名校励志英语演讲 52:拯救世界 拯救儿童

 　　And because of all the neglect, too many of our kids have, essentially¹, to raise themselves. They are growing more distant from their parents, grandparents and other family members, as all around us the indestructible bond that once glued together the generations, unravels³.

　　因为被忽视，很多孩子从根本上必须自己照顾自己。他们渐渐疏远自己的父母、祖父母以及其他家庭成员，曾经连接各代人的强有力的纽带已经瓦解。

　　This violation⁴ has bred a new generation, Generation O let us call it, that has now picked up the torch from Generation X. The O stands for a generation that has everything on the outside – wealth, success, fancy clothing and fancy cars, but an aching emptiness on the inside. That cavity in our chests, that barrenness at our core, that void in our centre is the place where the heart once beat and which love once occupied.

　　这种违背常理的行为造就了一代新人，让我们称之为“O时代”是人，他们承接了“X时代”人传递下来的“火炬”。“O时代”的人拥有所有外在的东西——财富、成功、时尚、漂亮的衣服以及名车，但是他们的内心却很空虚很痛苦。那种胸口的空洞，心灵的荒芜以及内在的空虚也曾经是我们的心脏搏动的地方，那里也曾被爱占据。

　　And it's not just the kids who are suffering. It's the parents as well. For the more we cultivate little-adults in kids'-bodies, the more removed we ourselves become from our own child-like qualities, and there is so much about being a child that is worth retaining in adult life.

　　其实，不仅孩子们遭受这种痛苦，父母也备受煎熬。我们越是让孩子们早熟，我们就越来越远离了天真，而这种天真就算成年人也值得拥有。

　　Love, ladies and gentlemen, is the human family's most precious legacy⁵, its richest bequest⁶, its golden inheritance. And it is a treasure that is handed down from one generation to other.

　　女士们，先生们，爱是人类家庭最珍贵的遗产，是最贵重的馈赠，是最无价的传统，是我们应该世代相传的财富。

　　glue

　　vt.粘合

　　eg. You can fix the toy plane's tail with this glue.

　　你可以用这种胶水把玩具飞机的机尾安好。

　　unravel²

　　vt. 解开；散开

　　eg. The child unraveled grandma's knitting.

　　这个孩子弄散了奶奶的编织物。

　　barrenness

　　n. 荒芜

　　eg.The barrenness of their effort is due to poor management.

　　他们努力的徒劳无益归咎於管理不善。

　　void

　　n. 空虚

　　eg. The will was adjudged void.

　　那份遗嘱被宣告无效。

　　retain

　　vt. 保持；记住

　　eg. His speech could not retain the interest of his audience.

　　他的讲话不能保持住听众的兴趣。

　　squeeze

　　vt. 挤，压榨

　　eg. He unctuously⁷ squeezed out several drops of tears.

　　他假惺惺地挤出了几滴眼泪。

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

3 unravels   

解开，拆散，散开( unravel的第三人称单数 )； 阐明； 澄清； 弄清楚

参考例句：

• Khrushchev's Cold War unravels the tangled contradictions in his leadership of the Communist Party. 赫鲁晓夫的冷战》这本书揭示出赫鲁晓夫作为共产党的领袖，面临着一些棘手的问题。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

6 bequest   

n.遗赠；遗产，遗物

参考例句：

• In his will he made a substantial bequest to his wife.在遗嘱里他给妻子留下了一大笔遗产。
• The library has received a generous bequest from a local businessman.图书馆从当地一位商人那里得到了一大笔遗赠。

7 unctuously   

adv.油腻地，油腔滑调地；假惺惺

参考例句：