又到了一年一度聆聽(tīng)最美英音的時(shí)刻。

沒(méi)錯(cuò)，就是英女王的圣誕電視致辭。

今年，女王的演講主題是歌頌“鼓舞人心的無(wú)名英雄”（inspirational unsung heroes）。

女王奶奶說(shuō)了不少金句：

I often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
我常常從普通人身上汲取力量，他們平凡卻做著不平凡的事。

'Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love'.
“并非每個(gè)人都能做出偉大的事情，但我們可以帶著偉大的愛(ài)去做一些小事?！?——引用特蕾莎修女

The cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.
成千上萬(wàn)微不足道的善行累加起來(lái)，就能產(chǎn)生我們想象不到的巨大影響。

Inspiration is a gift to be given as well as received, and that love begins small but always grows.
對(duì)心的啟迪和鼓舞是一個(gè)禮物，既可接納也可贈(zèng)予，而愛(ài)起于微末，卻總能茁壯成長(zhǎng)。

女王的演講發(fā)音純正，措辭優(yōu)雅，語(yǔ)速適中，內(nèi)容積極向上，是完美的英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)力素材。一起來(lái)看視頻吧！

開(kāi)頭是軍樂(lè)隊(duì)在白金漢宮前演奏英國(guó)國(guó)歌《天佑女王》（God Save the Queen），正片從1:00處開(kāi)始。

雙語(yǔ)全文

There was a time when British Olympic medal winners became household names because there were so few of them.
曾幾何時(shí)，英國(guó)奧運(yùn)獎(jiǎng)牌獲得者家喻戶曉，因?yàn)樗麄凐P毛麟角。

But the 67 medals at this year's Games in Rio and 147 at the Paralympics meant that the GB medallists' reception at Buckingham Palace was a crowded and happy event.
而在今年的里約奧運(yùn)會(huì)上，我們斬獲67枚獎(jiǎng)牌，殘奧會(huì)147枚，這讓白金漢宮款待大不列顛獎(jiǎng)牌得主們的招待宴變得擁擠而歡樂(lè)。

Throughout the Commonwealth there were equally joyful celebrations. Grenada, the Bahamas, Jamaica and New Zealand won more medals per head of population than any other countries.
英聯(lián)邦各處亦歡欣慶祝，格林納達(dá)、巴哈馬群島、牙買(mǎi)加、新西蘭比其他任何國(guó)家的人均獎(jiǎng)牌數(shù)都多。

Many of this year's winners spoke of being inspired by athletes of previous generations.
今年許多勝利者談到，自己受到前輩的鼓舞。

Inspiration fed their aspiration; and having discovered abilities they scarcely knew they had, these athletes are now inspiring others.
心受鼓舞令人志存高遠(yuǎn)，這些運(yùn)動(dòng)員發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己都難以置信的能力，現(xiàn)在他們正鼓舞著他人。

A few months ago, I saw inspiration of a different kind when I opened the new Cambridge base of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, where Prince William works as a helicopter pilot.
幾個(gè)月前，我受到另一種鼓舞，我為東盎格魯救援飛行隊(duì)在劍橋的新基地剪彩，威廉王子是那里的直升機(jī)飛行員。

It was not hard to be moved by the dedication of the highly skilled doctors, paramedics and crew, who are called out on average five times a day.
訓(xùn)練有素的醫(yī)生、醫(yī)療護(hù)理人員和機(jī)組成員，他們平均每天出勤五次，人們很容易就被他們的奉獻(xiàn)精神感召。

But to be inspirational you don't have to save lives or win medals.
但要鼓舞他人，你并不非定要救死扶傷或贏取獎(jiǎng)牌。

I often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things: volunteers, carers, community organisers and good neighbours; unsung heroes whose quiet dedication makes them special.
我常常從普通人身上汲取力量，他們平凡卻做著不平凡的事：志愿者、老人看護(hù)、社區(qū)組織者和友善的鄰居，他們是無(wú)名的英雄，默默無(wú)聞的奉獻(xiàn)讓他們與眾不同。

unsung：未被贊頌的

They are an inspiration to those who know them, and their lives frequently embody a truth expressed by Mother Teresa, from this year Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
他們鼓舞著認(rèn)識(shí)他們的人，他們的生活每每體現(xiàn)著特雷莎修女表達(dá)的真理，今年特雷莎封圣為“加爾各答的圣特雷莎”。

She once said: 'Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love'.
她曾說(shuō)：“并非每個(gè)人都能做出偉大的事情，但我們可以帶著偉大的愛(ài)做一些小事。”

This has been the experience of two remarkable organisations, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and The Prince's Trust, which are 60 and 40 years old this year. These started as small initiatives but have grown beyond any expectations, and continue to transform young people's lives.
有兩個(gè)出色的組織正是如此，它們是今年六十周年的愛(ài)丁堡公爵獎(jiǎng)和四十周年的王子信托基金。它們從小做起，如今卻超乎預(yù)料，并繼續(xù)改變著年輕人的生活。

