重步伐走动的病人

There was one floor just for children, including some babies lying in bed.

有一层楼专门容纳儿童病人 包括刚出生不久的婴儿

They had a little school for kids who were well enough to learn,

这里还有一所小型学校 为身体条件足够好的孩子们准备

but many of the children couldn't make it,

但很多孩子都没好转到能够上学

and the hospital didn't seem to know whether it was worth it to keep the school open.

医院不知道开这么一所学校 是否有些不值得