名人励志英语演讲 第89期:让我们选举巴拉克·奥巴马为美利坚合众国总统(2)

 　　And I come here as a daughter, raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue-collar city worker and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion¹, her intelligence reflected in my daughters.

　　我作为一个女儿来到了这里，父母在芝加哥南部把我抚养大，那时我的爸爸是一名城市蓝领工人，我的妈妈、哥哥和我待在家里。我妈妈的爱一直是我们家庭持久的动力，我最大的快乐之一就是看到我女儿身上折射出我妈妈的正直、同情心以及她的智慧。

　　My dad was our rock. And although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early 30s, he was our provider. He was our champion, our hero. But as he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, took him longer to get dressed in the morning, you know. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing, even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes² to get himself across the room to give my mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier and he worked a little harder.

　　我的爸爸是我们的靠山。尽管在他30岁出头的时候被诊断出患了多发性硬化症，可是他养活了我们一家。他是我们的守护神，是我们的英雄。但是随着他的病情恶化，他走路变得越来越困难，早上更衣的时间也越来越长。然而即使他很痛苦，他从来不流露出来。他从来没有停止微笑和大笑，即使在挣扎着系上衬衣扣子的时候，即使在拄着双拐穿过房间去给妈妈一个吻的时候，他都微笑着。他只是早起一小会儿，工作更努力一点。

　　He and my mom poured everything they had into me and Craig. It was the greatest gift a child could receive, never doubting for a single minute that you're loved and cherished and have a place in this world. And thanks to their faith and their hard work, we both were able to go to college. So I know firsthand, from their lives and mine, that the American Dream endures.

　　爸爸和妈妈把他们的一切都倾注到了我和克雷格身上。这是一个孩子所能得到的最好的礼物，相信自己是被爱护、被珍视的，相信自己会在这个世界上占有一席之地。多亏了父母的信念和辛勤的劳动，我们两个都能够进入大学深造。因此从他们和我自己的生活中，我亲身感受到美国梦长盛不衰。

　　重点讲解：

　　1. be diagnosed with

　　被诊断为……

　　eg. Susan had a mental breakdown³ and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

　　苏珊精神崩溃，被诊断为得了精神分裂症。

　　eg. Aidan was diagnosed with the illness when he was five months old.艾当五个月大的时候，被诊断得了这种病。

　　2. let on

　　透露；泄露；承认；假装

　　eg. I didn't let on to the staff what my conversation was.

　　我没有将谈话内容向员工们透露。

　　eg. He knows the culprit but is not letting on.

　　他知道罪犯是谁，但却闭口不说。

　　3. stop doing

　　停止做某事；

　　eg. I've been told to lose weight and stop smoking.

　　我被告知要减肥并戒烟。

　　eg. He can't stop thinking about it.

　　他没办法不再想这件事。

　　注：与stop to do的区别：stop to do是停下（手头的事情）去做另外一件事；

　　eg. There is something rather strange about all this if one stops to consider it.

　　如果停下来好好想想的话，就会发觉整件事情相当蹊跷。

　　eg. I stopped to read the notices on the bulletin board

　　我停下来去读布告栏上的通知。

　　4. pour into

　　大量投入；大量涌来

　　eg. The Government continues to pour billions of pounds into its massive road-building programme.

　　政府继续向庞大的筑路项目中投入数十亿英镑。

　　eg. Food donations have poured in from all over the country.

　　捐赠的食物已从全国各地涌来。

　　名人简介：

　　米歇尔·拉沃恩·奥巴马（Michelle LaVaughn Obama，1964年1月17日－），是美国总统 - 巴拉克·侯赛因·奥巴马二世的妻子。她本身也是一名律师，出生及成长于芝加哥南部，曾就读普林斯顿大学及哈佛大学法学院。

　　随着奥巴马当选第44任美国总统，米歇尔亦随即成为第一位非洲裔美国籍总统夫人，以及个子最高的第一夫人，身高达180厘米（5尺11寸）。完成学业后，她返回芝加哥为全美第六大律师行悉尼·奥斯汀律师事务所服务，是芝加哥市长戴利之直属雇员，也为芝加哥大学及芝加哥大学医学中心服务。米歇尔早于1980年代末期已结识同于悉尼·奥斯汀律师事务所工作的奥巴马，两人于1992年结婚。根据美国传统，改为夫姓。1998年及2001年诞下长女及次女。米歇尔的父亲于1990年去世，母亲则仍于一女装直销公司出任秘书，米歇尔有一于俄勒冈州立大学任职篮球教练的兄长。由于她非常着重自己的形象、举止及衣着品味，因此经常被媒体评为衣着最佳之列，更将之与美国已故第一夫人杰奎琳·肯尼迪比较。

1 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

2 canes   

n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖

参考例句：

• Sugar canes eat sweet. 甘蔗吃起来很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I saw several sugar canes, but wild, and for cultivation, imperfect. 我还看到一些甘蔗，因为是野生的，未经人工栽培，所以不太好吃。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

3 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。