擁護(hù)民主

睡前一句話

1. The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

—John F. Kennedy

人的權(quán)利不是國(guó)家慷慨的饋贈(zèng)，而是上帝的恩賜。

——約翰·肯尼迪

寫給在讀書的你：

The rights that people are entitled to are not those that are written into the constitution, but those that God bestows on us.

人們應(yīng)當(dāng)享有什么權(quán)利，不是國(guó)家的法律規(guī)定的，而是上帝賜予我們的。

□ Words and Phrases:

generosity [?d?en??r?siti] n．慷慨；大方；寬容

generous [?d?en?r?s] adj．慷慨的，大方的

generously [?d?en?r?sli] adv．慷慨地，大方地

big-hearted [?big?hɑ:tid] adj．善良的，慷慨的

open-handed [??up?n?h?ndid] adj．慷慨的，大方的

be entitled to 有權(quán)；有……的資格

睡前一句話

2. The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.

—John F. Kennedy

在民主制度中，一個(gè)投票人的愚昧?xí)p害其他投票人的利益。

——約翰·肯尼迪

寫給在讀書的你：

Everyone should value his own democratic rights, which is his duty to himself, to others and to his nation.

每個(gè)人都要重視自己的民主權(quán)利，這是對(duì)自己、對(duì)他人、也是對(duì)國(guó)家的責(zé)任。

□ Words and Phrases:

ignorance [?ign?r?ns] n．無(wú)知；愚昧

ignorant [?ign?r?nt] adj 無(wú)知的，愚昧的

ignoramus [?ign??reim?s] adj．無(wú)知識(shí)的

voter [?v?ut?] n．選舉人，投票人

voting [?v?uti?] n．投票，選舉

impair [im?p??] v．損害；削弱

value [?v?lju:] v．評(píng)價(jià)；重視

valueless [?v?ljulis] adj．沒價(jià)值的，無(wú)用的

valuable [?v?lju?bl] adj．值錢的；有價(jià)值的

invaluable [in?v?lju?bl] adj．無(wú)法估價(jià)的；非常貴重的

睡前一句話

3. A riot is the language of the unheard.

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

之所以會(huì)發(fā)生暴亂，是因?yàn)槿嗣竦穆曇舯讳螞]了。

——馬丁·路德·金

寫給在讀書的你：

If you ignore the people's voice, they will wake you up with their fists.

倘若你忽視人民的聲音，漠視他們的訴求，他們就會(huì)用拳頭打醒你。

□ Words and Phrases:

riot [?rai?t] n．暴亂

rioter [?rai?t?] n．暴徒

riot gear 防暴裝備

riotous [?rai?t?s] adj．騷亂的，暴亂的

unheard [?n?h?:d] adj．未被傾聽的；不予理睬的

睡前一句話

4. There is nothing wrong with power if power is used correctly.

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

權(quán)力沒有對(duì)錯(cuò)，只有運(yùn)用得當(dāng)與否。

——馬丁·路德·金

寫給在讀書的你：

As long as we use power to do right things, the power will not be abused.

只要我們用權(quán)力做正當(dāng)?shù)氖虑椋瑱?quán)力就不會(huì)被濫用。

□ Words and Phrases:

correctly [k??rektli] adv．正確地；得體地

correction [k??rek??n] n．改正，糾正

corrective [k??rektiv] adj．改正的，糾正的

as long as 只要

abuse [??bju:z] v．濫用；虐待；辱罵

misuse [mis?ju:z] v．誤用，濫用

睡前一句話

5. A right delayed is a right denied.

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

被拖延的權(quán)利就是被否定的權(quán)利。

——馬丁·路德·金

寫給在讀書的你：

The civil rights are bestowed on the people by God, and the government has no right to deny or delay it.

