第一篇:里根总统访华欢迎宴会上的演讲 英文版(范文)
Speech at Welcoming banquet
Ronald Reagan
April 27, 1984
Since we arrived the graciousness with which we have been received has been truly heartwarming.A Chinese proverb best describes my feeling: when the visitor arrives, it is as if returning home.Having already known Premier Zhao, one of the purposes of my visit was to make new friends.But I find that instead of making friends, I am among friends.Mr.Premier, your memorable visit to the United States permitted you to judge for yourself the intentions of the American people.I hope the good will you experienced, just as I have enjoyed from your people, confirmed to you that our citizens want our countries to work in harmony.The American and Chinese Government have responded to that wish in a series of formal communiqués which set forth the fundamental principles of our relationship: the 1972 Shanghai communiqués;the January 1, 1979 communiqué establishing diplomatic relations;and, the August 17, 1982 communiqué negotiated by my administration.Mr.Premier, by any accounting, the cooperation between China and the United States already has been a boon to our people.We have both gained.In the last few years, two-way trade has taken off.There has been a veritable explosion of student, science, business, and tourist exchanges between our peoples.Joint business ventures, which profit all concerned, are multiplying.We would be less than candid if we minimized the significance of the benefits we each receive from our good relations.Standing together, we expand the trade and commercial ties that increase the quality of life in both countries.Standing together, we can further peace and security.Great nations, if adversaries, cannot draw from each others’ strengths.The commitment to stand as friends has been made.The promise is solid.The challenges that remain, however, will take both patience and mutual understanding.I have suggested, and with your permission, say again this evening: let us use as our guide the principle of mutual respect, mutual benefit.This principle has within it both dignity and fairness.Another source from which to draw is our knowledge of each other, a well of familiarity which increases in depth with every passing day.We are each working hard to learn more about the delicate and detailed workings of the other’s system— ours with its complex legal procedures based on the separation of powers, and yours with its own intricate patterns.Insights into why and how decisions are made can help both us appreciate our agreements and accept in good faith our disagreements.For what we see, Premier Zhao, my countrymen are enthused by what is happening in China.Your modernization program, an ambitious undertaking, makes our future relationship even more promising.You are striving to quadruple your production by the year 2 000.The eyes of the world are watching as you progress on this peaceful and productive course.The American people wish you success and offer you our cooperation in this great endeavor.Americans, more than others, admire those who set great goals and strive to improve their lot.When that first American merchant ship set sail for China 200 years ago, our forefathers were citizens of a weak republic living in an unexplored and undeveloped land.We Americans are proud of our accomplishments in these last 200 years, just as you are rightfully proud of the
enormous contributions Chinese civilization has made to mankind.As China moves forward to modernize and develop its economy, the United States is eager to join in a cooperative effort to share the American capabilities that helped turn our country from a vast wilderness into an industrial giant.Those American capabilities flow from the creative enterprise our society encourages.Our progress is based on what we have found to work.If it did not work, the American people, who are pragmatic by nature, would likely have abandoned it long ago.China today, I understand, is taking its own practical approach.By increasing incentives and decentralizing decision making, you are promoting innovation, creativity, and a better ability to adapt to local conditions.The responsibility system in agriculture has spurred increases in food production throughout China.And the Special Economic Zones are providing dramatic examples of how incentives can raise productivity and offer bountiful opportunities for a better life.In your drive for modernization, you have our best wishes.If you ask our advice, we can only answer with truth as we see it.But let me assure you that we want you to succeed.Having one billion people—nearly a quarter of mankind healthy, well-fed, clothed and housed, educated and given the opportunity for a higher standard of living---is in the interest of good and decent people everywhere.It is certainly in the interest of the American people, who wish to trade and be friends with the Chinese people.Premier Zhao, as we are all aware, our cooperation is based on more than simply the desire to improve our economies.Today the peace of the world is threatened by a major power that is focusing its resources and energies not on economic progress but, instead, on military power.The shift in military might of the last decade has made trust and friendship between us ever more vital.I know it is your desire, and that of the United States as well, that peace be preserved.We seek to better the quality of life of our people and that can be done only in a peaceful environment.War is the great destroyer of all the hopes of mankind.To preserve the peace and protect our own sovereignty and independence, we stand together in opposing expansionism and hegemony.Both of us seek to promote peace and reconciliation through dialogue between South and North on the Korean peninsula.Both of us seek the early independence of Namibia and an end to outside interference in the affairs of southern Africa.Although our prescriptions for getting there are quite different, we share a common desire for a resolution of the turmoil in the Middle East and Central America.Both of us seek an end to the use of chemical weapons, and agree on the necessity of reducing nuclear arms.A strong China dedicated to peace, clearly, is in the best interest of international stability and in the best interest of the United States.A robust and enduring friendship will bolster the security of both of our countries without compromising the independence of either.It will be the trust between us that will keep us and the world at peace.In this, let us be of the same kind.And as a saying from The Book of Changes goes, “If two people are of the same kind, their sharpness can cut through metal.”
It is the hope and prayer of the American people that someday there will no longer be a need for our Nation to use any of its resources to produce weapons of any kind.The Chinese and American people are now showing the world, by our example, that there is a better way than hatred and violence.Many of us in this room have seen much history in our lifetimes.My own lifetime spans one third of the history of the American Republic.Over the many years that God has permitted me to
live, I have observed the changing nature of the relationship between our two countries.At times, our feelings toward each other were hostile and negative.Today we have the opportunity to keep our countries on a path of genuine good will that will reap rewards for generations to come.Let us not shy from the task.It will not be easy.Yet, let us move forward so that some day when the young people of our countries reach a ripe old age, they will look back and there will be no memory of a time when there was anything else but friendship and good feelings between the Chinese and American people.That is a gift we can give to them.
