欧美名人演讲 第37期:奥巴马最后一次国情咨文(18)

 　　That's not telling it like it is. It's just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world.

　　我们美国人不应该是这样的人。这种做法大错特错。它贬低了我们在世界眼中的形象。

　　It makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a country.

　　让我们更难达成目标。而且它背离了美国的国家本质。

　　"We the People." Our Constitution begins with those three simple words, words we've come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together.

　　“我们合众国人民”我们的宪法以这三个简单的词开始，也是这三个词让我们认识到，这里指的是所有人，而不是一部分人；这三个单词坚定地认为我们应该共进退。

　　And that brings me to the fourth, and maybe the most important thing I want to say tonight.

　　这就是我想说的第四点，也可能是今晚我想讲的最重要的一点。

　　The future we want, all of us want opportunity and security for our families; a rising standard of living and a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids all that is within our reach.

　　我们期盼的未来：每个家庭都享有机遇和安全；生活水平得以提高，以及为孩子们创造一个可持续的、和平的星球，这些都是我们可以实现的。

　　But it will only happen if we work together. It will only happen if we can have rational, constructive¹ debates.

　　但是，要实现这些期盼，我们必须一起努力。只有经过理性、且富有建设性的辩论，这些期盼才可能实现。

　　It will only happen if we fix our politics.

　　要实现这一期盼，我们必须解决政治问题。

　　A better politics doesn't mean we have to agree on everything.

　　更好的政治形态并不意味着意见始终统一。

　　This is a big country, with different regions and different attitudes and different interests. That's one of our strengths, too.

　　美国是一个大国，有不同的地区，不同的看法，不同的利益。这也是我们的优势之一。

　　Our Founders² distributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, just as they did, fiercely, over the size and shape of government, over commerce and foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives³ of security.

　　开国先驱们将权力分配给各个州，各政府部门，希望我们像他们一样进行辩论，探讨政府的规模和形态，探讨贸易和外交关系，探讨自由的含义和安全的必要性。

　　But democracy does require basic bonds of trust between its citizens.

　　但民主确实需要公民之间的信任纽带。

　　It doesn't work if we think the people who disagree with us are all motivated by malice⁴, it dosen't work if we think that our political opponents are unpatriotic or trying to weaken America.

　　如果我们认为与自己观点相左的人都心怀恶意，或者认为我们的政敌都不爱国或者想削弱美国的力量，那民主就无法实现。

　　Democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise; or when even basic facts are contested, or when we listen only to those who agree with us.

　　如果不愿意妥协，连最基本的事实都存在争议，而我们只听那些赞同的声音，那么民主就会停滞不前。

1 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

2 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

3 imperatives   

n.必要的事( imperative的名词复数 )；祈使语气；必须履行的责任

参考例句：

• Nixon, however, had other imperatives. 但尼克松另有需要。 来自辞典例句
• There could be some cultural imperatives in there somewhere! 在公共传播那里，在某些方面，可能有更迫切的文化需要！ 来自互联网

4 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。