双语有声阅读：在千年首脑峰会上的讲话

 Madam President (of Finland),

 

Mr. President (of Namibia),

 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentelemen,

 

I am deeply honored to welcome you all.

 

Never before have the leaders of so many nations come together in a single Assembly.This is a unique event.A unique opportunity. And therefore a unique responsibility.You, ladies and gentlemen, are the leaders towhom the world’s peoples have entrusted¹ their destiny.They look to you to protect them from the great dangers of our time;and too ensure that all of them can share in its great achievements.

 

In an age when human beings have learnt the code of human life,and can transmit their knowledge in secondsfrom one continent to another,no mother in the world can understand why her child should be left to die ofmalnutrition or preventable disease.No one can understand why they should be driven from their home, or imprisoned² or tortured for expressing their beliefs.No one can understand why the soil their parents tilled has turned to desert,or why their skills have become useless and their family is left hungry.

 

People know that these challenges cannot be met by one country alone,or by one government alone. Change cannot be held back by frontiers.Human progress has always come from individual and local initiatives, freely devised and then freely adapted elsewhere.

 

Your job, as political leaders, is to encourage such initiatives.To make sure they are not stifled³, and that all your peoples can benefit from them.And to limit, or to compensate⁴ for, the adverse⁵ effects that change always has, on some people, somewhere.

 

Your peoples look to you for a common effort to solve their problems.They expect you to work together, as governments.And they expect you to work together with all the other institutions - profit or non profit,public and private where human beings join hands to promote their ideas and their interests.

 

People want to see this happen between neighboring countries,and among all the countries of each region.But since today’s biggest challenges are global, they expect above all that we will work together at the global level,as the United Nations.

 

My friends, that is why we are here. We are here to strengthen and adapt this great institution,forged 55 years ago in the crucible⁶ of war,so that it can do what people expect of it in the new era - an era in which rule of law must prevail.Last month I sent you a Report, produced by a panel of experts,which makes detailed⁷ suggestions for strengthening the United Nations in the crucial area of peace and security the area where people look especially to the State, and where the world’s peoples look to the United Nations,to save them “from the scourge⁸ of war”.Please consider that Report very seriously.

 

It is not only in that field, however, that the United Nations needs strengthening.We must strengthen it across the whole range of our activities.

 

We need to decide our priorities. And we must adapt our United Nations,so that in future those priorities are reflected in clear and prompt decisions,leading to real change in people’s lives.

 

That, my friends, is what the peoples expect of us. Let us not disappoint them.

 

Thank you.

 

总统女士（芬兰），

 

总统先生（纳米比亚）

 

诸位阁下，

 

女士们,先生们：

 

在此欢迎诸位,我深感荣幸。

 

这么多国家的领导人聚集一堂参加同一次大会，这是前所 未有的事情。这是一件非比一般的盛事.这是一次极不寻常的机会。因此，诸位负有独特的责任。女士们，先生们，你们是领导者，世界各国人民已经将他们的命运托付于你们。他们期望 你们保护他们，不让他们遭受我们这个时代的严重危害；他们期望你们确保他们能够分享我们这个时代所取得的伟大成就。

 

现今，人类已经破解了生命的密码，并且能够在几秒钟之内将知识从一个大陆传输到另一个大陆。在这样一个时代，世界上没有一个母亲能够理解为什么她的孩子竟然无人救助、死于 营养不良或者本来可以预防的疾病。没有一个人能够理解为什 么袒露自己信念的人居然被逐出家园，被囚禁牢中，甚至被拷打折磨。没有一个人能够理解为什么他们的父辈辛勤耕耘过的土 地变成了荒漠,为什么他们的劳动技能变得毫无用处，为什么他 们的家人忍饥挨饿。

 

大家知道,这些难题单靠一个国家是解决不了的，也不可能单靠一届政府就能解决的。疆土边境不可能阻止变革。人类的 进步总是来自于个人和局部的首创精神；这些首创精神是被自由地创造出来，然后经过自由发挥，适用于其他地方。

 

作为政治领袖,你们的工作就是要鼓励这种首创精神。要确保这种精神不被扼杀，并确保你们的人民都能从中受益。如果在某些地方某些人民身上改种变革产生不利影响，那就要加以限制或者加以弥补。

 

你们的人民期待着你们共同努力解决他们的问题。他们期望你们代表政府协同工作。并且他们期望你们同所有其他机构——贏利性的和非贏利性的，公共的和私人的一道工作，携手推广人类的观念，共同促进人类感兴趣的事业。

 

人们希望看到毗邻的国家以及世界各地所有国家都出现这种合作的局面。但是，因为我们今天遇到的最大挑战是全球性的，所以人们首要希望的是我们代表联合国在全球的范围之内 携手合作。

 

朋友们，这就是我们聚集在一起的原因。我们聚集在这里是为了加强和改进这个伟大的机构——这个伟大的机构是55年前在战争的严峻考验之中经过艰难困苦建立起来的，这个机构能够在法制必胜的新纪元里不辜负人们的期望。上个月，我将专家组所拟的一份报告寄给了你们。报告提出了详细的建议，旨在加强联合国在和平与安全这个关键领域中的作用。在这一领域，人民特别希望其国家，世界人们则指望联合国，将他 们从"战争的苦难”中解救出来。敬请认真考虑这个报告。

 

然而，不仅仅是在上述领域联合国需要加强合作，发挥更大作用。在所有活动范围内，我们都必须加强联合国的作用。

 

事情的轻重缓急，轨先孰后，我们需要作出决定。我们必须 对我们的联合国进行改革，以期在将来需要优先考虑的重大拳情在明确而果断的决策中得以体现，并真正给人民的生活带来变化。

 

朋友们，这就是人民寄予我们的期望。我们不能让人民失望。

 

谢谢大家。

1 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

3 stifled   

（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵

参考例句：

• The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
• The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。

4 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

5 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

6 crucible   

n.坩锅，严酷的考验

参考例句：

• The alliance had been forged in the crucible of war.这个联盟经受了战争的严峻考验。
• Put the required amount of metal into the crucible.把适量的金属放入坩埚。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。