ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lisa Bu - Passionate reader
Lisa Bu has built a career helping people find great stories to listen to. Now she tells her own story.

Why you should listen

At TED's annual staff retreat, everyone has to get up and talk about something -- either about work, or about something interesting from their own lives. In fall 2012, our own Lisa Bu prepared a talk about her love of reading. And our quiet, funny and efficient Content Distribution Manager simply brought down the house, with a story that's too good not to share. We are thrilled and proud that Lisa is the first TED staffer ever to be invited to speak on the mainstage at the TED Conference.

Born and raised in Hunan, China, Lisa Bu has been with TED since 2011. Before that, she spent seven years as a talk show producer and a digital media content director at Wisconsin Public Radio. She's also a computer programmer, with a PhD in journalism and an MBA in information systems from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a BA in Chinese from Nanjing University in China.

More profile about the speaker
Lisa Bu | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind

卜秋靜: 書籍點樣開竅你

Filmed:
4,963,279 views

如果你細個嘅夢想冇成真會點樣?隨著卜秋靜適應咗美國嘅生活,她向書籍尋求心靈解藥,為自己開闢一條新嘅人生道路。喺呢場動人、個人嘅演講裡面,她向我哋分享咗她特別嘅閱讀方法,仲有書籍嘅神奇力量。
- Passionate reader
Lisa Bu has built a career helping people find great stories to listen to. Now she tells her own story. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
So I was trained訓練 to become成為 a gymnast體操運動員
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七十年代,我曾經喺中國湖南省
00:15
for two years in Hunan湖南, China中國 in the 1970s.
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接受咗兩年嘅體操運動員訓練
00:18
When I was in the first grade年級, the government政府
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到小學一年級嘅時候
當地政府想將我轉去一間體育學校就讀
00:21
wanted to transfer轉移 me to a school學校 for athletes運動員,
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00:24
all expenses使用 paid支付.
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全部公數
00:26
But my tiger老虎 mother母親 said, "No."
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但係我嘅虎媽唔肯
00:28
My parents父母 wanted me to become成為
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我爸爸媽媽都希望我
可以好似佢哋咁做工程師
00:30
an engineer工程師 like them.
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00:33
After surviving生存 the Cultural文化 Revolution革命,
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佢哋經歷過文化大革命
00:35
they firmly堅決 believed相信 there's only one sure way to happiness幸福:
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於是堅定認為
要得到幸福只有一個途徑
00:38
a safe安全 and well-paid高薪 job工作.
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就係搵到一份又穩定又高收入嘅工作
00:41
It is not important重要 if I like the job工作 or not.
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佢哋覺得我鍾唔鍾意份工根本唔重要
00:44
But my dream夢想 was to become成為 a Chinese中文 opera歌劇 singer歌手.
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但係我當時嘅夢想係成為中國歌劇家
00:49
That is me playing my imaginary虛構 piano鋼琴.
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哩幅相係我想像緊彈緊鋼琴
00:53
An opera歌劇 singer歌手 must必須 start初時 training培訓 young年輕
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一個歌劇家要從細細個開始訓練
00:55
to learn學習 acrobatics雜技,
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學體操技巧
00:57
so I tried試過 everything I could to go to opera歌劇 school學校.
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我千方百計令自己入到歌劇學校
01:00
I even wrote to the school學校 principal主要
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甚至乎我寫信畀校長
同埋一個電台節目主持人
01:02
and the host主機 of a radio無線電 show顯示.
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01:05
But no adults成人 liked中意 the idea想法.
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但係,無一個大人接受我嘅諗法
01:09
No adults成人 believed相信 I was serious嚴重.
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無人相信我係認真嘅
01:11
Only my friends朋友 supported支持 me, but they were kids孩子,
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只有我嘅朋友支持我
但係佢哋始終都係細路
都係無話事權嘅
01:15
just as powerless無能為力 as I was.
