美国历史(我们的故事)

第十二集黄金时代

美国国力已达到鼎盛时期America is at the height of its power.

各种创新和发明把这个国家带入了Innovation and invention will define

一个科技日新月异社会空前繁荣的新时代 a new era of prosperity and technological wonder.

一项发明以及随之而来的One invention will change the world.

历史上最大规模的通讯革命Along with the biggest communications revolution 将改变世界ever seen.

旧的威胁逐渐淡去And while old threats fade,

新的挑战将使美国经历前所未有的考验new challenges will test America as never before.

我们是前锋也是先驱we are pioneers and trailblazers.

我们为自由而战We fight for freedom.

我们将梦想付诸现实We transform our dreams into the truth.

我们的奋斗将换来一个国家的新生Our struggles will become a nation.

第十二集黄金时代

70年代的美国在国际上The 1970s, America is locked in

陷于与另一个超级大国:苏联的对峙 a gloabal standoff with another superpower, the Soviet Union.

冷战时期It's the Cold War.

共产主义与资本主义Communism and capitalism

为争夺意识形态霸主地位而冲突不断clash in an ideological battle for supremacy.

对许多人而言这个时期充满了恐惧和不确定性For many, it's an era of fear and uncertainty.

核梦魇Nuclear nightmares.

到冷战结束时By the end of the Cold War,

两国所囤积的爆炸性武器the rival countries will amass enough explosive firepower

足以摧毁100万个广岛for over a million Hiroshimas.

冷战还存在另一个战场太空竞赛But the Cold War has another battlefield: the Space Race.

当美国人率先将人类送上月球的时候And when America claimed the prize by putting man on the moon,

那个时代标志性的科技成果也日渐成熟 a technology that will define the era comes of age.

电视Television.

1亿8千5百万美国人共同守候在电视机前185 Million Americans are united in front of their TV sets.

现在再回看当时的影像Looking back at those images now,

我们还是会惊叹图像如此清晰we marveled at the clarity of the picture.

布莱恩·威廉斯[NBC晚间新闻主播]

这可是从月球上传回来的实时画面啊This was live from the moon, after all!

科技的高度发展令人叹为观止It was the height of technology and we marveled at it.

1940年整个美国只有几千台电视In 1940, there are just a few thousand TV sets in the whole country..

到1970年这个数字超过了6000万By 1970, there are over 60 million.

电视将成为塑造新时代的决定性角色TV will play a defining role in shaping a new era.

美国一向热衷于采用新科技America has always tried to adopt new technologies.

鲍勃·鲁兹[前通用汽车公司副总裁]

大家今天司空见惯的电视Television, as we know it today,

当初设想之时这一定是个疯狂的主意I mean, it was considered, think about this crazy idea.

我们可以向美国任何地方传送动态的影像We can send moving images to any place in the United States.

但美国的辉煌But America's been built

正是源于科技发展与革新on technological innovation and invention

从蒸汽船和六发左轮手枪到人手一辆的汽车From steam boats and six-guns to automobiles for everyone.

科技引领他们征服着这片大陆It's conquered a continent with technology.

然而纵观美国发展历史But throughout the nation's history,

真正起着决定性作用的是通讯技术的发展it is communications technology that played a defining role.

1865年1865,

电报帮助亚伯拉罕·林肯率领的北方军the telegraph help its President Abraham Lincoln

在内战中取胜win the war for the North.

他几乎亲自掌控与指挥每一场战役He virtually seize and can command every battle.

1945年1945,

艾森豪威尔麾下的资深通讯专家大卫·沙诺夫David Sarnoff, Eisenhower's most senior communications expert,

协助美国开发了电视机helped develop television for America.

美国无线电公司大卫·沙诺夫研究中心RCA实验区

到1950年沙诺夫创立了By 1950, Sarnoff creates

世界上最大的电视广播网之一one of the biggest TV broadcast networks in the world.

NBC 国家广播公司

电视不仅是一种新的娱乐方式TV may be a new form of entertainment,

更是当时最强大的通讯设备but it's also the most powerful communications device in existence.

阿伦·索尔金[剧作家]

沙诺夫意识到Sarnoff recognized that

电视将成为一股强大的力量there was going to be awesome power.

但随之而来的And that, with that awesome power--

将是更为重大的责任was going to come awesome responsibility.

到1970年美国公众收看电视的数量By 1970, the American public is watching more television

超过了所有其他国家than any nation on earth.

人们每天在电视前的时间均不下5小时Over five hours a day for every man, woman and child.

电视新闻节目的数量There are more TV news programs

也远超其他国家than any country in the world.

七成以上的成年人Over 70% of the adult population

每晚都收看电视新闻watch the television news every evening.

而当登月实况在电视上播出时And when pictures of the moon landings are broadcast live,

这已不仅是技术上的成功it isn't just a technological success,

而更象征着冷战中的胜利it is a symbolic victory in the Cold War.

但有场真正的战争其实更加性命攸关But there's a real war closer to American lives.

越南战争Vietnam.

