名人演讲视频：奥巴马复活节上的演讲

 THE VICE 1 PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all for being here today. And welcome to the White House, and a belated happy Easter -- this time of the year when we celebrate renewal 2 and we reflect on the faith that brings us together.

　　For me, the essence of my faith is tolerance 3: not being judgmental about people of different faiths. When I was in Rome a few weeks ago, Pope Francis spoke 4 movingly in his homily about our commitments to each other, not just as people of faith, but, he went on to say, but as human beings.
　　I grew up in a tradition of Catholic social doctrine 5, and I was incredibly impressed by His Holiness’s homily, his sense of social justice. But I believe his message reads something essential about all faiths, and that is ultimately we all believe that we have a responsibility to one another and we all are our brothers’ and our sisters’ keepers.
　　When it comes down to it, we all know that we’re connected by much more than divides us, although the focus is always on what divides us. As we move forward as a nation, I do believe we’re going to be judged on how we answer that call -- that call of moral responsibility, to whether we stand up for those who have the least among us, whether we act on their behalf.
　　And one of the things that I think at least the President and I believe has been the essence of this administration is the most animating 6 principle of the administration has been just that: to look out for the least among us. Those are the values that I know that the President -- and I personally know -- the President holds extremely close to his heart.
　　So I’d like to introduce to you now, my friend, and our President, President Barack Obama. (Applause.)
　　THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Everybody, please have a seat. Thank you.
　　THE PRESIDENT: Welcome, once again, to the White House. It is always wonderful to see so many friends from all across the country. I want to thank you for joining us today. I want to thank everybody for their prayers, but, most importantly, I want to thank everybody for their good works through your ministries 7. It's making a difference in communities all across this nation, and we could not be more proud to often have a chance to work with you.
　　To all the pastors 8 in the house, I hope you’ve enjoyed some well-deserved rest after a very busy Holy Week. I see some chuckles 9, so maybe not. (Laughter.) Here at the White House, I’m pleased to say that we survived yet another Easter Egg Roll. (Laughter.)
　　Now, if you’ve been to this breakfast before, you know that I always try to avoid preaching in front of people who do it for a living. That's sound advice. So this morning, I'm just going to leave the sermon to others and offer maybe a few remarks as we mark this -- the end of this Easter season.
　　In these sacred days, those of us as Christians 10 remember the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made for each of us –- how, in all His humility 11 and His grace, He took on the sins of the world and extended the gift of salvation 12. And we recommit ourselves to following His example –- to loving the Lord our God with all our hearts and all our souls and with all our minds, and to loving our neighbors as ourselves.
　　That’s the eternal spirit of Easter. And this year, I had -- I think was particularly special for me because right before Easter I had a chance to feel that spirit during my trip to the Holy Land. And I think so many of you here know there are few experiences more powerful or more humbling 13 than visiting that sacred earth.
　　It brings Scripture 14 to life. It brings us closer to Christ. It reminds us that our Savior, who suffered and died was resurrected, both fully 15 God and also a man; a human being who lived, and walked, and felt joy and sorrow just like us.
　　And so for Christians to walk where He walked and see what He saw are blessed moments. And while I had been to Jerusalem before, where Jesus healed the sick, and cured the blind, and embraced the least of these, I also had a chance to go to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. And those of you who have been there know that entering the church is a remarkable 16 experience, although it is a useful instruction to see how managing different sections of the church and different clergy 17 -- it feels familiar. (Laughter.) Let’s just put it that way. (Laughter.)
　　And as I approached the Altar of the Nativity, as I neared the 14-pointed Silver Star that marks the spot where Christ was born, the Patriarch of Jerusalem welcomed me to, in his words, “the place where heaven and Earth met.”
　　And there, I had a chance to pray and reflect on Christ’s birth, and His life, His sacrifice, His Resurrection. I thought about all the faithful pilgrims who for two thousand years have done the same thing -- giving thanks for the fact that, as the book of Romans tells us, “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
　　I thought of the poor and the sick who seek comfort, and the marginalized and the forsaken 18 who seek solace 19, and the grateful who merely seek to offer thanks for the simple blessings 20 of this life and the awesome 21 glory of the next. I thought of all who would travel to this place for centuries to come and the lives they might know.
　　And I was reminded that while our time on Earth is fleeting 22, He is eternal. His life, His lessons live on in our hearts and, most importantly, in our actions. When we tend to the sick, when we console those in pain, when we sacrifice for those in need, wherever and whenever we are there to give comfort and to guide and to love, then Christ is with us.
　　So this morning, let us pray that we’re worthy 23 of His many blessings, that this nation is worthy of His many blessings. Let us promise to keep in our hearts, in our souls, in our minds, on this day and on every day, the life and lessons of Christ, our Lord.
　　And with that, I’d like to ask Father Larry Snyder to deliver our opening prayer.
 




点击收听单词发音  






1
vice

  
 


n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的


参考例句：





He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。












2
renewal

  
 


adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来


参考例句：





Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。












3
tolerance

  
 


n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差


参考例句：





Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。












4
spoke

  
 


n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说


参考例句：





They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。












5
doctrine

  
 


n.教义；主义；学说


参考例句：





He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。












6
animating

  
 


v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命


参考例句：





Nature has her animating spirit as well as man who is nature's child. 大自然就象它的孩子――人类一样，有活生生的灵魂。 来自辞典例句
They were doubtlessly the animating principle of many hours that superficially seemed vacant. 在表面看来无所事事的许多时刻中，它们无疑是活跃的因素。 来自辞典例句












7
ministries

  
 


（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期


参考例句：





Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。












8
pastors

  
 


n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )


参考例句：





Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网












9
chuckles

  
 


轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 )


参考例句：





Father always chuckles when he reads the funny papers. 父亲在读幽默报纸时总是低声发笑。
[Chuckles] You thought he was being poisoned by hemlock? 你觉得他中的会是芹叶钩吻毒吗？












10
Christians

  
 


n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )


参考例句：





Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。












11
humility

  
 


n.谦逊，谦恭


参考例句：





Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。












12
salvation

  
 


n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困


参考例句：





Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。












13
humbling

  
 


adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气


参考例句：





A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网












14
scripture

  
 


n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段


参考例句：





The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。












15
fully

  
 


adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地


参考例句：





The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。












16
remarkable

  
 


adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的


参考例句：





She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。












17
clergy

  
 


n.[总称]牧师，神职人员


参考例句：





I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。












18
Forsaken

  
 


adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的
动词forsake的过去分词


参考例句：





He was forsaken by his friends. 他被朋友们背弃了。
He has forsaken his wife and children. 他遗弃了他的妻子和孩子。












19
solace

  
 


n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和


参考例句：





They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。












20
blessings

  
 


n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福


参考例句：





Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》












21
awesome

  
 


adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的


参考例句：





The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.












22
fleeting

  
 


adj.短暂的，飞逝的


参考例句：





The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。












23
worthy

  
 


adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的


参考例句：





I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。