英语演讲原文追悼Walter Cronkite.docx

英语演讲原文追悼Walter Cronkite.docx

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英语演讲原文追悼WalterCronkite

追悼WalterCronkite

REMARKSBYTHEPRESIDENTATMEMORIALSERVICEINHONOROFWALTERCRONKITE

LincolnCenter NewYork,NewYork

12:

37P.M.EDT

THEPRESIDENT:

 Thankyou. Thankyouverymuch.

ToChip,Kathy,andNancy,whograciouslysharedyourfatherwithanationthatlovedhim;toWalter'sfriends,colleagues,protégés,andallwhoconsideredhimahero;tothemenoftheIntrepid1;toallofyouwhoaregatheredheretoday;Iamhonoredtobeheretopaytributetothelifeandtimesofthemanwhochronicledourtime.

IdidnotknowMr.Cronkitepersonally. Andmyregretismademoreacutebythestoriesthathavebeensharedheretoday.Nor,forthatmatter,didIknowhimanybetterthanthetensofmillionswhoturnedtohimeachnightinsearchoftheanswertoasimplequestion:

 "Whathappenedtoday?

" Butlikethemandlikeallofyou,Ihavebenefitedasacitizenfromhisdoggedpursuitofthetruth,hispassionate2defense3ofobjectivereporting,andhisviewthatjournalism4ismorethanjustaprofession;itisapublicgoodvitaltoourdemocracy.

Eveninhisearlycareer,WalterCronkiteresistedthetemptationtogetthestoryfirstinfavorofgettingitright. Hewantedtogetitfirst,butheunderstoodtheimportanceofgettingitright. DuringoneofhisfirstjobsinKansasCity,Walter'sprogrammanagerurgedhimtogoontheairreportingamassiveblaze--andwejustheardhowmuchhelovedfires--amassiveblazeatcityhallthathadalreadyclaimedlives. WhenWalterreachedforthetelephone,hisbossasked,"Whatareyoudoing;getontheair!

" Walterrepliedthathewascallingthefiredepartmenttoconfirmthestory. "Youdon'tneedtoconfirmit,"themanagershouted,"mywifeiswatchingthewholething!

" Needlesstosay,Waltermadethecall,andevenastheprogrammanagertooktotheairhimselftobroadcasttheunfoldingtragedy,Walterdiscoveredthatithadbeennothingmorethanasmallfirethathadn'tresultedinanyinjuries. Helosthisjob--buthegotthestoryright.

Walterwasn'tafraidtorattle5thehighandthemighty6,either;butheneverdaredtocompromisehisintegrity. Hegotalongwithelectedofficials,eveniftheywerewary7ofoneanother'smotives8. Onepoliticianonceremarked,"Walter,myfriend,you'vegottobelieveme,fully985percentofeverythingItoldyoutodayistheabsolutetruth." （Laughter.）

HesharedacomplicatedrelationshipwithPresidentsofbothparties,whowantedhimontheirsideevenastheywereconvincedthathewasn't. PresidentJohnsoncalledWalteraftertheeveningnewsfromtimetotimetovoicehisdispleasureoveracertainstory. ButWalterknewthatifhewasreceivingvociferous10complaintsfrombothsides,hemustbedoinghisjob.

Hisendlessinquisitiveness11aboutourworld,Icanimagine,camefromamotherwhosoldencyclopedias12foraliving. Asaboy,Walterspentcountless13hoursgettinglostwithintheirpages,endlesslysidetrackedbynewandinterestingentriesthatbranchedofffromoneanother,fascinatedbytheworldaroundusandhowitworked.

Andthat'sthewayhelivedhislife--withcuriosity,exploringourplanet,seekingtomakesenseofitandexplainingittoothers. Hewenteverywhereandhedideverything. Heracedcarsandboats;hetraveledeverywherefromtheAmazontotheArctic;heplunged148,000feetbelowthesea,trekked1518,000feetupintotheHimalayas,andexperiencedweightlessnessintheupperreachesofouratmosphere--allwithonemission:

 tomakeitcomealivefortherestofus.

Andasourworldbegantochange,hehelpedusunderstandthosechanges. Hewasforeverthere,reportingthroughworldwarandcoldwar;marchesandmilestones16;scandalandsuccess;calmlyandauthoritatively17tellinguswhatweneededtoknow. Hewasavoiceofcertaintyinaworldthatwasgrowingmoreandmoreuncertain. Andthroughitall,heneverlosttheintegrityortheplainspokenspeakingstylethathegainedgrowingupintheheartland. Hewasafamiliarandwelcomevoicethatspoke18toeachandeveryoneofuspersonally.

Soitmayhaveseemedinevitable19thathewasnamedthemosttrustedmaninAmerica. Buthere'sthething:

 Thattitlewasn'tbestowed20onhimbyanetwork. Weweren'ttoldtobelieveitbysomeadvertising21campaign. Itwasearned. Itwasearnedbyyearafteryearanddecadeafterdecadeofpainstaking22effort;acommitmenttofundamentalvalues;hisbeliefthattheAmericanpeoplewerehungryforthetruth,unvarnishedandunaccompaniedbytheatreorspectacle. Hedidn'tbelieveindumbingdown. Hetrustedus.