美国深陷东南亚的一场鏖战 A bitter conflict in Southeast Asia.

美国惧怕共产主义风暴席卷这一地区America fears communism will sweep the region

想要阻止这一态势and wants to stop its influence.

但强大的美军与先进的武器But the U.S. Military and all its technology

却终不敌背水一战的游击队comes up hard against determined guerrilla movements.

为这场战争And the war is being fought

美国征召了几十万年轻士兵by hundreds of thousands of drafted young Americans.

我们召集了大量刚满18岁的孩子We ask so much of our 18-year-olds

跋涉到一个无异于野生丛林的陌生国度to go over to a foreign land, the jungle no less

与当地游击队作战他们熟悉地形and fight gorillas who are home on their turf

并且对外来入侵非常反感and don't like at all the invading army.

参加越战的这代人The generation that is fighting the Vietnam war

正是婴儿潮一代are the baby boomers.

也是数量最为庞大的一代The biggest ever American generation.

逾五千万美国新生儿在战后15年间诞生Over 50 million new Americans born in 15 postwar years.

这数量庞大的一代人This huge generation are

不同于以往的任何一代unlike any Americans who have come before,

他们对于社会的态度和影响and their influence and attitude toward society

注定将改变整个美国的面貌are destined to change the face of America.

60年代这代人的改变是必然的The 1960s were inevitable.

最伟大的一代[二战中的一代] The greatest generation came home

固守着人生价值的信念凯旋with fixed idea of what life should be about,

汤姆·布罗考[原NBC新闻主播]

他们忙着从战争的阴霾中走出And they were so busy putting their own lives back together again

回归原来的生活in a traditional fashion

根本无暇顾及下一代that they weren't paying attention to

细微而敏感的心理变化the changing sensibilities of their children.

美国每10到15年就会发生一次蜕变America in a way reinvents itself every 10 or 15 years.

而这种蜕变And that reinvention is

往往是被上一代人所恐惧与排斥的always feared by the generation that came before.

1969年6月June 1969,

纽约州北部upstate New York.

伍德斯托克音乐节Woodstock.

这原本是一场容纳10万人的周末音乐会 A weekend concert for over 100,000 ticket-hoders,

却挤满了近50万婴儿潮一代的乐迷was over run by nearly half million baby boomers.

还有100万在四周守候Over a million more tried to get in.

这是世界范围内空前盛大的音乐节It is the world's biggest ever music festival 并成为了婴儿潮一代年轻人的交际盛会and become the boomer's coming out party,

标志着美国新一代成为了社会的主流 a signal to America of the generational change taking place.

我们原本刻板拘泥Coming from the society culture

一本正经的社会文化that was fairly buttoned up and prim and proper

蒂姆·甘[时尚顾问]

突然间闯入了伍德斯托克音乐节to one that suddenly was what we had Woodstock.

闯入了嬉皮士We had hippiedom.

闯入了自由性爱We had free love.

婴儿潮这代人深深地影响了Baby bombers had a huge tremendous impact 玛格丽特·周[喜剧演员]

我们对世界的看法对社会的看法on how we view the world and how we view society.

然而他们反抗的But the baby boomers aren't just rebeling

并不仅仅是其父辈的价值观against their parents' values.

他们开始试图用街头游行的方式People begin to attempt to affect from the streets

比弗利·盖奇[耶鲁大学]

向对外政策的最高制定者们施压the highest levels of foreign policy.

美军立即撤出印度支那

婴儿潮的一代人想要越战结束The baby boomers want an end to the Vietnam war,

并在街上游行抗议示威and they take their protest to the street.

为自己的信仰挺身而出The willingness to stand up for what you believe in,

进行大规模的示威游行in mass demonstrations of revolt,

梅丽尔·斯特里普[著名女演员奥斯卡影后]

这才是真正的美国精神that's very American.

在越战中人们不愿违背自己的意愿In the Vietnam war, people were unwilling to die,

让我们的士兵回家

为他们并不支持的战争卖命for something they didn't believe in.

"反抗"是美国民族性格上深深的烙印Protest is deep in the American character.

清教徒对旧世界及宗教迫害的反抗The pilgrims against the old world and religious persecution.

殖民地对宗主国及其苛捐杂税的反抗The colonies against the British and their taxes.

弗雷德里克·道格拉斯和哈莉特·塔布曼对奴隶制的反抗Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman against slavery..

20世纪70年代1970s.

数以千计的反越战抗议游行相继爆发There have been thousands of anti-Vietnam war protests.

俄亥俄州肯特州立大学Kent State University, Ohio.

国民警卫队被调往镇压游行的500名学生The National Guard are ordered in to control 500 protesting students.

电视转播着这一切Television is here watching.

4名学生中弹身亡Four students are shot dead..

正是电视转播将画面传入千家万户I think that that drove it home for a lot of Americans,

观众得以直击现场to see on their television,

这使得大众群情激昂义愤填膺and to have this mass of people who felt so passionately about it.

美国人相信眼见为实The images. You know, America is a very visual country.

