Man’s Guide
温斯顿·丘吉尔 / Winston Churchill
温斯顿·丘吉尔(1874—1965),英国传记作家、历史学家、政治家。生于牛津附近的布莱尼姆宫。1893年考入桑德斯特陆军军官学校,1895年,以少尉军衔编入皇家第四骑兵团。1945年,在反法西斯胜利前夕,因保守党在大选中失败,丘吉尔失去首相职位。其后,他用六年时间完成了六卷本《第二次世界大战回忆录》。1951年,保守党在选举中获胜,丘吉尔77岁高龄再次出任首相。1955年因年事高辞职退休,专心撰写四卷本《英语民族史》。1965年1月因脑溢血辞世。
Are in the Hole
Understand these new words before you listen to this article.
1. rectitude [\'rektitju:d] n. 公正;诚实
2. sincerity [sin\'serəti] n. 真实,诚挚
3. imprudent [im\'pru:dənt] adj. 轻率的
4. genial [\'dʒi:njəl] adj. 亲切的
Man in this moment of his history has emerged in greater supremacy over the forces of nature than has ever been dreamed of before. There lies before him, if he wishes, a golden age of peace and progress. He has only to conquer his last and worst enemy—himself.
The only guide to a man is his conscience; the only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions. It is very imprudent to walk through life without this shield, because we are so often mocked by the failure of our hopes, but with this shield, however the Fates may play, we march always in the ranks of honor.
We shall go forward together. The road upward is long. There are upon our journey dark and dangerous valleys, through which we have to make and fight our way. But it is sure and certain that if we persevere, and we shall persevere, we shall come through these dark and dangerous valleys into a sunlight broader and more genial and more lasting than mankind has ever known.
参考译文
在人类历史的这一时刻,对于自然力量的控制,人类已经大大超越了以往所梦想的程度。如果人类希望的话,摆在他们面前的是一个和平与发展的黄金年代。他们仅仅需要征服最后也是最厉害的敌人——自己。
对一个人来说,唯一的指导者是他自己的良心,记忆唯一的护卫是他行为的正直和真诚。如果在人生的旅途之中前行而没有这个保护,是失之轻率的,因为我们常会被希望的破灭所嘲弄,但是有了这个保护,不管命运如何,我们可以永远前进在荣誉的行列中。