Lesson 3 元音/aɪ/-/eɪ/ /aʊ/-/əʊ/

1．元音 /aɪ/-/eɪ/

（1）原音影视*学发音

（2）国际音标*对对碰

（3）总统演讲*练语调

★/aɪ/

That's why we were able to reform a death penalty system that was broken. That's why we were able to give health insurance to children in need. That's why we made the tax system right here in Springfield more fair and just for working families, and that's why we passed ethics reforms that the cynics said could never, ever be passed.

这是为什么我们能够改革千疮百孔的死刑体制，为贫困儿童提供健康保险，并使得税收体制更为公平和公正，以有益于工薪阶层家庭的原因。这也是为什么我们通过了被那些愤世嫉俗者宣称永远不能通过的道德改革法案的原因。

★/eɪ/

The genius of our founders is that they designed a system of government that can be changed. And we should take heart, because we've changed this country before. In the face of tyranny, a band of patriots brought an empire to its knees. In the face of secession, we unified a nation and set the captives free. In the face of Depression, we put people back to work and lifted millions out of poverty. We welcomed immigrants to our shores, we opened railroads to the west, we landed a man on the moon, and we heard a King's call to let“justice roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

我们奠基者们的天才之处在于他们设计了可变革的政体。我们应树立信心，因为我们曾对这个国家进行过变革。面对暴政，一大批爱国志士曾迫使一个帝国屈膝。面对分裂，我们团结整个国家，解放了黑奴。面对大萧条，我们让劳动者重回工作岗位，并使数百万人民脱离了贫困。我们欢迎外来移民，我们将铁路延伸至西部，我们将宇航员送上月球，我们还听到了马丁·路德·金的号召：“让公平似水奔流、正义如泉喷涌。”

2．元音 /aʊ/-/əʊ/

（1）原音影视*学发音

（2）国际音标*对对碰

（3）总统演讲*练语调

★/aʊ/

We all made this journey for a reason. It's humbling to see a crowd like this, but in my heart I know you didn't just come here for me. You came here because you believe in what this country can be. In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope. In the face of a politics that shut you out, that's told you to settle, that's divided us for too long, you believe that we can be one people, reaching out for what's possible, building that more perfect union.

我们此行都为了一个目的。我感谢大家的热诚，在我心里，我知道你们并非仅仅为我而来，你们此行的原因更在于你们相信这个国家的未来。面对战争，你们相信和平将至。面对绝望，你们相信希望尚存。政治将你们拒之门外，让你们安于现状，长期彼此分隔，但你们相信我们作为一个民族，能够实现可能实现的一切，打造一个更加完美的联邦。

★/əʊ/

That's the journey we're on today. But let me tell you how I came to be here. As most of you know, I am not a native of this great state. I moved to Illinois over two decades ago. I was a young man then, just a year out of college. I knew no one in Chicago when I arrived, was without money or family connections. But a group of churches had offered me a job as a community organizer for the grand sum of $13,000 a year. And I accepted the job, sight unseen, motivated then by a single, simple, powerful idea—that I might play a small part in building a better America.

这就是今天我们此行的目的。我告诉你们我是如何来到这里的。你们大多数人都知道，我并不是伟大的伊利诺伊州土生土长的公民，我是在20多年前搬到这里的。那时的我还是个年轻人，刚从大学毕业一年；在芝加哥，我身无分文，举目无亲。但有几个教堂为我提供了一份社区组织者的工作，年薪1.3万美元。我毫不犹豫地接受了这份工作，因为我的心一直被一个简单且有力的想法激励着——我可以为建设一个更加美好的美国尽一份绵薄之力。