1. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

善待令你讨厌的人。很有可能，你最后会为其中之一工作。

2. Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got thatway from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are.So, before you save the rain forest from the parasites¹ of your parents’ generation, try delousingthe closet in your own room.

在你出生前，你父母的生活还未像现在这般劳心劳力，单调无趣。现在，他们得忧心你的账单，为你洗衣打扫，聆听你对自己的夸夸其谈，洋洋得意，他们的生活变得枯燥乏味。在你雄心壮志的想要救万民于水火之前，先整理干净房间里的衣柜，一屋不扫何以扫天下。

3. The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The worldwill expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

世界并不在意个人自尊。自我陶醉前，它冀望你能先有所成就。

4. You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won’t be avice-president with a car phone, until you earn both.

高中一毕业就想一蹴而就，坐拥4万年薪，这是不切实际的。你也不可能摇身一变成为副总，享有携带电话的轿车，这都得靠你自己打拼而来。

5. If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure².

如果你觉得你的老师十分苛刻严厉，那么等着瞧你的老板吧。老板可没有任期限制。

6. Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has not. In some schoolsthey have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the rightanswer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

学校不以成败论英雄，生活却并非如此。一些学校废除不及格制，给予学生充足的时间找寻正确答案。这与现实生活截然不同。

7. If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine³ about your mistakes, learn fromthem.

你的一败涂地与父母无尤，不要喋喋不休的抱怨个不停，应该汲取教训，从中获益。

8. Flipping⁴ burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word forburger flipping - they called it opportunity.

君子并非定要远庖厨，做汉堡也不意味着折损尊严。你的祖父母对之另有解释，他们将之称为机遇。

9. Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers areinterested in helping⁵ you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

生活不分学期，没有暑假，很少有老板有兴趣帮你找寻自我。自己动手丰衣足食吧！

10. Television is NOT real life (nor are video games). In real life people actually have to leavethe coffee shop and go to jobs.

电视上演的与真实生活大相径庭（电子游戏同样如此）。实际上，现实生活中，人们不得不离开咖啡店，回去为生计奔波。

11. Life is not fair - get used to it.

人生不公，泰然处之。