第二篇:里根总统演讲中英文
里根总统就职演讲稿完整中文翻译版
里根总统是个非常擅长演讲的人,他的演讲从头至尾一气呵成.他不看讲稿,完全是即席演讲。他的语速和声音的节奏控制得非常好,听他的演讲本身就是在欣赏一场伟大的演出。
Senator Hatfield, Mr.Chief Justice, Mr.President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens: To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion;and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence.The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are.In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.尊敬的海特菲尔德议员、法官先生、总统先生、副总统布什、蒙代尔、贝克议员、发言人奥尼尔、摩麦以及广大支持我的美国同胞们:今天对于我们中间的一些人来说,是一个非常庄严隆重的时刻。对于这个国家的历史却是一件普通的事情。按照宪法要求,政府权利正在有序地移交,我们已经如此“例行公事”了两个世纪,很少有人觉得这有什么特别。但在世界上更多人看来,我们这个已经习以为常的四年一次的仪式却是一个奇迹。
Mr.President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition.By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwark of our Republic.总统先生,我希望我们的同胞们都能知道你为了这个传承而付出的努力。通过移交程序中的通力合作,展示了这样一个事实:我们是一个团结一致的民族,这个民族决心捍卫一种比任何其他体制更能充分保证个人民主自由的政治制度。我要感谢你和你的伙伴们的帮助,因为你们坚持了这样的传承,这种传承的连续性恰是我们共和国的支柱。
The business of our nation goes forward.These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions.We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history.It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike.It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.我们国家的事业在继续前进。合众国正面临巨大的经济困难。我们遭遇到我国历史上历时最长、最严重之一的通货膨胀,它扰乱着我们的经济决策,使储蓄的人反而受到惩罚,压迫着正在挣扎谋生的青年人和收入固定的中年人,威胁着要摧毁我国千百万人民的生计。
Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human misery and personal indignity.Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.停滞的工业使工人失业、蒙受痛苦并失去了个人尊严。即使那些有工作的人,也因沉重的税负而得不到公正的劳动报酬,因为这种税收制度使我们无法在事业上取得成就,使我们无法保持充分的生产力。
But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending.For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present.To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.尽管我们的纳税负担相当沉重,但还是跟不上公共开支的增长。数十年来,我们的赤字额屡屡上升,我们为图目前暂时的方便,已把自己和子孙的前途都抵押出去。这一趋势如果长此以往,必然引起社会、文化、政治和经济等方面的大动荡。
You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time.Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation? We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow.And let there be no misunderstanding——we are going to begin to act, beginning today.作为个人,你们和我可以靠借贷过一种入不敷出的生活,然而只能维持一段有限的时期,我们怎么可以认为,作为一个国家整体,我们就不应受到同样的约束呢?为了明天,我们今天就必须行动起来。大家都要明白无误地懂得--我们从今天起就要采取行动。
The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades.They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away.They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.我们深受其害的经济弊病,几十年来一直袭击着我们。这些弊病不会在几天、几星期或几个月内消失,但它们终将消失。它们之所以终将消失,是因为我们作为现在的美国人,一如既往地有能力去完成需要完成的事情,以保存这个最后而又最伟大的自由堡垒。
In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.在当前这场危机中,政府的管理不能解决我们面临的问题。政府的管理就是问题所在。
From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden.The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.我们时常误以为,社会已经越来越复杂,已经不可能凭借自治方式加以管理,而一个由杰出人物组成的政府要比民享、民治、民有的政府高明。可是,假如我们之中谁也管理不了自己,那么,我们之中谁还能去管理他人呢。我们大家--不论政府官员还是平民百姓--必须共同肩负起这个责任,我们谋求的解决办法必须是公平的,不要使任何一个群体付出较高的代价。
We hear much of special interest groups.Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected.It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines.It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick——professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers.They are, in short, “We the people,” this breed called Americans.我们听到许多关于特殊利益集团的谈论,然而。我们必须关心一个被忽视了大久的特殊利益集团。这个集团没有区域之分,没有人种之分,没有民族之分,没有政党之分,这个集团由许许多多的男人与女人组成,他们生产粮食,巡逻街头,管理厂矿,教育儿童,照料家务和治疗疾病。他们是专业人员、实业家、店主、职员、出租汽车司机和货车驾驶员,总而言之,他们就是“我们的人民”—就是美国人民。
Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination.Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work.Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs.All must share in the productive work of this “new beginning” and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy.With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.本届政府的目标是必须建立一种健全的、生气勃勃的和日益发展的经济,为全体美国人民提供一种不因偏执或歧视而造成障碍的均等机会。使美国复兴,意味着使全体美国人都有工作;制止通货膨胀,意味着使全体美国人免除对势如脱缰之马的生活费用的恐惧。人人都应分担“新开端”的富有成效的工作,人人都应分享经济复苏的硕果。我们力量的核心是理想主义和公正对待的精神,有了这些,我们就能建立一个强大繁荣的美国,在国内和全世界都相安无事。
So, as we begin, let us take inventory.We are a nation that has a government——not the other way around.And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth.Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people.It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.在我们向复兴美国开始迈步之际,先让我们看看我们的实际情况。我们是一个拥有政府的国家--而不是一个拥有国家的政府。这一点使我们在世界合国中独树一帜,我们的政府除了人民授予的权力,没有任何别的权力。现在是制止并扭转政府机构和权力膨胀的时候了,因为种种迹象表明,这种膨胀已超过人民的意愿。
It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people.All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States;the States created the Federal Government.我想要做的是限制联邦政府的规模和权力,并要求大家承认联邦政府被授予的权力同各州或人民保留的权利这两者之间的区别。必须提醒我们大家注意:不是联邦政府创立了各州,而是各州创立了联邦政府。
Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government.It is, rather, to make it work-work with us, not over us;to stand by our side, not ride on our back.Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it;foster productivity, not stifle it.因此,请不要误解,我不是要取消政府,而是要它发挥作用--同我们一起合作,而不是凌驾于我们之上;同我们并肩而立,而不是骑在我们的身上。政府能够而且必须提供而不是扼杀机会,能够而且必须促进而不是抑制生产力。
If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before.Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.多年来我们能取得巨大成就,获得世界上任何一个民族未曾获得的繁荣昌盛的原因是在这片土地上我们比以往任何时候都最大程度地发挥人的潜能和个人的天才;这里比任何其他任何地方更容易得到、更可以保证个人的自由和尊严。得到这种自由所付出的代价有时相当昂贵,但我们从没不愿意付出这种代价。
It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government.It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.We are not, as some would have us believe, loomed to an inevitable decline.I do not believe in a fate that will all on us no matter what we do.I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal.Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength.And let us renew;our faith and our hope.We have every right to dream heroic dreams.我们目前困难的制造者是政府不必要和过度膨胀对我们生活的干预和侵扰,这不是偶然的巧合。我们应该真正认识到我们是一个伟大的国家,不能自囿于小小的梦想,我们不像有些人要我们相信的那样注定要不可避免地衰落,我不相信我们命该如此,无论我们做什么都不能改变那些人描绘的宿命,但我相信,如果我们什么也不做,我们将的确命该如此。为此,让我们以我们拥有的一切创造力来开创一个国家复兴的时代吧。让我们重新下定决心,拿出我们的勇气和力量,让我们重新满怀信心和希望,我们完全有权利塑造崇高的理想。
Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes just don't know where to look.You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates.Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond.You meet heroes across a counter——and they are on both sides of that counter.There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity.They are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education.Their patriotism is quiet but deep.Their values sustain our national life.当下那些不知道去哪发现英雄的人说我们正身处于一个没有英雄的时代。你们可以看到每天进出于工厂大门的英雄们;另外一些英雄人数虽少,但生产的粮食却足够养活我们大家和世界其他地区的人民;你们会在柜台前遇到英雄--在柜台的内外遇到英雄们,其中的一些人是对自己抱有信心的、有理想的企业家,他们创造新的职业、新的财富和机会,政府的维持就是靠这样一些个人和家族缴纳的捐税,教会、慈善事业、文化、艺术和教育事业也是靠他们的自愿捐献来维持的。他们的爱国主义精神含而不露,但却是强烈的,他们创造的价值支撑着我们的国民生活。
I have used the words “they” and “their” in speaking of these heroes.I could say “you” and “your” because I am addressing the heroes of whom I speak——you, the citizens of this blessed land.Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help me God.我在说到这些英雄时,用了“他们”和“他们的”这两个字眼,但也可以说“你们”、“你们的”。因为我现在正给我提及的英雄们讲话--就是你们,这个上帝降福的国土上的公民们。你们的理想、希望、目标将是本届政府的理想、希望、目标,愿上帝保佑我做到这一点。
We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup.How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?