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01:17
So at age年齡 15, I knew I was too old to be trained訓練.
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等到我 15 歲
我知道我年紀太大,唔再適合訓練
01:23
My dream夢想 would never come true真係.
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而我嘅夢想永遠都唔會成真
01:26
I was afraid害怕 that for the rest休息 of my life
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當時我驚喺我嘅餘生裡面
01:29
some second-class二級 happiness幸福
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我只能夠爭取唔係我最想要嘅幸福
01:31
would be the best最好 I could hope希望 for.
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01:34
But that's so unfair公平.
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一切一切,實在太唔公平喇!
01:36
So I was determined確定 to find another另一個 calling.
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於是乎,我決定再為自己確立一個夢想
01:40
Nobody around to teach me? Fine.
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身邊無人可以教我?
無問題,我自己喺書本度學
01:43
I turned打開 to books.
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01:45
I satisfied滿意 my hunger飢餓 for parental父母 advice建議
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我喺《傅雷家書》搵到
我想要嘅父母意見
01:49
from this book by a family家庭 of writers作家 and musicians音樂家.["Correspondence通信 in the Family家庭 of Fou Lei"]
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哩本書收錄身為作家嘅父母
同身為音樂家嘅兒子之間來往嘅信件
01:54
I found發現 my role作用 model模型 of an independent獨立 woman女人
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喺《簡愛》裏面
我搵到獨立自強嘅女性模範
01:57
when Confucian儒家 tradition傳統 requires需要 obedience服從.["Jane Eyre"]
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而唔係孔子儒家所要求嘅三從四德
02:01
And I learned to be efficient有效 from this book.["Cheaper by the Dozen"]
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由《兒女一籮筐》哩本書
我學識點樣提高工作效率
02:04
And I was inspired啟發 to study研究 abroad國外 after reading閲讀 these.
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讀咗哩兩本書之後,我立志出國讀書 ︰
02:08
["Complete完成 Works工程 of Sanmao三毛" (aka Echo囘波 Chan議員)] ["Lessons From History歷史" by Nan Huaijin南怀瑾]
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[ 三毛《三毛流浪記》、
南懷瑾《歷史的經驗》]
02:10
I came to the U.S. in 1995,
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1995 年,我嚟到美國
02:14
so which books did I read here first?
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我諗喺度我應該讀咩書先?
02:16
Books banned禁止 in China中國, of course課程.
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答案肯定係中國嘅禁書啦
02:20
"The Good Earth地球" is about Chinese中文 peasant農民 life.
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《大地》講嘅係中國農民嘅故事
02:24
That's just not convenient方便 for propaganda宣傳. Got it.
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所以不利於中國政府嘅思想教育
02:28
The Bible聖經 is interesting有趣, but strange奇怪.
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聖經幾有趣,但係始終有啲奇怪
02:31
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:34
That's a topic主題 for a different不同 day.
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我哋可以擇日再講聖經
02:37
But the fifth commandment誡命 gave me an epiphany頓悟:
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但係十誡嘅第五誡令我明白到一點:
02:41
"You shall honor榮譽 your father老竇 and mother母親."
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「 你應該以你嘅父母為榮。 」
02:44
"Honor榮譽," I said. "That's so different不同,
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我當時諗「為榮」同「順從」好唔同
02:47
and better, than obey服從."
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「為榮」要比「順從」仲好
02:48
So it becomes成為 my tool工具 to climb out
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哩本書幫我走出儒家道德嘅規條
02:51
of this Confucian儒家 guilt內疚 trap陷阱
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02:53
and to restart重新啟動 my relationship關係 with my parents父母.
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亦都幫我同父母之間建立新關係
02:57
Encountering遇到 a new新增功能 culture文化 also started初時 my habit習慣
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美國嘅新文化亦都令我養成
比較閱讀嘅習慣
03:00
of comparative比較 reading閲讀.
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03:02
It offers提供 many好多 insights見解.
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比較閱讀令我睇到好多
