名人励志英语演讲 第163期:奏出生命中最美的乐曲(10)

 　　Yesterday, here in Philadelphia, at the Liberty Bell, I met a lot of Americans who do have the will. From arch--Are you here? There's the three million of them over there--From arch religious conservatives to young secular¹ radicals², I just felt an incredible overpowering sense that this was possible, yesterday. We're calling it the ONE campaign to put an end to AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. They believe we can do it, so do I.

　　昨天，在费城的自由钟下，我见到很多有此决心的美国人，他们中有忠实信教的保守派——这里有吗？那边有300万人——也有年轻不信教的激进分子。当时我强烈感觉到这是有可能的。我们称之为统一战役，一次终结非洲的艾滋病和极度贫困的战役。他们相信我们能够取得成功，我也相信。

　　I really, really do believe it. And I just want you to know, I think this is obvious, but I'm not really going in for the warm fuzzy feeling thing. I'm not a hippy. I do not have flowers in my hair. I come from punk rock, alright? The Clash wore army boots not Brikenstocks, alright? I believe America can do this! I believe that this generation can do this. In fact I want to hear an argument about why we shouldn't.

　　我真的非常相信这一点。很明显，我只是想让你们了解事实。但我并不是为了充满暖意而虚幻的感觉做这件事。我不是嬉皮士，也不把花戴在头上，我来自一支朋克乐队，碰撞乐队穿的是军靴而不是舒适的勃肯鞋。我相信美国人可以做到。我相信你们这一代人可以做到。事实上，我想听听否定的声音，告诉我为什么我们做不到。

　　I know idealism is not playing on the radio right now. You don't see it on TV. Irony³ is on heavy rotation⁴, the knowingness, the smirk⁵, the tired joke. I've tired them all out but I'll tell you this, outside this campus--and even inside it--idealism is under siege, beset⁶ by materialism⁷, narcissism⁸ and all the other "isms" of indifference⁹: baggism, shaggism, raggism, thatism, graduationism, chismism, I don't know. Where's John Lennon when you need him.

　　我知道现在的广播上、电视上都不会有理想主义，而讽刺圆滑、全知全能、幸灾乐祸和枯燥无味的笑话却比比皆是。这些我都经历过，但现在我要告诉你们的是，在这个校园外——甚至在校园里——理想主义遭到了其他势力的攻击，比如物质主义、自恋主义以及各种类型的冷漠主义，如灯笼裤主义、蓬乱主义、褴褛主义、否定主义、毕业主义以及欺骗主义。我不明白，当你们需要约翰·列侬的时候，他在哪里？

　　But I don't want to make you cop to idealism, not in front of your parents, or your younger siblings¹⁰. But what about Americanism? Will you cop to that at least? It's not everywhere in fashion these days, Americanism. Not very big in Europe, truth be told. No less on Ivy¹¹ League college campuses. But it all depends on your definition of Americanism.

　　但是我不想让你们在父母和兄弟姐妹面前崇尚理想主义。那么美国主义呢？你们是不是至少该接受美国主义呢？现在并不是处处都流行美国主义，说实话，在欧洲就不大流行，在常春藤盟校也不流行。但这完全取决于你如何定义美国主义。

1 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

2 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

3 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

4 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

5 smirk   

n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说

参考例句：

• He made no attempt to conceal his smirk.他毫不掩饰自鸣得意的笑容。
• She had a selfsatisfied smirk on her face.她脸上带着自鸣得意的微笑。

6 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

7 materialism   

n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上

参考例句：

• Idealism is opposite to materialism.唯心论和唯物论是对立的。
• Crass materialism causes people to forget spiritual values.极端唯物主义使人忘掉精神价值。

8 narcissism   

n.自我陶醉，自恋

参考例句：

• Those who suffer from narcissism become self-absorbed.自恋的人会变得自私。
• The collective narcissism of the Kerouac circle is ultimately boring.凯鲁亚克和他周围人物的集体自我陶醉欲最终使人厌烦不已。

9 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

10 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

11 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。