我们将体现出在你们的禀性中占很大成分的同情心。怎么能爱我们的国家而不爱我们的同胞呢?我们要爱他们,在他们摔倒时伸出手去扶住他们,在他们患病时给他们治愈,并提供机会使他们自给自足,使他们获得实在而不是口头上的平等。
Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic “yes.” To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.我们能解决摆在我们面前的这些问题吗?回答是毫不含糊和断然的两个字“能够”,借用温斯顿丘吉尔的话说,我刚才宣誓并不是想要在我的领导下使这个世界最强大的经济瓦解。
In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity.Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government.Progress may be slow——measured in inches and feet, not miles——but we will progress.Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden.And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.在今后的一段时间,我将建议消除一些使得我们经济发展缓慢和生产力下降的障碍,将要采取一些旨在恢复各级政府之间保持平衡的步骤,进展也许是缓慢的,用英寸和英尺而不是用英里来衡量,但我们会前进。现在应当是唤醒这个工业巨人的时候,使政府能够重新量入为出,减轻我们惩罚性的赋税负担,这将是我们首要的任务,在这些原则上绝不会妥协。
On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr.Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, “Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of…… On you depend the fortunes of America.You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn.Act worthy of yourselves.”
在我国为独立而斗争的前夕,有一个人曾对他的美国同胞说:“我们现在处于危险之中,但并没有绝望…美国的命运取决与你们。关系到尚未出生的千百万人的幸福和自由的一个重要问题是由你们来决定,你们的行动要无愧与你自己。”这个人就是马萨诸塞议会主席约瑟夫沃伦博士,如果他当初没有在邦克山牺牲,他也许成为我国建国的先人中最伟大的任务之一。
Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children and our children's children.我相信,我们当代美国人已做好无愧于我们自己行动的准备,做好为确保我们自己、孩子和子孙后代的幸福和自由必须进行工作的准备。
And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world.We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.当我们在这块土地上时代相传时,全世界将看到,我们所具有的力量更加强大,我们将再度成为自由的典范,成为现在还没有获得自由的那些人的希望之光。
To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment.We will match loyalty with loyalty.We will strive for mutually beneficial relations.We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for or own sovereignty is not for sale.对于与我们怀有同样自由理想的那些邻国和盟国,我们将加强我们之间传统性的沟通,保证对他们予以支持,对他们履行应尽的义务,忠诚地报答他们的忠诚,努力争取建立互利的关系,决不利用这种友谊去影响他们的主权,因为我们自己的主权也是不能出卖的。
As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded thatpeace is the highest aspiration of the American people.We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it;we will not surrender for it——now or ever.对于那些自由的敌人和潜在的对手,我们要提醒他们,和平是美国人民的最高愿望。我们将为和平而谈判,为和平而牺牲,但我们绝不为和平而投降,现在不会,将来也永远不会。
Our forbearance should never be misunderstood.Our reluctance for conflict should not bemisjudged as a failure of will.When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act.We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.对我们的忍让绝不应误解。不要把我们对冲突采取的克制态度误认为是意志不坚强。一旦需要采取行动保卫我们国家的安全,我们就采取行动。我们将保持足以在必要时取胜的力量,这样我们才最有可能不必动用这种力量。
Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.It is a weapon that we as Americans do have.Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.所以,我们必须认识到,世界各地军火库中的任何武器没有自由人们的意志和维护道义的勇气强大,这是当今世界上我们美国独有而我们对手所没有的武器。要让那些采取恐怖行动和掠夺自己邻国的人懂得这一点。
I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful.We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free.It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.当得知今天举行的祈祷会成千上万时,我深为感激。我们是上帝保佑的国家,我们相信,上帝希望我们得到自由。如果每次就职典礼日都能成为祈祷日,那是恰如其逢的好事。
This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have been told, on this West Front of the Capitol.Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city's special beauty and history.At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.就职仪式在国会大厦西门举行是美国历史的第一次。站在这里,宏伟壮丽的景色尽收眼底,可以看到华盛顿这座城市独特的美丽和历史。在这条宽阔林荫大道尽头矗立着我国历史伟大的纪念物。
Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country.A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly.He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood.Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson.The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence.在我的正前方是一位不朽人物的纪念碑,他就是我们的国父乔治华盛顿。他禀性谦恭,处于时势所迫才做出伟大业绩,领导美国取得革命胜利,建立一个新国家。稍偏一点是庄严雄伟的托马斯杰斐逊纪念堂,独立宣言闪耀着他的雄辩才华。
And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial.Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.在映影池的那一边,矗立着由大圆柱组成的庄严肃穆的林肯纪念堂,任何想彻底了解美国真谛的人都会在亚伯拉罕林肯的一生中得到答案。
Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David.They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.过了这些英雄纪念物就是波托马克河,河对岸就是阿灵顿国家公墓,坡地上排者一行行刻着十字架和大卫王之星的朴实无华的白色墓碑,他们仅仅是为了我们的自由所付出的代价的缩影。
Each one of those markers is a monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of earlier.Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.这里的每一个墓碑都是对我所提及的那些英雄的纪念。他们在一些叫贝鲁伍德、阿尔贡、奥马哈滩、萨莱诺的地方,在相隔半个地球之遥的瓜达卡钠尔、塔拉瓦、独排山、长津水岸和一个叫越南--有着许许多多稻田和丛林的地方献出了他们的生命。
Under one such marker lies a young man——Martin Treptow——who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division.There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.在这里的一块墓碑下躺着一位名叫马丁托雷普托的年轻人,他于1917年离开一座小镇的理发馆,随同著名的彩虹师来到法国。在那里的西部战场上,他在猛烈的炮火中为自己的部队传递信息时牺牲了。
