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Six long decades ago George Marshall, the American secretary of state, delivered the commencement speech at Harvard University's graduation ceremony. Back then, in 1947, he did not feel the need to pander to his young audience: instead of offering anecdotes about his own life or giving career advice, he delivered a lofty appeal to the American people to save the war-battered continent of Europe. 六十年前，时任美国国务卿的乔治•马歇尔(George Marshall)在哈佛大学(Harvard University)的毕业典礼上致辞。当时（1947年），马歇尔并未感到有必要去迎合那些年轻的听众；他没有分享自己的人生趣事或是给出职业建议，而是高屋建瓴地呼吁美国人民去拯救战后满目疮痍的欧洲大陆。 “The truth of the matter is that Europe's requirements for the next three or four years of foreign food and other essential products - principally from America - are so much greater than her present ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help,” Marshall solemnly told the students as he outlined, for the first time, his putative “Marshall plan”. “The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and restoring the confidence of the European people.” 马歇尔严肃地告诉台下的学生们：“事实上，欧洲在未来三到四年间需要外国（主要是美国）提供的食品以及其他重要物资，远远超过了欧洲目前的支付能力，因此欧洲必须得到大量额外援助。”这是他首次阐述所谓 “马歇尔计划”的政策纲要。他说：“解决问题的关键在于打破当前的恶性循环，并让欧洲民众重拾信心。” | 
