名人励志英语演讲 第40期:我们选择登月(1)

 　　President Pitzer, Mr. Vice¹ President, Governor, Congressman² Thomas, Senator Wiley, and Congressman Miller³, Mr. Webb, Mr. Bell, scientists, distinguished⁴ guests, and ladies and gentlemen:

　　皮策校长、副校长、州长、国会议员托马斯、参议员威利、众议员米勒、韦伯先生、贝尔先生、科学家们、尊敬的来宾们、女士们、先生们：

　　I appreciate your president having made me an honorary visiting professor, and I will assure you that my first lecture will be very brief. I am delighted to be here and I'm particularly delighted to be here on this occasion.

　　我很感激你们的校长授予我荣誉客座教授的头衔，我向你们保证，我的第一场演讲会跟简短。我很高兴来到这里，尤其是在这样一个场合。

　　We meet at a college noted⁵ for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a state noted for strength, and we stand in need of all three, for we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.

　　我们在这样一所以知识著名的大学，一座以进步闻名的城市，一个以实力著称的国家见面。我们站在这里是这三者的需要，以为我们的见面是在一个充满变化和挑战的时间，是在一个希望和害怕并存的十年，是在一个知识和无知并存的时代。我们学到的还是越多，认识到的无知就越多。

　　Despite the striking fact that most of the scientists that the world has ever known are alive and working today, despite the fact that this Nation's own scientific manpower is doubling every 12 years in a rate of growth more than three times that of our population as a whole, despite that, the vast stretches of the unknown and the unanswered and the unfinished still far outstrip⁶ our collective comprehension.

　　世界上大部分已知的健在并在职的科学家仍在奋斗不息，这个国家的科研力量每12年便成倍增长，这比我国人口增长总数的三倍还要多。尽管如此，世上的未知领域、未解之谜和未完成的任务的范围之广，仍远远超出了我们所有人的理解能力。

1 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。

2 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

4 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。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 outstrip   

v.超过，跑过

参考例句：

• He can outstrip his friend both in sports and in studies.他能在体育和学习方面胜过他的朋友。
• It is possible for us to outstrip the advanced countries in the world.我们能超过世界上先进的国家。