“This is no time to moralize on the follies of countries and Governmentswhich have allowed themselves to be struck down one by one, when by united action they could have saved themselves and saved the world from thiscatastrophe .
But when I spoke a few minutes ago of Hitler s blood-lust andthe hateful appetites which have impelled or lured him on his Russian adventureI said there was one deeper motive behind his outrage.He wishes to destroy theRussian power because he hopes that if he succeeds in this he will be able tobring back the main strength of his Army and Air Force from the East and hurlit upon this Island,which he knows he must conquer or suffer the penalty ofhis crimes .
His invasion of Russia is no more than a prelude to an attemptedinvasion of the British Isles.He hopes, no doubt , that all this may beaccomplished before the winter comes, and that he can overwhelm GreatBritain before the Fleet and air-power of the United States may intervene.Hehopes that he may once again repeat , upon a greater scale than ever before,that process of destroying his enemies one by one by which he has so longthrived and prospered, and that then the scene will be clear for the final act ,without which all his conquests would be in vain - namely, the subjugation ofthe Western Hemisphere to his will and to his system .
“The Russian danger is therefore our danger, and the danger of the UnitedStates, just as the cause of any Russian fighting for his hearth and home is thecause of free men and free peoples in every quarter of the globe.Let us learnthe lessons already taught by such cruel experience.Let us redouble ourexertions, and strike with united strength while life and power remain .
Ⅰ.About the Author
Winston Churchill, the son of Randolph Churchill, a Conservative politician , was born in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock , on 30th November, 1874 .His mother, Jennie Jerome, was the daughter of Leonard Jerome, a New York businessman.After being educated at Harrow he went to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.Churchill joined the Fourth Hussars in 1895 and saw action on the Indian north-west frontier and in the Sudan where he took part in the Battle of Omdurman (1898).In the 1900 General Election Churchill was elected as the Conservative MP for Oldham.In 1904, unconvinced by his party leaders desire for change, Churchill decided to join the Liberal Party.On 12th.September 1908 Churchill married Clementine Ogilvy Spencer and the followingyear published a book on his political philosophy, Liberalism and the SocialProblem (1909) .
Following the 1910 General Election Churchill became Home Secretary .
And he became First Lord of the Admiralty in October 1911 where he helpedmodernize the navy.On the outbreak of war in 1914, Churchill joined the WarCouncil.He also served under David Lloyd George as Minister of War and Air(1919 1920) and Colonial Secretary (1921 1922).After Adolf Hitler and theNazi Party gained power in Germany in 1933, Churchill became a leadingadvocate of rearmament.He was also a staunch critic of Neville Chamberlainand the Conservative government s appeasement policy.In 1939 Churchillcontroversially argued that Britain and France should form of a military alliancewith the Soviet Union.On the outbreak of the Second World War Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty and on 4th April 1940 became chairman of the Military Coordinating Committee.Later that month the German Armyinvaded and occupied Norway.The loss of Norway was a considerable setback for Neville Chamberlain and his policies for dealing with Nazi Germany .
Churchill became leader of the opposition and when visiting the United States in March 1946, he made his famous Iron Curtain speech at Fulton, Missouri.He suffered the first of several strokes in August 1946 but this information was kept from the general public and he continued to lead the Conservative Party .
Churchill returned to power after the 1951 General Election.After the publication of his six volume, The Second World War, Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.Churchill s health continued to deteriorate and in 1955 he reluctantly retired from politics.Winston Churchill died on 24th January, 1965 .
Ⅱ.Words and Expressions
conviction n.firm belief.
hasten v.to move or act with speed; hurry 急忙,赶快。
surprise v.to attack when unprepared 突然袭击。
airfield n.airport.
horde n.large moving crowd, especially one that is noisyand disorderlyWar Cabinet 国防部。
Chequers (在伦敦西北的)英国首相之乡间官邸。
enlist to obtain (help, sympathy, etc .)croquet n.a game played on the lawn, using a wooden mallet to knock wooden balls through hoops 槌球游戏(在草坪上进行)。
revert v.to go back to (a former subject of conversation )。
arch a.chief, main.
Rimmon n.(in the Bible) a deity worshipped in ancient Damascus.
F .O. Foreign Office.
M .P. Member of Parliament 议员。
to the effect with general meaning 大意是。
luncheon n.simple lunch.
regime n.government.
indistinguishable a.that can not be identified as different or distinct不能区别的, 无法辨别的。
devoid (of) a.lack (in ).
ferocious a.fierce and cruel.
folly n.foolish or unwise act , idea or practice 愚蠢的行为,思想或做法。
consistent a.一贯的, 始终如一的。
flashes away pass away quickly threshold n.door.
till v.to cultivate (the ground) 耕作。
immemorial a.that cannot be remembered.
bread-winner n.person who supports the family with his wage primordial a.原始的, 太古的。
hideous a.extremely ugly and shocking to the senses 极其丑陋的, 令人惊骇的。
onslaught n.attack 进攻。
clank v.发出金属的当啷声。
heel-clicking 鞋跟发出的咔哒咔哒的声音。
dandified a.dressed like a dandy 打扮时髦的,像花花公子的。
drilled a.well-trained 训练有素的。
docile a.submissive 温顺驯良的。
brutish a.兽性的, 没有人性的。
soldiery a.a body of soldiers (especially of the bad type)(坏)军队。
plod v.to walk slowly along especially with difficulty and great effort 沉重缓慢地走。
smarting v.to be hurt in one s feelings.
whipping n.beating especially as punishment.
villainous a.evil 邪恶的,凶恶的。
cataract n.洪流。
His Majesty s Government the British Government the great Dominions 英联邦国家。
concur v.to agree; have the same opinion irrevocable a.that cannot be changed once it has been stated or made 不可改变的。
vestige n.small remaining part of what once existed; trace残余部分, 痕迹。