The Only Thing We Fear Is Our Own
富兰克林·罗斯福 / Franklin Roosevelt
富兰克林·罗斯福(1882—1945),美国第三十一、三十二任总统,美国历史上唯一蝉联四届(第四届未任满)的总统。罗斯福在20世纪的经济大萧条和第二次世界大战中扮演了重要的角色,被学者评为是美国最伟大的三位总统之一。
Ace in the Hole
Understand these new words before you read this article.
1. preeminent adj. 卓越的,杰出的,超群的
2. exhortation n. 敦促,怂恿;极力推荐;(正式的)
演讲;(宗教仪式中的)劝诫
3. resumption n. 重新开始;继续;恢復;回收
4. paralyze v. 使瘫痪,使麻痹
President Hoover Mister, Chief Justice, my Friends,
I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.
In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels, taxes have risen, our ability to pay has fallen, government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income, the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade, the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side, farmers find no markets for their produce, the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.