英语专业晨读美文-人物篇 5 The Props to Help Man En

[00:00.31]The Props¹ to Help Man Endure
[00:03.81]I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work,
[00:10.92]a life’s work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit.
[00:15.30]Not for glory and least of all, for profit,
[00:19.01]but to create out of the material of the human spirit something which did not exist before.
[00:26.13]So this award is only mine in trust.
[00:29.96]It would not be difficult to find a dedication² for the money part of it,
[00:34.88]commensurate for the purpose and significance of its origin.
[00:39.36]But I would like to do the same with the acclaim³ too
[00:43.51]by using this moment as a pinnacle⁴ from which I might be listened to
[00:48.54]by the young men and woman,already dedicated⁵ to the same anguish⁶ and travail⁷,
[00:54.13]among whom is already that one who will someday stand here where I am standing⁸.
[01:01.35]Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now
[01:09.00]that we can even bear it.
[01:10.97]There’re no longer problems of the spirit, there’s only the question;
[01:16.00]“When will I be blown up?”
[01:18.62]Because of this, the young man or woman writing today
[01:22.45]has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself,
[01:27.26]which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about,
[01:32.07]worth the agony and the sweat.
[01:34.49]He must learn them again, he must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid,
[01:41.26]and teaching himself that,forget it forever,
[01:44.76]leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities⁹ and truths of the heart.
[01:51.11]The old universal truths, lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed¹¹:
[01:57.23]love and honor and pity and pride,
[01:59.53]and compassion¹² and sacrifice.
[02:02.05]Until he does so, he labors¹³ under a curse.
[02:06.09]He writes not of love, but of lust¹⁴,
[02:09.16]of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value,
[02:13.42]of victories without hope, and most of all, without pity or compassion.
[02:18.67]His grief weaves on no universal bone, leaving no scars.
[02:24.47]He writes not of the heart, but of the glands¹⁵.
[02:28.19]Until he relearns these things,
[02:31.03]he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man.
[02:35.62]I decline to accept the end of man.
[02:38.68]It’s easy enough to say that man is immortal¹⁶ simply because he will endure:
[02:44.26]that when the last ding-dong of doom¹⁰ has clanged
[02:48.75]and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tireless in the last red and dying evening,
[02:55.42]that even then, there will still be one more sound:
[02:59.36]that of his puny¹⁷ and inexhaustible voice, still talking.
[03:04.72]I refuse to accept this.
[03:07.48]I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.
[03:11.97]He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice,
[03:18.20]but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion,and sacrifice, and endurance.
[03:26.62]The poets’, the writers’ duty is to write about these things.
[03:31.54]It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart,
[03:36.25]by reminding him of the courage,and honor
[03:39.52]and hope and compassion and pity
[03:42.59]and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past.
[03:46.52]The poets' voice need not merely be the record of man,
[03:51.12]it can be one of the props,
[03:53.52]the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
[03:56.91]
 

1 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

2 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

3 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

4 pinnacle   

n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰

参考例句：

• Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
• It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

5 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

6 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

7 travail   

n.阵痛；努力

参考例句：

• Mothers know the travail of giving birth to a child.母亲们了解分娩时的痛苦。
• He gained the medal through his painful travail.他通过艰辛的努力获得了奖牌。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 verities   

n.真实( verity的名词复数 )；事实；真理；真实的陈述

参考例句：

• the eternal verities of life 生命永恒的真理

10 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

11 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

12 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

13 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

14 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

15 glands   

n.腺( gland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a snake's poison glands 蛇的毒腺
• the sebaceous glands in the skin 皮脂腺

16 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

17 puny   

adj.微不足道的，弱小的

参考例句：

• The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
• Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙，身体还不壮，还不能干活。