名校励志英语演讲 50:拯救世界 拯救儿童

 　　But while performing and making music undoubtedly¹ remain as some of my greatest joys,when I was young I wanted more than anything else to be a typical little boy.I wanted to build tree houses, have water balloon fights, and play hide and seek with my friends. But fate had it otherwise and all I could do was envy the laughter and playtime that seemed to be going on all around me.

　　毫无疑问，表演和音乐创作是我最大的乐趣，但年少时，我更想和其他的小男孩一样，和我的朋友搭树屋、打水仗、捉迷藏。但恰恰相反，命中注定我只能羡慕那些充斥在我周围的笑声和欢乐。

　　There was no respite² from my professional life.But on Sundays I would go Pioneering, the term used for the missionary³ work that Jehovah's Witnesses do.And it was then that I was able to see the magic of other people's childhood.

　　我的职业生活方式不允许我停下来。不过每逢星期天，我都会去“先锋会”，这是一个指代耶和华见证会传教工作的术语。那时，我就会设想别人充满魔力的童年。

　　Since I was already a celebrity⁴, I would have to don a disguise of fat suit, wig⁵, beard and glasses and we would spend the day in the suburbs of Southern California, going door-to-door or making the rounds of shopping malls, distributing our Watchtower magazine. I loved to set foot in all those regular suburban⁶ houses and catch sight of the shag rugs and La-Z-Boy armchairs with kids playing Monopoly and grandmas baby-sitting and all those wonderful, ordinary and starry⁷ scenes of everyday life.Many, I know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal. But to me they were mesmerizing⁸.

　　因为我已是名人，所以我不得不穿肥大的衣服、戴假发、留胡须、戴眼镜、把自己伪装起来。我们会在加州南部的郊区度过一整天，挨家挨户串门，或在各个购物中心闲逛，发放我们的《望塔》杂志。我也喜欢到普通的郊区居民家里去，看壁炉旁和拉兹男孩扶手椅上，小孩子们在玩大富翁的游戏、老奶奶在照看小孩，看所有那些普通却绚丽多彩的日常生活场景。我知道很多人会认为这些没什么大不了的，但它们对于我来说却充满了诱惑。

　　I used to think that I was unique in feeling that I was without a childhood. I believed that indeed there were only a handful with whom I could share those feelings.

　　我过去常常认为唯独自己没有这种童年的感觉，我想能和我分享这种感觉的人更是少之又少。

　　respite

　　n. 缓解；暂缓

　　eg. The noise went on all night without respite.

　　吵闹声整夜不停。

　　missionary

　　adj. 传教的

　　eg. She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.

　　她在一所教会学校教了两年书。

　　disguise

　　n. 伪装；用作伪装的东西

　　eg. Mary disguised her handwriting by writing with her left hand.

　　玛丽用左手写字以伪装自己的笔迹。

　　fireplace

　　n. 壁炉

　　eg. He tapped his pipe out into the fireplace.

　　他把烟斗的烟灰敲到壁炉里。

　　mesmerize⁹

　　vt. 是催眠术；迷住

　　eg. The werewolves mesmerize their victims rather than killing¹⁰ them.

　　狼人们催眠那些被害者，而不是杀掉他们。

1 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

2 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

3 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

4 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

5 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

6 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

7 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

8 mesmerizing   

adj.有吸引力的，有魅力的v.使入迷( mesmerize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I think you must be mesmerizing me, Charles. 查尔斯，我想你一定在对我施催眠术啦。 来自辞典例句
• The attendant one-dimensional wave equation has mesmerizing harmonic properties. 伴生的一元波平衡具有迷人的和谐特性。 来自电影对白

9 mesmerize   

vt.施催眠术；使入迷，迷住

参考例句：

• He could mesmerize an audience by the sheer force of his presence.他只要一出场，观众就为之倾倒。
• He was absolutely mesmerised by Pavarotti on television.他完全被电视上的帕瓦罗蒂迷住了。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。