經(jīng)典2分鐘英語演講稿——宋美齡美國演講 戰(zhàn)爭無法讓中國屈膝

Mr. Speaker and Members of the Congress of the United States: At any time it would be a privilege for me to address Congress, more especially this present august body which will have so much to do in shaping the destiny of the world. In speaking to Congress I am literally speaking to the American people。

議長、美國眾議院諸位議員：無論何時，余得向貴國國會致詞，實屬榮幸;尤在今日，余得向一莊嚴偉大之團體，對于世界命運之形成有絕大影響如貴院者致詞，尤屬特別榮幸。余向貴國國會演說，實際上系向美國人民演說。

The Seventy-seventh Congress, as their representatives, fulfilled the obligations and responsibilities of its trust by declaring war on the aggressors. That part of the duty of the people’s representatives was discharged in 1941. The task now confronting you is to help win the war and to create and uphold a lasting peace which will justify the sacrifices and sufferings of the victims of aggression。

貴國第七十七屆國會，以代表美國人民之資格，對侵略者宣戰(zhàn)，已盡其人民所信托之義務(wù)與責(zé)任。此為人民代表之一部分職責(zé)，早已在一九四一年履行。諸君當前之要務(wù)，乃協(xié)助爭取勝利，并創(chuàng)建與維護一種永久之和平，俾此次遭受侵略者之一切犧牲與痛苦，具有意義。

First of all, I want to assure you that the American people have every right to be proud of their fighting men in so many parts of the world. I am particularly thinking of those of your boys in the far-flung, out-of-the-way stations and areas where life is attended by dreary drabness—this because their duty is not one of spectacular performance and they are not buoyed up by excitement of battle. They are called upon, day after colorless day, to perform routine duties such as safeguarding defenses and preparing for possible enemy action。

余首愿確告諸君，美國人民對于分布全球各地之美國戰(zhàn)士實足以自豪。余尤念及駐扎遠處偏僻地區(qū)，生活至感寂寥之貴國壯士。蓋此輩任務(wù)，既不能有顯赫之表現(xiàn)，亦無振作精神之戰(zhàn)事，而系日復(fù)一日，僅奉命擔(dān)負其例行任務(wù)，如守衛(wèi)防御工事，并準備抵抗敵方可能之蠢動而已。

It has been said, and I find it true from personal experience, that it is easier to risk one’s life on the battlefield than it is to perform customary humble and humdrum duties which, however, are just as necessary to winning the war. Some of your troops are stationed in isolated spots quite out of reach of ordinary communications. Some of your boys have had to fly hundreds of hours over the sea from an improvised airfield in quests often disappointingly fruitless, of enemy submarines。

有人曾謂，親臨陣地，出死入生，猶易于日復(fù)一日擔(dān)任低微單調(diào)之工作，余之經(jīng)驗亦復(fù)證實此言。然而后一種工作，對于抗戰(zhàn)之獲勝，正與前一種同屬必要。貴國若干部隊，駐扎在遙遠隔絕地點，非平常交通所能到達。貴國若干壯士，必須用臨時趕筑之機場，飛行海面，經(jīng)數(shù)百小時之久，以搜尋敵方之潛艇，往往一無所遇，廢然而返。

They, and others, have to stand the monotony of waiting—just waiting. But, as I told them, true patriotism lies in possessing the morale and physical stamina to perform faithfully and conscientiously the daily tasks so that in the sum total the weakest link is the strongest。

貴國此輩健兒，以及其他壯士，均系作單調(diào)乏味之守候，日復(fù)一日之守候。但余曾告彼等，真正之愛國心乃在具有能忠誠執(zhí)行日常任務(wù)之士氣與體力，庶使在最后結(jié)果中最弱之一環(huán)，亦即為最強之一環(huán)。

Your soldiers have shown conclusively that they are able stoically to endure homesickness, the glaring dryness, and scorching heat of the Tropics, and keep themselves fit and in excellent fighting trim. They are amongst the unsung heroes of this war, and everything possible to lighten their tedium and buoy up their morale should be done. That sacred duty is yours。

貴國士兵，已確實表現(xiàn)，能沉著堅毅忍受思鄉(xiāng)之苦，忍受熱帶之干燥與酷熱，并能保持其準備隨時作戰(zhàn)之強健身體與精神。彼輩亦屬此次戰(zhàn)爭中無名英雄之列。凡足減輕其煩悶，振奮其精神之一切可能措施均應(yīng)一一采取。此項神圣責(zé)任，自在諸君。

The American Army is better fed than any army in the world.This does not mean, however, that they can live indefinitely on canned food without having the effects tell on them. These admittedly are the minor hardships of war, especially when we pause to consider that in many parts of the world, starvation prevails. But peculiarly enough, oftentimes it is not the major problems of existence which irk a man’s soul; it is rather the pin pricks, especially those incidental to a life of deadly sameness, with tempers frayed out and nervous systems torn to shreds。

