偶像励志英语演讲 第112期:美国总统奥巴马就职演说(8)

　　For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture¹ a child, that finally decides our fate.
虽然政府有大有作为的能力，而且也必须有所作为，但最终离不开美国人民的信仰和决心，这便是我们的立国之本。正是因为人们在大堤崩裂时接纳陌生人的关爱之情，正是因为工人们宁愿减少自己的工时而不愿看到朋友失去工作的无私精神，才使我们度过了最暗淡的时光。正是因为消防队员们有勇气冲进浓烟滚滚的楼道，也正是因为做父母的希望把一个孩子培养成才，我们才有能力决定最后的命运。
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends-honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance² and curiosity, loyalty³ and patriotism-these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility-a recognition on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly⁴ accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
我们面临的挑战可能前所未有。我们迎接挑战的方式也可能前所未有。然而，我们赖以成功的价值观——诚实和勤奋、勇气和公平、宽容心和探索精神、忠诚和爱国——均由来已久。这些价值观都是千真万确的。这些价值观是我国整个历史过程中一股无声的进步力量。现在需要的便是重归这些真理。我们现在需要做的是开创负责任的新时代——每一位美国人都需要认识到我们对自己、对国家、对全世界都承担着义务。对于那些义务，我们并非勉强接受，而是心甘情愿主动承担。同时我们坚信我们为艰巨的使命付出的一切，没有任何事情可以如此满足我们的道义感，也没有任何事能如此体现我们的特色。
This is the price and the promises of citizenship⁵.
这就是公民的价值所在和承诺。
This is the source of our conficence-the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
这就是我们自信的来源——认识到上帝呼唤我们在前途不明的情况下掌握自己的命运。
重点讲解：
1. take in
接纳；接受；
eg. The club took in a new member last week.
俱乐部上星期又吸收了一名新会员。
eg. We should get rid of the stale and take in the fresh.
我们应该吐故纳新。
2. would rather do sth. than do sth.
宁愿做某事而不愿做某事；
eg. I would rather remain poor than get money by dishonest means.
我宁可安于贫穷，也不愿用不当手段赚钱。
eg. I would rather die than live in disgrace.
我宁可死，也不愿忍辱偷生。
3. be filled with
充塞；
eg. He was filled with anger at the way he had been treated.
他因遭受如此待遇而怒火满腔。
eg. My room is filled with the odour of roses.
我的房间里充满了玫瑰花的香味。
4. depend upon
依赖；取决于；
eg. Whether you will succeed or not depend upon your own exertion⁶.
是否会成功，取决于你自己的努力。
eg. Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely⁷ on what you calculate.
幸福不在于你是谁，你拥有什么，而仅仅在于你自己怎么看待。
5. call on sb. to do sth.
要求；呼吁；号召某人做某事；
eg. You'd better call on your friends to help you.
你最好请朋友来帮你。
eg. I now call on Mr. Jones to address the meeting.
我现在请琼斯先生在会上讲话。

1 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

2 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

3 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

4 grudgingly   

参考例句：

• He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

6 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

7 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。