时代周刊:时代百大人物 对强权直言不讳的帕克兰中学生（1）

Cameron Kasky, Jaclyn Corin, David Hogg, Emma González and Alex Wind SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

卡梅隆·卡斯基，贾克琳·科林，大卫·霍格，艾玛·冈萨雷斯和亚历克斯·温德 对强权直言不讳

BY BARACK OBAMA

文/巴拉克·奥巴马

(Time Notes:Obama was the 44th President of the United States)

(注:奥巴马是美国第44任总统)

America’s response to mass shootings has long followed a predictable pattern.

长期以来，美国对大规模枪击事件的反应一直是有章可循的。

We mourn. Offer thoughts and prayers. Speculate about the motives¹.

首先，我们哀悼。发表看法，为逝者祈祷。猜测罪犯的动机。

And then—even as no developed country endures a homicide rate like ours, a difference explained largely by pervasive² accessibility to guns;

接着——尽管没有一个发达国家的谋杀率像我们这么高,这种差异主要源于枪支泛滥；

even as the majority of gun owners support commonsense³ reforms—

尽管大多数枪支拥有者都支持对枪支进行常识性的改革——

the political debate spirals into acrimony and paralysis⁴.

这场政治辩论还是会逐渐演变成激烈的争吵和麻痹。

This time, something different is happening.

然而，这一次不一样。

This time, our children are calling us to account.

这一次，我们的孩子呼吁我们承担责任了。

The Parkland, Fla., students don’t have the kind of lobbyists or big budgets for attack ads that their opponents do.

佛罗里达州帕克兰的学生们既不像他们的竞争对手那样拥有游说团体那样的实力，也没有投放攻击性广告的大笔预算。

Most of them can’t even vote yet.

他们中的大多数人甚至还没有到能投票的年龄。

But they have the power so often inherent in youth:

但他们有年轻人往往与生俱来的那种力量：

to see the world anew; to reject the old constraints⁵, outdated⁶ conventions and cowardice⁷ too often dressed up as wisdom.

那种重新认识世界；拒绝旧的约束、过时的习俗和常常装扮成智慧的懦弱的力量。

The power to insist that America can be better.

坚持认为美国可以变得更好的力量。

Seared by memories of seeing their friends murdered at a place they believed to be safe,

亲眼目睹朋友在他们认为安全的地方被谋杀，有了这样的烙印，

these young leaders don’t intimidate⁸ easily.

这些年轻的领袖们已经不会轻易被吓住了。

They see the NRA and its allies—whether mealymouthed politicians or mendacious⁹ commentators¹⁰ peddling¹¹ conspiracy¹² theories—

在他们眼里，全国步枪协会及其盟友——无论是甜言蜜语的政客，还是兜售阴谋论的虚假评论员——

as mere¹³ shills for those who make money selling weapons of war to whoever can pay.

不过是那些卖战争武器给有能力买的人来赚钱的一个幌子。

They’re as comfortable speaking truth to power as they are dismissive of platitudes¹⁴ and punditry¹⁵.

他们对强权直言不讳，就像他们不屑于陈词滥调和权威一样。

And they live to mobilize their peers.

他们将动员同龄人当作人生的目标。

Already, they’ve had some success persuading statehouses and some of the biggest gun retailers¹⁶ to change.

目前他们已经成功地说服州议会和一些最大的枪支零售商做出了改变。

1 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

2 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

3 commonsense   

adj.有常识的；明白事理的；注重实际的

参考例句：

• It is commonsense to carry an umbrella in this weather.这种天气带把伞是很自然的。
• These results are no more than a vindication of commonsense analysis.这些结果只不过是按常理分析得出的事实。

4 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

5 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

7 cowardice   

n.胆小，怯懦

参考例句：

• His cowardice reflects on his character.他的胆怯对他的性格带来不良影响。
• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。

8 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

9 mendacious   

adj.不真的，撒谎的

参考例句：

• The mendacious beggar told a different tale of woe at every house.这个撒谎的乞丐对于每一家都编了一个不同悲哀的故事。
• She gave us a mendacious report.她给了我们一个虚假的报告。

10 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 peddling   

忙于琐事的，无关紧要的

参考例句：

• He worked as a door-to-door salesman peddling cloths and brushes. 他的工作是上门推销抹布和刷子。
• "If he doesn't like peddling, why doesn't he practice law? "要是他不高兴卖柴火，干吗不当律师呢？

12 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 platitudes   

n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子

参考例句：

• He was mouthing the usual platitudes about the need for more compassion. 他言不由衷地说了些需要更加同情之类的陈腔滥调。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He delivered a long prose full of platitudes. 他发表了一篇充满陈词滥调的文章。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 punditry   

n.专家（或权威等）的学问（或方法、见解）

参考例句：

16 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。