美国语文第六册 第81期:怀念先辈(1)

 　　We are called upon to cherish with high veneration¹ and grateful recollections, the memory of our fathers. 我们响应上帝的召唤，向我们的先辈致以崇高的敬意和深切的缅怀。

　　Both the ties of nature and the dictates² of policy demand this. 不论是亲情的纽带还是上天的神旨，都要求我们这样做。

　　And surely no nation had ever less occasion to be ashamed of its ancestry³, or more occasion for gratulation in that respect; 可以确信的是，没有哪个国家曾经为它的祖先感到羞耻，更多的是表示敬意中获得满足。

　　for while most nations trace their origin to barbarians⁴, the foundations of our nation were laid by civilized⁵ men, by Christians⁶. 由于绝大多数国家的历史都可以追溯到野蛮人，我们国家是由文明人，是由基督徒建立起来的。

　　Many of them were men of distinguished⁷ families, of powerful talents,  其中许多人都出身于受人尊敬的家庭，都是有影响力的天才人士，

　　of great learning and of preeminent⁸ wisdom, of decision of character, and of most inflexible⁹ integrity. 都是伟大的学者，拥有卓越的智慧和决断力，而且拥有不可动摇的正直品质。

　　And yet not unfrequently they have been treated as if they had no virtues¹⁰; 不同寻常的是，人们认为他们拥有完美无缺的美德；

　　while their sins and follies¹¹ have been sedulously¹² immortalized in satirical anecdote¹³. 与此同时，在颇具讽刺意味的趣闻轶事里，他们的过错和愚蠢行为被刻意看做是不朽的。

　　The influence of such treatment of our fathers is too manifest. 这样对待我们的先辈所产生的影响显而易见。

　　It creates and lets loose upon their institutions, the vandal spirit of innovation and overthrow¹⁴; 创建制度然后放任其发展，创新和推翻都带有野蛮人的印记，

　　for after the memory of our father shall have been rendered contemptible¹⁵, who will appreciate and sustain their institutions? 在对先辈的怀念已经证明是可鄙的之后，谁还会珍视和维护他们的制度呢？

1 veneration   

n.尊敬，崇拜

参考例句：

• I acquired lasting respect for tradition and veneration for the past.我开始对传统和历史产生了持久的敬慕。
• My father venerated General Eisenhower.我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。

2 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》

3 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

4 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

5 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

6 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

7 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。

8 preeminent   

adj.卓越的，杰出的

参考例句：

• Washington was recognized as the preeminent spokesman of American Negroes by 1895. 到1895年,华盛顿被公认为美国黑人的卓越代言人。
• He is preeminent because his articles are well written. 他的文章写得很漂亮,卓尔不群。

9 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

10 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

11 follies   

罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
• The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。

12 sedulously   

ad.孜孜不倦地

参考例句：

• In this view they were sedulously abetted by their mother, aunts and other elderly female relatives. 在这方面，他们得到了他们的母亲，婶婶以及其它年长的女亲戚们孜孜不倦的怂恿。
• The clerk laid the two sheets of paper alongside and sedulously compared their contents. 那职员把两张纸并排放在前面，仔细比较。

13 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

14 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

15 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。