名人励志英语演讲 第51期:永不疲惫,永不气馁,永不完竭(2)

 　　The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding American promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, that no insignificant¹ person was ever born.

　　这些理想中最伟大的是正在慢慢实现的美国的承诺，这就是：每个人都有自身的价值，每个人都有成功的机会，每个人天生都会有所作为的。

　　Americans are called to enact² this promise in our lives and in our laws. And though our nation has sometimes halted, and sometimes delayed, we must follow no other course.

　　美国人民肩负着一种使命，那就是要竭力将这个诺言变成生活中和法律上的现实。虽然我们的国家有时也曾停滞不前，但我们必须矢志不移地完成这一使命。

　　Through much of the last century, America's faith in freedom and democracy was a rock in a raging sea. Now it is a seed upon the wind, taking root in many nations.

　　在上个世纪的大部分时间里，美国崇尚自由和民主的信念犹如汹涌大海中的岩石。现在这种信念更像风中的种子，把自由洒遍世界的许多国家。

　　Our democratic faith is more than the creed³ of our country, it is the inborn⁴ hope of our humanity, an ideal we carry but do not own, a trust we bear and pass along. And even after nearly 225 years, we have a long way yet to travel.

　　在美国，我们对民主的崇尚不仅仅是一种信念，而是全人类与生俱来的希望，不是我们独占，而是我们传承的一种理想，是我们承担并传播的信念。即使历史已走过225年，我们仍有很长的路要走。

　　While many of our citizens prosper⁵, others doubt the promise, even the justice, of our own country. The ambitions of some Americans are limited by failing schools and hidden prejudice and the circumstances of their birth. And sometimes our differences run so deep, it seems we share a continent, but not a country.

　　秉着这种信念，我们国家有很多公民取得了成功，但也有人开始怀疑，怀疑我们自己的国家所许下的诺言，甚至怀疑它的公正。失败的学校教育，潜在的偏见和出身的环境限制了一些美国人的雄心。有时，我们的分歧是如此之深，似乎我们身处同一个大陆，但不属于同一个国家。

1 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

2 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

3 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

4 inborn   

adj.天生的，生来的，先天的

参考例句：

• He is a man with an inborn love of joke.他是一个生来就喜欢开玩笑的人。
• He had an inborn talent for languages.他有语言天分。

5 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。