公民權(quán)利是上帝賦予的，政府無(wú)權(quán)否定或是拖延。

□ Words and Phrases:

delay [di?lei] v．延期；耽擱

lately [?leitli] adv．最近，不久前

lateness [?leitnis] n．晚，遲

latecomer [?leit?k?m?] n．遲到者

deny [di?nai] v．否認(rèn)，不承認(rèn)

睡前一句話

6. Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

—Winston Churchill

民主制度是最糟糕的政府組織形式，而那些已經(jīng)被人們嘗試過的其他的組織形式卻比它更糟糕。

——溫斯頓·丘吉爾

寫給在讀書的你：

Democracy is not perfect, but it is the most perfect form of government that the human beings have tried so far.

民主制度并不完美，但它卻是人類迄今為止所嘗試過的最完美的政府組織形式。

□ Words and Phrases:

democracy [di?m?kr?si] n．民主；民主制；民主國(guó)家

democrat [?dem?kr?t] n．民主主義者

democratic [?dem??kr?tik] adj．民主制度的

democratize [di?m?kr?taiz] v．使民主化

democratization [di?m?kr?tɑi?zei??n] n．民主化

from time to time 不時(shí)，有時(shí)

睡前一句話

7. Nothing can be more abhorrent to democracy than to imprison a person or keep him in prison because he is unpopular.

—Winston Churchill

如果因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)人的言論不合時(shí)宜就將他囚禁起來(lái)，這就完全違背了民主的本義。

——溫斯頓·丘吉爾

寫給在讀書的你：

Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy. If it is denied, democracy will become an empty talk.

言論自由是民主的基礎(chǔ)。如果言論自由被否定，民主就成了一句空話。

□ Words and Phrases:

abhorrent [?b?h?:r?nt] adj．厭惡的；格格不入的

imprison [im?prizn] v．監(jiān)禁；關(guān)押

imprisonment [im?priznm?nt] n．監(jiān)禁；關(guān)押；禁錮

life imprisonment 無(wú)期徒刑

unpopular [??n?p?pjul?] adj．不流行的；不受歡迎的

empty [?empti] adj．空的；空洞的；空虛的；空腹的

empty talk 空話；空談

睡前一句話

8. There cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard.

—Hillary Clinton

除非女性的意見得到尊重，否則就算不上真正的民主。

——希拉里·克林頓

寫給在讀書的你：

True democracy is to let everyone participate in the national management. Nobody should be excluded.

真正的民主就是讓每個(gè)人都參與到國(guó)家的管理中去，任何人都不能被排除在外。

□ Words and Phrases:

voice [v?is] n．聲音；嗓聲；發(fā)言權(quán)；意見

vocalization [?v?uk?lai?zei??n] n．嗓聲；歌聲

management [?m?nid?m?nt] n．管理；經(jīng)營(yíng)

manager [?m?nid??] n．經(jīng)理

manageress [?m?nid??ris] n．女經(jīng)理

managerial [?m?n??d?i?ri?l] adj．管理的

睡前一句話

9. Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.

—Ronald Wilson Reagan

民主值得我們?yōu)橹疇奚驗(yàn)樗侨祟悇?chuàng)造出的最偉大的政府組織形式。

——羅納德·威爾遜·里根

寫給在讀書的你：

Although there are also some defects in democracy, its great value couldn't be denied.

雖然民主也有缺陷，但卻不能因此否定它的價(jià)值。

□ Words and Phrases:

die for 渴望；為了……而死

honorable [??n?r?bl] adj．光榮的；可敬的；高貴的

dishonorable [dis??n?r?bl] adj．不名譽(yù)的，可恥的

devise [di?vaiz] v．設(shè)計(jì)；想出；發(fā)明

defect [di?fekt] n．缺陷；缺點(diǎn)

drawback [?dr?:b?k] n．缺點(diǎn)

睡前一句話

10. Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.

—Ronald Wilson Reagan

沒有上帝，民主就不會(huì)也不可能持續(xù)長(zhǎng)久。

——羅納德·威爾遜·里根

寫給在讀書的你：

While we are enjoying our democratic rights, we all should be benevolent like God.