We are told that on his body was found a diary.On the flyleaf under the heading, “My Pledge,” he had written these words: “America must win this war.Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.” 有人告诉我们在他的身上发现一本日记。扉页上写着这样的标题:“我的誓言”。他写下了这样的话语:“美国必须赢得这场战争。为此,我会奋斗,我会拯救,我会牺牲,我会忍受,我会并将尽我最大的努力英勇奋战,就好比所有的战争问题都将由我一个人来肩负。”
The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make.It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds;to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.我们今天面临的危机并不是要求我们作出像马丁托雷普托和其他数以千计人那样的牺牲,然而,它确实要求我们作出最大的努力去工作,要求我们愿意相信自己,相信我们有能力干出伟大的事业:团结一致,在上帝的帮助下,能够并且一定会解决我们面临的种种问题。
And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.God bless you, and thank you.我们为什么不应该相信这一点呢?毕竟我们是美国人。愿上帝祝福你们。
Mr.Vice President, Mr.Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:总统 副总统先生,议长先生,各位两院议员:
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941--a date which will live in infamy--the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.昨天,1941年12月7日――这一天将成为我们的国耻日――美利坚合众国遭到日本帝国的蓄谋已久的海、空突袭。The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.美国曾与该国和平相处,应该国之邀,还在与该国政府和天皇进行谈判,谋求维护太平洋区域和平。
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message.And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.事实上,在日本航空队开始轰炸美国的瓦湖岛一小时后,日本驻美大使及其同僚向我国务卿提交了对我国最近照会的正式答复,其内容是继续正在进行的外交谈判似乎已无意义,没有任何战争或武装攻击的威胁或暗示。
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago.During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.我们要牢记夏威夷到日本的距离清楚地表明,这次袭击只能是几天甚至是几周前蓄意策划的。在这期间,日本政府蓄意谋求用维护和平的善意的虚假消息来欺骗美国。
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces.I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost.In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.昨天对夏威夷群岛的攻击给美国海军和陆军造成了严重损失。我很遗憾地告诉你们很多美国人丧生。此外,美国船只在旧金山与火努鲁鲁之间的公海遭鱼雷攻击。
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.昨天夜间,日本政府发动了对马来亚的进攻。Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.昨天夜间,日军攻击了香港。
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.昨天夜间,日军攻击了关岛。
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.昨天夜间,日军攻击了菲律宾群岛。Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.昨天夜间,日军攻击了威克岛。
And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.今天上午,日军攻击了中途岛。
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area.The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves.The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.因此,日本已经实施了对太平洋区域的突袭。昨天和今天的事实已经不言而喻了。美国人民已下定决心,并且深知这对国家安全和每个人意味着什么。
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.作为美国海陆军总司令,我已下令不惜一切保卫国家。但是我们全国都要永记这次偷袭的性质。
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.不管用多长时间,我们终将战胜这次有预谋的侵略,美国人用他们的正义力量必将彻底胜利。
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.我相信我代表了国会和人民的意志,我宣布我们不仅要尽全力保卫自己,还要确保这样的背信弃义决不会再次发生。Hostilities exist.There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.面对敌意,我们不能闪烁其词,因为我们的人民、国土和利益都在最危险之中。
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph--so help us God.有对军队的信心,有人民的不屈决心,我们必胜!上帝保佑!I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.因为周日,1941年12月7日,日本对我国的无故的欺软怕硬的偷袭,我恳请国会宣布美国和日本帝国进入战争状态。
第三篇:总统演讲分析--里根第二次就职演讲分析
美国总统里根第二次就职演讲分析
Shawn Cheng
摘 要:本文为美国总统里根的第二次就职演说,因为其属于总统演讲,所以有其特定的语篇模式,这是由西方的修辞思维与表达模式决定的。完美的英语演讲不仅要求演讲者英语流、而且要求演讲语篇布局合理,突出西方的修辞思维与表达模式的特点。为了有效地用英语进行演讲,我们必须保证开头段落的新颖与独特吸引力,结尾段落做到呼应和强调,主体要点形成合理的布局,段落语句之间衔接自然流畅。本文试图从语篇模式以及一些系统功能的角度对美国总统里根第二次就职演说进行分析,以揭示演讲文体的意义以及其语篇、语言的体现。
关键词:总统演讲;合理布局;语篇模式;
引言
随着英语国际地位的提高与其影响力的与日俱增,英语演讲也逐渐进入到社会生活的方方面面。其作为一种独特的语体,在世界各地经久不衰,表现了顽强的生命力。演讲作为一门艺术,一种交际,一种传播和教育手段在当今社会仍发挥着巨大的作用。但国人用英语演讲时往往受中国固定思维模式的影响,虽然英语讲得漂亮很流利,语句也很通顺,但所表达的意思往往不被西方人认同和接受。其中一个原因就是国人在用英语表达和演讲时没有遵循英语演讲语篇的模式,而是毫无逻辑地用中式思维模式表达自己的观点。
一、英语演讲语篇的基本模式及其概念
英语演讲的语篇构成有三大部分 :Introduction,Body,Conclusion。Introduction 的功能为吸引听众、引起关注、建立演讲者的信誉、简述演讲主体中的要点。Body,即演讲的主体部分。演讲者可以根据演讲的主题按不同的模式组织布局。如可以根据时间、空间顺序可以遵循因果顺序、问题和方式顺序;亦可以将演讲主题细分为几个分点进行阐述。演讲 的主体部分将在第二部分详述。同时,演讲的结尾部分也应当是演讲的高潮部分,演讲者需要总结演讲的主旨和意图,并以一种使听众产生共鸣的方式来升华主题,并与 introduction相呼应,给听众一种心理上的统一感。本文所研究的就职演说的结尾,美国总统里根就具体化了美国之声,展现给听众的形象就是它充满希望,宽宏大量,富于理想;它勇敢无畏,正派庄重,公平持正。而且这一切都是上帝的恩赐、梦想与召唤,呼吁所有热爱和平自由的美国公民把这一梦想传给一个期待已久并且满怀希望的世界等,将演讲推向高潮。
二、语篇的内容与意图
在Lucas的演讲与艺术中(2004 :113),英语演讲根据演讲的目的可分为三类:介绍性的演讲(informative)、劝说性或劝诱性的演讲(persuasive)、仪式性的演讲(ceremonial)。介绍性的演讲一般是客观地对某一事件、过程、概念或物体进行介绍。仪式性的演讲则见于各种社交、外事场合,或介绍嘉宾、或颁奖致谢等。劝说性的演讲较广泛地应用于各种场合。劝说的目的要求演讲者遵循一定的思维模式。劝说性的演讲根据劝说的内容又可分为三类:事实性问题,价值性问题,政策性问题的劝说。从时间上考虑,就事实性问题的劝说演讲是对已发生的现象予以事实的认定或否定;价值性问题的劝说则是对现状的评论;而政策性劝说演讲则是对未来政策、方针、措施、计划等的取舍讨论。
在里根的就职演说中,三种演讲类型有机且紧密地结合在了一起。首先是介绍性的语言,里根总统客观地陈述了很多事件:第一任总统乔治·华盛顿把手放在《圣经》上庄严地宣誓;美国与俄罗斯的关于核威胁的协议;近几年税收过多和通货膨胀,以及失业现象的增多等等。然后是仪式性的语言,这个最为明显,因为总统就职演讲本身就属于一种政治上的仪式。最后一种形式即本文中的劝说性的语言,因为其分为事实性问题,价值性问题,政策性问题,故将他们逐一分析。事实性问题:里根决定向国会递交一份冻结明年政府项目开支的预算方案。并采取进一步的措施,以便永久控制政府在税收和开支方面的权力,达到减少国债和增强社会救济事务效果的目的;价值性问题:里根在其就职演讲中曾多次提及苏联问题,核武器问题。这是一种现状,同时也是对未来的一种预测与估计,里根对此的回应是政府正在积极采取措施应对,研发安全防卫措施,并寄予希望在两国的和平建交与谈判上;政策性问题:里根总统在本次演说中,提出了很多相关政策,方针,措施,计划等,除了之前提到的与苏联的和平协议,控制政府的税收和开支权利,还有国家民主权力的维护,部分地区经济障碍的解决,减少国债和解放生产力提倡创业等等。里根总统所举的都是当时美国民众所关心的问题,每一个问题他都一一提出了自己的计划和目标,使听众们信服。
三、语篇的连结
