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

卜秋静:书籍如何成为心灵解药

Filmed:
4,963,279 views

当你从小就有的梦想无法成真,该怎么办呢?卜秋静一面适应在美国的新生活,一面从书籍中寻找解药、另辟事业路径。她在这个可爱坦诚的演讲里分享她的独特读书方法和书籍的神奇力量。
- 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熟练 to become成为 a gymnast体操运动员
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七十年代时我在中国湖南练过两年体操。
00:15
for two years年份 in Hunan湖南, China中国 in the 1970s.
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七十年代时我在中国湖南练过两年体操。
00:18
When I was in the first grade年级, the government政府
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当我上小学一年级时,政府想让我转学去体校,
00:21
wanted to transfer转让 me to a school学校 for athletes运动员,
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当我上小学一年级时,政府想让我转学去体校,
00:24
all expenses花费 paid支付.
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一切免费。
00:26
But my tiger mother母亲 said, "No."
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我那位虎妈说“不行”。
00:28
My parents父母 wanted me to become成为
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我父母希望我长大象他们一样当工程师。
00:30
an engineer工程师 like them.
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我父母希望我长大象他们一样当工程师。
00:33
After surviving幸存 the Cultural文化 Revolution革命,
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作为文革的幸存者,
00:35
they firmly牢牢 believed相信 there's only one sure way to happiness幸福:
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他们坚定认为获得幸福的唯一可靠途径
00:38
a safe安全 and well-paid高薪 job工作.
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是一个安定高薪的工作,
00:41
It is not important重要 if I like the job工作 or not.
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至于我喜不喜欢那个工作并不重要。
00:44
But my dream梦想 was to become成为 a Chinese中文 opera歌剧 singer歌手.
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但我的梦想是成为黄梅戏演员。
00:49
That is me playing播放 my imaginary假想 piano钢琴.
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那是我在弹假想的钢琴。
00:53
An opera歌剧 singer歌手 must必须 start开始 training训练 young年轻
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戏曲演员必须从小开始学身段功夫,
00:55
to learn学习 acrobatics杂技,
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戏曲演员必须从小开始学身段功夫,
00:57
so I tried试着 everything I could to go to opera歌剧 school学校.
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我想尽了一切办法想去黄梅戏学校,
01:00
I even wrote to the school学校 principal主要
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甚至写信给戏校校长
01:02
and the host主办 of a radio无线电 show显示.
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和一个电台节目主持人。
01:05
But no adults成年人 liked喜欢 the idea理念.
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但没有一个大人喜欢那个主意,
01:09
No adults成年人 believed相信 I was serious严重.
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没有一个大人相信我是认真的。
01:11
Only my friends朋友 supported支持的 me, but they were kids孩子,
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只有我的小伙伴们支持我,但他们也是小孩,
01:15
just as powerless无力 as I was.
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和我一样无能为力。
01:17
So at age年龄 15, I knew知道 I was too old to be trained熟练.
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十五岁时,我知道自己要学戏已经年纪太大,
01:23
My dream梦想 would never come true真正.
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我的梦想已不再可能实现。
01:26
I was afraid害怕 that for the rest休息 of my life
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我担心在余下的一生里,
01:29
some second-class二等 happiness幸福
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自己的命就是得到些二流幸福而已。
01:31
would be the best最好 I could hope希望 for.
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自己的命就是得到些二流幸福而已。
01:34
But that's so unfair不公平.
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老天不公啊!
01:36
So I was determined决心 to find another另一个 calling调用.
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我暗下决心要为自己寻找另一个使命 。
01:40
Nobody没有人 around to teach me? Fine.
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周围无人赐教?没什么大不了,
01:43
I turned转身 to books图书.
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我从书中学习。
01:45
I satisfied满意 my hunger饥饿 for parental父母 advice忠告
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《傅雷家书》满足了我对长辈教诲的期盼,
01:49
from this book by a family家庭 of writers作家 and musicians音乐家.["Correspondence对应 in the Family家庭 of Fou Lei花环"]
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写书的傅家是一个作家、音乐家荟萃的家庭。
01:54
I found发现 my role角色 model模型 of an independent独立 woman女人
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我从《简爱》这本书中找到了独立女性的榜样,
01:57
when Confucian儒家 tradition传统 requires要求 obedience服从.["Jane Eyre艾尔"]
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尽管儒家传统教人听话顺从。
02:01
And I learned学到了 to be efficient高效 from this book.["Cheaper便宜 by the Dozen"]
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我从《效率专家爸爸》这本书中学会高效率。
02:04
And I was inspired启发 to study研究 abroad国外 after reading these.
