偶像励志英语演讲 26:失败的好处和想象的重要性(8)

 　　As long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked 2 out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the news that in retaliation 3 for his own outspokenness 4 against his country's regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

　　在我的有生之年，我都会记得一件事，当时我正经过一条空旷的走廊，突然听到紧闭着的房门里传出一声痛苦和恐惧的尖叫，那是至今我从未再听过的。那扇门打开了，调查员探出头请我快去给坐在她旁边的年轻男子调一杯热饮料。她刚刚告诉那个年轻人，为报复他对祖国专政的直言批判，他的母亲已被抓走并处决了。
　　Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.
　　在我20多岁的那段日子里，每一天的工作都在提醒我自己是多么幸运，能够生活在一个民主选举的政府领导的国家，人人都享有依法申述与公开审理的权利。
　　Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict 6 on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard and read.
　　每天，我都能看到更多有关恶人的证据，他们为了获得或维持权力而对自己的同胞实施暴行。我开始做噩梦，真实的噩梦，全都和我的所见所闻有关。
　　And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.
　　同时在大赦国际我也更多地了解了人类的善良，远比我以前了解的多。
　　Amnesty mobilizes thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned 7 for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being 8 and securtiy are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation 9 in that process was one of the most humbling 10 and inspiring experiences of my life.
　　大赦国际动员成千上万没有因为个人信仰而受到折磨或监禁的人，去为那些遭受这种不幸的人奔走。人类的同情心引发了集体行动，拯救生命，使那些被关押的人们得以释放。个人的福祉和安全有保证的普通百姓聚集在一起，携手挽救那些与他们素不相识，也许永远不会见面的人。我的参与虽然微不足道，但那却是我一生中最振奋人心的一次经历。
　　重点讲解：
　　1. poke 1 out
　　（使）（头）伸出；（使）探出；
　　eg. We hadn't been able to poke our heads out and see what was going on.
　　我们无法伸出头去，看看发生了什么。
　　eg. Never poke your head out of a train window.
　　绝不可把你的头伸出火车窗外。
　　2. in retaliation for
　　为了报复……；
　　eg. Police said they believed the attack was in retaliation for the death of the drug trafficker.
　　警察说他们认为这次袭击是针对那个毒犯的死实施的报复。
　　eg. The arson 11 was in retaliation for the killing 12 of their friend.
　　恶意纵火是为了替被杀害的朋友报仇。
　　3. inflict on
　　予以（打击）；使遭受（损伤、苦痛等）；
　　eg. Rebels say they have inflicted 13 heavy casualties on government forces.
　　反叛武装称他们使政府军遭受重创。
　　eg. Don't inflict damage on any person.
　　不要伤害任何人。
　　4. on behalf of
　　代表；
　　eg. Secret Service officer Robin 14 Thompson spoke 5 on behalf of his colleagues.
　　特工处官员罗宾·汤普森代表他的同僚发表了讲话。
　　eg. I am appealing on behalf of the famine victims.
　　我代表饥民恳求援助。
　　5. well-being
　　健康；安乐；康乐；
　　eg. Singing can create a sense of wellbeing.
　　唱歌能够给人一种心旷神怡的感觉。
　　eg. His work emphasised the emotional as well as the physical well-being of children.
　　他的工作不仅重视孩子们的身体健康，同时也关注他们的情感健康。
　　名人简介：
　　公益事业
　　2012年4月17日，《哈利·波特》英国著名作家J·K·罗琳在官方网站宣布，她正撰写《哈利·波特百科全书》，并会将版税收益全数拨捐慈善机构。此外，罗琳表示现在没有写《哈利·波特》续集的计划。
　　《哈利·波特》系列衍生书《神奇的魁地奇球》《神奇动物在哪里》的收入全部捐赠给慈善事业，并向“多发性硬化症协会”捐赠25万英镑。