在演讲中除了有恰当的谋篇布局之外,各段落和语句之间也必须有自然的衔接。英语的语篇注重形合手段的使用,在演讲中尤其要选择使用恰当的、有效的衔接手段。Lucas在其所著的 “The Art of public Speaking”一书中,归纳总结了常用的关连词语,主要有四类。(1)Transition承上启下的词语
例如 :But in another sense, our new beginning is a continuation of that beginning created two centuries ago when, for the first time in history, government, the people said, was not our master, it is our servant;its only power that which we the people allow it to have.本句中第一个短语即起到了承上启下的作用。
I will shortly submit a budget to the Congress aimed at freezing government program spending for the next year.Beyond that, we must take further steps to permanently control Government's power to tax and spend.We must act now to protect future generations from Government's desire to spend its citizens' money and tax them into servitude when the bills come due.这段中的”Beyond that”起到了补充说明的作用。
(2)Internal preview段内预示要点。
演讲者在Introduction里或其他段落中的结尾部分以句子的形式向听众陈述下文将要讨论的要点。
At the heart of our efforts is one idea vindicated by 25 straight months of economic growth: Freedom and incentives unleash the drive and entrepreneurial genius that is the core of human progress.We have begun to increase the rewards for work, savings, and investment;reduce the increase in the cost and size of government and its interference in people's lives.该段的最后一局所总结的,正是下文将要讨论的政府税收和人民处于通货膨胀下的生活等问题。
(3)Internal Summary段内总结
段内总结常用于复杂的重点论述之后。例如,We have made progress in restoring our defense capability.But much remains to be done.There must be no wavering by us, nor any doubts by others, that America will meet her responsibilities to remain free, secure, and at peace.(4)Sing—post 路标型词语。
包括序数词,first,second和next等,也包括起承上启下作用的问句。此外,英语语篇中还有一种常用的承上启下的模式“Summary+ introduction”。
例如Let us resolve that we the people will build an American opportunity society in which all of us—white and black, rich and poor, young and old—will go forward together arm in arm.Again, let us remember that though our heritage is one of blood lines from every corner of the Earth, we are all Americans pledged to carry on this last, best hope of man on Earth.这一段中,作者先提出了建设一个充满机会的美国社会的向往,然后在逐一论述了每一个步骤。
It is the American sound.It is hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair.That's our heritage;that is our song.We sing it still.For all our problems, our differences, we are together as of old, as we raise our voices to the God who is the Author of this most tender music.And may He continue to hold us close as we fill the world with our sound—sound in unity, affection, and love—one people under God, dedicated to the dream of freedom that He has placed in the human heart, called upon now to pass that dream on to a waiting and hopeful world.这一段为就职演说的最后也是最精彩的一段,作者形象化了美国之声,展现给听众的形象就是它充满希望,宽宏大量,富于理想;它勇敢无畏,正派庄重,公平持正。接着演讲者有说这既是美国人的遗产,也是美国人的歌,并鼓励大家团结一致,互相友爱,让整个世界都能听到美国之音
四、言语的使用
本文在言语上使用了很多手法。言语功能是由语气系统体现的.根据Eggins(1994 :153)的观点,语气系统中,用于体现陈述的是陈述语气,体现命令的是祈使语气,体现提问的是疑问语气,而提供则由含有意态成分的疑问语气体现.根据以上言语功能理论,可以来分析“讲话”的言语功能及其人际意义.“讲话”涉及两种言语功能,即陈述功能(给予信息)和命令功能(求取服务).一方面,演讲者向听众提供某种信息,表明自己的态度和主张;另一方面,要求和呼吁听众采取行动,按照演讲者的意图去做事.里根通过这次演讲,向美国民众传递了很多信息,诸如美国与苏联的和平协议,控制政府的税收和开支权利,还有国家民主权力的维护,部分地区经济障碍的解决,减少国债和解放生产力提倡创业等等。随即也声明了其态度:政府正在积极采取措施应对,研发安全防卫措施,并寄予希望在两国的和平建交与谈判上。同时呼吁所有的民众,一起维护自己的权利,建设美好的家园,让美国之声传遍世界的每个角落。除此之外,我们同时也发现了本就职演说大量使用了以“名物化”形式出现的语法隐喻。例如:
revolutio(revolute)hesitation(hesitate)representation(representative)expansion(expand)reduction(reduce)encouragement(encourage)presence(present)elimination(eliminate)oppression(oppress)declaration(declare)determination(determinate)limitation(limit)negotiation(negotiate)interference(interfer)通过名物化,一致式中,在小句里发挥功能的由动词表达的过程或者由形容词表达的属性,在隐喻式中转化成由名词表达,这时名词作为事件在词组中发挥功能.Haliday(1994/ 2000 : 352)在分析科学语篇的名物化时发现,名物化降低了原有的阶、级,却便于语篇的展开.名物化还具有囊括和浓缩的功能.它可以使意思在语篇中的表达符合正式文体关于客观、严密、紧凑、合理、简练等行文的要求.同时,名物化也是政治性演讲体中的一个重要特征。
另外,通过用软件ANTCONC的分析,我们得到了更具体的数据。如下2图
根据这两个表格,可以看出,本文一共有2583个字,字符类型为921个。排名第6,7的“our”“we”可以看出,演讲者的语言对听众的号召呼吁较多,他的演讲稿很有鼓动性。其中排名29,30位的“I”“MUST”可以看出,这里利用第一人称语句较多,可以看出这篇演讲的个人风格很强硬,语势很坚决。排名第18,19的“people”“world”可以看出,演讲者很注重人民和世界的关系,具有大局观。排名28“freedom”也是本文的关键词之一,从这可以看出美国的立国之本以及他们对于自由的渴望和追求的思想形态意识。
五、结论
通过以上对语篇、语段、语句的分析可以看出,总统演讲比日常英语会话、交际广告用语等更加正式、严肃和庄重。从语言结构和成份上看,句式上也更加复杂多变,语言上有更多的内涵和深意。演讲者通过运用各种语言形式和手段使演讲更加生动,并使演讲文体的意义以及其语篇、语言的特点得到完全的体现。
参考文献:
[1] Eggins, s.An introduction to functional systemic linguistics [M] London : Printer Publishers , 1994.[2] Halliday , M.A.K.An introduction to Functional Grammar[M].London : Edward Arnold / Beijing : Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press , 1994/ 2000.[3] Stephen E,Lucas.The Art of Public Speaking(5th)[M].Hill Compan ies Higher Education,2004.
[4] Halliday , M.A.K., and Hasan , R.Language , Context and Text : Aspects of Language in a Social2semiotic Perspective [M].Geelong , Vic : Deakin University Press/ Oxford : Oxford University Press , 1985/ 1989.[5]刘亚猛.追求象征的力量——关于西方修辞思想的思考[M].北京:生活·读书-新知三联书店,2004.
[6]扬霞华.英文写作与修辞[M].合肥:安徽教育出版社,1992.
[7]胡曙中.英语语篇语言学研究[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2005.
