历史英雄名人演讲 第68期:以色列总理拉宾1994年在接受诺贝尔和平奖时的演讲

 　　19. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1994 Received the Nobel Peace Prize in the Speech

　　19. 以色列总理拉宾1994年在接受诺贝尔和平奖时的演讲

　　Since I don't believe that there was any precedent¹ that one person got the Nobel Prize twice,

　　我想从来没有任何人曾两度获得诺贝尔奖，

　　allow me on this opportunity to attach to this prestigious² award, a personal touch.

　　因此请允许我利用这个机会再花些时间就这一奖项谈谈自己的感触。

　　At an age when most youngsters are struggling to unravel³ the secrets of mathematics and the mysteries of the Bible;

　　当处在对大多数年轻人来说应该在努力揭开数学的秘密和圣经的奥秘的年龄时；

　　at an age when first love blooms; at the tender age of sixteen, I was handed a rifle so that I could defend myself.

　　当处在爱情的花朵初次绽放的年龄时；当处在而又在不谙世事的十六岁时，却有人递给我一支步枪以防身。

　　That was not my dream.

　　那本不是我的梦想。

　　I wanted to be a water enginêer.

　　我曾梦想当一位水利工程师。

　　I studied in an agricultural school and I thought being a water engineer was an important profession in the parched⁴ Middle East.

　　我曾在一所农业学校学习，当时认为在干旱的中东，水利工程师会是一个重要的职业。

　　I still think so today.

　　今天我依然坚持这个想法。

　　However, I was compelled to resort to the gun.

　　然而，我却被迫与枪打交道。

　　I served in the military for decades.

　　我在军队服役了几十年。

　　Under my responsibility, young men and women who wanted to live, wanted to love, went to their deaths instead.

　　在我服役期间，渴望生命、渴望爱情的年轻男女却走上了黄泉之路。

　　They fell in the defense⁵ of our lives.

　　他们是我捍卫我们的生命安全而倒下的。

　　Ladies and Gentlemen,

　　女士们，先生们，

　　In my current position, I have ample opportunity to fly over the State of Israel, and lately over other parts of the Middle East as well.

　　以我目前的地位，我完全有机会乘飞机飞越以色列，然后飞越中东的其他地区。

　　The view from the plane is breathtaking; deep-blue seas and lakes, dark-green fields, dune-colored deserts,

　　从飞机上看到的景色是摄人心魄的：深蓝色的海洋和湖泊，深绿色的田野，五颜六色的沙丘构成的沙漠，

　　stone-gray mountains, and the entire countryside peppered with white-washed, red-roofed houses.

　　石灰色的山脉，以及由白墙和红顶的房子点缀的整乡村。

　　And also cemeteries⁶. Graves as far as the eye can see.

　　还有墓地，那一眼望不到边的一个个坟墓。

　　Hundreds of cemeteries in our part of the world, in the Middle East—in our home in Israel, but also in Egypt, in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon.

　　在我们居住的世界上的中东地区，在以色列我们的家园，而且还有埃及，叙利亚，约旦，黎巴嫩，放眼望去都是数以百计的基地。

　　From the plane's window, from the thousands of feet above them, the countless⁷ tombstones are silent.

　　从几千英尺高的飞机的窗口往下望，无数的墓碑沉默不语，

　　But the sound of their outcry has carried from the Middle East throughout the world for decades.

　　但是几十年来，他们的疾呼声不曾间断地从中东传向世界各地。

1 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

2 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

3 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。

4 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

7 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。