Let us not， I beseech you， sir， deceive ourselves.Sir， we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on.AWe have petitioned；we have remonstrated；we have supplicated；we have prostrated ourselves before the throne， and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.Our petitions have been slighted；our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult；our supplications have been disregarded；and we have been spurned， with contempt， from the foot of the throne！In vain， after these things， may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation.There is no longer any room for hope.If we wish to be free—if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending—if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged， and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained—we must fight！I repeat it， sir， we must fight！BAn appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us！
The millions of people， armed in the holy cause of liberty， and in such a country as that which we possess， are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides， sir， we shall not fight our battles alone.CThere is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations， and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.The battle， sir， is not to the strong alone；it is to the vigilant， the active， the brave.Besides， sir， we have no election.If we were base enough to desire it， it is now too late to retire from the contest.There is no retreat but in submission and slavery！Our chains are forged！Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston！The war is inevitable—and let it come！I repeat it， sir， let it come.
It is in vain， sir， to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry， Peace， Peace—but there is no peace.The war is actually begun！I know not what course others may take；but as for me， give me liberty or give me death！
难点重点，一目了然！
长难句解析Sentence Structures
AWe have petitioned；we have remonstrated；we have supplicated；we have prostrated ourselves before the throne， and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.
我们请愿过，我们抗议过，我们哀求过；我们曾拜倒在英王御座前，恳求他制止国会和内阁的残暴行径。
prostrate oneself俯伏在地，拜倒。例如：The pilgrims protrated themselves before the altar.朝圣者都匍匐在圣坛前。
BAn appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us！
我们只有诉诸武力，只有求助于万军之主的上帝。
appeal to 恳求。例如：They never appealed to us for mercy.他们从不向我们乞求怜悯。
CThere is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations， and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
公正的上帝主宰着各国的命运，他将号召朋友们为我们而战。
preside over掌管或领导。The city council is presided over by the mayor.市政委员会由市长领导。
54.Fulfill the Duty（1）履行责任（1）
Track 054. MP3
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每篇好演讲都有灵魂！
今日关键语导读Today"s Key Points
美国开国总统乔治·华盛顿在纽约城发表了他第一次就职国家总统的重要演说，演说用词诚恳谦逊，饱含对国家的真挚情义，叙述了自己上任后对国家的治理和保护，以及自己矢志不渝的努力目标。
文中障碍词抢先攻克！
障碍词先听为快Words and Expressions
精彩文字，耳听心受！
好英文娓娓动听Words and Expressions
ANothing filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order， and received on the 14th day of the present month.BOn the one hand， I was summoned by my country， whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love， from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection， and， in my fiattering hopes， with an immutable decision， as the asylum of my declining years a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination， and of frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time.
On the other hand， the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me， being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications， could not but overwhelm with despondence one who（inheriting inferior endowments from nature， and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration）ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies. CIn this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is that it has been my faithful study to collect， my duty from a just appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be affected.All I dare hope is that if， in executing this task， I have been too much swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances， or by an affectionate sensibility to this transcendent proof of the confidence of my fellow citizens， and have thence too little consulted my incapacity as well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares before me， my error will be palliated by the motives which mislead me， and its consequences be judged by my country with some share of the partiality in which they originated.
难点重点，一目了然！
长难句解析Sentence Structures
ANothing filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order， and received on the 14th day of the present month.
没有一件事能比你们于本月14日送达的通知更使我焦虑不安。
the notification was transmitted一般的搭配为 transimit notification传递通知。
BOn the one hand， I was summoned by my country， whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love.
一方面，国家召唤我出任此职，对于她的召唤，我永远怀着崇敬和爱。be summoned by被号召。主动形式为summon sb.to do sth.例如：He summoned up his courage and proposed to her.他鼓起勇气向她求婚。
CIn this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is that it has been my faithful study to collect， my duty from a just appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be affected.
怀着这种矛盾心情，我唯一敢断言的是，通过正确估计可能产生影响的各种情况来恪尽吾职，是我矢志不渝的努力目标。
dare在这句中是情态动词，表示“敢于”。例如：I wonder whether he dares stand up in public.我不知道他敢不敢站在大庭广众面前。