原文：

When President Obama took the stage here Wednesday to address a community — and a nation — traumatized by Saturday’s shootings rampage in Tucson, Arizona, it invited comparisons to President George W. Bush’s speech to the nation after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the memorial service President Bill Clinton led after the bombing of a federal office building killed 168 people in Oklahoma City in 1995. But Obama’s appearance presented a deeper challenge, reflecting the tenor of his times. Unlike those tragedies---which, at least initially, united a mournful country and quieted partisan divisions---this one has, in the days since the killings, had the opposite effect, inflaming the divide.

It was a political reality Mr. Obama seemed to recognize the moment he took the stage. He directly confronted the political debate that erupted after the rampage, asking people of all beliefs not to use the tragedy to turn on one another. He called for an end to partisan recriminations, and for a unity that has seemed increasingly elusive as each day has brought more harsh condemnations from the left and the right. It was one of the more powerful addresses that Mr. Obama has delivered as president, harnessing the emotion generated by the shock and loss from Saturday’s shootings to urge Americans “to remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together”.

点评：

本文摘自《纽约时报》2011年1月12日一篇标题为“Facing Challenge, Obama Returns to Unity Theme”外文的前四段。文章属于政治类话题。由图森市所发生的枪击案引出奥巴马所面临的政治困境并分析了奥巴马在枪击案后说做演说中说传递出的信息。

词汇梳理：

Take the stage: 上台演说

Traumatize：使……受外伤

Shootings rampage: 枪击暴乱

Tucson, Arizona：图森市——亚利桑那州南部城市

Invite: 文中指招致，引发……

Tenor：本调、主旋律

Mournful：令人哀痛、伤心的

Partisan division：党派分歧

Erupt：爆发

Recrimination：相互指责

Harsh condemnation：严厉的批评

Rampage：狂暴行为

Elusive：使得、促使

Harness：控制

难点解析：

在第一段讲到奥巴马总统周三给美国所有民众演讲中所回忆的三段灾难性事件，这三起灾难性事件分别是：Tucson, Arizona（奥巴马时期亚利桑那州图森市枪击事件）、the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001（布什时期911恐怖袭击事件）和Oklahoma City in 1995（1995年克林顿时期的俄克拉荷马爆炸案）。紧接着用but笔锋一转指出奥巴马的这次演讲所摆在面前的是更大的挑战，而这反映了the tenor of his times时代的本调/主旋律。Unlike those tragedies---which, at least initially, united a mournful country and quieted partisan divisions---this one has, in the days since the killings, had the opposite effect, inflaming the divide.这句话中两个破折号中间的内容是在解释说明tragedies，这句话是在强调美国现在所面对的问题是divide分裂。在翻译这句话的时候可以先把两个破折号中间的成分拿出来翻译为一句话，之后再翻译Unlike those tragedies，this one has, in the days since the killings, had the opposite effect, inflaming the divide.

第二段一共有四句话，最后两句较长，翻译之前需要理清结构。He called for an end to partisan recriminations, and for a unity that has seemed increasingly elusive as each day has brought more harsh condemnations from the left and the right. 其中partisan recrimination意思是党派相互指责，elusive逃避，the left and the right是指美国党派中的左派和右派。这句话可以翻译为：奥巴马号召停止党派间相互指责而是要团结起来，每天左派和右派都在进行严厉无情的相互谴责，似乎使得这种团结离我们越发遥远。

文章最后一句话是全文中最长的句子，在翻译之前需要搞清结构：It was one of the more powerful addresses that Mr. Obama has delivered as president, harnessing the emotion generated by the shock and loss from Saturday’s shootings to urge Americans “to remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together”. 结构是：the address, harnessing the emotion….to urge Americans……. 翻译时可以把这一长句拆分成几个层次来处理：

1. It was one of the more powerful addresses that Mr. Obama has delivered as president

2. the address harnessing the emotion

3. the emotion generated by the shock and loss from Saturday’s shootings

4. the address is to remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together

合起来可以翻译为：这是奥巴马作为总统以来所做的最有影响力的演讲之一。周六枪击案所带来的震惊和损失唤起了人们的情感，而这一演讲正是控制了这种情感促使美国人用不同的方法提醒自己我们的希望和梦想是联系在一起的。

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