在我們享受民主權(quán)利的時(shí)候，我們都應(yīng)當(dāng)像上帝一樣，心懷仁慈。

□ Words and Phrases:

endure [in?dju?] v．忍耐；持續(xù)

benevolent [bi?nev?l?nt] adj．仁慈的；慈善的

benevolence [bi?nev?l?ns] n．善意；慈悲；善行

benevolently [bi?nev?l?ntli] adv．仁慈地；慷慨地

beneficent [bi?nefisnt] adj．行善的；慈善的

beneficence [bi?nefis?ns] n．仁慈；善行；贈(zèng)物

睡前一句話

11. I favor the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it must be enforced at gunpoint if necessary.

—Ronald Wilson Reagan

我贊同1964年的民權(quán)法案。這個(gè)法案必須被執(zhí)行，如有必要，即使要用槍來(lái)強(qiáng)制實(shí)行也在所不惜。

——羅納德·威爾遜·里根

寫給在讀書的你：

Giving the people the civil rights is the obligation of the government. It shouldn't be denied no matter what reason there is.

給予公民權(quán)利是政府的義務(wù)，無(wú)論任何原因都不能被否定。

□ Words and Phrases:

enforce [in?f?:s] v．實(shí)施，執(zhí)行

enforceable [in?f?:s?bl] adj．可實(shí)施的

enforcement [in?f?:sm?nt] n．執(zhí)行；強(qiáng)制實(shí)施

gunpoint [?g?np?int] n．槍口

obligation [??bli?gei??n] n．義務(wù)；職責(zé)

obligatory [??blig?t?ri] adj．強(qiáng)制性的；義務(wù)的；必須的

obligated [??bligeitid] adj．責(zé)無(wú)旁貸的；有責(zé)任的，有義務(wù)的

睡前一句話

12. Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

除非人們能夠在面對(duì)選擇時(shí)做出明智的抉擇，否則民主不可能成功。

——富蘭克林·羅斯福

寫給在讀書的你：

Every vote is important and sacred. To value your own vote is to honor democracy.

每一張選票都是重要而神圣的。重視自己的選票就是向民主致敬。

□ Words and Phrases:

prepared [pri?p??d] adj．準(zhǔn)備好的，有準(zhǔn)備的

be prepared to 準(zhǔn)備好；準(zhǔn)備

preparation [?prep??rei??n] n．準(zhǔn)備，預(yù)備；配制

sacred [?seikrid] adj．神圣的

睡前一句話

13. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

我們的民主國(guó)家的最終的統(tǒng)治者不是總統(tǒng)，也不是議員，更不是政府官員，而是國(guó)家的選民。

——富蘭克林·羅斯福

寫給在讀書的你：

In the democracy, the real rulers of the nation are the people. And the President, senators and those government officials are all selected by the people to manage the national affairs.

在一個(gè)民主國(guó)家里，國(guó)家真正的統(tǒng)治者是人民。而總統(tǒng)、議員還有那些政府官員，都是人民挑選出來(lái)管理國(guó)家事務(wù)的人。

□ Words and Phrases:

ultimate [??ltimit] adj．最終的；極限的；根本的

senator [?sen?t?] n．參議員

senate [?senit] n．參議院congressman [?k??gresm?n] n．國(guó)會(huì)議員

congressional [k?n?gre??nl] adj．議會(huì)的，國(guó)會(huì)的

congress [?k??gres] n．國(guó)會(huì)，議會(huì)

睡前一句話

14. Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

沒有人可以剝奪美國(guó)人民的投票權(quán)，唯一可以這么做的只有美國(guó)人民自己，而他們這么做的唯一辦法就是不去投票。

——富蘭克林·羅斯福

寫給在讀書的你：

Nobody can deny the right of American people to vote. When an American wants to vote, nobody has the right to stop him.

沒有人可以否定美國(guó)人民的選舉權(quán)利。當(dāng)一個(gè)美國(guó)人想要投票時(shí)，任何人都沒有權(quán)利去阻止他。

□ Words and Phrases:

deprive [di?praiv] v．剝奪；使喪失

vote [v?ut] v．選舉；投票

except [ik?sept] prep．除了……之外

睡前一句話

15. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

民主真正的衛(wèi)士是教育。

——富蘭克林·羅斯福

寫給在讀書的你：

Only the educated people will express their viewpoint precisely and offer sensible advice to the administrators of the nation.