WhenhewastoldofthisextraordinaryhonorthathewasthemosttrustedmaninAmerica,henaturallydownplayeditbysayingthepeoplehadnotpolledhiswife. （Laughter.） Whenpeopleofbothpoliticalpartiesactuallytriedtorecruithimtorunforoffice,withoutevenaskingforhisstancesontheissues,hesaidno--tothereliefofallpotentialopponents. Andwhen,evenadecadeandahalfafterhisretirement23,hestillrankedfirstinsevenofeightcategoriesfortelevisionjournalists,hewasdisbelievingthathehadn'twontheeighthcategory,"attractiveness." （Laughter.）

Throughalltheeventsthatcametodefinethe20thcentury,throughallourmomentsofdeepesthurtandbrightesthope,WalterCronkitewasthere,tellingthestoryoftheAmericanage.

Andthisishowwerememberhimtoday. ButwealsorememberandcelebratethejournalismthatWalterpracticed--astandardofhonestyandintegrityandresponsibilitytowhichsomanyofyouhavecommittedyourcareers. It'sastandardthat'salittlebithardertofindtoday. Weknowthatthisisadifficulttimeforjournalism. Evenasappetitesfornewsandinformationgrow,newsroomsareclosing. Despitethebigstoriesofourera,seriousjournalistsfindthemselvesalltoooftenwithoutabeat.Justasthenewscyclehasshrunk,sohasthebottomline.

Andtoooften,wefillthatvoidwithinstantcommentaryandcelebrity24gossipandthesofterstoriesthatWalterdisdained25,ratherthanthehardnewsandinvestigativejournalismhechampioned. "Whathappenedtoday?

"isreplacedwith"Whowontoday?

" Thepublicdebatecheapens. Thepublictrustfalters26. Wefailtounderstandourworldoroneanotheraswellasweshould–-andthathasrealconsequencesinourownlivesandinthelifeofournation. Weseemstuckwithachoicebetweenwhatcutstoourbottomlineandwhatharmsusasasociety. Whichpriceishighertopay?

 Whichcostishardertobear?

"Thisdemocracy,"Waltersaid,"cannotfunctionwithoutareasonablywell-informedelectorate27." That'swhythehonest,objective,meticulous28reportingthatsomanyofyoupursuewiththesamezeal29thatWalterdidissovitaltoourdemocracyandoursociety:

 Ourfuturedependsonit.

Walterwasnonaive30idealist. Heunderstoodthechallengesandthepressuresandthetemptationsfacingjournalisminthisnewera. Hebelievedthatamediacompanyhasanobligationtopursueaprofit,butalsoanobligationtoinvestagoodchunk31ofthatprofitbackintonewsandpublicaffairs. Hewasexcitedaboutallthestoriesthatahigh-tech32worldofjournalismwouldbeabletotell,andallthenewly-emergingmeanswithwhichtotellit.

Naturally,wefindourselveswonderinghowhewouldhavecoveredthemonumentalstoriesofourtime. InanerawherethenewsthatcityhallisonfirecansweeparoundtheworldatthespeedoftheInternet,wouldhestillhavecalledtodouble-check?

 Wouldhehavebeenabletocutthroughthemurky33noiseoftheblogsandthetweetsandthesoundbitestoshinethebrightlightonsubstance?

 Wouldhestilloffertheperspectivethatwevalue?

 Wouldhehavebeenabletoremainasingularfigureinanageofdwindling34attentionspansandomnipresentmedia?

Andsomehow,weknowthattheanswerisyes. ThesimplevaluesWalterCronkitesetoutinpursuitof--toseekthetruth,tokeepushonest,toexploreourworldthebesthecould--theyareasvitaltodayastheyeverwere.

OurAmericanstorycontinues. Itneedstobetold. AndifwechoosetoliveuptoWalter'sexample,ifwerealizethatthekindofjournalismheembodied35willnotsimplyrekindle36itselfaspartofanaturalcycle,butwillcomealiveonlyifwestandupanddemanditandresolvetovalueitonceagain,thenI'mconvincedthatthechoicebetweenprofitandprogressisafalseone--andthatthegoldendaysofjournalismstilllieahead.

WalterCronkiteinvitedanationtobelieveinhim--andheneverbetrayedthattrust. That'swhysomanyofyouenteredtheprofessioninthefirstplace. That'swhythestandardshesetforjournalistsstillstand. Andthat'swhyhelovedandvaluedallofyou,butwelovedandvaluedWalternotonlyastherarestofmen,butasanindispensablepillarofoursociety.

He'sreunitedwithhisbelovedBetsynow,watchingthestoriesofthiscenturyunfoldwithboundless37optimism--everysooftenpunctuating38theairwithagleeful"oh,boy!

" （Laughter.） Wearegratefultohimforalteringandilluminating39ourtime,andfortheopportunityhegavetoustosaythat,yes,we,too,werethere.

Thankyouverymuch. （Applause.）

                                    END12:

50P.M.EDT

■文章重点单词注释：

1

intrepid

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

Heisnotreallysatisfiedwithhisintrepidaction.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。

John'sintrepidpersonalitymadehimagoodchoiceforteamleader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

2

passionate

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

Heissaidtobethemostpassionateman.据说他是最有