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本文出自奥巴马于2008年6月15日发表的父亲节讲话。他在演讲中讲述了自己在单亲家庭成长的经历,呼吁黑人父亲给孩子更多关爱。排比句的运用是演讲中最常见的语言技巧之一,注意学习奥巴马如何活用排比,将这个简单易懂的选段处理得如此激动人心。
材料内容选自中信出版社出版的《跟奥巴马学英语》一书。该书选取了奥巴马竞选总统以来的9篇精彩演讲,话题涉及美国社会的方方面面,让读者在学习语言的同时进一步了解美国。
The first lesson, I think, that all of us [have] to embrace[接受] is the idea of responsibility: the…the idea of, of taking responsibility for your actions and taking responsibility for those that you love, taking responsibility, no matter what the hardships, to be the kind of father that our children need us to be.
The second lesson that I’ve taken is setting an example of excellence for our children, because if we want to set high expectations for them, we’ve also got to set some high expectations for ourselves. It’s great…it’s great if you have a job. But, come on, you could get a better job. It’s a wonderful thing if you’ve got a better job, but maybe you can own a business and create jobs.
It’s a wonderful thing if you are married and living in a home with your children, but don’t just sit in the house and watch SportsCenter注 all day. So, so we’re glad that you are in the home, but engage[引起注意] your child. So many children are growing up in front of the
television sets, in front of (the) video games. As fathers and as parents, we’ve got to spend more time with them, help them with their homework, and…and turn off the TV set once in a while, turn off the video game and the remote control, and read a book to your child. That’s how we build that foundation.
The third thing we need to do as fathers is – pass along the value of empathy[移情,同感] to our children. Not sympathy, but empathy: the ability to stand in somebody else’s shoes; to look at somebody through their eyes. Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in US, in ME, that we forget about our obligations[义务] to other people, to one another.
You know, our young children, they see that. They see when you are ignoring or mistreating[虐待] your wife. They see when you are inconsiderate[不顾及他人的] at home, or when you are distant[冷漠的], when you are thinking only of yourself. And so it’s no surprise we see that behavior [in] our schools…in our schools or on our streets. And that’s why we have to teach young people there’s nothing weak about being kind. There’s nothing weak about being thoughtful. There’s nothing weak about being considerate. We’ve got to teach our children that you’re not strong by putting other people down – you’re strong by lifting other people up. That’s our responsibility as fathers.
我想,第一个教训就是:我们所有人都应该树立责任心——为你自身的行为负责,对你所爱的人负责,以及,无论面对何种困难,负起责任来,成为孩子们心目中的父亲。
我学到的第二个教训是:给我们的子女树立一个绝佳的榜样。因为如果我们对他们抱有很高的期望,那么我们对自己也应该抱有同样高的期望。这是好事……你有一份工作是件好事。不过,得了,你可以得到一份更好的工作。你有一份更好的工作固然很棒,但也许你还可以自己开公司,为他人提供工作职位呢。
结了婚又能跟孩子住在一起是再好不过的事情了,但不要只是整天坐在家里看《世界体育中心》。我们很高兴看到你留在家里,但你应该多和孩子互动。(就是因为有这样的父亲,)许多孩子只能在电视机和游戏机前长大。作为父亲和家长,我们应该在他们身上花更多时间,帮助他们完成作业,以及……偶尔关掉电视机、游戏和遥控器,念书给孩子听。这就是我们为建立(子女的)人生基础应做的事情。
身为人父,我们要做的第三件事情是:向我们的子女传递一种推己及人的人生价值观。不是同情怜悯,而是推己及人——能设身处地地为别人着想,能从别人的视角看问题。有时候,我们如此轻易地受困于“我们”或“我自己”的事情,而忘记了我们对他人、对彼此所应担负的责任。
要知道,年轻人会注意到这一切。他们会看到你忽视或虐待你的妻子,会看到你在家里不为别人着想的表现,会看到你的冷漠无情,会看到你只为一己之私着想。所以,我们在学校里或街道上看到同样的行为表现根本不足为奇。这就是为什么我们要让年轻人明白到——待人友善并不是软弱的表现,体贴他人并不是软弱的表现,为人着想也不是软弱的表现。我们要让孩子们明白到——强者并不在于击倒别人,而在于扶助别人。这就是身为人父所应肩负的责任。
注:《世界体育中心》是娱乐体育节目电视网(ESPN)旗下的著名体育节目,每日播报体育新闻。
材料内容选自中信出版社出版的《跟奥巴马学英语》一书。该书选取了奥巴马竞选总统以来的9篇精彩演讲,话题涉及美国社会的方方面面,让读者在学习语言的同时进一步了解美国。
The first lesson, I think, that all of us [have] to embrace[接受] is the idea of responsibility: the…the idea of, of taking responsibility for your actions and taking responsibility for those that you love, taking responsibility, no matter what the hardships, to be the kind of father that our children need us to be.