只有受過教育的人才能準(zhǔn)確地表達(dá)自己的觀點(diǎn)，才能為國(guó)家的行政人員提供明智的意見。

□ Words and Phrases:

safeguard [?seifgɑ:d] n．保衛(wèi)者；保護(hù)措施

viewpoint [?vju:p?int] n．觀點(diǎn)；看法

view [vju:] n．看法，意見

sensible [?sens?bl] adj．明智的

administrator [?d?ministreit?] n．管理人；行政官

executive [ig?zekjutiv] n．主管

睡前一句話

16. A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.

—Theodore Roosevelt

選票就像一支步槍；它是好是壞取決于使用它的人。

——西奧多·羅斯福

寫給在讀書的你：

The right to vote is the right to govern the country. Every voter should learn to use his or her right wisely and prudently.

投票權(quán)就是管理國(guó)家的權(quán)利。每一個(gè)選民都要學(xué)會(huì)明智而謹(jǐn)慎地使用自己的權(quán)利。

□ Words and Phrases:

rifle [?raifl] n．步槍；來(lái)復(fù)槍

carbine [?kɑ:bain] n．卡賓槍

revolver [ri?v?lv?] n．左輪手槍

usefulness [?ju:sfulnis] n．有用；有效性；有益

depend upon 取決于；隨……而定

user [?ju:z?] n．用戶；使用者

prudently [?pru:d?ntli] adv．謹(jǐn)慎地；慎重地

睡前一句話

17. To announce that there must be no criticism of the president is morally treasonable to the American public.

—Theodore Roosevelt

宣稱總統(tǒng)不能受到任何的質(zhì)疑的人已經(jīng)背叛了美國(guó)人民。

——西奧多·羅斯福

寫給在讀書的你：

In a democratic state, nobody has the power above the people, and the interests of nobody are more important than those of the people.

在民主國(guó)家，沒有任何人有權(quán)力凌駕于人民之上，也沒有任何人的利益比人民的利益更加重要。

□ Words and Phrases:

announce [??nauns] v．宣布；宣告

announcement [??naunsm?nt] n．公告，布告

announcer [??nauns?] n．播音員

criticism [?kriti?siz?m] n．批評(píng)；評(píng)論

critic [?kritik] n．批評(píng)家，評(píng)論家

critical [?kritik?l] adj．批評(píng)的，批判性的

critically [?kritik?li] adv．批判性地

morally [?m?:r?li] adv．道德上地；道義上地

treasonable [?tri:z?n?bl] adj．不忠的；叛逆的

睡前一句話

18. Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets.

—Abraham Lincoln

選票是子彈的既合法又和平的替代者。

——亞伯拉罕·林肯

寫給在讀書的你：

It is much better to resolve disputes among people by democratic means than by wars.

用民主的手段解決人與人之間的爭(zhēng)端，要比通過戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)來(lái)解決好太多了。

□ Words and Phrases:

ballot [?b?l?t] n．投票

psephology [si:?f?l?d?i] n．選舉學(xué)

psephologist [si:?f?l?d?ist] n．選舉學(xué)家

rightful [?raitf?l] adj．合法的；正當(dāng)?shù)模还?/span>

rightly [?raitli] adv．正確地；正義地

righteous [?rait??s] adj．正直的，公正的

successor [s?k?ses?] n．繼承者；后續(xù)的事物

dispute [di?spju:t] n．爭(zhēng)端；爭(zhēng)論

睡前一句話

19. No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.

—Abraham Lincoln

沒有人足夠優(yōu)秀，可以未得對(duì)方同意而統(tǒng)治對(duì)方。

——亞伯拉罕·林肯

寫給在讀書的你：

Nobody has the right to govern others, even the president, unless they permit.

