In 1987, a college at the University of Cambridge considered offering a prestigious(有声望的，享有盛誉的) position to a black man in what would be the first appointment of its kind(同类中的，在其类别中). Not only did the man not have a degree, but he had left school at the age of 13, struggling with dyslexia and – at the time – unable to read or write.(此人不仅没有学位，而且13岁辍学，患有阅读障碍，当时不会读写。) That he would later to go on to accumulate(积累，积聚) 20 honorary(荣誉的，名誉的) doctorates and become a professor of creative writing is only one way, and in my view not the best one, of measuring his talent.
1987年，剑桥大学的一所学院考虑向一位黑人男性提供一份享有盛誉的职位，这将是同类任命中的首例。此人不仅没有学位，而且13岁就辍学，患有阅读障碍，当时既不会读也不会写。他后来获得了20个荣誉博士学位，并成为创意写作教授，但这只是衡量他才华的一种方式，在我看来并非最好的方式。
The man was the late(已故的), great poet Benjamin Zephaniah. And he had been nothing but(仅仅，只不过) transparent about his lack of credentials. In fact it was his background that made him eligible(有资格的，符合条件的) for this fellowship(研究员职位；奖学金), which was designed to reach out to(接触，联系) somebody in the community who didn’t have a degree, to give them the opportunity to have a connection with the university.
这位男子就是已故的伟大诗人本杰明·泽法尼亚。他对自己的资历缺失一直非常坦诚。事实上，正是他的背景使他符合这一研究员的资格，该职位旨在接触社区中没有学位的某人，让他们有机会与大学建立联系。
Zephaniah had been privately offered the role but a formal offer had not yet been made when it was leak(泄露，泄漏)ed to the rightwing press. The Sun and the Daily Mail newspapers enjoyed a feeding frenzy(疯狂炒作，争相报道) at the prospect(前景，可能性) of a black man – one with locs(长发绺（脏辫）), no less(竟然，居然（表示惊讶）) – becoming a fellow at Cambridge.
泽法尼亚曾被私下邀请担任该职位，但正式邀请尚未发出，消息就泄露给了右翼媒体。《太阳报》和《每日邮报》对一位黑人——而且是一位留着长发绺的黑人——成为剑桥研究员的前景，进行了一场疯狂的炒作。