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这几本书燃起了我对出国深造的渴望。
02:08
["Complete完成 Works作品 of Sanmao三毛" (aka又名 Echo回声 Chan)] ["Lessons教训 From History历史" by Nan HuaijinHuaijin]
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(《三毛全集》、南怀瑾的《历史的经验》)
02:10
I came来了 to the U.S. in 1995,
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我1995年来美国,
02:14
so which哪一个 books图书 did I read here first?
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在美国我首先读什么书呢?
02:16
Books图书 banned取缔 in China中国, of course课程.
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当然是中国的禁书。
02:20
"The Good Earth地球" is about Chinese中文 peasant life.
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《大地》讲的是中国农民的故事,
02:24
That's just not convenient方便 for propaganda宣传. Got it.
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真实得不方便宣传。懂了。
02:28
The Bible圣经 is interesting有趣, but strange奇怪.
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《圣经》很有趣但也很奇怪,
02:31
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:34
That's a topic话题 for a different不同 day.
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那个话题他日再聊。
02:37
But the fifth第五 commandment诫命 gave me an epiphany顿悟:
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但十诫中的第五诫给了我灵感:
02:41
"You shall honor荣誉 your father父亲 and mother母亲."
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“你应荣耀你的父母”。
02:44
"Honor荣誉," I said. "That's so different不同,
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我心里一动,“荣耀”不等于
02:47
and better, than obey遵守."
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而且远胜于“服从”!
02:48
So it becomes my tool工具 to climb out
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它成为我爬出儒家负罪感的工具,
02:51
of this Confucian儒家 guilt有罪 trap陷阱
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它成为我爬出儒家负罪感的工具,
02:53
and to restart重新开始 my relationship关系 with my parents父母.
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让我重建与父母的关系。
02:57
Encountering遭遇 a new culture文化 also started开始 my habit习惯
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来到一个新文化环境也促成我比较阅读的习惯,
03:00
of comparative比较 reading.
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来到一个新文化环境也促成我比较阅读的习惯,
03:02
It offers报价 many许多 insights见解.
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它让人读得更深刻。
03:04
For example, I found发现 this map地图 out of place地点 at first
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举个例子,第一次看到这幅地图时我觉得它有些怪,
03:09
because this is what Chinese中文 students学生们 grew成长 up with.
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因为这才是中国大陆学生从小到大使用的世界地图。
03:14
It had never occurred发生 to me,
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我之前从未意识到
03:15
China中国 doesn't have to be at the center中央 of the world世界.
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原来中国不一定非要位于世界地图中央,
03:18
A map地图 actually其实 carries携带 somebody's某人的 view视图.
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原来地图带着某种视角。
03:22
Comparative比较 reading actually其实 is nothing new.
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比较阅读并不新鲜,
03:25
It's a standard标准 practice实践 in the academic学术的 world世界.
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它是学术界里的标准做法,
03:28
There are even research研究 fields领域
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比较文学、比较宗教甚至成为专门研究领域。
03:30
such这样 as comparative比较 religion宗教 and comparative比较 literature文学.
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比较文学、比较宗教甚至成为专门研究领域。
03:34
Compare比较 and contrast对比 gives scholars学者
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对比对照让学者们对一个课题有更全面的了解。
03:36
a more complete完成 understanding理解 of a topic话题.
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对比对照让学者们对一个课题有更全面的了解。
03:39
So I thought, well, if comparative比较 reading
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我琢磨着,既然比较阅读对研究有用,
03:41
works作品 for research研究, why not do it in daily日常 life too?
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为什么不把它用在日常生活中呢?
03:44
So I started开始 reading books图书 in pairs.
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因此我开始把书成对来读。
03:48
So they can be about people --
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它们可以是关于同一事件的不同当事人,
03:49
["Benjamin本杰明 Franklin富兰克林" by Walter沃尔特 Isaacson艾萨克森]["John约翰 Adams亚当斯" by David大卫 McCullough麦卡洛] --
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它们可以是关于同一事件的不同当事人,
03:50
who are involved参与 in the same相同 event事件,
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(《本杰明·富兰克林》、《约翰·亚当斯》)
03:52
or friends朋友 with shared共享 experiences经验.