第四篇:里根总统演讲稿
January 20, 1981
Senator Hatfield, Mr.Chief Justice, Mr.President, Vice president Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens:
议员海特菲尔德先生、法官先生、总统先生、副总统布什、蒙代尔先生、议员贝克先生、发言人奥尼尔先生、尊敬的摩麦先生,以及广大支持我的美国同胞们:
To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion;and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence.The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are.In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.今天对于我们中间的一些人来说,是一个非常庄严隆重的时刻。当然,对于这个国家的历史来说,却是一件普通的事情。按照宪法要求,政府权利正在有序地移交,我们已经如此“例行公事”了两个世纪,很少有人觉得这有什么特别的。但在世界上更多人看来,这个我们已经习以为常的四年一次的仪式,却实在是一个奇迹。
Mr.President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition.By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwark of our Republic.总统先生,我希望我们同胞们都能知道你为了这个传承而付出的努力。通过移交程序中的通力合作,你向观察者展示了这么一个事实:我们是发誓要团结起来维护这样一个政治体制的团体,这样的体制保证了我们能够得到比其他政体更为广泛的个人自由。同时我也要感谢你和你的伙伴们的帮助,因为你们坚持了这样的传承,而这恰恰是我们共和国的根基。
1The business of our nation goes forward.These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions.We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history.It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike.It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.我们国家的事业在继续前进。合众国正面临巨大的经济困难。我们遭遇到我国历史上历时最长、最严重之一的通货膨胀,它扰乱着我们的经济决策,打击着节俭的风气,压迫着正在挣扎谋生的青年人和收入固定的中年人,威胁着要摧毁我国千百万人民的生计。
Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, human misery and personal indignity.Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.停滞的工业使工人失业、蒙受痛苦并失去了个人尊严。即使那些有工作的人,也因税收制度的缘故而得不到公正的劳动报酬,因为这种税收制度使我们无法在事业上取得成就,使我们无法保持充分的生产力。
But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending.For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present.To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.尽管我们的纳税负担相当沉重,但还是跟不上公共开支的增长。数十年来,我们的赤字额屡屡上升,我们为图目前暂时的方便,把自己的前途和子孙的前途抵押出去了。这一趋势如果长此以往,必然引起社会、文化、政治和经济等方面的大动荡。
You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time.Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation? We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow.And let there be no misunderstanding--we are going to begin to act, beginning today.作为个人,你们和我可以靠借贷过一种人不敷出的生活,然而只能维持一段有限的时期,我们怎么可以认为,作为一个国家整体,我们就不应受到同样的约束呢?为了保住明天,我们今天就必须行动起来。大家都要明白无误地懂得--我们从今天起就要采取行动。
2/ ◆The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades.They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away.◆They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.Government is the problem.我们深受其害的经济弊病,几十年来一直袭击着我们。这些弊病不会在几天、几星期或几个月内消失,但它们终将消失。它们之所以终将消失,是因为我们作为现在的美国人,一如既往地有能力去完成需要完成的事情,以保存这个最后而又最伟大的自由堡垒。
在当前这场危机中,政府的管理不能解决我们面临的问题。政府的管理就是问题所在。
From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?
我们时常误以为,社会已经越来越复杂,已经不可能凭借自治方式加以管理,而一个由杰出人物组成的政府要比民享、民治、民有的政府高明。可是,假如我们之中谁也管理不了自己,那么,我们之中谁还能去管理他人呢。
All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden.The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.我们大家--不论政府官员还是平民百姓--必须共同肩负起这个责任,我们谋求的解决办法必须是公平的,不要使任何一个群体付出较高的代价。
We hear much of special interest groups.Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected.It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines.It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick--professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers.They are, in short, “We the people,” this breed called Americans.我们听到许多关于特殊利益集团的谈论,然而。我们必须关心一个被忽视了大久的特殊利益集团。这个集团没有区域之分,没有人种之分,没有民族之分,没有 政党之分,这个集团由许许多多的男人与女人组成,他们生产粮食,巡逻街头,管理厂矿,教育儿童,照料家务和治疗疾病。他们是专业人员、实业家、店主、职 员、出租汽车 司机和货车驾驶员,总而言之,他们就是“我们人民”--这个称之为美国人的民族。
Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination.Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work.Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs.All must share in the productive work of this “new beginning” and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy.With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.本届政府的日标是必须建立一种健全的、生气勃勃的和不断发展的经济,为全体美国人民提供一种不因偏执或歧视而造成障碍的均等机会,让美国重新工作起 来,意味着让全体美国人重新工作起来。制止通货膨胀,意味着让全体美国人从失控的生活费用所造成的恐惧中解脱出来。人人都应分担“新开端”的富有成效的工 作,人人都应分享经济复苏的硕果。我国制度和力量的核心是理想主义和公正态度,有了这些,我们就能建立起强大、繁荣、国内稳定并同全世界和平相处的美国。
So, as we begin, let us take inventory.We are a nation that has a government--not the other way around.And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth.Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people.It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.因此,在我们开始之际,让我们看看实际情况。我们是一个拥有政府的国家--而不是一个拥有国家的政府。这一点使我们在世界合国中独树一帜,我们的政府 除了人民授予的权力,没有任何别的权力。目前,政府权力的膨胀已显示出超过被统治者同意的迹象,制止并扭转这种状况的时候到了。
It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people.All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States;the States created the Federal Government.Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government.It is, rather, to make it work-work with us, not over us;to stand by our side, not ride on our back.Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it;foster productivity, not stifle it.我打算压缩联邦机构的规模和权力,并要求大家承认联邦政府被授予的权力同各州或人民保留的权利这两者之间的区别。我们大家都需要提醒:不是联邦政府创立了各州,而是各州创立了联邦政府。因此,请不要误会,我的意思不是要取消政府,而是要它发挥作用--同我们一起合作,而不是凌驾于我们之上;同我们并肩 而立,而不是骑在我们的背上。政府能够而且必须提供机会,而不是扼杀机会,它能够而且必须促进生产力,而不是抑制生产力。
If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before.Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth.The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.如果我们要探究这么多年来我们为什么能取得这么大成就,并获得了世界上任何一个民族未曾获得的繁荣昌盛,其原因是在这片土地上,我们使人类的能力和个 人的才智得到了前所未有的发挥。在这里,个人所享有并得以确保的自由和尊严超过了世界上任何其他地方。为这种自由所付出的代价有时相当高昂,但我们从来没有不愿意付出这代价。
It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government.It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.We are not, as some would have us believe, loomed to an inevitable decline.I do not believe in a fate that will all on us no matter what we do.I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal.Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength.And let us renew;our faith and our hope.我们目前的困难,与政府机构因为不必要的过度膨胀而干预、侵扰我们的生活同步增加,这决不是偶然的巧合。
我们是一个泱泱大国,不能自囿于小小的梦想,现在正是认识到这一点的时候。我们并非注定走向衰落,尽管有些人想让我们相信这一点。我不相信,无论我们做些什么,我们都将命该如此,但我相信,如果我们 什么也不做,我们将的确命该如此。
为此,让我们以掌握的一切创造力来开创一个国家复兴的时代吧。让我们重新拿出决心、勇气和力量,让我们重新建立起我们的信念和希望吧。
We have every right to dream heroic dreams.Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes just don't know where to look.You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates.Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond.You meet heroes across a counter--and they are on both sides of that counter.There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity.They are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education.Their patriotism is quiet but deep.Their values sustain our national life.我们完全有权去做英雄梦。那些评论我们现在是一个没有英雄的时代的,他们只不过没有仔细看。看吧!每一天进出工厂大门的工人,辛勤耕作为我们提供食物的农民们,站在柜台后的服务生们;尽心尽业打拼为社会创造财富,提供就业机会的企业家们。交纳赋税,以维持国家运作的公民们。所有支持慈善事业,教会,文化及教育的人们,他们的举动是无声的,但爱国心却是不言自明的。他们的价值造就了我们的国家。
I have used the words “they” and “their” in speaking of these heroes.I could say “you” and “your” because I am addressing the heroes of whom I speak--you, the citizens of this blessed land.Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help me God.我刚才用了“他们”这个人称来形容这些英雄们,其实我也可以用”你们”这个人称。在这个上帝眷顾的国家,你们的梦想,你们的希望,你们的追求就是这个国家存在的理由。
We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup.How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?
Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic “yes.” To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.我们的天性包含了同情。倘若我们热爱这个国家,怎么会不热爱自己的同胞们。当他们挫折时,扶他们一把,当他们生病时,给予关照。对于弱者,给予体面的帮助,使其自立.我们是否战能胜现在摆在面前的问题?我说,回答是毫不含糊的“能!”
