又到了一年一度聆聽最美英音的時刻。

沒錯，就是英女王的圣誕電視致辭。

今年，女王的演講主題是歌頌“鼓舞人心的無名英雄”（inspirational unsung heroes）。

女王奶奶說了不少金句：

I often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
我常常從普通人身上汲取力量，他們平凡卻做著不平凡的事。

'Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love'.
“并非每個人都能做出偉大的事情，但我們可以帶著偉大的愛去做一些小事?！?——引用特蕾莎修女

The cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.
成千上萬微不足道的善行累加起來，就能產生我們想象不到的巨大影響。

Inspiration is a gift to be given as well as received, and that love begins small but always grows.
對心的啟迪和鼓舞是一個禮物，既可接納也可贈予，而愛起于微末，卻總能茁壯成長。

女王的演講發音純正，措辭優雅，語速適中，內容積極向上，是完美的英語聽力素材。一起來看視頻吧！

開頭是軍樂隊在白金漢宮前演奏英國國歌《天佑女王》（God Save the Queen），正片從1:00處開始。

雙語全文

There was a time when British Olympic medal winners became household names because there were so few of them.
曾幾何時，英國奧運獎牌獲得者家喻戶曉，因為他們鳳毛麟角。

But the 67 medals at this year's Games in Rio and 147 at the Paralympics meant that the GB medallists' reception at Buckingham Palace was a crowded and happy event.
而在今年的里約奧運會上，我們斬獲67枚獎牌，殘奧會147枚，這讓白金漢宮款待大不列顛獎牌得主們的招待宴變得擁擠而歡樂。

Throughout the Commonwealth there were equally joyful celebrations. Grenada, the Bahamas, Jamaica and New Zealand won more medals per head of population than any other countries.
英聯邦各處亦歡欣慶祝，格林納達、巴哈馬群島、牙買加、新西蘭比其他任何國家的人均獎牌數都多。

Many of this year's winners spoke of being inspired by athletes of previous generations.
今年許多勝利者談到，自己受到前輩的鼓舞。

Inspiration fed their aspiration; and having discovered abilities they scarcely knew they had, these athletes are now inspiring others.
心受鼓舞令人志存高遠，這些運動員發現了自己都難以置信的能力，現在他們正鼓舞著他人。

A few months ago, I saw inspiration of a different kind when I opened the new Cambridge base of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, where Prince William works as a helicopter pilot.
幾個月前，我受到另一種鼓舞，我為東盎格魯救援飛行隊在劍橋的新基地剪彩，威廉王子是那里的直升機飛行員。

It was not hard to be moved by the dedication of the highly skilled doctors, paramedics and crew, who are called out on average five times a day.
訓練有素的醫生、醫療護理人員和機組成員，他們平均每天出勤五次，人們很容易就被他們的奉獻精神感召。

But to be inspirational you don't have to save lives or win medals.
但要鼓舞他人，你并不非定要救死扶傷或贏取獎牌。

I often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things: volunteers, carers, community organisers and good neighbours; unsung heroes whose quiet dedication makes them special.
我常常從普通人身上汲取力量，他們平凡卻做著不平凡的事：志愿者、老人看護、社區組織者和友善的鄰居，他們是無名的英雄，默默無聞的奉獻讓他們與眾不同。

unsung：未被贊頌的

They are an inspiration to those who know them, and their lives frequently embody a truth expressed by Mother Teresa, from this year Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
他們鼓舞著認識他們的人，他們的生活每每體現著特雷莎修女表達的真理，今年特雷莎封圣為“加爾各答的圣特雷莎”。

She once said: 'Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love'.
她曾說：“并非每個人都能做出偉大的事情，但我們可以帶著偉大的愛做一些小事?！?/p>

This has been the experience of two remarkable organisations, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and The Prince's Trust, which are 60 and 40 years old this year. These started as small initiatives but have grown beyond any expectations, and continue to transform young people's lives.
有兩個出色的組織正是如此，它們是今年六十周年的愛丁堡公爵獎和四十周年的王子信托基金。它們從小做起，如今卻超乎預料，并繼續改變著年輕人的生活。

