English Story

Giving degrees 授予学位

Woodrow Wilson disapproved very strongly of indiscriminate(无差别的) giving of honorary degrees when he was president of Princeton University.
 
He said, "Our universities have learned recently to give honorary degrees carefully. But in the past it was very promiscuous(混杂的). I had met a n uncouth(笨拙的) person who had three degrees, but then he spoke and behaved very rudely."
 
I asked an acquaintance why it was. He said, "Well, the third was given because he had had two. He was given the second because he had had one, and he was given the first because he had gone."
 
伍德罗·威尔逊当普凌斯顿大学的校长时,强烈反对随便给人授予荣誉学位。
 
他说:“我们的大学最近才懂得授予授予荣誉学位要慎重,以前却是很随便的。我曾遇见一个很粗鲁的人,他有三个这样的学位,可是他的言谈举止很不文明。”
 
我问一个熟人为什么这个人能得到三个荣誉学位,他说:“授予他第三个学位是因为他已有了两个,给他第二个是因为他已有了一个,而给他第一个则是因为他没有学位。”