名人励志英语演讲 第50期:永不疲惫,永不气馁,永不完竭(1)

 　　President Clinton, distinguished¹ guests, and my fellow citizens, the peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country. With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings.

　　尊敬的克林顿总统、各位嘉宾、我的同胞们：这次权利的和平交接在历史上是罕见的，但在美国却很平常。我们以朴素的宣誓庄严地维护了古老的传统，同时开始了新的历程。

　　As I begin, I thank President Clinton for his service to our nation. And I thank Vice² President Gore³ for a contest conducted with spirit and ended with grace.

　　首先，我要感谢克林顿总统为这个国家作出的贡献，也感谢副总统戈尔在竞选过程中的热情与结束竞选时的风度。

　　I am honored and humbled⁴ to stand here, where so many of America's leaders have come before me, and so many will follow.

　　站在这里，我倍感荣幸，也有点受宠若惊。在我之前，许多美国领导人从这里起步；在我之后，也会有许多领导人从这里继续前进。

　　We have a place, all of us, in a long story—a story we continue, but whose end we will not see. It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator⁵ of the old, a story of a slave-holding society that became a servant of freedom, the story of a power that went into the world to protect but not possess, to defend but not to conquer. It is the American story—a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals.

　　在美国悠久的历史中，我们每个人都有自己的位置；我们还在继续推动着历史前进，但是无法看到它的尽头。这是一部新世界的发展史，是一部摒弃陋习传承美德的历史，也是一部美国由奴隶制社会发展成为崇尚自由的社会的历史。这是一部强国保护而非占有世界的历史，是一部捍卫而非征服世界的历史。这就是美国史。它不是一部十全十美的民族发展史，但它是一部在伟大和永恒的理想指导下数代人团结奋斗的历史。

1 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

4 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

5 liberator   

解放者

参考例句：

• The best integrated turf quality was recorded in Ram I、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator, which could be adopted in Shanxi. RamI、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator综合质量表现均衡且分值较高，是山西省推广应用的重点品种。
• It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. 这是一部新世界的发展史，是一部后浪推前浪的历史。