手机APP下载

您现在的位置: 首页 > 英语听力 > 英语演讲 > 美国经典英文演讲100篇 > 正文

美国经典英文演讲100篇:Shuttle''Challenger''Disaster Address

来源:本站原创 编辑:alex   可可英语APP下载 |  可可官方微信:ikekenet
  下载MP3到电脑  [F8键暂停/播放]   批量下载MP3到手机
加载中..

Ronald Reagan: The Space Shuttle "Challenger" Tragedy Address

"We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights...more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space."

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio.]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.

Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.

For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and, perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.

I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.

We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.

I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA, or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."

There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

Thank you.

George W. Bush: "Columbia" Disaster Address

重点单词   查看全部解释    
coincidence [kəu'insidəns]

想一想再看

n. 巧合,同时发生

 
flight [flait]

想一想再看

n. 飞行,航班
n. 奇思妙想,一段楼

 
challenger

想一想再看

n. 挑战者

 
impact ['impækt,im'pækt]

想一想再看

n. 冲击(力), 冲突,影响(力)
vt.

联想记忆
exploration [.eksplɔ:'reiʃən]

想一想再看

n. 探险,踏勘,探测

联想记忆
crew [kru:]

想一想再看

n. 全体船员,全体乘务员,(一组)工作人员

 
explore [iks'plɔ:]

想一想再看

v. 探险,探测,探究

联想记忆
dazzle ['dæzl]

想一想再看

v. 使眼花,使惊奇,目眩,耀眼
n. 耀眼的

 
address [ə'dres]

想一想再看

n. 住址,致词,讲话,谈吐,(处理问题的)技巧

 
expanding [iks'pændiŋ]

想一想再看

扩展的,扩充的

 

发布评论我来说2句

    最新文章

    可可英语官方微信(微信号:ikekenet)

    每天向大家推送短小精悍的英语学习资料.

    添加方式1.扫描上方可可官方微信二维码。
    添加方式2.搜索微信号ikekenet添加即可。