To mark my 90th birthday, volunteers and supporters of the six hundred charities of which I have been patron came to a lunch in The Mall.
為紀(jì)念我九十歲生日，來(lái)自600個(gè)慈善團(tuán)體的志愿者和支持者來(lái)林蔭大道參加午宴，我一直以來(lái)資助這些團(tuán)體。

patron：贊助人

Many of these organisations are modest in size but inspire me with the work they do.
許多機(jī)構(gòu)并不大，它們做的事卻鼓舞著我。

From giving friendship and support to our veterans, the elderly or the bereaved; to championing music and dance; providing animal welfare; or protecting our fields and forests, their selfless devotion and generosity of spirit is an example to us all.
它們把友誼和支持給予退伍老兵、老年人和喪親之人；它們贊助音樂(lè)和舞蹈；它們提供動(dòng)物福利；它們保護(hù)我們的土地和森林；它們無(wú)私的奉獻(xiàn)和慷慨的精神堪為典范。

veterans：老兵

bereaved：失去親人的人

When people face a challenge they sometimes talk about taking a deep breath to find courage or strength. In fact, the word 'inspire' literally means 'to breathe in'.
遭遇挑戰(zhàn)的人們有時(shí)會(huì)說(shuō)，深吸一口氣，拿出勇氣和力量。事實(shí)上，“鼓舞”的字面意思就是“吸氣”。

But even with the inspiration of others, it's understandable that we sometimes think the world's problems are so big that we can do little to help.
可即便受到他人鼓舞，我們有時(shí)還是發(fā)現(xiàn)，這個(gè)世界的問(wèn)題太大，我們所做的不過(guò)杯水車(chē)薪，這是可以理解的。

On our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.
就我們自己而言，我們無(wú)法結(jié)束戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，掃除不公，可成千上萬(wàn)微不足道的善行累加起來(lái)，能產(chǎn)生我們想象不到的巨大影響。

At Christmas, our attention is drawn to the birth of a baby some two thousand years ago. It was the humblest of beginnings, and his parents, Joseph and Mary, did not think they were important. 圣誕之際，我們又想起兩千年前誕生的一個(gè)嬰兒。他出生極為卑微，父母約瑟和瑪麗并不覺(jué)得自己有多重要。

Jesus Christ lived obscurely for most of his life, and never travelled far. He was maligned and rejected by many, though he had done no wrong.
耶穌基督一生大部分時(shí)光都籍籍無(wú)名，未能行走天下。盡管他并沒(méi)無(wú)過(guò)錯(cuò)，但還是屢遭詆毀和排擠。

malign [m?'lain]：誹謗、污蔑

And yet, billions of people now follow his teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives.
而如今，數(shù)十億人追隨他的教誨，從他身上發(fā)現(xiàn)生命中引路的明燈。

I am one of them because Christ's example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them and whatever they themselves believe.
我就是其中一員，因?yàn)榛街蹲屛铱吹揭源髳?ài)行小善的價(jià)值，無(wú)論是誰(shuí)，無(wú)論他信仰什么。

The message of Christmas reminds us that inspiration is a gift to be given as well as received, and that love begins small but always grows.
圣誕傳達(dá)的精神就是讓我們記住，對(duì)心的啟迪和鼓舞是一個(gè)禮物，既可接納也可贈(zèng)予，而愛(ài)起于微末，卻總能茁壯成長(zhǎng)。

I wish you all a very happy Christmas.
祝各位圣誕快樂(lè)。

譯文參考：英文聯(lián)播（微信ID：yingwenlianbo）

每年的圣誕演講是為數(shù)不多的情況下，女王能直抒胸臆，發(fā)表一些自己的見(jiàn)解，而不需要征求政府的意見(jiàn)。

這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)始于女王的爺爺喬治五世（King George V）在1932年首次進(jìn)行的廣播演講。

BBC曾對(duì)這段背景做了如下介紹：

He was unsure about using the relatively untried medium of the wireless, but eventually agreed and read a message composed by author Rudyard Kipling.
他（喬治五世）并不確定是否使用尚未驗(yàn)證過(guò)的無(wú)線電波作為媒介，但最終還是同意了，并朗讀了由拉迪亞德·吉卜林撰寫(xiě)的演講稿。

The fixed time of 3 pm each year was chosen in 1932 because it was considered the best for reaching most of the countries in the British Empire by short wave.
演講的時(shí)間定于每年圣誕的下午三點(diǎn)，這也是1932年定下的，當(dāng)時(shí)是為了使短波能夠最大范圍覆蓋大英帝國(guó)統(tǒng)治的國(guó)家。

但圣誕致辭真正成為每年的傳統(tǒng)是從女王的父親喬治六世（George VI）開(kāi)始。

喬治六世演講

這位喬治六世，正是《國(guó)王的演講》（The King's Speech）中由科林·費(fèi)斯（Colin Firth）扮演的國(guó)王。

科林叔在《國(guó)王的演講》中的劇照

現(xiàn)任女王伊麗莎白二世從1952年——她繼位當(dāng)年——開(kāi)始用廣播進(jìn)行她的第一次圣誕演講。

而1957年，女王首次以電視播出的形式進(jìn)行了圣誕致辭。

既然說(shuō)到這，那我們不如就來(lái)看看女王首次圣誕電視致辭的珍貴視頻吧。古典英倫范，特別適合做聽(tīng)力素材。

（來(lái)源：中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)雙語(yǔ)新聞微信? 編輯：Julie）