What Would Your Superpower Be?

比尔•盖茨和他的妻子梅琳达•盖茨每年都会联合发布一封公开信，其内容多是对公益和全球性问题的关注。今年，他们发表了一封写给高中生的公开信。 If you could have one superpower, what would it be? I was asked the question recently by some high school students in Kentucky. My answers are “more time” and “more energy”. Poverty is not just about a lack of money. It’s about the absence of the resources the poor need to realize their potential. Two critical ones are time and energy. More than one billion people today live without access to energy. No electricity to light and heat their homes, power hospitals and factories, and improve their life in thousands of ways. Likewise, a lack of time creates obstacles, too. It’s not simply the feeling of not having enough time in the day. It’s the great effect of having to perform the backbreaking work that needs to get done when there is no electricity. We’re writing to high school students because you’re the ones who will ultimately be solving these problems. As more time and more energy go, they may not be as exciting as Superman’s ability to defy gravity. But if the world can put more of both into the hands of the poorest, we believe that it will allow millions of dreams to take flight. A cheap, clean source of energy would change everything. There are also people doing extraordinary things to improve the world. They have all tapped into a different kind of superpower that all of us possess: the power to make a difference in the life of others. We’re not saying that everyone needs to dedicate his life to the poor. Your life is busy enough doing homework, playing sports, making friends, and pursuing your dreams. But we do think that you can live a more powerful life when you dedicate some of your time and energy to something much larger than yourself. Volunteer or, if you can, donate a little money to a cause. Whatever you do, don’t be a bystander. Get involved. You may have the opportunity to make your biggest impact when you’re older. But why not start now? We know it’s an experience that will change your life, too.