PBS高端访谈:奥巴马颁发总统自由勋章 乔丹盖茨等名人获奖

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight: Twenty-one people received the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year, from artists and entertainers, to philanthropists and scientists.

　　President Obama handed out the medals at the White House this afternoon.

　　PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Extraordinary Americans who have lifted our spirits, strengthened our union, pushed us towards progress.

　　These two have donated more money to charitable causes than anyone ever.

　　Many years ago, Melinda's mom told her an old saying: To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, that is success.

　　By this and just about any other measure, few in human history have been more successful than these two impatient¹ optimists².

　　PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Ellen DeGeneres has a way of making you laugh about some thing, rather than at someone, except when I danced on her show. She laughed at me.

　　But that's OK. It's easy to forget now, when we have come so far, where now marriage is equal under the law, just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago.

　　PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Now, every journalist in the room, every media knows the phrase Newt Minow coined: the vast wasteland.

　　But the two words Newt prefers we remember from his speech to the nation's broadcasters are these: public interest. That's been the heartbeat of his life's work.

　　奥巴马颁发总统自由勋章 乔丹盖茨等名人获奖

　　PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: The game of baseball has a handful³ of signature sounds. You hear the crack of the bat. You have got the crowd singing in the seventh inning stretch. And you have got the voice of Vin Scully.

　　When he heard about this honor⁴, Vin asked, with characteristic humility⁵, "Are you sure? I'm just an old baseball announcer⁶."

　　PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: And we had to inform him that, to Americans of all ages, you are an old friend. Here's how great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was; 1967, he had spent a year dominating⁷ college basketball. The NCAA bans the dunk.

　　They didn't say it was about Kareem, but it was about Kareem. There's a reason you call somebody the Michael Jordan of — Michael Jordan of neurosurgery, or the Michael Jordan of rabbis, or the Michael Jordan of outrigger canoeing⁸.

　　Because Michael Jordan is the Michael Jordan of greatness. I am the president. He is the Boss. And pushing 70, he is still laying down four-hour live sets. If you have not been at them, he is working, fire-breathing rock ‘n' roll.

　　So, I thought twice about giving him a medal named for freedom, because we hope he remains⁹, in his words, a prisoner of rock ‘n' roll for years to come.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: What a star-studded group.

　　The Medal of Freedom winners marked the occasion¹⁰ with a star-studded mannequin challenge. You can watch that on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.

　　And that's the "NewsHour" for tonight. I'm Judy Woodruff.

　　Join us online and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, and good night.

1 impatient   

adj.不耐烦的，急躁的；热切的，急切的

参考例句：

• He was so impatient that I could hardly hold him back.他是那样急躁，我简直拉不住他。
• With an impatient gesture he thrust the food away from him.他不耐烦地把吃的东西猛地推开。

2 optimists   

n.乐观主义者( optimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even optimists admit the outlook to be poor. 甚至乐观的人都认为前景不好。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Optimists reckon house prices will move up with inflation this year. 乐观人士认为今年的房价将会随通货膨胀而上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 handful   

n.一把；少量，少数，一小撮

参考例句：

• We invited 30 people, but only a handful came.我们邀请了30人，但是只到了几个人。
• He pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket.他从口袋里掏出一把硬币。

4 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

5 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

6 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。

7 dominating   

adj.有领导作风的；统治的，独裁的v.控制( dominate的现在分词 )；在…中占首要地位；在…中具有最重要（或明显）的特色；在…中拥有最重要的位置

参考例句：

• He is dominating and active in manner. 他有领导作风而且能采取主动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually commodity production becomes the dominating form. 商品生产逐渐地成了统治的形式。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

8 canoeing   

n.划独木舟，玩独木舟；皮划艇运动

参考例句：

• We were canoeing in the lake. 我们在湖中划独木舟。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• You can take part in activities from canoeing to bird watching. 你可以参与从划独木舟到观鸟等各种活动。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 occasion   

n.场合，时机，机会，诱因，理由；vt.惹起，引起

参考例句：

• Her dress was too showy for such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，她的服装过分华丽了。
• Her tears were fought back on such an occasion.在这种场合下她忍住了眼泪。