名人励志英语演讲 第165期:奏出生命中最美的乐曲(12)

 　　Franklin was deeply, deeply distressed¹ by what he saw. In Ireland he saw how England had put a stranglehold on Irish trade, how absentee English landlords exploited Irish tenant² farmers and how those farmers in Franklin's words "lived in wretched hovels of mud and straw, were clothed in rags and subsisted³ chiefly on potatoes." Not exactly the American dream...

　　富兰克林对自己的所见所闻深感忧虑。在爱尔兰，他看到了英格兰如何控制爱尔兰贸易，英格兰的地主如何剥削爱尔兰的佃农，以及那些农夫，用富兰克林的话说，“住在令人作呕的泥草棚里，衣衫褴褛，以土豆维持生计”。这绝不是美国梦……

　　So instead of Ireland becoming a model for America, America became a model for Ireland in our own struggle for independence. And when the potatoes ran out, millions of Irish men, women and children packed their bags, got on a boat and showed up right here. And we're still doing it. We're not even starving anymore, loads of potatoes. In fact if there's any Irish out there, I've--I've breaking news from Dublin, the potato famine is over you can come home now. Sorry. But why are we still showing up? Because we love the idea of America.

　　所以，爱尔兰没有成为美国的榜样，反而在我们争取独立的斗争中，美国成了爱尔兰的榜样。当出现土豆饥荒时，成千上万的爱尔兰男女老少收拾起行囊，乘船来到美国。如今，仍有爱尔兰人涌入美国，虽然我们已经不再挨饿，我们有了大量的土豆。事实上，如果这里有爱尔兰的人，我要带给你们来自都柏林的新闻，土豆饥荒已经过去了，你们现在可以回家了。但是，我们为什么还会出现在这里呢？因为我们崇尚美国的信念。

　　We love the crackle and the hustle⁴. We love the spirit that gives the finger to fate, the spirit that says there's no hurdle⁵ we can't clear and no problem we can't fix. (sound of helicopter) Uh, oh, here comes the Brits. Only joking. Yeah, no problem we can't fix. So what's the problem that we want to apply all this energy and intellect to?

　　我们热爱这里的人潮涌动，我们热爱挑战命运的精神，我们热爱这种没有不能逾越的障碍、没有不能解决的问题的精神。（直升机的声音响起）哦，英国人也来了。开个玩笑啊！没有问题我们不能解决。那么，我们应该把我们的精力和智慧用在哪里呢？

1 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

2 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

3 subsisted   

v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Before liberation he subsisted on wild potatoes. 解放前他靠吃野薯度日。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Survivors of the air crash subsisted on wild fruits. 空难事件的幸存者以野果维持生命。 来自辞典例句

4 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

5 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。