名人励志英语演讲 第156期:奏出生命中最美的乐曲(3)
日期:2013-12-05 18:43

(单词翻译:单击)

演讲稿

But no, I never went to college. I've slept in some strange places, but the library wasn't one of them. I studied rock and roll and I grew up in Dublin in the 70s; music was an alarm bell for me. It woke me up to the world. I was 17 when I first saw The Clash, and it just sounded like revolution. The Clash were like: "This is a public service announcement--with guitars." I was the kid in the crowd who took it at face value. Later I learned that a lot of the rebels were in it for the T-shirt. They'd wear the boots but they wouldn't march. They'd smash bottles on their heads but they wouldn't go to something more painful like a town hall meeting. By the way I felt like that myself until recently.
我没上过大学,我在一些陌生的地方睡过觉,但图书馆除外。我学的是摇滚音乐,在70年代的都柏林长大。音乐对我来说如同警钟,它唤醒了我,让我开始关注这个世界。我17岁那年第一次见到碰撞乐队,他们的音乐听起来像一次革新。这支乐队“用吉他演奏音乐,性质却是公益事业。”而我当时只是人群中的一个看热闹的小孩。后来我了解到,许多反叛者加入这支乐队只是为了得到一件T恤衫。他们会穿靴子,但他们不游行。他们会往头上砸瓶子,但不会去市政议会厅这些让人感到痛苦的地方。顺便说一句,就在前不久,我也喜欢那样做。
I didn't expect change to come so slow. So agonizingly slow. I didn't realize that the biggest obstacle to political and social progress wasn't the Free Masons, or the Establishment, or the boot heal of whatever you consider "the Man" to be. It was something much more subtle. As the provost just referred to, a combination of our own indifference and the Kafkaesque labyrinth of "no's" you encounter as people vanish down the corridors of bureaucracy.
我没有料想到变革来得如此之慢,慢得让人痛苦。我也没有意识到,政治和社会进步的最大障碍不是共济会,不是国教会,也不是权势集团,而是一些更为微妙的东西。就像院长刚刚说到的,是我们自身的冷漠和荒谬而令人困惑的事物的结合,就像人们在官僚主义的道路上迷失自己的那种感觉一样。

重点讲解+名人简历

重点讲解:
1. at face value
按照表面意思;(对…)信以为真;
eg. Public statements from the various groups involved should not necessarily be taken at face value.
对各相关团体的公开言论不必太过当真。
eg. You shouldn't take anything she says at face value.
她的话你绝对不能只看表面。
2. by the way
顺便地;附带说一句;
eg. The name Latifah, by the way, means 'delicate'.
顺便说一句,Latifah 这个名字意思是“娇嫩”。
eg. By the way, how did your seminar go?
对了,你的研讨会进行得怎样?
3. refer to
谈及;提到;提及;
eg. Don't refer to this matter again, please.
请不要再提这件事了。
eg. He did not refer to the report from Australia.
他没有提到澳大利亚传来的消息。
4. a combination of
结合;联合;混合;
eg. Their method of negotiating is a combination of the carrot and the stick.
他们谈判的方法是软硬兼施。
eg. A combination of factors led to her decision to resign.
综合各种因素之后她决定辞职。

名人简介:
早年生活
原名保罗的波诺出生于爱尔兰都柏林,是家里的第二子。有一名兄弟诺曼 (Norman),当邮局职员的父亲包伯·休森(Bob Hewson)是名天主教徒,母亲艾芮丝(Iris)则是新教徒,两人间宗教互异的婚姻在当时的爱尔兰是非常少见的。保罗本人被母亲作为新教徒养大,但是因为小时候的顽皮行径,被街坊邻居称作“小反基督徒”。因为家庭的特殊,以及都柏林当时的社会经济情况,按照他自己的说法,他是在一个充满轻微暴力的中下层环境中长大,周围的孩子会因为与众不同而和他打架。他也必须坐公车去比较远的都柏林教堂山高中(Mount Temple High School)上课,那是爱尔兰第一所合一学校。这所学校同时招收天主教徒和新教徒的孩子。

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重点单词
  • decisionn. 决定,决策
  • combinationn. 结合,联合,联合体
  • labyrinthn. 迷宫,难解的事件
  • indifferencen. 不重视,无兴趣,漠不关心
  • clashn. 冲突,撞击声,抵触 vt. 冲突,抵触,使 ...
  • encountern. 意外的相见,遭遇 v. 遇到,偶然碰到,遭遇
  • stickn. 枝,杆,手杖 vt. 插于,刺入,竖起 vi. 钉
  • obstaclen. 障碍,绊脚石
  • socialadj. 社会的,社交的 n. 社交聚会
  • bureaucracyn. 官僚制度,官僚主义