经典英语美文 （49）吉米·卡特诺贝尔和平奖获奖演说1
Your Majesties, Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I accept this prize.I am grateful to my wife Rosalynn, to my colleagues at the Carter Center,and to many others who continue to seek an end to violence and suffering throughout the world.
Most Nobel laureates have carried out our work in safety,but there are others who have acted with great personal courage.None has provided more vivid reminders of the dangers of peacemaking than two of my friends,Anwar Sadat and Yitzak Rabin, who gave their lives for the cause of peace in the Middle East.
Like these two heroes, my first chosen career was in the military,as a submarine officer. My shipmates andI realized that we had to be ready to fight if combat was forced upon us,and we were prepared to give our lives to defend our nation and its principles.At the same time, we always prayed fervently that our readiness would ensure that there would be no war.
Later, as President and as Commander in Chief of our armed forces,I was one of those who bore the soberingresponsibility of maintaining global stability during the height of the Cold War,as the world’s two superpowers confronted each other.
The world has changed greatly since I left the White House.Now there is only one superpower, with unprecedented military and economic strength.The coming budget for American armaments will be greater than those of the next fifteen nations combined,and there are troops from the United States in many countries throughout the world.
But instead of entering a millennium of peace, the world is now,in many ways, a more dangerous place.The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.There is a plethora of civil wars, within which an overwhelming portion of the casualties are unarmed civilians who have no ability to defend themselves. And recent appalling acts of terrorism have reminded us that no nations,even superpowers, are invulnerable.
It is clear that global challenges must be met with an emphasis on peace, in harmony with others,with strong alliances and international consensus. Imperfect as it may be,there is no doubt that this can best be done through the United Nations.
We must remember that today there are at least eight nuclear powers on earth,
and three of them are threatening to their neighbors in areas of great international tension.For powerful countries to adopt a principle of preventive war may well set an examplethat can have catastrophic consequences.
If we accept the premise that the United Nations is the best avenue for the maintenance of peace, then thecarefully considered decisions of the United Nations Security Council must be enforced. All too often, thealternative has proven to be uncontrollable violence and expanding spheres of hostility.(To be continued)
尊敬的国王夫妇、挪威诺贝尔和平奖委员会委员、大使阁下、女士们、先生们：
我怀着一种深挚的感激之情接受这一奖项。我要感谢我的妻子罗莎琳、我在卡特中心的同事们和许多其他继续寻求终结 全世界黎力和苦难的人们。
大多数诺贝尔和平奖获得者可以安全地从事我们的工作， 可是也有一些人在工作中表现出巨大的个人勇气。最为请楚地 提醒我们缔造和平的危险的是我的两个朋友——安瓦尔•萨达 特和伊扎克•拉宾，他们为中东的和平事业献出了自己的生命。
和这两位英雄一样，我首先选定的职业是在军队做一名潜水艇军官。我的战友和我认识到假如战争强加子我们，我们必 须准备战斗，为捍卫袓国及其原则而献出我们的生命。与此同 时，我们总在热诚地祈祷，我们的准备可以确保战争不会爆发。
后来，作为总统和武装部队的总司令，我承担着在冷战高峰时期世界两个超级大国相互敌视状态下维护全球稳定的重大责任。自从我离幵白宫以来，世界已经发生了巨大变化。现在世界上仅剩下一个超级大国，其拥有史无前例的军事和经济实力。美国来年的军亊预算将超过位居其后的15国的总和，而且美军驻扎在全世界许许多多的国家。
但是，我们并未进入一个和平的新千年。在许多方面，现在的世界反而是一个更加危险的地方。旅行和通讯的极大便利并未带来同样的理解和相互尊重。世界上依然有很多内战，绝大部分内战的死难者是那些手无寸铁而又无力自卫的平民。而新近发生的骇人听闻的恐怖主义行动提醒我们，没有一个国家能 够幸免，甚至是超级大国。
显然，全球性的挑战必须以强调和平的重要性、和他国和睦相处与结成稳固的联盟和国际共识的手段来应对。尽管联合国并不完美，但是无疑通过它可以最好地应对这种挑战。
我们必须牢记,今天的地球上至少有8个拥有核武器的国家，其中的3个正在充满国际紧张局势的地区威胁着它们的邻国。对于强国来讲，采取先发制人的战争原则将会树立具有灾难性后果的先例。
假如我们接受联合国是最好的维护和平的途径这一前提， 那么联合国安理会经过审慎考虑后的决议就必须得以贯彻执行。历史一再证明，其他的选择将带来难以掌控的暴力并扩大敌对的范围。（未完待续）