偶像励志英语演讲 第107期:美国总统奥巴马就职演说(3)

　　In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted-for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers¹ of things-some celebrated² but more often men and women obscure in their labor³, who have carried us up the long, rugged⁴ path towards prosperity and freedom.
在重申我们国家伟大精神的同时，我们懂得，伟大并非天成，而是必须赢得。我们的历程从来不是走捷径或退而求其次的历程。它不是弱者的道路——它不属于好逸恶劳或只图名利享受的人；这条路属于冒险者，实干家，创造者——有些人享有盛名，但大多数是默默无闻耕耘劳作的男女志士，是他们带我们走向通往繁荣和自由漫长的崎岖之路。
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
为了我们，他们打点起贫寒的行装上路，远涉重洋，追求新生活。
For us, they toiled⁵ in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash⁶ of the whip and plowed⁷ the hard earth.
为了我们，他们在血汗工厂劳作，在西部原野拓荒，忍着鞭笞之痛在坚硬的土地上耕耘。
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord⁸ and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
为了我们，他们奔赴疆场，英勇捐躯，长眠于康科德、葛底斯堡、诺曼底和溪山。
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction⁹.
为了我们能够过上更好的生活，他们前赴后继，历尽艰辛，全力奉献，不辞劳苦，直至双手结起层层老茧。他们看到的美国超越了我们每一个人的雄心壮志，也超越了所有种族、财富或派系的差异。
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains¹⁰ undiminished. But our time of standing¹¹ pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions-that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
今天，我们踏上了这一未完的旅程。我们依然是地球上最繁荣、最强大的国家。我们的劳动者的创造力并没有因为眼前的这场危机而减弱。我们的头脑依然像以往那样善于发明创新。我们的产品与服务仍旧像上星期、上个月或去年一样受人欢迎。我们的能力丝毫无损。但是，维持现状、保护狭隘的利益集团、推迟困难的抉择的时代无疑已成为过去。从今天开始，让我们团结一致，振作精神，重新开启再造美国的事业。
重点讲解：
1. short cut
快捷办法，捷径；
eg. He thinks of nothing but the short cut to his success.
他一天到晚只想着走捷径取得成功。
eg. There is no short cut on the problem.
在这个问题上没有捷径可走。
2. faint-hearted
胆怯的；畏怯的；
eg. This is no time to be faint-hearted.
现在不是怯懦的时候。
eg. It's a film about a serial¹² killer¹³ and not for the faint-hearted.
这部电影是讲一个连环杀手的，不适合胆小的人看。
3. pack up
打点（行装）；
eg. He began packing up his things.
他开始收拾行李。
eg. In the morning he would go home and pack up.
早上，他将回家整理行装。
4. in search of
寻找；寻求；
eg. Migrant workers move from country to country in search of work.
流动工人为寻找工作，从一个国家迁移到另一个国家。
eg. They went over nationwide in search of uranium mines.
他们为了探寻铀矿走遍了全国。
5. time and again
再三；反复；
eg. They inquired about the matter time and again.
他们一再探问此事。
eg. These abusive remarks the young woman overheard time and again.
像这样的话，她耳闻到不止一次了。
6. put off
推迟；拖延；
eg. The Association has put the event off until October.
协会已把这次活动推迟至10月。
eg. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
今日事今日毕。
7. dust oneself off
重新振作；
eg. She dusted herself off and left to build her own career.
她重振旗鼓去开创自己的事业了。
eg. When we are rejected, although we have been hurt we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start again.
被拒绝的时候尽管我们很难过，但是我们会鼓起勇气，重新振作，从头再来。

1 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

5 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

6 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

7 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

8 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

9 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

13 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。