宋美龄在美国国会的即席演讲

宋美龄在美国国会的即席演讲 [引用 2006-01-05 13:59:22] 
字号：大 中 小
蒋夫人宋美龄女士以106高龄辞世，世人追忆她时，最推崇她于1943年2月18日应邀在美国 国会发表的那场演说，夫人以纯正而又典雅的英文，仪态翩然、铿锵有力地在国会参众两 院联席会上演说，风靡了全场，数度赢得如雷掌声，最后全体起立热情鼓掌，为这第一位 在美国国会演说的女士深深折服。
公视上周首度播出「世纪宋美龄」专辑时，曾在第一集播放蒋夫人当时在美国国会演说的 部分实况，确实非常精釆。公视这两天还将密集回放这个专辑，本报特将蒋夫人那篇英文 演说全文及中译刊出，为这段历史做个见证．”
英文演说全文取自美国国会记录，1943年,页1080-1081。
Mr. President, Members of the Senate of the United States, ladies, and gentlem en, I am overwhelmed by the warmth and spontaneity of the welcome of the Ameri can people, of whom you are the representatives. I did not know that I was to speak to you today at the Senate except to say,“How do you do, I am so very g lad to see you,”and to bring the greetings of my people to the people of Amer ica. However, just before coming here, the Vice President told me that he wouu ld like to have me say a few words to you.
议长先生，美国参议院各位议员，各位女士、先生，受到诸位所代表的美国人民热情与真 诚的欢迎，令我感动莫名。我事先不知今天要在参议院发表演说，只以为要到此说声「大 家好，很高兴见到各位」，并向贵国人民转达敝国百姓的问候之意。不过，在来到此地之 前，贵国副总统告诉我，他希望我和各位说几句话。
I am not a very good extemporaneous speaker; in fact, I am no speaker at all; but I am not so very much discouraged, because a few days ago I was at Hyde Pa rk, and went to the President’’s library. Something I saw there encouraged me, and made me feel that perhaps you will not expect overmuch of me in speaking t o you extemporaneously. What do you think I saw there I saw many things, but t he one thing which interested me most of all was that in a glass case there wa s the first draft of one of the President’’s speeches, a second draft, and on a nd on up to the sixth draft. Yesterday I happened to mention this fact to the President, and told him that I was extremely glad that he had to write so many drafts when he is such a well-known and acknowledgedly fine speaker. His repl y to me was that sometimes he writes 12 drafts of a speech. So, my remarks her e today, being extemporaneous, I am sure you will make allowances for me.
我并不擅于即席演说，事实上根本称不上是演说家，但我不会因此怯场，因为前几天我在 海德公园参观过总统图书馆，在那里看见的一些东西鼓励了我，让我感觉各位或许不会对 我的即席演说要求太多。各位知道我在那里见到什么吗？我看到了许多，但最让我感兴趣 的，莫过于一个放着总统先生(译按，即罗斯福总统）演说草稿的玻璃箱，里头从第一份草 稿、第二份草稿，一直到第六份草稿。昨天，我碰巧向总统先生提及此事，我说我很高兴 知道，以他如此知名又公认一流的演说家，还必须写这么多份草稿。他回答说，有时他一 次演说得写12份草稿。因此，今天本人在此发表的即席演说，我确信各位一定会包容。
The traditional friendship between your country and mine has a history of 160 years. I feel--and I believe that I am not the only one who feels this way--th at there are a great many similarities between your people and mine, and that these similarlties are the basis of our friendship.
贵国和敝国之间有着160年悠久历史的情谊，我觉得贵国人民和敝国百姓有许许多多的相似 点，而这些相似点正是两国情谊的基础，我也相信不是只有我有这样的感觉。
I should like to tell you a little story which will illustrate this belief. Wh en General Doolittle and his men went to bomb Tokyo, on their return some of y our boys had to bail out in the interior of China. One of them later told me t hat he had to bail out of his ship. and that when he landed on Chinese soil an d saw the populace running toward him, he just waved his arm and shouted the o nly Chinese word he knew,“Mei-kuo, Mei-kuo,”which means”America.”Literal ly translated from the Chinese it means“Beautiful country.”This boy said tha t our people laughed and almost hugged him, and greeted him like a long lost b rother. He further told me that he thought that he had come home when he saw o ur people; and that was the first time he had ever been to China.(Applause.)