就美國軍隊之飲食而言，固較任何他國軍隊之飲食為優(yōu)，但此非謂彼等可長此專恃罐頭食物，而健康上不至感受任何影響也。以上所舉，殆為戰(zhàn)爭中之輕微困苦;若一念及世界上許多地方尚有饑饉流行，則更覺上述困苦之為輕微。雖然，天下事亦有難言者。擾人心靈使人煩悶者，往往并非為生存之主要問題，而系瑣細之刺激，尤其是在單調(diào)無聊生活中所受之瑣細刺激，足以令人性情暴躁，心魂欲裂。

The second impression of my trip is that America is not only the cauldron of democracy, but the incubator of democratic principles. At some of the places I visited, I met the crews of your air bases. There I found first generation Germans, Italians, Frenchmen, Poles, Czechoslovakians, and other nationals. Some of them had accents so thick that, if such a thing were possible, one could not cut them with a butter knife. But there they were—all Americans, all devoted to the same ideals, all working for the same cause and united by the same high purpose. No suspicion or rivalry existed between them. This increased my belief and faith that devotion to common principles eliminates differences in race, and that identity of ideals is the strongest possible solvent of racial dissimilarities。

余在此次行程中所獲之第二印象，即美國不僅為民主制度之镕爐，而且為民主主義之胚胎。余參觀各地時，曾于數(shù)處晤見貴國空軍基地飛行服務(wù)人員，在此輩人員中余即發(fā)現(xiàn)有德、意、法、波、捷及其他國籍人民遷往美國之第一代移民。其中有的鄉(xiāng)音之重，殊難言喻。然而彼輩固共同遠征在外，悉數(shù)為美國人，悉數(shù)忠心于共同之理想，悉數(shù)為同一目的而奮斗，悉數(shù)為同一崇高宗旨而精誠團結(jié)，既不彼此猜疑，亦不互相爭競。此一事實，益加強余向所抱持之信念與信仰;即對于共同原則之忠心，可以泯滅種族之差異，而且各種理想之相同，乃是對于種族分歧最強之溶解劑。

I have reached your country, therefore, with no misgivings, but with my belief that the American people are building and carrying out a true pattern of the Nation conceived by your forebears, strengthened and confirmed. You, as representatives of the American people, have before you the glorious opportunity of carrying on the pioneer work of your ancestors, beyond the frontiers of physical and geographical limitations. Their brawn and thews braved undauntedly almost unbelievable hardships to open up a new continent。

因是之故，余此次抵達貴國，不特衷心毫無惴慮，而且具有一種信心，即美國人民正在建立與實施一種確系其祖先所懷抱之立國典型。此種信心，益見加強而證實。諸君為美國人民之代表，目前有一光榮機會，使汝祖先之開國工作，發(fā)揚光大，超越物體與地理限制之疆界。諸君之祖先曾以大無畏之精神，冒不可思議之困難，篳路襤褸以開發(fā)新大陸。

The modern world lauds them for their vigor and intensity of purpose, and for their accomplishment. Your have today before you the immeasurably greater opportunity to implement these same ideals and to help bring about the liberation of man’s spirit in every part of the world. In order to accomplish this purpose, we of the United Nations must now so prosecute the war that victory will be ours decisively and with all good speed。

現(xiàn)代人士，無不贊美其精力過人，宗旨堅定，以及成功卓著。諸君今日，當前正有一更無限偉大之機會，可以繼續(xù)發(fā)揮汝祖先所懷抱之理想，并協(xié)助完成解放全球各地人類之精神。為求完成此項目的，身為聯(lián)合國之一員，必須盡力加強作戰(zhàn)，俾聯(lián)合國早日獲得最后之勝利。

Sun-tse, the well-known Chinese strategist said, “In order to win, know thyself and thy enemy。” We have also the saying: “It takes little effort to watch the other fellow carry the load。”

中國著名兵家孫子有言，“知彼知己，勝乃不殆”。吾人另有一諺語云：“看人挑擔(dān)不吃力。”

In spite of these teachings from a wise old past, which are shared by every nation, there has been a tendency to belittle the strength of our opponents。

此等名言，來自明哲久遠之古代，實乃每一民族所共有，然而仍有一種輕視吾敵人力量之趨勢。

When Japan thrust total war on China in 1937 military experts of every nation did not give China even a ghost of a chance. But when Japan failed to bring China cringing to her knees as she vaunted, the world took solace in this phenomenon by declaring that they had overestimated Japan’s military might。

當一九三七年日本軍閥發(fā)動其全面對華戰(zhàn)爭時，各國軍事專家，咸認中國無一線獲勝之希望。但日本并不能如其所夸，迫使中國屈膝; 于是舉世人士，對此現(xiàn)象，深感慰藉，并謂當初對于日本武力，估計過高。