TED演讲:新美国梦(3)

 Now, let me be very clear: the 14.8 percent of Americans living in poverty need money, plain and simple. 我说的再明白一些，就是在美国，穷人占14.8%，他们需要钱，简单易懂。

And all of us need policies that protect us from exploitation by employers and financial institutions. 所有人都需要政策保护，免受雇主和金融机构的剥削。

Nothing that follows is meant to suggest that the gap between rich and poor is anything but profoundly immoral¹. 这些并不是表明贫富差距是道德的。

But, too often we let the conversation stop there. 但是，我们经常谈到这就不说了。

We talk about poverty as if it were a monolithic² experience; about the poor as if they were solely³ victims. 我们谈起贫穷，就好像它是单独存在的一样，谈起穷人，就好像他们只是受害者。

Part of what I've learned in my research and reporting is that the art of living well is often practiced most masterfully by the most vulnerable. 在研究报告中，我发现最为弱势的群体，反而最能掌握生活安逸这门艺术。

Now, if necessity is the mother of invention, I've come to believe that recession can be the father of consciousness. 如果，需要是发明之母，那么我就认为衰退是觉醒之父。

It confronts us with profound questions, questions we might be too lazy or distracted to ask in times of relative comfort. 我们面临诸多问题，在生活相对安逸的情况下，我们可能不能集中注意，或是懒于回答：

How should we work? How should we live?  我们应当怎样工作？我们应当怎样生活？

All of us, whether we realize it or not, seek answers to these questions, with our ancestors kind of whispering in our ears. 不论是否意识到，我们所有人都在寻求这些问题的答案，就像是祖先在耳边低语。

1 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

2 monolithic   

adj.似独块巨石的；整体的

参考例句：

• Don't think this gang is monolithic.不要以为这帮人是铁板一块。
• Mathematics is not a single monolithic structure of absolute truth.数学并不是绝对真理的单一整体结构。

3 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。