名校励志英语演讲 142:敢于竞争 勇于关爱(9)

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　　在一个大众文化和高消费的国度里，你们可能听说都不是巨大的阴谋，而是我们天天都能见到的无形的讽刺、冷漠和疏远。

　　But as many have said before and as Vaclav Havel has said to memorably⁵, “It cannot suffice just to invent new machines, new regulations and new institutions. It is necessary to understand differently and more perfectly⁶ the true purpose of our existence on this Earth and of our deeds.” And I think we are called on to reject, in this time of blessings⁷ that we enjoy, those who will tear us apart and tear us down and instead to liberate⁸ our God-given spirit, by being willing to dare to dream of a better world.

　　很多人曾说过，瓦兹拉夫·哈维尔（曾任捷克斯洛伐克总统）也曾明确表示过，“仅仅发明新机器、制定新条例、设立新机构是不够的，对于我们存在于这个世界以及我们行为的真正目的有一个全新的、彻底的认识是非常重要的。”而且，我认为，生活在幸福中的我们要敢于去追求一个更加完美的世界，这种力量呼吁我们去反抗那些离间、诋毁我们而不是帮助我们发挥天赋的人。

　　During my campaign, when times were tough and days were long I used to think about the example of Harriet Tubman, a heroic New Yorker, a 19th century Moses, who risked her life to bring hundreds of slaves to freedom. She would say to those who she gathered up in the South where she kept going back year after year from the safety of Auburn, New York, that no matter what happens, they had to keep going. If they heard shouts behind them, they had to keep going. If they heard gunfire or dogs, they had to keep going to freedom. Well, those aren’t the risks we face. It is more the silence and apathy⁹ and indifference that dogs our heels.

　　在我参加竞选的过程中，当我遇到挫折，日子变得艰难时，我常常把哈利特·塔布曼作为榜样。她是纽约的英雄，是19世纪的摩西，她冒着生命危险带领成百上千的奴隶走向了自由。每年她都会从安全的纽约奥本回到南方，将奴隶聚集到一起，告诉他们，无论发生什么都必须坚持往前走。如果听见背后有人大声喊叫，，他们也必须坚持往前走。如果听见枪声或者狗叫声，他们也必须向着自由继续前行。然而这些并不是我们现在所面临的危险，我们此刻最主要的问题是沉默、无情和冷淡。

　　希拉里·克林顿给我们的启示

　　But you know that belief and conviction——it may make for a personal mission statement but standing¹⁰ alone, not translated into action, it means very little to anyone else, particularly to those for whom you have those concerns.

　　但是你们要知道，信仰和信念可以促进个人目标的实现，但如果仅仅挂在嘴上，而不是付诸于行动的话，那这些对任何人来说都没有太大意义，特别是对于那些你所关注的人。

　　Because I have that absolute conviction that every child, especially in this, the most blessed of nations that has ever existed on the face of the earth, that every child deserves the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential.

　　因为我坚信，每一个孩子，特别是在美国这个地球上备受上帝恩惠的国度里的孩子，都应该有机会发挥他们的天赐的潜能。

　　But it is also important, as I have found, not to take yourself too seriously, because after all, every one of us here today, none of us is deserving of full credit.

　　但是我发现，同样重要的是，不要把自己太当一回事，因为毕竟我们今天在座的所有人中没有一个人是十全十美的。

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