名校励志英语演讲 20:失败的额外收益和想象力的重要性

 　　One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry¹ Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at Amnesty International’s headquarters in London.

　　想象力使我随后写书有了很多的想法，但对我印象最深远的经历发生在写《哈利·波特》之前。这种影响源于我早期的工作经历。在刚二十几岁的时候，为了付房租，我在伦敦大赦国际总部的调查部门工作，但我可以在午餐时间偷偷溜出去写小说。

　　There in my little office I read hastily scribbled² letters smuggled⁴ out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment⁵ to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony⁶ of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes⁸.

　　在那儿，我在狭小的办公室里看着从集权主义政体偷运出来的信件。写这些信件的人，为了让外界知道他们那里所发生的事情，冒着被监禁的危险，用潦草的字迹匆匆写下他们的遭遇，然后再将信件寄给我们。我看过那些由绝望的家人和朋友寄来的无迹可寻的人的照片。我读过被严刑拷打的受害者的证词并看了他们遍体鳞伤的图片。我打开过目击者的手记，上面描述了对于绑架案和强奸案的审判和处决。

　　Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity⁹ to think independently of their government. Visitors to our offices included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those who they had left behind.

　　我的很多同事以前都是政治犯，因为他们敢于批判政府，有自己的想法，所以被赶出家门，或被放逐海外。来我们办公室的的访客，包括那些前来提供信息的，或想方设法知道那些留下的同志发生了什么事的人。

　　I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke¹⁰ into a video camera about the brutality¹¹ inflicted¹² upon him.

　　我永远不会忘记那个非籍酷刑受害者，一个当时还没我大的年轻男子，他因在故乡的经历而精神错乱。在摄像机前讲述被残暴地摧残的经历时，他的身体止不住地颤抖。

　　precede

　　vt. 在aa......之前

　　eg. The eldest¹³ prince precedes all men except the king.

　　大太子位于皇上之下万人之上。

　　subsequently

　　adv. 随后

　　eg. Subsequently I form a very bad impression of them.

　　后来，他们给了我很不好的印象。

　　hastily

　　adv. 匆忙地

　　eg. The child was hastily dispatched out to school.

　　这孩子被匆忙打发到学校去了。

　　scribbled

　　adj. 潦草写成的

　　eg. For this act of insolence¹⁴, he was sent to the stands, symbolically¹⁵ imprisoned¹⁶ behind bars, as he scribbled notes to his bench.

　　因为这次无礼的举动，他被送上了看台，象征性地被“监禁”了，他草草地写了几张纸条给替补队员。

　　smuggle³

　　vt. 偷运

　　eg. Bolivia has arrested three other police officers suspected of helping¹⁷ him smuggle cocaine¹⁸ to the US.

　　玻利维亚还逮捕了其他三名涉嫌帮助他向美国走私可卡因的警察。

　　totalitarian

　　adj. 极权主义的

　　eg. Almost all government adopt totalitarian measures in time of war.

　　几乎所有的政府在战时都采取极权主义的措施。

　　regime

　　n. 政权

　　eg. The dictator banned all newspapers and books that criticized his regime.

　　独裁者取缔批评他政权的报刊书籍。

　　testimony

　　n. 证词，证据

　　eg. The witness disaffirmed her former testimony.

　　证人推翻了她原来的证词。

　　torture

　　n. 折磨；拷问

　　eg. The secret police tortured him to obtain information.

　　秘密警察拷问他以获取情报。

　　execution

　　n. 处决；死刑

　　eg. Then three were tied to the pillar for execution.

　　接着有三个人被捆在刑柱上准备行刑。

　　kidnapping

　　n. 绑架

　　eg. The kidnapping caused an international incident.

　　这一绑架事件引起了国际纠纷。

　　rape⁷

　　n. 强奸

　　eg. There is mention of capital penalties for rape.

　　对强奸有死刑的规定。

　　displace

　　vt. 使背井离乡；取代

　　eg. Those resources can displace nuclear power.

　　那些能源能取代核能。

　　exile

　　n. 流放

　　eg. Disagreements exiled her from her family.

　　意见分歧使她离家出走了。

　　temerity

　　n. 冒失；蛮勇

　　eg. Age looks with anger on the temerity of youth, and youth with contempt on the scrupulosity¹⁹ of age.

　　老年人对年青人的鲁莽十分气恼， 年轻人瞧不起老年人的顾虑重重。

　　brutality

　　n. 暴行

　　eg. The hostages were subjected to extreme brutality.

　　那些人质遭受惨无人道的对待。

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

3 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

4 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

5 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

7 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

8 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

9 temerity   

n.鲁莽，冒失

参考例句：

• He had the temerity to ask for higher wages after only a day's work.只工作了一天，他就蛮不讲理地要求增加工资。
• Tins took some temerity,but it was fruitless.这件事做得有点莽撞，但结果还是无用。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

12 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

13 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

14 insolence   

n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度

参考例句：

• I've had enough of your insolence, and I'm having no more. 我受够了你的侮辱，不能再容忍了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• How can you suffer such insolence? 你怎么能容忍这种蛮横的态度？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。

16 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

19 scrupulosity   

n.顾虑

参考例句：