在此，我想说个小故事，来说明此一信念。杜立德将军和部下一起去轰炸东京，回程时有 些美国子弟兵不得不在中国内陆跳伞。其中一人后来告诉我，他被迫从飞机跳伞，踏上中 国的土地时，看到当地居民跑向他，他就挥着手，喊出他会说的唯一一句中国话：「美国 ，美国」，也就是「美利坚」的意思，（掌声）美国在中国话的意思是「美丽的国家」。
这个大男孩说，敝国人民听了都笑开来，拥抱他，像欢迎失散多年的兄弟一般。他还告诉 我说，当他看到我们的人民，感觉他已经回到家；而那是他第一次来到中国。（掌声）
I came to your country as a little girl. I know your people. I have lived with them. I spent the formative years of my life amongst your people. I speak you r language, not only the language of your hearts, but also your tongue. So com ing here today I feel that I am also coming home.(Applause)]
我来到贵国时是个小女孩，我熟悉贵国人民，我和他们一起生活过。我生命中成长的岁月 是和贵国人民一起度过，我说你们的话，我想的和你们一样,说的也和你们一样。所以今天 来到这里，我也感觉我好像回到家了。（掌声）
I believe, however, that it is not only I who am coming home, I feel that if t he Chinese people could speak to you in your own tongue, or if you could under stand our tongue, they would tell you that basically and fundamentally we are fighting for the same cause (great applause); that we have identity of ideals ; that the“four freedoms,”which your President proclaimed to the world, re sound throughout our vast land as the gong of freedom, the gong of freedom of the United Nations, and the death knell of the aggressors. (Applause.)
不过，我相信不只是我回到家，我觉得，如果中国人民会用你们的语言与你们说话，或是 你们能了解我们的语言，他们会告诉你们，根本而言，我们都在为相同的理念奋战（如雷 掌声）；我们有一致的理想；亦即贵国总统向全世界揭示的「四个自由」，自由的钟声、 联合国自由的钟声，和侵略者的丧钟响彻我国辽阔的土地。（掌声）
I assure you that our people are willing and eager to cooperate with you in th e realization of these ideals, because we want to see to it that they do not e cho as empty phrases, but become realities for ourselves, for our children, fo r our children’’s children, and for all mankind.(Applause.)
谨向各位保证，敝国人民深愿亦渴望为实现这些理想和贵国合作，因为我们希望这些理想 不会流于空言，而是成为我们、我们的子子孙孙、全人类的真况实境。（掌声）
How are we going to realize these ideals I think I shall tell you a little sto ry which just came to my mind. As you know. China is a very old nation. We hav e a history of 5,000 years. When we were obliged to evacuate Hankow and go int o the hinterland to carry on and continue our resistance against aggression, t he Generalissimo and I passed one of our fronts, the Changsha front. One day w e went into the Heng-yang Mountains, where there are traces of a famous pavili on called“Rub-the-mirror”pavilion, which was built over 2,000 years ago. It will perhaps interest you to hear the story of that pavilion.
我们要如何实现这些理想我想，我可以告诉各位一个我刚想到的小故事。各位知道，中国 是一个非常古老的国家。我们有五千年历史。我们被迫从汉口撤退，转入大后方继续抵抗 侵略的时候，蒋委员长和我经过一处前线，就在长沙。有一天，我们上衡山，山上有一处 有名的遗迹，叫「磨镜台」，是两千多年前的古迹。诸位或许有兴趣听听这古迹的故事。
Two thousand years ago near that spot was an old Buddhist temple. One of the y oung monks went there, and all day long he sat crosslegged, with his hands cla sped before him in an attitude of prayer, and murmured“Amita-Buddha! Amita-Bu ddha! Amita-Buddha!”He murmured and chanted day after day, because he hoped that he would acquire grace.
两千年前，台址近旁有一座古老的佛寺。一名年轻和尚来此修行，他整天盘腿坐禅，双手 合十，口中喃喃念着「阿弥陀佛!阿弥陀佛!阿弥陀佛!」他唱念佛号，日复一日，因为 他希望成佛。
标签:历史   .
[收藏到我的转帖][引用通告]