除非對(duì)方同意，沒有人有權(quán)利去統(tǒng)治別人，即使是總統(tǒng)也不能。

□ Words and Phrases:

govern [?g?v?n] v．管理；支配；統(tǒng)治

governance [?g?v?n?ns] n．統(tǒng)治，管理

governing [?g?v?ni?] adj．統(tǒng)治的，管理的

consent [k?n?sent] n．同意；贊成

permit [p??mit] v．許可，允許

permission [p??mi??n] n．允許，許可

approve [??pru:v] v．批準(zhǔn)

睡前一句話

20. The ballot is stronger than the bullet.

—Abraham Lincoln

選票比子彈更有力量。

——亞伯拉罕·林肯

寫給在讀書的你：

Ballot and bullet are both means of preserving peace and stability of a country. But bullet can only win temporary peace; while democracy can ensure longtime stability of the country.

選票和子彈都是維護(hù)國(guó)家和平與穩(wěn)定的手段。但是子彈只能換得一時(shí)的和平；只有民主才能贏得長(zhǎng)久的穩(wěn)定。

□ Words and Phrases:

virtue [?v?:tju:] n．美德；優(yōu)點(diǎn)

virtuous [?v?:tju?s] adj．品行端正的；有道德的

virtuously [?v?:tju?sli] adv．合乎道德地

point out 指出，指明

睡前一句話

21. We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.

—Abraham Lincoln

我們?nèi)嗣癫攀菄?guó)會(huì)和法院的合法主人，我們不會(huì)推翻憲法，但我們會(huì)推翻歪曲憲法的人。

——亞伯拉罕·林肯

寫給在讀書的你：

The ultimate powers of the country are in the hands of the people. Anyone, no matter who he is, if he tramples on the interests of the people, will be overthrown by them.

國(guó)家的最終權(quán)力是屬于人民的。任何踐踏人民利益的人終將為人民所不容。

□ Words and Phrases:

pervert [p??v?:t] v．誤用；歪曲；歪解

trample [?tr?mpl] v．踩；踐踏

trample on 踐踏；蹂躪

睡前一句話

22. No government is perfect. One of the chief virtues of a democracy, however, is that its defects are always visible and under democratic processes can be pointed out and corrected.

—Harry S. Truman

沒有哪一個(gè)政府是完美的。而民主制度最重要的優(yōu)點(diǎn)之一就是它的缺陷是看得見的，而且可以通過民主程序被指出并糾正。

——哈里·S·杜魯門

寫給在讀書的你：

Compared with other forms of government, one of the most important virtues of democracy is that it permits common people to express their opinions.

與其他的政府組織形式相比，民主制度最重要的優(yōu)點(diǎn)之一就是它允許平民發(fā)表自己的意見。

□ Words and Phrases:

point out 指出，指明

睡前一句話

23. Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.

—Thomas Jefferson

無(wú)論哪一屆政府掌握了統(tǒng)治人民的權(quán)力，它都會(huì)腐化墮落，只有人民自己才是唯一可靠的掌權(quán)人。

——托馬斯·杰斐遜

寫給在讀書的你：

People couldn't expect that a government will never degenerate. They must hold the power in their hands by democratic means.

人們不能指望一個(gè)政府永不墮落，必須通過民主的手段，把權(quán)力掌握在自己的手中。

□ Words and Phrases:

degenerate [di?d?en?reit] v．退化；墮落

degeneracy [di?d?en?r?si] n．墮落，變壞

degeneration [di?d?en??rei??n] n．衰退；墮落

degradation [?degr??dei??n] n．墮落；潦倒

depository [di?p?zit?ri] n．存儲(chǔ)處；受托人

睡前一句話

24. The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among freemen.

—James Buchanan

投票箱是自由人之間解決爭(zhēng)端的最好仲裁人。

——詹姆斯·布坎南

寫給在讀書的你：

To settle disputes in peaceful way instead of by force is the best choice for the freemen in the modern civilized society.

以和平而非武力的方式解決爭(zhēng)端，是當(dāng)代文明社會(huì)中的自由人最好的選擇。

□ Words and Phrases:

arbiter [?ɑ:bit?] n．仲裁人

pacificator [p??sifikeit?] n．仲裁人

moderator [?m?d?reit?] n．調(diào)解人，仲裁人

arbitrator [?ɑ:bitreit?] n．仲裁人

umpirage [??mpai?rid?] n．仲裁人

civilized [?sivilaizd] adj．文明的