To mark my 90th birthday, volunteers and supporters of the six hundred charities of which I have been patron came to a lunch in The Mall.
為紀念我九十歲生日，來自600個慈善團體的志愿者和支持者來林蔭大道參加午宴，我一直以來資助這些團體。

patron：贊助人

Many of these organisations are modest in size but inspire me with the work they do.
許多機構并不大，它們做的事卻鼓舞著我。

From giving friendship and support to our veterans, the elderly or the bereaved; to championing music and dance; providing animal welfare; or protecting our fields and forests, their selfless devotion and generosity of spirit is an example to us all.
它們把友誼和支持給予退伍老兵、老年人和喪親之人；它們贊助音樂和舞蹈；它們提供動物福利；它們保護我們的土地和森林；它們無私的奉獻和慷慨的精神堪為典范。

veterans：老兵

bereaved：失去親人的人

When people face a challenge they sometimes talk about taking a deep breath to find courage or strength. In fact, the word 'inspire' literally means 'to breathe in'.
遭遇挑戰的人們有時會說，深吸一口氣，拿出勇氣和力量。事實上，“鼓舞”的字面意思就是“吸氣”。

But even with the inspiration of others, it's understandable that we sometimes think the world's problems are so big that we can do little to help.
可即便受到他人鼓舞，我們有時還是發現，這個世界的問題太大，我們所做的不過杯水車薪，這是可以理解的。

On our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.
就我們自己而言，我們無法結束戰爭，掃除不公，可成千上萬微不足道的善行累加起來，能產生我們想象不到的巨大影響。

At Christmas, our attention is drawn to the birth of a baby some two thousand years ago. It was the humblest of beginnings, and his parents, Joseph and Mary, did not think they were important. 圣誕之際，我們又想起兩千年前誕生的一個嬰兒。他出生極為卑微，父母約瑟和瑪麗并不覺得自己有多重要。

Jesus Christ lived obscurely for most of his life, and never travelled far. He was maligned and rejected by many, though he had done no wrong.
耶穌基督一生大部分時光都籍籍無名，未能行走天下。盡管他并沒無過錯，但還是屢遭詆毀和排擠。

malign [m?'lain]：誹謗、污蔑

And yet, billions of people now follow his teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives.
而如今，數十億人追隨他的教誨，從他身上發現生命中引路的明燈。

I am one of them because Christ's example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them and whatever they themselves believe.
我就是其中一員，因為基督之范讓我看到以大愛行小善的價值，無論是誰，無論他信仰什么。

The message of Christmas reminds us that inspiration is a gift to be given as well as received, and that love begins small but always grows.
圣誕傳達的精神就是讓我們記住，對心的啟迪和鼓舞是一個禮物，既可接納也可贈予，而愛起于微末，卻總能茁壯成長。

I wish you all a very happy Christmas.
祝各位圣誕快樂。

譯文參考：英文聯播（微信ID：yingwenlianbo）

每年的圣誕演講是為數不多的情況下，女王能直抒胸臆，發表一些自己的見解，而不需要征求政府的意見。

這個傳統始于女王的爺爺喬治五世（King George V）在1932年首次進行的廣播演講。

BBC曾對這段背景做了如下介紹：

He was unsure about using the relatively untried medium of the wireless, but eventually agreed and read a message composed by author Rudyard Kipling.
他（喬治五世）并不確定是否使用尚未驗證過的無線電波作為媒介，但最終還是同意了，并朗讀了由拉迪亞德·吉卜林撰寫的演講稿。

The fixed time of 3 pm each year was chosen in 1932 because it was considered the best for reaching most of the countries in the British Empire by short wave.
演講的時間定于每年圣誕的下午三點，這也是1932年定下的，當時是為了使短波能夠最大范圍覆蓋大英帝國統治的國家。

但圣誕致辭真正成為每年的傳統是從女王的父親喬治六世（George VI）開始。

喬治六世演講

這位喬治六世，正是《國王的演講》（The King's Speech）中由科林·費斯（Colin Firth）扮演的國王。

科林叔在《國王的演講》中的劇照

現任女王伊麗莎白二世從1952年——她繼位當年——開始用廣播進行她的第一次圣誕演講。

而1957年，女王首次以電視播出的形式進行了圣誕致辭。

既然說到這，那我們不如就來看看女王首次圣誕電視致辭的珍貴視頻吧。古典英倫范，特別適合做聽力素材。

（來源：中國日報網雙語新聞微信? 編輯：Julie）