英文演讲-我们该选择死亡吗？-精编范文

英文演讲:我们该选择死亡吗？shallwechoosedeath?

bertrandrusselldecember30,1954iamspeakingnotasabriton,notasaeuropean,notasamemberofawesterndemocracy,butasahumanbeing,amemberofthespeciesman,whosecontinuedexistenceisindoubt.theworldisfullofconflicts:jewsandarabs;indiansandpakistanis;whitemenandnegroesinafrica;and,overshadowingallminorconflicts,thetitanicstrugglebetweencommunismandanticommunism.almosteverybodywhoispoliticallyconscioushasstrongfeelingsaboutoneormoreoftheseissues;butiwantyou,ifyoucan,tosetasidesuchfeelingsforthemomentandconsideryourselfonlyasamemberofabiologicalspecieswhichhashadaremarkablehistoryandwhosedisappearancenoneofuscandesire.ishalltrytosaynosinglewordwhichshouldappealtoonegroupratherthantoanother.all,equally,areinperil,and,iftheperilisunderstood,thereishopethattheymaycollectivelyavertit.wehavetolearntothinkinanewway.wehavetolearntoaskourselvesnotwhatstepscanbetakentogivemilitaryvictorytowhatevergroupweprefer,fortherenolongeraresuchsteps.thequestionwehavetoaskourselvesis:whatstepscanbetakentopreventamilitarycontestofwhichtheissuemustbedisastroustoallsides?thegeneralpublic,andevenmanymeninpositionsofauthority,havenotrealizedwhatwouldbeinvolvedinawarwithhydrogenbombs.thegeneralpublicstillthinksintermsoftheobliterationofcities.itisunderstoodthatthenewbombsaremorepowerfulthantheoldandthat,whileoneatomicbombcouldobliteratehiroshima,onehydrogenbombcouldobliteratethelargestcitiessuchaslondon,newyork,andmoscow.nodoubtinahydrogen-bombwargreatcitieswouldbeobliterated.butthisisoneoftheminordisastersthatwouldhavetobefaced.ifeverybodyinlondon,newyork,andmoscowwereexterminated,theworldmight,inthecourseofafewcenturies,recoverfromtheblow.butwenowknow,especiallysincethebikinitest,thathydrogenbombscangraduallyspreaddestructionoveramuchwiderareathanhadbeensupposed.itisstatedonverygoodauthoritythatabombcannowbemanufacturedwhichwillbe25,000timesaspowerfulasthatwhichdestroyedhiroshima.suchabomb,ifexplodednearthegroundorunderwater,sendsradioactiveparticlesintotheupperair.theysinkgraduallyandreachthesurfaceoftheearthintheformofadeadlydustorrain.itwasthisdustwhichinfectedthejapanesefishermenandtheircatchoffishalthoughtheywereoutsidewhatamericanexpertsbelievedtobethedangerzone.nooneknowshowwidelysuchlethalradioactiveparticlesmightbediffused,butthebestauthoritiesareunanimousinsayingthatawarwithhydrogenbombsisquitelikelytoputanendtothehumanrace.itisfearedthatifmanyhydrogenbombsareusedtherewillbeuniversaldeath-suddenonlyforafortunateminority,butforthemajorityaslowtortureofdiseaseanddisintegration...here,then,istheproblemwhichipresenttoyou,starkanddreadfulandinescapable:shallweputanendtothehumanrace1orshallmankindrenouncewar?peoplewillnotfacethisalternativebecauseitissodifficulttoabolishwar.theabolitionofwarwilldemanddistastefullimitationsofnationalsovereignty.butwhatperhapsimpedesunderstandingofthesituationmorethananythingelseisthattheterm'mankind'feelsvagueandabstract.peoplescarcelyrealizeinimaginationthatthedangeristothemselvesandtheirchildrenandtheirgrandchildren,andnotonlytoadimlyapprehendedhumanity'andsotheyhopethatperhapswarmaybeallowedtocontinueprovidedmodernweaponsareprohibited.iamafraidthishopeisillusory.whateveragreementsnottousehydrogenbombshadbeenreachedintimeofpeace,theywouldnolongerbeconsideredbindingintimeofwar,andbothsideswouldsettoworktomanufacturehydrogenbombsassoonaswarbrokeout,forifonesidemanufacturedthebombsandtheotherdidnot,thesidethatmanufacturedthemwouldinevitablybevictorious...asgeologicaltimeisreckoned,manhassofarexistedonlyforaveryshortperiodonemillionyearsatthemost.whathehasachieved,especiallyduringthelast6,000years,issomethingutterlynewinthehistoryofthecosmos,sofaratleastasweareacquaintedwithit.forcountlessagesthesunroseandset,themoonwaxedandwaned,thestarsshoneinthenight,butitwasonlywiththecomingofmanthatthesethingswereunderstood.inthegreatworldofastronomyandinthelittleworldoftheatom,manhasunveiledsecretswhichmighthavebeenthoughtundiscoverable.inartandliteratureandreligion,somemenhaveshownasublimityoffeelingwhichmakesthespeciesworthpreserving.isallthistoendintrivialhorrorbecausesofewareabletothinkofmanratherthanofthisorthatgroupofmen?isourracesodestituteofwisdom,soincapableofimpartiallove,soblindeventothesimplestdictatesofself-preservation,thatthelastproofofitssillyclevernessistobetheexterminationofalllifeonourplanet?-foritwillbenotonlymenwhowillperish,butalsotheanimals,whomnoonecanaccuseofcommunismoranticommunism.icannotbelievethatthisistobetheend.iwouldhavemenforgettheirquarrelsforamomentandreflectthat,iftheywillallowthemselvestosurvive,thereiseveryreasontoexpectthetriumphsofthefuturetoexceedimmeasurablythetriumphsofthepast.thereliesbeforeus,ifwechoose,continualprogressinhappiness,knowledge,andwisdom.shallwe,instead,choosedeath,becausewecannotforgetourquarrels?iappeal,asahumanbeingtohumanbeings:rememberyourhumanity,andforgettherest.ifyoucandoso,thewayliesopentoanewparadise;ifyoucannot,nothingliesbeforeyoubutuniversaldeath.我们该选择死亡吗？伯特兰·罗素1954年12月30日我不是作为一个英国人、一个欧洲人、一个西方民主国家的一员，而是作为一个人，作为不知是否还能继续生存下去的人类的一员在讲演。世界充满了争斗：犹太人和阿拉伯人；印度人和巴勒斯坦人；非洲的白人和黑人；以及使所有的小冲突都相形见绌的共产主义和反共产主义之间的大搏斗。差不多每个有政治意识的人都对这类问题怀有强烈的感受；但是我希望你们，如果你们能够的话，把这份感受暂搁一边，并把自己只看作一种具有非凡历史、谁也不希望它灭亡的生物的一员。可能会迎合一群人而冷落另一群人的词语，我将努力一个字都不说。所有的人，不分彼此，都处在危险之中；如果大家都看到了这种危险，那么就有希望联合起来避开它。我们必须学习新的思想方法。我们必须学习不自问能采取什么措施来使我们所喜欢的人群获得军事上的胜利，因为不再有这样的措施。我们必须自问的问题是：能采取什么措施来避免必然会给各方造成灾难的军事竞赛？普通群众，甚至许多当权人士，不清楚一场氢弹战所包含的会是什么。普通群众仍旧从城市的毁灭上思考问题。不言而喻，新炸弹比旧炸弹更具威力——一颗原弹能毁灭广岛，而一颗氢弹能毁灭像伦敦、纽约和菲斯科这样的大都市。毫无疑问，一场氢弹战将会毁灭大城市。但这只是世界必须面对的小灾难中的一个。假如化敦人、纽约人和莫斯科人都灭绝了，世界可能要经过几个世纪才能从这场灾难中恢复过来。而我们现在，尤其是从比基尼核试验以来很清楚：氢弹能够逐渐把破坏力扩散到一个比预料要广大得多的地区。据非常权威的人士说，现在能够制造出一种炸弹，其威力比毁灭广岛的炸弹大万倍。这种炸弹如果在近地或水下爆炸，会把放射性微粒送入高层大气。这些微粒逐渐降落，呈有毒灰尘或毒雨的状态到达地球表面。正是这种灰尘使日本渔民和他们所捕获的鱼受到了感染，尽管他们并不在美国专家所确认的危险区之内。没有人知道这种致命的放射性微粒怎么会传播得这么广，但是这个领域的最高权威一致表示：一场氢弹战差不多就是灭绝人类的代名词。如果许多氢弹被使用，死神恐怕就会降临全球——只有少数幸运者才会突然死亡，大多数人却须忍受疾病和解体的慢性折磨……这里，我要向你提起一个直率的、令人不快而又无法回避的问题：我们该消灭人类，还是人类该抛弃战争？人们不愿面对这个抉择，因为消灭战争太难了。消灭战争要求限制国家主权，这令人反感。然而“人类”这个专门名词给人们的感觉是模糊、抽象的，它可能比任何其他东西都更容易妨碍认识这种形势。人们几乎没