03:04
For example例子, I found發現 this map地圖 out of place地方 at first
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例如,當我第一次見到哩幅地圖
就覺得唔順眼
03:09
because this is what Chinese中文 students學生 grew增長 up with.
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因為哩幅係中國學生
由細睇到大嘅世界地圖
我從來都無睇過呢幅地圖
03:14
It had never occurred發生 to me,
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中國唔一定要喺世界嘅中心
03:15
China中國 doesn't have to be at the center中心 of the world世界.
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03:18
A map地圖 actually講真 carries進行 somebody's view视图.
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地圖往往反映主觀嘅睇法
03:22
Comparative比較 reading閲讀 actually講真 is nothing new新增功能.
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事實上,比較閱讀並唔係乜嘢新鮮
03:25
It's a standard標準 practice實踐 in the academic學術 world世界.
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學術世界裡面,比較閱讀係家常便飯
03:28
There are even research研究 fields領域
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甚至已經自成一個研究領域
03:30
such as comparative比較 religion宗教 and comparative比較 literature文學.
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例如比較宗教、比較文學
03:34
Compare比較 and contrast對比 gives scholars學者
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比較同對比可以令學者
對某個話題有更全面嘅理解
03:36
a more complete完成 understanding理解 of a topic主題.
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03:39
So I thought, well, if comparative比較 reading閲讀
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所以我諗,既然比較閱讀對研究有用
03:41
works工程 for research研究, why not do it in daily日常 life too?
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點解唔可以用喺日常生活度?
03:44
So I started初時 reading閲讀 books in pairs.
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所以我每次睇書
都會擺第二本書做比較
哩啲書可以係有關人物
03:48
So they can be about people --
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03:49
["Benjamin本杰明 Franklin富蘭克林" by Walter沃尔特 Isaacson艾萨克森]["John約翰 Adams亚当斯" by David大衛 McCullough麦卡洛] --
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[ 沃爾特 · 以撒森《本傑明 · 佛蘭克林》、
大衛 · 麥考夫《約翰 · 亞當》]
03:50
who are involved涉及 in the same相同 event事件,
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而哩啲人物都經歷過同樣嘅事件
或者做過朋友,共過患難
03:52
or friends朋友 with shared共享 experiences經驗.
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03:55
["Personal History歷史" by Katharine凯瑟琳 Graham格雷厄姆]["The Snowball雪球: Warren沃伦 Buffett巴菲特 and the Business業務 of Life," by Alice愛麗絲 Schroeder施罗德]
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[ 凱薩琳 · 格雷厄姆《個人歷史》、
愛麗絲 · 施羅德《滾雪球:巴菲特自傳》]
03:56
I also compare比較 the same相同 stories故事 in different不同 genres流派 -- (Laughter笑聲)
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我亦都會比較相同情節
但唔同敍事手法嘅文學作品(笑聲)
04:01
[Holy神聖 Bible聖經: King國王 James詹姆斯 Version版本]["Lamb羔羊" by ChrisopherChrisopher Moore摩爾] --
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[ 金 · 詹姆斯版本《聖經》、
克里斯多夫 · 摩爾《羔羊》]
04:03
or similar類似 stories故事 from different不同 cultures文化,
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又或者嚟自唔同文化但相似內容嘅故事
04:06
as Joseph约瑟夫 Campbell坎贝尔 did in his wonderful美妙 book.["The Power權力 of Myth神話" by Joseph约瑟夫 Campbell坎贝尔]
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就好似約瑟夫 · 坎貝爾
喺佢嗰本書《神話嘅力量》中提到
04:09
For example例子, both the Christ基督 and the Buddha
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例如,耶穌同佛陀
兩個人都曾經遇到過三種誘惑
04:12
went through透過 three temptations誘惑.
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04:15
For the Christ基督, the temptations誘惑
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對耶穌嚟講,誘惑都係
經濟、政治、精神上嘅
04:17
are economic經濟, political政治 and spiritual精神.
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04:21
For the Buddha, they are all psychological心理:
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對於佛陀嚟講,誘惑都係心理嘅:
情慾、恐懼、社會責任
04:25
lust欲望, fear恐懼 and social社會 duty責任 -- interesting有趣.
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——都幾有趣
04:32
So if you know a foreign外國 language語言, it's also fun有趣
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所以如果你識得一門外語
咁將原文同譯文一齊讀都極有意思
04:35
to read your favorite中意 books in two languages語言.