In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity.Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government.Progress may be slow--measured in inches and feet, not miles--but we will progress.Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden.And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.在未来的日子里,我们要扫清经济停滞和工业发展的路障,政府的各项政策要平衡。我们要一步步塌实缓慢的前进。该是唤醒这个工业巨人的时候了,削减沉重的赋税,让政府回归理性。这是我们原则,没有妥协的余地。
On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr.Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, “Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of....On you depend the fortunes of America.You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn.Act worthy of yourselves.”
Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children and our children's children.在国家立国的前夕,我们的建国先贤之一,马塞诸萨州州长约瑟夫*沃伦对他的同胞们说“我们的国家正在危险之中,但我们丝毫不需绝望--------美国的前途就在我们手中。这个无限自由的幸福的国度即将诞生,让我们行动吧!”
我相信,同胞们,今天,为了我们孩子的孩子的自由和幸福,我们一定也准备好了,让我们行动吧!
And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world.We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment.We will match loyalty with loyalty.We will strive for mutually beneficial relations.We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for or own sovereignty is not for sale.我们庆祝重振美国的此时,全世界的人们都在关注着,我们依旧是那些尚未获得自由的人民心中的自由灯塔!
对于我们的邻居,自由世界的同盟们,我们将进一步加强联络,保证我们承担的义务。我们将以心换心,但我们决不会干涉你们的主权,希望你们也不会干涉我们。
As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people.We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it;we will not surrender for it--now or ever.Our forbearance should never be misunderstood.Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will.When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act.We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.对于自由世界的敌人,我们潜在的对手。我们要使其明白,和平是美国人最高愿望。我们可以与你们谈判,妥协,但我们决不会屈服,永远不会。
请你们不要误会我们的忍耐,我们努力避免冲突但绝不代表我们的屈服。当我们的国家安全受到威胁,我们会采取行动。我们将保持拥有压倒性对手的武力,因为我们知道,只有拥有了足够的武力,才能确保我们不会使用这些武力。
Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.It is a weapon that we as Americans do have.Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.首先,我们必须认识到世界上没有任何武器能比自由人民的道义和勇气更强大。这恰恰是我们,美国人民所具备的,而我们的对手没有的武器。这一点,所有支持恐怖主义和觊觎弱小国家的都要明白。
I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful.We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free.It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.我听说今天各地举行了数以万计的祷告会,我衷心的感到欣慰。我们是上帝统治的国度,上帝给了我们自由。如果以后每一届的就职日都能成为祷告日,那是很好的事情。
This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have been told, on this West Front of the Capitol.Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city's special beauty and history.At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country.A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly.He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood.Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson.The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence.And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial.Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.大家都知道,这是历史上第一次在白宫西走廊举行的就职典礼。在这里,我们能看到整个首都的风貌。而在这广场另一端就是我们先贤们的圣坛。我的正前方就是乔治*华盛顿纪念碑,我们伟大的国父。是他领导了独立革命战争的胜利,并创建了这个国家。在其旁边则是另一位伟大的先贤,托马斯*杰弗逊,--独立宣言>的作者。而在水池的尽头,是雄伟的林肯纪念堂。从林肯的一生你能体会出什么是美国的精神。
Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David.They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.Each one of those markers is a monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of earlier.Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.在这些古迹旁是缓缓流淌的波托马可河,而岸边的斜斜的山坡正是我们的阿灵顿公墓。这些小小的十字架,六芒星下的墓志铭,述说着我们赢取自由而付出的代价。
每一个墓志铭都是我刚才说的英雄的事迹。这些英雄的生命倒在贝洛森林,阿尔贡丘陵,奥马哈海滩,萨勒诺,半个地球外的瓜岛,塔拉瓦岛,上甘岭,长津湖,以及遍地是稻田丛林的叫越南的地方。
Under one such marker lies a young man--Martin Treptow--who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division.There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.We are told that on his body was found a diary.On the flyleaf under the heading, “My Pledge,” he had written these words: “America must win this war.Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.”
在这些墓碑中,有一个叫Martin Treptow的年轻人,他在1917年辞掉了小镇的理发店工作,跟随著名的“彩虹师"去了法国,在西线,他在为营长传递命令时,被重炮击中牺牲.后来,在他的尸体上我们发现了一本日记。在扉页上,他写到”我发誓,美国必须赢的这场战争,所以,我会奋斗,我会拯救,我会牺牲,我会忍受,我会勇奋战斗,就好比所有挣扎都将由我一个人来肩负。”
The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make.It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds;to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.God bless you, and thank you.今天我们面临的危机并不要求我们像 Martin Treptow作出如此的牺牲。但我们也要竭尽全力,有所作为。拥有上帝的协助,我们能度过危机。
最后,我们有什么理由不相信呢?记住!我们是美国人。上帝保佑你们,谢谢你们。
第五篇:经典英文演讲1(里根)
Ronald Reagan
Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate
delivered 12 June 1987, West Berlin
[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio.(2)]
Thank you.Thank you, very much.Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty four years ago, President John F.Kennedy visited Berlin, and speaking to the people of this city and the world at the city hall.Well since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn to Berlin.And today, I, myself, make my second visit to your city.We come to Berlin, we American Presidents, because it's our duty to speak in this place of freedom.But I must confess, we’re drawn here by other things as well;by the feeling of history in this city--more than 500 years older than our own nation;by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten;most of all, by your courage and determination.Perhaps the composer, Paul Linke, understood something about American Presidents.You see, like so many Presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: “Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin” [I still have a suitcase in Berlin.]
Our gathering today is being broadcast throughout Western Europe and North America.I understand that it is being seen and heard as well in the East.To those listening throughout Eastern Europe, I extend my warmest greetings and the good will of the American people.To those listening in East Berlin, a special word: Although I cannot be with you, I address my remarks to you just as surely as to those standing here before me.For I join you, as I join your fellow countrymen in the West, in this firm, this unalterable belief: Es gibt nur ein Berlin.[There is only one Berlin.]
Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe.From the Baltic South, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guard towers.Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall.But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same--still a restriction on the right to travel, still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state.Yet, it is here in Berlin where the wall emerges most clearly;here, cutting across your city, where the news photo and the television screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the world.Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German separated from his fellow men.Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar.President Von Weizsäcker has said, “The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed.” Well today--today I say: As long as this gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind.Yet, I do not come here to lament.For I find in Berlin a message of hope, even in the shadow of this wall, a message of triumph.In this season of spring in 1945, the people of Berlin emerged from their air-raid shelters to find devastation.Thousands of miles away, the people of the United States reached out to help.And in 1947 Secretary of State--as you've been told--George Marshall announced the creation of what would become known as the Marshall Plan.Speaking precisely 40 years ago this month, he said: “Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.”
