名校励志英语演讲 21:失败的额外收益和想象力的重要性

 　　He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him back to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite¹ courtesy, and wished me future happiness.

　　他比我高一英尺，但看上去却像个孩子一样脆弱。随后我遵照组织的安排护送他到地铁站时，这名人生已遭到残酷摧残的男子彬彬有礼地握住我的手，祝我未来幸福。

　　And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked² out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just had to give him the news that in retaliation³ for his own outspokenness⁴ against his country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

　　在我有生之年，我都会记得一件事，当时我正经过一条空旷的走廊，突然听到紧闭着的房门口里传出一声痛苦和恐惧的尖叫，那是至今我从未听过的，那扇门打开了，调查员探出头请我快去给坐在她旁边的年轻男子倒一杯热饮料。她刚刚告诉那个年轻人，为报复他对祖国专政的直言批判，他的母亲已被抓走并处决了。

　　Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.

　　在我20多岁的那段日子里，每一天的工作都是在提醒我自己是多么幸运，能够生活在一个民主选举的政府领导国家，人人都享有依法申诉和公开审理的权力。

　　Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict⁵ on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard, and read.

　　每一天，我都能看到更多关于恶人的证据，他们为了获得或维护权力而对自己的同胞实施暴行。我开始做恶梦，真实的噩梦，全都和我的所见所闻有关。

　　And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.

　　同时在大赦国际我也更多地了解了人类的善良，远比我以前了解的多。

　　inflict

　　vt. 造成；使遭受

　　eg. We should inflict severe chastisement⁶ on criminals.

　　我们应该对罪犯施加严厉的惩罚。

　　fragile

　　adj. 脆弱的

　　eg. He taught me how to deal with fragile egos⁷.

　　他教会了我如何应付脆弱的自尊心。

　　escort

　　vt. 护送

　　eg. Policemen had to escort the referee⁸ from the football field.

　　警察不得不护送这位裁判离开足球场。

　　shatter

　　vt. 摧毁，损坏

　　eg. Nothing could shatter his faith.

　　没有什么东西能动摇他的信念。

　　exquisite

　　adj. 高雅的

　　eg. This exquisite embroidery⁹ won people's great admiration¹⁰.

　　这件精美的绣品， 使人惊叹不已。

　　courtesy

　　n. 礼貌

　　eg. She called on us merely for the sake of courtesy.

　　她来访只是为了礼貌。

　　retaliation

　　n. 报复；反击

　　eg. He endured hardships to plan retaliation.

　　他卧薪尝胆, 图谋报复。

　　outspokenness

　　n. 坦言相告

　　eg. Mr Son’s outspokenness is as rare in Japan as his enterprising spirit.

　　孙先生的直言不讳和进取精神在日本国内都算是罕见的。

　　democratically

　　adv. 民主地

　　eg. It is the most powerful democratically elected dynasty in history.

　　这是民主选举的历史上最有势力的王朝。

　　representation

　　n. 陈述；代表

　　eg. There is no effective institutional representation of either workers or employers.

　　无论是工人，还是雇主都没有有效的公共机构代表。

　　evil

　　n. 罪恶

　　eg.He cloaked his evil purpose under sweet words.

　　他用甜言蜜语掩盖着他邪恶的目的。

　　literal

　　adj. 真实的；不夸张的

　　eg. There had been a literal truth in his declaration.

　　从字面上看，他刚才说的话并不假。

1 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

2 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 outspokenness   

参考例句：

• He wondered whether his outspokenness a liability to John. 他怀疑自己那么心直口快，是否为成为约翰的包袱。
• He wondered whether his outspokenness might a. to his friend. 他怀疑自己那么心直口快，会否使他朋友背上思想包袱。

5 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

6 chastisement   

n.惩罚

参考例句：

• You cannot but know that we live in a period of chastisement and ruin. 你们必须认识到我们生活在一个灾难深重、面临毁灭的时代。 来自辞典例句
• I think the chastisement to him is too critical. 我认为对他的惩罚太严厉了。 来自互联网

7 egos   

自我，自尊，自负( ego的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their egos are so easily bruised. 他们的自尊心很容易受到伤害。
• The belief in it issues from the puerile egos of inferior men. 这种信仰是下等人幼稚的自私意识中产生的。

8 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

9 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

10 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。