精美英文欣赏:曼德拉就职演说

To my compatriots,

对我的同胞，

I have no hesitation¹ in saying that each one of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld.

我可以毫不犹疑地说，我们每一个人都跟这美丽祖国的大地亲密地牢不可分，就如红木树之 于比勒陀利亚，含羞草之于灌木林。

That spiritual and physical oneness we all share with this common homeland explains the depth of the pain we all carried in our hearts as we saw our country tear itself apart in a terrible conflict,and as we saw it spurned,outlawed and isolated² by the peoples of the world,

我们对这共同的家乡在精神上和肉体上有共同的感觉，当目睹国家因可怕的冲突而变得四分五裂，遭全球人民唾弃、孤立，

precisely³ because it has become the universal base of the pernicious ideology⁴ and practice of racism⁵ and racial oppression.

特别是它成为恶毒的意识形态时，我们的内心如此地痛苦。

The time for the healing of the wounds has come.

治愈创伤的时候已经来临。

The moment to bridge the chasms⁶ that divide us has come.

消除分隔我们的鸿沟的时刻已经来临。

The time to build is upon us.

创建未来的时机就在眼前。

We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation⁷.

我们终于取得了政治解放。

We pledge ourselves to liberate⁸ all our people from the continuing bondage⁹ of poverty,deprivation,suffering, gender¹⁰ and other discrimination.

我们承诺，会将依然陷于贫穷、剥削、苦难、受着性别及其他歧视的国人解放出来。

We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in conditions of relative peace.

我们已成功地让我们千千万万的国人的心中燃起希望。

We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and lasting¹¹ peace.

我们承诺将努力建立一个健全，公平，长治久安的和平社会。

We have triumphed in the effort to implant¹² hope in the breasts of the millions of our people.

他们心中不再有恐惧，他们可以肯定自己拥有不可剥夺的人类尊严—这是一个在国内及与其他各国之间都保持和平的美好国度。

We enter into a covenant¹³ that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white,will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts,assured of their inalienable right to human dignity-a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.

我们立下誓约，要建立一个让所有南非人，不论是 黑人还是白人，都可以昂首阔步的社会。

We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom.

我们深信，自由之路从来都不易走。

We know it well that none of us acting¹⁴ alone can achieve success.

我们很清楚，没有任何一个人可以单独取得成功。

We must therefore act together as a united people,for national reconciliation,for nation building,for the birth of a new world.

因此，为了全国和解，建设国家，为了一个新世界的诞生，我们必须团结成为一个民族，共同行动。

Let there be justice for all.

让所有人得享正义。

Let there be peace for all.

让所有人得享和平。

Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.

让所有人得享工作、面包、水、盐分。

Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfil themselves.

让每个人都明白，每个人 的身体、思想和灵魂都获得了解放，从属于自己。

Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity¹⁵ of being the skunk¹⁶ of the world.

这片美丽的土地永远、永远、永远再不会经历人对人 的压迫，以及遭全球唾弃的屈辱。

The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!

对于如此光辉的成就，太阳永不会停止照耀。

Let freedom reign¹⁷.

让自由战胜一切。

God bless Africa!

愿上帝保佑南非！

I thank you!

谢谢大家！

1 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

2 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

3 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

4 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

5 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

6 chasms   

裂缝( chasm的名词复数 )； 裂口； 分歧； 差别

参考例句：

• She found great chasms in her mathematics and physics. 她觉得她的数学课和物理课的知识还很欠缺。
• The sectarian chasms remain deep, the wounds of strife raw. 各派别的分歧巨大，旧恨新仇交织。

7 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

9 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

12 implant   

vt.注入，植入，灌输

参考例句：

• A good teacher should implant high ideals in children.好教师应该把高尚理想灌输给孩子们。
• The operation to implant the artificial heart took two hours.人工心脏植入手术花费了两小时。

13 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 indignity   

n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑

参考例句：

• For more than a year we have suffered the indignity.在一年多的时间里,我们丢尽了丑。
• She was subjected to indignity and humiliation.她受到侮辱和羞辱。

16 skunk   

n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥

参考例句：

• That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
• The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。

17 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。