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Winston Churchill’s Speeches Winston Churchill is well-known as a statesman, politician and as the British Prime Minister during most of the Second World War. He is especially famous for his speeches which many believe made people even more determined to defeat the enemy. Many of these speeches contained lines which are remembered even today. Churchill made one of his greatest speeches in 1940, when he was invited to become Prime Minister of Britain, and the leader of a new government. The country had been at war for over eight months, and he knew that it would suffer many great defeats before it would begin to win the war. So on 13 May 1940 he promised the House of Commons: “I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined the Government, ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.’” A month later, the Germany army had advanced across northern Europe, and the British Army had retreated to the coast of the English Channel. The only escape was to cross the sea back to England. Hundreds of small boats set out from ports on the English coast to bring back the soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in France. But Churchill encouraged people that this was only a temporary defeat in a speech which included the words, “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” On 18 June 1940, Churchill gave another fine speech when he drew attention to the courage of everyone defending Britain. “In years to come,” he said, “…men will say, ‘This was their finest hour.’” The Germans continued their attacks on Britain from the air. A small number of pilots resisted the much larger German Air Force. Germany lost many airplanes, and was forced to change their strategy. Britain was no longer threatened by an early invasion, and on 20 August 1940, he said, “Never in the filed of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” In two years, Germany began to lose some important battles. After a defeat in North Africa, on 10 November 1942 he made a speech with the famous words, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But is is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Many people believe that Churchill’s leadership inspired people to remain brave in the face of Nazi Germany. His speeches are still remembered and quoted today, and remain some of the finest examples of spoken English. 温斯顿o丘吉尔的演讲 温斯顿o丘吉尔在二战的大部分时间都是作为政治家、英国首相而出名。他尤其以他的演讲而出名,许多人相信他的演讲甚至让人们产生了更大的决心来打败敌人。这些演讲中的很多内容直到今天还会被记起。 1940年当他被邀请去做英国首相和新政府领袖时,丘吉尔发表了最伟大的演讲之一。英国已经应战八个多月了,他知道,在开始赢取战争之前他们会遭受许多大的失败。因此,在1940年5月13日,他向下议院承诺:“我会对议会说,就像我对那些加入到政府工作中的人说的那样,‘我没有别的,只有鲜血、苦干、泪水和汗水可以付出。 一个月之后,德军已经穿过北欧继续进发,英军已经撤退到英吉利海峡的海岸上。惟一的逃生之路就是穿过海峡回到英国。成百上千的小船从英国海岸的港口出发,把位于法国敦刻尔克海滩的士兵们接回来。但是丘吉尔鼓励人们这只是个临时的失败,在演讲中他说:“我们会在海滩上战斗,我们会在登陆地战斗,我们会在田地里和街道上战斗,我们会在山上战斗;我们永远不投降。 1940年6月18日,当丘吉尔提到每个人要有保卫英国的勇气时,又做出了另一个精彩的演讲。他说:“在不久的将来,……人们会说,‘这是他们最美好的时刻。 德军继续空袭英国。少数的飞行员抵抗更多的德国空军。德军失去了很多飞机,被迫改变战略。英国不再受到早期入侵的威胁,在1940年8月20日,他说道:“在人类战争史上,从来没有一次像这样,以如此少的兵力取得如此大的成功,保护如此多的众生。 两年后,德军开始在一些重要的战斗中失势。在北非战场失败后,1942年11月10日,他做了演讲,其中有句著名的话:“现在还不是结束的时候。甚至还不算是结束的开始。但可能是开始的结束。 许多人相信丘吉尔的领导能力激励着人们面对纳粹德军仍能英勇作战。他的演讲在今天仍能被记起和引用,并且其中一些还成为了口语中的经典。 |
