哈佛大学校园英语情景对话36：法学院之争（mp3+中英）

Han Meimei and Li Lei are talking about law schools.
H： Li Lei, did I tell you that I have full intent to go straight to law school after undergrad uate, although I’m still in high school?

H:李雷，我告诉过你我打算在毕业之后直接读法律吗？虽然我现在仍然还在读高中。

L： No, but it’s good for you to set high goals for yourself so that you can push yourself to meet and exceed① them.

没有。但你为你自己设定高的目标对你来说是件好事。这样你就可以推动自己, 并满足和超越目标。

H: But I can’t decide on a law school.

但我现在不能够决定进哪一个法学院。

L： Don’t you plan to come to Harvard Law School?

你不打算去哈佛法学院吗？

H: I have my heart set on attending Harvard, but I know that Yale Law School always ranks first in the rankings of top law schools. This year, Yale stays No. 1 while Harvard Law School only ranks the second. Should I be aiming more for Yale than Harvard?

我一心想读哈佛,但我知道耶鲁法学院经常在顶尖的法学院的排行榜中排名第一。 今年，耶鲁仍然保持第一，而哈佛才排名第二。这样我是否应该瞄准耶鲁而多过 哈佛呢？

L: Definitely, many people are pitting Harvard against Yale. From my personal point of view, however, if you get into both, flip a coin, you'll be fine either way.

确实，很多人经常把哈佛和耶鲁比较。但对于我来说，如果你不知道选择哪个好 的话，你可以抛硬币，这样无论是哪种结果都不赖。

H: I thought so, but..,

我也觉得是。但……

L: I believe at either place you’re going to get a great education and get a great job.If I could give you one piece of advise it would be this: forget reputation. It can be very tempting to choose Yale because it’s the number one school in nation or Harvard because it’s Harvard.

我相信，这两个地方的任何一个，都可以让你得到很好的教育，也都可以找到一 份很好的工作。如果我能结你一点建议的话，那应该是:忘记声誉。选择耶鲁会是 件很诱人的事情，因为它在美国是排名第一的法学院，或者选择哈佛,因为它是哈佛。

H： Yes, Fve been tom between the two choices.

我在这两个选择中都快崩渍了。

L: When you，re deciding between these two schools I can’t emphasize too much how little this matters. Everyone has heard of both schools, and everyone will say, “Oh，wow!” when you tell them which school you attend.

当你正在这两个学院中选择决定的时候，这根本就不是什么大问题。每个人都听 说过这两所学校，当你告诉他们你上哪个学校时，每个人都会说，"哦，哇！ ”。

H: Despite this，I do hear that Yale’s pressure-alleviating and very “lenient". To an extent of course, grading system of “Honors，Pass, Fail” is given any less respect from top firms than the standard GPA/Rank system at HLS?

尽管这样，我确实听说耶鲁大学压力是比较小的，也很宽松。在某个程度来说， 与哈佛商学院的平均分评分系统相比，耶鲁的"优异、及格、不及格”的评分方 式不太被一流公司重视认可。

L： I don’t think there is any evidence that firms on the whole give less respect to Yale Law grads than Harvard Law grads. Do you have any evidence to suggest that ?

我不认为有任何的证据可以证明所有的企 业都对哈佛毕业生的重视多于对耶鲁的。你有什么证据来证明吗?

H： No, but it’s said so.

没有，但据说是这样的。

L: Yes, there may be some firms that prefer the harder approach of Harvard, but there are other firms that prefer the softer approach of Yale.

是的。也许有些企业选择哈佛这个较为 强硬的方式，但有些其他的企业会选择耶 鲁较为柔和的方式。

H: Thank you, because that clears up nothing.

谢谢你！因为这等于没说。

L: Don’t get hot and bothered. One thing that may cause a few firms to shy away from Yale Law is the predilection of Yale Law grads to not want to work in firms. They are in favor of other career paths, like academia, clerkships, or politics.

别火呀。造成某些企业回避耶鲁法学院的其中一个原因是耶鲁毕业生不太偏向于 进公司，他们更喜欢其他职业道路，比如学术、法律办事员或政治。

H： Do they?

是这样吗？

L： Yes, maybe firms shying away from Yale Law graduates because they’re scared that they’ll quit to go run for President. That’s an exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

是的，可能企业回避耶鲁法学院的毕业生，是因为他们害怕这些毕业生将会离职 而去竞选总统。这是夸张的说法，但我想你懂我的意思。

H: Then how on earth can I pick one? "

那么我到底应该选择哪个呢？

L: There’re some differences between the teaching methods of the two schools. YLS is more interested in the philosophy of the laws, while Harvard's approach is to examine the application of the law.

两个学院的教学方式有些不一样。耶鲁更多的是专注于法律哲学，而哈佛方法是考查法律的应用。

H: Oh, I see. I’m more interested in practice.

H:哦，我明白了。我对应用实践更感兴趣。

L： So pick the one that will make you happy. For most of us these are the very last years we will ever spend in school. Why not enjoy them?
 

L:所以选择一个可以让你开心的学校吧。对于我们大部分的人来说，这将是我们在 学校度过的最后一些年头了。为什么不好好享受它呢？