Recently, as you probably maybe have read, Rosa Parks, a former seamstress married to a barber, married to a hairdresser, died, and she lay in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capital in Washington. People from around America came to say farewell to her and to thank her for changing our history and for changing our society. Now, what did this 92 year-old black woman do that deserved such great honor? What did she do? Well, in 1955, the days of racial segregation, she had refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. She had refused. Her simple refusal to move to the back of the bus put into motion events that led to my country's great civil rights movement. The small protest of a woman that maybe weighed less than 100 pounds, brought down a racist system. As you can see, the individual can make a difference.
最近罗莎·帕克斯去世了，你们可能已经看到了相关报道。她曾是一名裁缝，嫁给了一个理发师，但现在她却长眠于美国首都华盛顿国会大厦的圆形建筑里，受世人敬仰。来自美国各个州的人们都来向她告别，感谢她改变了我们的历史、改变了我们的社会。这位92岁的黑人妇女到底做了什么竟能获得如此殊荣？她做过什么？1955年，美国那时还处于种族隔离时期，罗莎·帕克斯在公交车上拒绝把座位让给一个白人。没错，她拒绝让座给白人。她拒绝到公交车车尾这一简单的举动推动了美国伟大的民权运动的进展。一位体重不足100磅的女人的一个小小的抗议竟瓦解了种族主义制度。由此你们可以看到，个人可以产生深远的影响。
Let me tell you about another individual, Ken Behring, a millionaire California businessman who found his passion in giving wheelchairs to poor and physically disabled people all around the globe, including China. He says that he has met people who have spent years in rooms with no window, just lying there and staring up at the ceiling, never seeing the outside world unless someone was willing to pick up that person and take them outside to show them the world. He says that it's no wonder so many of those physically disabled people dream about being a bird.
让我再给你们讲述一个人，这个人就是加利福尼亚州的百万富翁肯·贝林，他是一位商人，他对援助轮椅情有独钟，曾向包括中国在内的全世界各个国家的贫困残疾人捐助轮椅。他说他曾见过一些残疾人连续数年待在没有窗户的屋子里，只是躺在那儿盯着天花板看，看不到外面的世界，除非有人愿意扶起他们，带他们去看外面的世界。他说难怪那么多残疾人都梦想着自己能成为一只小鸟呢。
重点讲解：
1. refuse to do sth.
拒绝；回绝做某事；
eg. I refuse to have such goings-on under my roof.
我不允许这样的事发生在我的屋里。
eg. I simply refuse to conceive of such a solution.
这样的解决办法，我是绝对不考虑的。
2. give up
把…让给；
eg. Georgia refuses to give up any territory.
格鲁吉亚拒绝出让任何领土。
eg. One of the men with him gave up his place on the bench.
他的一个同伴将长椅上的位子让了出来。
3. bring down
使垮台；击倒；
eg. Failure to win vote of confidence could bring down the government.
失去信任票可能使政府倒台。
eg. Otherwise, the money would be used for blowing bubbles, which could bring down the country.
否则，这些钱就会被用来催生资产泡沫，这也会拖垮经济。
4. be willing to do sth.
乐意的；愿意做某事；
eg. I am quite willing to fall in with anything you suggest.
不管你建议什么，我都愿意支持。
eg. The old man is willing to pledge for him.
那位老人愿意为他担保。
5. no wonder
（表示找出某事的原因）难怪，怪不得；
eg. No wonder he looked so dour.
难怪他看上去如此严厉。
eg. No wonder he is not hungry; he has been eating sweets all day.
难怪他不饿，他整天在吃糖果。
名人简介：
社会活动
2005年11月14日，由中国残联、中国特奥会、中国残疾人福利基金会和北京市政府主办的“快来参加特奥“大型火炬接力长跑活动在北京举行。国际特奥会“慈善大使“阿诺·施瓦辛格参加了特奥火炬慈善接力跑和慈善拍卖活动。
2012年9月，南加州大学成立了“施瓦辛格研究室“，旨在探索好莱坞电影在解决社会问题方面所能发挥的积极作用。该研究室由施瓦辛格出资2000万美元，与南加大合作创办，全称为“南加大施瓦辛格国家与全球政策研究所“，施瓦辛格还担任该智库的顾问委员会主席一职。
美国加利福尼亚当地时间2013年9月20日，施瓦辛格担任某健美运动主持人并为自己的回忆录做宣传。 |