英语专业晨读美文-哲理篇 4 Shall We Choose Death

[00:00.63]Shall We Choose Death?
[00:04.25]I am speaking not as a Briton, not as a European,
[00:09.71] not as a member of a western democracy,
[00:12.56]but as a human being, a member of the species Man,
[00:17.48]whose continued existence is in doubt.
[00:20.76]The world is full of conflicts: Jews and Arabs;
[00:24.81]Indians and Pakistanis; white men and Negroes in Africa;
[00:29.29] and, overshadowing all minor¹ conflicts.
[00:32.24]As geological time is reckoned,
[00:34.76]Man has so far existed only for a very short period one million years at the most.
[00:41.54]What he has achieved,
[00:42.65]especially during the last 6 000 years,
[00:45.50]is something utterly² new in the history of the Cosmos³,
[00:48.77]so far at least as we are acquainted with it.
[00:51.51] For countless⁴ ages the sun rose and set,
[00:55.23]the moon waxed and waned⁵, the stars shone in the night,
[00:59.71] but it was only with the coming of Man
[01:01.90]that these things were understood.
[01:04.20]In the great world of astronomy and in the little world of the atom,
[01:08.46]Man has unveiled secrets which might have been thought undiscoverable.
[01:13.50]In art and literature and religion,
[01:16.23]some men have shown a sublimity⁶ of feeling
[01:19.07]which makes the species worth preserving.
[01:21.59]Is all this to end in trivial horror
[01:24.10]because so few are able to think of Man
[01:26.40]rather than of this or that group of men?
[01:29.35] Is our race so destitute⁷ of wisdom,
[01:32.09]so incapable⁸ of impartial⁹ love,
[01:34.50]so blind even to the simplest dictates¹⁰ of self-preservation,
[01:38.65] that the last proof of its silly cleverness
[01:41.71]is to be the extermination¹¹ of all life on our planet?
[01:46.96]For it will be not only men who will perish,
[01:50.02] but also the animals.
[01:51.88]I cannot believe that this is to be the end.
[01:54.40]I would have men forget their quarrels for a moment and reflect that,
[01:58.33]if they will allow themselves to survive,
[02:01.29]there is every reason to expect the triumphs of the future
[02:04.89]to exceed immeasurably the triumphs of the past.
[02:08.72]There lies before us, if we choose,
[02:12.01]continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom.
[02:16.60]Shall we, instead, choose death,
[02:19.55] because we cannot forget our quarrels?
[02:21.96]I appeal, as a human being to human beings:
[02:25.24]remember your humanity, and forget the rest.
[02:29.39]If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise;
[02:33.77]if you cannot, nothing lies before you but universal death.

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

3 cosmos   

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

• Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
• Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 sublimity   

崇高，庄严，气质高尚

参考例句：

• It'suggests no crystal waters, no picturesque shores, no sublimity. 这决不会叫人联想到晶莹的清水，如画的两岸，雄壮的气势。
• Huckleberry was filled with admiration of Tom's facility in writing, and the sublimity of his language. 对汤姆流利的书写、响亮的内容，哈克贝利心悦诚服。

7 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

8 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

9 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

10 dictates   

n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 extermination   

n.消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• All door and window is sealed for the extermination of mosquito. 为了消灭蚊子，所有的门窗都被封闭起来了。 来自辞典例句
• In doing so they were saved from extermination. 这样一来却使它们免于绝灭。 来自辞典例句