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或两个有共同经历的朋友。
03:55
["Personal个人 History历史" by Katharine凯瑟琳 Graham格雷厄姆]["The Snowball雪球: Warren养兔场 Buffett巴菲特 and the Business商业 of Life," by Alice爱丽丝 Schroeder施罗德]
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(凯瑟琳·格雷厄姆的《个人历史》、巴菲特传记《雪球》)
03:56
I also compare比较 the same相同 stories故事 in different不同 genres流派 -- (Laughter笑声)
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我还把故事相同但文体不同的书做对比,
04:01
[Holy Bible圣经: King国王 James詹姆士 Version]["Lamb羊肉" by ChrisopherChrisopher Moore穆尔] --
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(《圣经》、小说《羔羊》)
04:03
or similar类似 stories故事 from different不同 cultures文化,
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或对比那些来自不同文化的相似故事,
04:06
as Joseph约瑟夫 Campbell坎贝尔 did in his wonderful精彩 book.["The Power功率 of Myth神话" by Joseph约瑟夫 Campbell坎贝尔]
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象约瑟夫·坎贝尔在其杰作《神话的力量》中所做的那样。
04:09
For example, both the Christ基督 and the Buddha
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举个例子,耶稣和佛祖都经历了三大诱惑,
04:12
went through通过 three temptations诱惑.
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举个例子,耶稣和佛祖都经历了三大诱惑,
04:15
For the Christ基督, the temptations诱惑
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耶稣经历的是经济、政治和精神诱惑,
04:17
are economic经济, political政治 and spiritual精神.
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耶稣经历的是经济、政治和精神诱惑,
04:21
For the Buddha, they are all psychological心理:
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佛祖经历的则都是心理诱惑:
04:25
lust情欲, fear恐惧 and social社会 duty义务 -- interesting有趣.
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欲望、恐惧和社会责任 -- 有意思。
04:32
So if you know a foreign国外 language语言, it's also fun开玩笑
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如果你懂外语,
04:35
to read your favorite喜爱 books图书 in two languages语言.
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把你喜欢的书的两个语言版本对比读也很有意思。
04:37
["The Way of Chuang Tzu慈济" Thomas托马斯 Merton默顿]["Tao: The Watercourse河道 Way" Alan艾伦 Watts]
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(托马斯·默顿翻译的《庄子》、阿伦·瓦特翻译的《道德经》)
04:38
Instead代替 of lost丢失 in translation翻译, I found发现 there is much to gain获得.
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人们常说翻译总有缺失,我却发现翻译也可以带来收获。
04:42
For example, it's through通过 translation翻译 that I realized实现
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举个例子,是翻译使我意识到
04:46
"happiness幸福" in Chinese中文 literally按照字面 means手段 "fast快速 joy喜悦." Huh!
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原来中文“快乐”一词的字面意思可解为“快速欢乐”,呃...
04:52
"Bride新娘" in Chinese中文 literally按照字面 means手段 "new mother母亲." Uh-oh嗯,哦.
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中文“新娘”一词的字面意思可解为“新妈妈”,天啊!
04:57
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
05:01
Books图书 have given特定 me a magic魔法 portal门户 to connect with people
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书已成为我与古人今人沟通的一个神奇门户,
05:06
of the past过去 and the present当下.
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书已成为我与古人今人沟通的一个神奇门户,
05:09
I know I shall never feel lonely孤独 or powerless无力 again.
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让我再不会觉得孤单无助。
05:13
Having a dream梦想 shattered破灭 really is nothing
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与其他人的苦难相比,梦想破灭算不了什么。
05:16
compared相比 to what many许多 others其他 have suffered遭遇.
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与其他人的苦难相比,梦想破灭算不了什么。
05:19
I have come to believe that coming未来 true真正
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我渐渐意识到成真并非梦想的唯一目的,
05:21
is not the only purpose目的 of a dream梦想.
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我渐渐意识到成真并非梦想的唯一目的,
05:25
Its most important重要 purpose目的 is to get us in touch触摸
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它的最重要目的是让我们触摸到
05:29
with where dreams come from,
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梦想来源的地方、
05:31
where passion comes from, where happiness幸福 comes from.
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热情来源的地方、快乐来源的地方,
05:34
Even a shattered破灭 dream梦想 can do that for you.
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哪怕一个破灭的梦想也可以让你经历那种触摸。
05:38
So because of books图书, I'm here today今天,
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因为书,我今天得以在此,
05:40
happy快乐, living活的 again with a purpose目的 and a clarity明晰,
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快乐地活着,生活的目标和意义重新变得明确,
05:44
most of the time.
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在大部分时候。
05:45
So may可能 books图书 be always with you.
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希望书也永远与你相伴!
05:49
Thank you.
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谢谢。
05:50
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
05:52
Thank you. (Applause掌声)
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谢谢。(掌声)
05:56
Thank you. (Applause掌声)
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谢谢。(掌声)
Translated by Lisa Bu
Reviewed by Luo Ziyue

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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