In the Reichstag a few moments ago, I saw a display commemorating this 40th anniversary of the Marshall Plan.I was struck by a sign--the sign on a burnt-out, gutted structure that was being rebuilt.I understand that Berliners of my own generation can remember seeing signs like it dotted throughout the western sectors of the city.The sign read simply: “The Marshall Plan is helping here to strengthen the free world.” A strong, free world in the West--that dream became real.Japan rose from ruin to become an economic giant.Italy, France, Belgium--virtually every nation in Western Europe saw political and economic rebirth;the European Community was founded.In West Germany and here in Berlin, there took place an economic miracle, the Wirtschaftswunder.Adenauer, Erhard, Reuter, and other leaders understood the practical importance of liberty--that just as truth can flourish only when the journalist is given freedom of speech, so prosperity can come about only when the farmer and businessman enjoy economic freedom.The German leaders--the German leaders reduced tariffs, expanded free trade, lowered taxes.From 1950 to 1960 alone, the standard of living in West Germany and Berlin doubled.Where four decades ago there was rubble, today in West Berlin there is the greatest industrial output of any city in Germany: busy office blocks, fine homes and apartments, proud avenues, and the spreading lawns of parkland.Where a city's culture seemed to have been destroyed, today there are two great universities, orchestras and an opera, countless theaters, and museums.Where there was want, today there's abundance--food, clothing, automobiles--the wonderful goods of the Kudamm.¹ From devastation, from utter ruin, you Berliners have, in freedom, rebuilt a city that once again ranks as one of the greatest on earth.Now the Soviets may have had other plans.But my friends, there were a few things the Soviets didn't count on: Berliner Herz, Berliner Humor, ja, und Berliner Schnauze.[Berliner heart, Berliner humor, yes, and a Berliner Schnauze.²]
In the 1950s--In the 1950s Khrushchev predicted: “We will bury you.”
But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history.In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind--too little food.Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself.After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity.Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace.Freedom is the victor.And now--now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom.We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness.Some political prisoners have been released.Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed.Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control.Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it? We welcome change and openness;for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty--the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace.There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate.Mr.Gorbachev, open this gate.Mr.Gorbachev--Mr.Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
I understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict this continent, and I pledge to you my country's efforts to help overcome these burdens.To be sure, we in the West must resist Soviet expansion.So, we must maintain defenses of unassailable strength.Yet we seek peace;so we must strive to reduce arms on both sides.Beginning 10 years ago, the Soviets challenged the Western alliance with a grave new threat, hundreds of new and more deadly SS-20 nuclear missiles capable of striking every capital in Europe.The Western alliance responded by committing itself to a counter-deployment(unless the Soviets agreed to negotiate a better solution)--namely, the elimination of such weapons on both sides.For many months, the Soviets refused to bargain in earnestness.As the alliance, in turn, prepared to go forward with its counter-deployment, there were difficult days, days of protests like those during my 1982 visit to this city;and the Soviets later walked away from the table.But through it all, the alliance held firm.And I invite those who protested then--I invite those who protest today--to mark this fact: Because we remained strong, the Soviets came back to the table.Because we remained strong, today we have within reach the possibility, not merely of limiting the growth of arms, but of eliminating, for the first time, an entire class of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth.As I speak, NATO ministers are meeting in Iceland to review the progress of our proposals for eliminating these weapons.At the talks in Geneva, we have also proposed deep cuts in strategic offensive weapons.And the Western allies have likewise made far-reaching proposals to reduce the danger of conventional war and to place a total ban on chemical weapons.While we pursue these arms reductions, I pledge to you that we will maintain the capacity to deter Soviet aggression at any level at which it might occur.And in cooperation with many of our allies, the United States is pursuing the Strategic Defense Initiative--research to base deterrence not on the threat of offensive retaliation, but on defenses that truly defend;on systems, in short, that will not target populations, but shield them.By these means we seek to increase the safety of Europe and all the world.But we must remember a crucial fact: East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed;we are armed because we mistrust each other.And our differences are not about weapons but about liberty.When President Kennedy spoke at the City Hall those 24 years ago, freedom was encircled;Berlin was under siege.And today, despite all the pressures upon this city, Berlin stands secure in its liberty.And freedom itself is transforming the globe.In the Philippines, in South and Central America, democracy has been given a rebirth.Throughout the Pacific, free markets are working miracle after miracle of economic growth.In the industrialized nations, a technological revolution is taking place, a revolution marked by rapid, dramatic advances in computers and telecommunications.In Europe, only one nation and those it controls refuse to join the community of freedom.Yet in this age of redoubled economic growth, of information and innovation, the Soviet Union faces a choice: It must make fundamental changes, or it will become obsolete.Today, thus, represents a moment of hope.We in the West stand ready to cooperate with the East to promote true openness, to break down barriers that separate people, to create a safer, freer world.And surely there is no better place than Berlin, the meeting place of East and West, to make a start.Free people of Berlin: Today, as in the past, the United States stands for the strict observance and full implementation of all parts of the Four Power Agreement of 1971.Let us use this occasion, the 750th anniversary of this city, to usher in a new era, to seek a still fuller, richer life for the Berlin of the future.Together, let us maintain and develop the ties between the Federal Republic and the Western sectors of Berlin, which is permitted by the 1971 agreement.And I invite Mr.Gorbachev: Let us work to bring the Eastern and Western parts of the city closer together, so that all the inhabitants of all Berlin can enjoy the benefits that come with life in one of the great cities of the world.To open Berlin still further to all Europe, East and West, let us expand the vital air access to this city, finding ways of making commercial air service to Berlin more convenient, more comfortable, and more economical.We look to the day when West Berlin can become one of the chief aviation hubs in all central Europe.With--With our French--With our French and British partners, the United States is prepared to help bring international meetings to Berlin.It would be only fitting for Berlin to serve as the site of United Nations meetings, or world conferences on human rights and arms control, or other issues that call for international cooperation.There is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds, and we would be honored to sponsor summer youth exchanges, cultural events, and other programs for young Berliners from the East.Our French and British friends, I'm certain, will do the same.And it's my hope that an authority can be found in East Berlin to sponsor visits from young people of the Western sectors.One final proposal, one close to my heart: Sport represents a source of enjoyment and ennoblement, and you may have noted that the Republic of Korea--South Korea--has offered to permit certain events of the 1988 Olympics to take place in the North.International sports competitions of all kinds could take place in both parts of this city.And what better way to demonstrate to the world the openness of this city than to offer in some future year to hold the Olympic games here in Berlin, East and West.In these four decades, as I have said, you Berliners have built a great city.You've done so in spite of threats--the Soviet attempts to impose the East-mark, the blockade.Today the city thrives in spite of the challenges implicit in the very presence of this wall.What keeps you here? Certainly there's a great deal to be said for your fortitude, for your defiant courage.But I believe there's something deeper, something that involves Berlin's whole look and feel and way of life--not mere sentiment.No one could live long in Berlin without being completely disabused of illusions.Something, instead, that has seen the difficulties of life in Berlin but chose to accept them, that continues to build this good and proud city in contrast to a surrounding totalitarian presence, that refuses to release human energies or aspirations, something that speaks with a powerful voice of affirmation, that says “yes” to this city, yes to the future, yes to freedom.In a word, I would submit that what keeps you in Berlin--is “love.”
Love both profound and abiding.Perhaps this gets to the root of the matter, to the most fundamental distinction of all between East and West.The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship.The totalitarian world finds even symbols of love and of worship an affront.Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz.Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower's one major flaw: treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind.Yet even today when the sun strikes that sphere, that sphere that towers over all Berlin, the light makes the sign of the cross.There in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of love, symbols of worship, cannot be suppressed.As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner(quote):
“This wall will fall.Beliefs become reality.”
Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall, for it cannot withstand faith;it cannot withstand truth.The wall cannot withstand freedom.And I would like, before I close, to say one word.I have read, and I have been questioned since I've been here about certain demonstrations against my coming.And I would like to say just one thing, and to those who demonstrate so.I wonder if they have ever asked themselves that if they should have the kind of government they apparently seek, no one would ever be able to do what they're doing again.Thank you and God bless you all.Thank you.Դ: http://