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[ 湯瑪斯 · 梅頓翻譯嘅《莊子》、
艾倫 · 華特斯譯嘅《道德經》]
04:37
["The Way of Chuang Tzu" Thomas托马斯 Merton默顿]["Tao: The Watercourse河道 Way" Alan艾倫 Watts]
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04:38
Instead相反 of lost失去 in translation翻譯, I found發現 there is much to gain獲得.
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有人覺得翻譯會令文字嘅意藴損失
但我反而覺得有收穫
04:42
For example例子, it's through透過 translation翻譯 that I realized實現
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例如,通過翻譯
我意識到中文嘅 「 快樂 」
04:46
"happiness幸福" in Chinese中文 literally從字面上 means意味着 "fast快速 joy喜悅." Huh!
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字面上可以理解成
「短暫嘅愉悅」。嗯!
04:52
"Bride新娘" in Chinese中文 literally從字面上 means意味着 "new新增功能 mother母親." Uh-oh呃喔.
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中文「新娘」字面上解
「新嘅媽媽」。哦!
04:57
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:01
Books have given me a magic魔法 portal門戶 to connect連接 with people
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書本係我哋同古人、現代人
溝通聯繫嘅一個神奇通道
05:06
of the past過去 and the present目前.
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05:09
I know I shall never feel lonely孤獨 or powerless無能為力 again.
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我知道我唔應該再覺得寂寞或者弱小
05:13
Having a dream夢想 shattered粉碎 really is nothing
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相較於其他人經歷過嘅嘢
05:16
compared比較 to what many好多 others have suffered遭受.
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一個夢想破碎其實都唔係啲乜
05:19
I have come to believe that coming true真係
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我開始相信夢想並唔剩係用嚟實現
05:21
is not the only purpose目的 of a dream夢想.
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佢最重要嘅一個意義就係
05:25
Its most important重要 purpose目的 is to get us in touch
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可以畀我哋嚟到夢想來源嘅地方
05:29
with where dreams夢想 come from,
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05:31
where passion激情 comes from, where happiness幸福 comes from.
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熱情嘅源頭、同快樂嘅根源
05:34
Even a shattered粉碎 dream夢想 can do that for you.
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就算一個已經破碎嘅夢想
都可以有咁嘅意義
05:38
So because of books, I'm here today今日,
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因為書本
我今日大部分時間先可以開心咁生活
05:40
happy快樂, living生活 again with a purpose目的 and a clarity清晰,
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我嘅生命先可以有返目標同埋變得清晰
05:44
most of the time.
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05:45
So may可能 books be always with you.
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但願書籍永遠陪伴著你
05:49
Thank you.
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多謝
05:50
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
05:52
Thank you. (Applause掌聲)
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多謝
(掌聲)
05:56
Thank you. (Applause掌聲)
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多謝
(掌聲)

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lisa Bu - Passionate reader
Lisa Bu has built a career helping people find great stories to listen to. Now she tells her own story.

Why you should listen

At TED's annual staff retreat, everyone has to get up and talk about something -- either about work, or about something interesting from their own lives. In fall 2012, our own Lisa Bu prepared a talk about her love of reading. And our quiet, funny and efficient Content Distribution Manager simply brought down the house, with a story that's too good not to share. We are thrilled and proud that Lisa is the first TED staffer ever to be invited to speak on the mainstage at the TED Conference.

Born and raised in Hunan, China, Lisa Bu has been with TED since 2011. Before that, she spent seven years as a talk show producer and a digital media content director at Wisconsin Public Radio. She's also a computer programmer, with a PhD in journalism and an MBA in information systems from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a BA in Chinese from Nanjing University in China.

More profile about the speaker
Lisa Bu | Speaker | TED.com