1943年美國國會宋美齡英語演說
Mr. President, Members of the Senate of the United States, ladies, and gentlemen, I am overwhelmed by the warmth and spontaneity of the welcome of the American people, of whom you are the representatives. I did not know that I was to speak to you today at the Senate except to say,“How do you do, I am so very glad to see you, and to bring the greetings of my people to the people of America. However, just before coming here, the Vice President told me that he wouuld like to have me say a few words to you.
議長先生，美國參議院各位議員，各位女士、先生，受到諸位所代表的美國人民熱情與真誠的歡迎，令我感動莫名。我事先不知今天要在參議院發(fā)表演說，只以為要到此說聲「大家好，很高興見到各位」，并向貴國人民轉(zhuǎn)達敝國百姓的問候之意。不過，在來到此地之前，貴國副總統(tǒng)告訴我，他希望我和各位說幾句話。
I am not a very good extemporaneous speaker; in fact, I am no speaker at all; but I am not so very much discouraged, because a few days ago I was at Hyde Park, and went to the Presidents library. Something I saw there encouraged me, and made me feel that perhaps you will not expect overmuch of me in speaking to you extemporaneously. What do you think I saw there I saw many things, but the one thing which interested me most of all was that in a glass case there was the first draft of one of the Presidents speeches, a second draft, and on and on up to the sixth draft. Yesterday I happened to mention this fact to the President, and told him that I was extremely glad that he had to write so many drafts when he is such a well-known and acknowledgedly fine speaker. His reply to me was that sometimes he writes 12 drafts of a speech. So, my remarks here today, being extemporaneous, I am sure you will make allowances for me.
我并不擅於即席演說，事實上根本稱不上是演說家，但我不會因此怯場，因為前幾天我在海德公園參觀過總統(tǒng)圖書館，在那里看見的一些東西鼓勵了我，讓我感覺各位或許不會對我的即席演說要求太多。各位知道我在那里見到什麼嗎?我看到了許多，但最讓我感興趣的，莫過於一個放著總統(tǒng)先生(譯按，即羅斯福總統(tǒng))演說草稿的玻璃箱，里頭從第一份草稿、第二份草稿，一直到第六份草稿。昨天，我碰巧向總統(tǒng)先生提及此事，我說我很高興知道，以他如此知名又公認(rèn)一流的演說家，還必須寫這麼多份草稿。他回答說，有時他一次演說得寫12份草稿。因此，今天本人在此發(fā)表的即席演說，我確信各位一定會包容。
The traditional friendship between your country and mine has a history of 160 years. I feel--and I believe that I am not the only one who feels this way--that there are a great many similarities between your people and mine, and that these similarlties are the basis of our friendship.
貴國和敝國之間有著160年悠久歷史的情誼，我覺得貴國人民和敝國百姓有許許多多的相似點，而這些相似點正是兩國情誼的基礎(chǔ)，我也相信不是只有我有這樣的感覺。
I should like to tell you a little story which will illustrate this belief. When General Doolittle and his men went to bomb Tokyo, on their return some of your boys had to bail out in the interior of China. One of them later told me that he had to bail out of his ship. and that when he landed on Chinese soil and saw the populace running toward him, he just waved his arm and shouted the only Chinese word he knew,“Mei-kuo, Mei-kuo, which means "America. Literally translated from the Chinese it means“Beautiful country. This boy said that our people laughed and almost hugged him, and greeted him like a long lost brother. He further told me that he thought that he had come home when he saw our people; and that was the first time he had ever been to China.(Applause.)
在此，我想說個小故事，來說明此一信念。杜立德將軍和部下一起去轟炸東京，回程時有些美國子弟兵不得不在中國內(nèi)陸跳傘。其中一人後來告訴我，他被迫從飛機跳傘，踏上中國的土地時，看到當(dāng)?shù)鼐用衽芟蛩蛽]著手，喊出他會說的唯一一句中國話：「美國，美國」，也就是「美利堅」的意思，(掌聲)美國在中國話的意思是「美麗的國家」。這個大男孩說，敝國人民聽了都笑開來，擁抱他，像歡迎失散多年的兄弟一般。他還告訴我說，當(dāng)他看到我們的人民，感覺他已經(jīng)回到家;而那是他第一次來到中國。(掌聲)
I came to your country as a little girl. I know your people. I have lived with them. I spent the formative years of my life amongst your people. I speak your language, not only the language of your hearts, but also your tongue. So coming here today I feel that I am also coming home.(Applause)
我來到貴國時是個小女孩，我熟悉貴國人民，我和他們一起生活過。我生命中成長的歲月是和貴國人民一起度過，我說你們的話，我想的和你們一樣,說的也和你們一樣。所以今天來到這里，我也感覺我好像回到家了。(掌聲)
I believe, however, that it is not only I who am coming home, I feel that if the Chinese people could speak to you in your own tongue, or if you could understand our tongue, they would tell you that basically and fundamentally we are fighting for the same cause (great applause); that we have identity of ideals ; that the “four freedoms, which your President proclaimed to the world, resound throughout our vast land as the gong of freedom, the gong of freedom of the United Nations, and the death knell of the aggressors. (Applause.)
不過，我相信不只是我回到家，我覺得，如果中國人民會用你們的語言與你們說話，或是你們能了解我們的語言，他們會告訴你們，根本而言，我們都在為相同的理念奮戰(zhàn)(如雷掌聲);我們有一致的理想;亦即貴國總統(tǒng)向全世界揭示的「四個自由」，自由的鐘聲、聯(lián)合國自由的鐘聲，和侵略者的喪鐘響徹我國遼闊的土地。