The second lesson that I’ve taken is setting an example of excellence for our children, because if we want to set high expectations for them, we’ve also got to set some high expectations for ourselves. It’s great…it’s great if you have a job. But, come on, you could get a better job. It’s a wonderful thing if you’ve got a better job, but maybe you can own a business and create jobs.
It’s a wonderful thing if you are married and living in a home with your children, but don’t just sit in the house and watch SportsCenter注 all day. So, so we’re glad that you are in the home, but engage[引起注意] your child. So many children are growing up in front of the
television sets, in front of (the) video games. As fathers and as parents, we’ve got to spend more time with them, help them with their homework, and…and turn off the TV set once in a while, turn off the video game and the remote control, and read a book to your child. That’s how we build that foundation.
The third thing we need to do as fathers is – pass along the value of empathy[移情,同感] to our children. Not sympathy, but empathy: the ability to stand in somebody else’s shoes; to look at somebody through their eyes. Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in US, in ME, that we forget about our obligations[义务] to other people, to one another.
You know, our young children, they see that. They see when you are ignoring or mistreating[虐待] your wife. They see when you are inconsiderate[不顾及他人的] at home, or when you are distant[冷漠的], when you are thinking only of yourself. And so it’s no surprise we see that behavior [in] our schools…in our schools or on our streets. And that’s why we have to teach young people there’s nothing weak about being kind. There’s nothing weak about being thoughtful. There’s nothing weak about being considerate. We’ve got to teach our children that you’re not strong by putting other people down – you’re strong by lifting other people up. That’s our responsibility as fathers.
我想,第一个教训就是:我们所有人都应该树立责任心——为你自身的行为负责,对你所爱的人负责,以及,无论面对何种困难,负起责任来,成为孩子们心目中的父亲。
我学到的第二个教训是:给我们的子女树立一个绝佳的榜样。因为如果我们对他们抱有很高的期望,那么我们对自己也应该抱有同样高的期望。这是好事……你有一份工作是件好事。不过,得了,你可以得到一份更好的工作。你有一份更好的工作固然很棒,但也许你还可以自己开公司,为他人提供工作职位呢。
结了婚又能跟孩子住在一起是再好不过的事情了,但不要只是整天坐在家里看《世界体育中心》。我们很高兴看到你留在家里,但你应该多和孩子互动。(就是因为有这样的父亲,)许多孩子只能在电视机和游戏机前长大。作为父亲和家长,我们应该在他们身上花更多时间,帮助他们完成作业,以及……偶尔关掉电视机、游戏和遥控器,念书给孩子听。这就是我们为建立(子女的)人生基础应做的事情。
身为人父,我们要做的第三件事情是:向我们的子女传递一种推己及人的人生价值观。不是同情怜悯,而是推己及人——能设身处地地为别人着想,能从别人的视角看问题。有时候,我们如此轻易地受困于“我们”或“我自己”的事情,而忘记了我们对他人、对彼此所应担负的责任。
要知道,年轻人会注意到这一切。他们会看到你忽视或虐待你的妻子,会看到你在家里不为别人着想的表现,会看到你的冷漠无情,会看到你只为一己之私着想。所以,我们在学校里或街道上看到同样的行为表现根本不足为奇。这就是为什么我们要让年轻人明白到——待人友善并不是软弱的表现,体贴他人并不是软弱的表现,为人着想也不是软弱的表现。我们要让孩子们明白到——强者并不在于击倒别人,而在于扶助别人。这就是身为人父所应肩负的责任。
注:《世界体育中心》是娱乐体育节目电视网(ESPN)旗下的著名体育节目,每日播报体育新闻。