Level 5-Day 9.Bill Clinton 'Second Inaugural Address' (4)

词汇提示

1.dim 喧闹声

2.prosperity 繁荣

3.prophet 先知

4.ceaseless 不停地

5.redeem 兑现

6.pledges 保证

7.bickering 争吵

8.breach 缺口

9.acrimony 讥讽

原文

Bill Clinton: 'Second Inaugural Address' (4)

And in this land of new promise, we will have reformed our politics so that the voice of the people will always speak louder than the din of narrow interests-regaining the participation and deserving the trust of all Americans.

Fellow citizens, let us build that America, a nation ever moving forward toward realizing the full potential of all its citizens.

Prosperity and power-yes, they are important, and we must maintain them.

But let us never forget: The greatest progress we have made, and the greatest progress we have yet to make, is in the human heart.

In the end, all the world's wealth and a thousand armies are no match for the strength and decency of the human spirit.

Thirty-four years ago, the man whose life we celebrate today spoke to us down there, at the other end of this Mall, in words that moved the conscience of a nation.

Like a prophet of old, he told of his dream that one day America would rise up and treat all its citizens as equals before the law and in the heart.

Martin Luther King's dream was the American Dream.

His quest is our quest: the ceaseless striving to live out our true creed.

Our history has been built on such dreams and labors.

And by our dreams and labors we will redeem the promise of America in the 21st century.

To that effort I pledge all my strength and every power of my office.

I ask the members of Congress here to join in that pledge.

The American people returned to office a President of one party and a Congress of another.

Surely,they did not do this to advance the politics of petty bickering and extreme partisanship they plainly deplore.

No,they call on us instead to be repairers of the breach,and to move on with America's mission.

America demands and deserves big things from us-and nothing big ever came from being small.

Let us remember the timeless wisdom of Cardinal Bernard in, when facing the end of his own life.

He said: "It is wrong to waste the precious gift of time, on acrimony and division."

Fellow citizens, we must not waste the precious gift of this time.

For all of us are on that same journey of our lives, and our journey, too, will come to an end.

But the journey of our America must go on.

And so, my fellow Americans, we must be strong, for there is much to do.

The demands of our time are great and they are different.

Let us meet them with faith and courage, with patience and a grateful and happy heart.

Let us shape the hope of this day into the noblest chapter in our history.

Yes,let us build our bridge.

Abridge wide enough and strong enough for every American to crossover to a blessed land of new promise.

May those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may never know,say of us here that we led our beloved land into a new century with the American Dream alive for all her children; with the American promise of a more perfect union a reality for all her people; with America's bright flame of freedom spreading throughout all the world.

From the height of this place and the summit of this century, let us go forth.

May God strengthen our hands for the good work ahead-and always, always bless our America.

翻译

比尔·克林顿：“第二次就职演说”（4）

在这片充满新希望的土地上，我们将改革我们的政治，使人民的声音永远比狭隘利益重新获得参与并值得所有美国人信任的喧嚣更响亮。
同胞们，让我们建设美国，一个不断朝着实现所有公民全部潜力前进的国家。
繁荣和权力是的，它们很重要，我们必须保持它们。
但让我们永远不要忘记：我们已经取得的最大进步，以及我们尚未取得的最大进展，都在人类心中。
最终，世界上所有的财富和一千支军队都无法与人类精神的力量和尊严相媲美。
34年前，我们今天庆祝他的一生的那个人在购物中心的另一端对我们说的话感动了一个国家的良知。
就像一位古老的先知一样，他讲述了自己的梦想，即有一天美国会站起来，在法律面前和心中平等对待所有公民。
马丁·路德·金的梦想就是美国梦。
他的追求就是我们的追求：不断地努力实现我们真正的信条。
我们的历史建立在这样的梦想和努力之上。
通过我们的梦想和努力，我们将兑现美国在21世纪的承诺。
为了这一努力，我保证我的全部力量和我办公室的每一项权力。
我请在座的国会议员加入这一承诺。
美国人民以一方总统和另一方国会的身份重返政坛。
当然，他们这样做并不是为了推进他们明显谴责的琐碎争吵和极端党派之争的政治。
不，他们反而呼吁我们成为漏洞的修复者，继续执行美国的使命。
美国要求并理应从我们这里得到大的东西，小而无大。
让我们记住红衣主教贝尔纳丁在面对自己生命的尽头时所具有的永恒智慧。
他说：“把宝贵的时间浪费在激烈的争论和分裂上是错误的。”
同胞们，我们决不能浪费这次宝贵的礼物。
因为我们所有人都在同一个旅程上，我们的旅程也将结束。
但我们美国的旅程必须继续。
因此，我的美国同胞们，我们必须坚强，因为还有很多事情要做。
我们这个时代的需求是巨大的，而且是不同的。
让我们带着信念和勇气，带着耐心，带着感激和幸福的心来迎接他们。
让我们把今天的希望塑造成我们历史上最崇高的篇章。
是的，让我们建造我们的桥梁。
一座足够宽、足够坚固的桥梁，让每个美国人都能穿越到一片充满新希望的福地。
愿那些我们还看不到他们的脸，我们可能永远不知道他们的名字的几代人在这里对我们说，我们带领我们挚爱的土地进入了一个新世纪，她的所有孩子都有美国梦；美国承诺建立一个更完美的联盟，这对她的所有人民来说都是现实；伴随着美国光明的自由之火在全世界蔓延。
让我们从这个地方的高度和本世纪的顶峰出发。
愿上帝为我们未来的美好工作加强我们的双手，并永远祝福我们的美国。