珍妮特·沃尔斯[著名作家]

越战期间首次实现了战事的电视转播And because Vietnam is the first televised war,

每一场战役伤亡情况都有新闻报道battles and casualty lists are daily news events.

电视将血淋淋的战争Television brings the reality of the war

展现在每个人眼前into the nation's living rooms.

就如同百年前内战战地摄影师Just as hundred years ago Civil War

photographer

揭露了战争的恐怖一般revealed the true horror of war,

如今电视新闻节目开始颠覆整个国家now TV news images begin to turn the nation.

我们已经损失了5万余士兵We had already lost over 50,000 soldiers,

伤员更是不计其数many more wounded than that.

戴维·鲍尔达奇[犯罪推理小说作家]

我想多数美国人已经意识到越战的无望I think most Americans realized Vietnam was a hopeless cause.

在越战中的投弹数量超过了整个二战More bombs than were droped in the whole World War II.

数千亿美元白白消耗Hundreds of billions of dollars.

但保留在大多数美国人记忆中的But what the most Americans remember

是他们在电视中看到的画面are the pictures they see on their TV sets.

目睹着西贡[今胡志明市]的残兵爬上直升机Watching people in Sigon clinging to helicopters

丹尼尔·席尔瓦[著名作家]

落荒而逃as we left in disgrace.

这是一幅极不符合美国信念的画面This is a profoundly unAmerican notion. 1975年1975,

越战终于结束了the Vietnam War is finally over.

越南退伍军人

从多重意义上来讲正是反战运动In many ways it really was the anti-war movement

改变了后世对于越战的印象on the ground that shaped our story of Vietnam

某种程度上反战运动也是对战争的真实体验and to some degree the actual experience of the war.

对于许多婴儿潮时期出生的人来说For many of the baby boomers,

抗议和反叛是为了更为远大的目标the protest and rebellion has a wider aim: 即创造一种全新的生活方式to create a completely new way of life.

你可以反抗父母反抗社会You could rebel against your parents and rebel against society

去创造属于你自己的乌托邦while creating your own utopia,

这是典型的60年代的理想this is a very 60s ideal.

打造一片可以放飞梦想的乐土Creating a land where you can live your dreams 这正是美国性格的一部分is part of the American character.

同时也是清教徒来到美国的动力The reason that the pilgrims came to America.

以及摩门拓荒者西进的原因Why Mormon pioneers headed west.

婴儿潮的一代并非在找寻新的大陆The baby boomers aren't looking for a new land.

而是想改变美国社会They want to change American society,

真正的革命是由伟大的爱来引导的

释放所有政治犯真理是囚禁不了的

使其变得更加公平make it a fairer place.

60年代末70年代初As the 60s turn into the 70s,

黑人行动主义原住民土地所有权black activism, native American land rights,

释放黑豹党人

同性恋权利生态保护及女权主义gay rights, ecology and feminism

在游行的压力下被一一提上日程burst on to the agenda and the streets.

姐妹们联合起来与压迫我们的制度作斗争

婴儿潮一代重塑着美国社会The baby boom generation shaped America,

职场中为女性争取平等权利的运动the movement for equality for women in the workplace

随之发起certainly came out of that.

美国历史中的这一时期There is a tiny moment in American history

让美国女性重拾自信gave a lot of confidence to American women,

安妮特·戈登·里德[罗格斯大学历史学教授]

自由就是自由Freedom is freedom.

梅莉莎·埃瑟里奇[歌手作曲家]

无论男女都是平等的All men and women are created equal.

我之前对水门事件一无所知I had no prior knowledge of the Watergate break-in.

我既未参与I neither took part in

也对随后的掩饰行为毫不知情nor knew about any of the subsequent cover-up activities..

水门大厦

民主党全国委员会

1974年尼克松总统牵涉到1974, President Nixon is implicated in the break in

闯入其政敌总部并安装窃听设备的事件中and the bugging of his political rivals headquarters.

他被指控掩盖罪行He's accused of covering up the crime.

美国联邦法院

国会启动了弹劾程序Congress starts an impeachment process

电视对此进行了现场直播which transmits live on television.

国家的最高首脑Holders of the highest offices in the land

面对着数百万观众接受质询are subjected to a grilling watched by millions.

尼克松政府因遭逢电视时代而一败涂地The Nixon administration hits the TV age and losses,

滚出去

H.W.布兰茨[德克萨斯大学教授]

尽管在之前的美国历史中也存在着丑闻There had been scandals previously in American history,

但却从未像水门事件这样but none that unfolded on television,

在电视上迅速曝光with the immediacy of the Watergate Scandal.

水门丑闻所表现的What was revealed by the Watergate Scandal

官场腐败程度was a level of internal corruption,

欺骗程度 a level of deception

与对美国民主的亵渎and a real violation of American democracy

当时就连美国政论家that even critics of the American government

都绝对想象不到up to that point simply hadn't imagined.

对于大多数人而言It was the last nail in the coffin you might say of,

戴维·M·肯尼迪[斯坦福大学历史学教授]

这是压垮公众信念的最后一根稻草for many, many people of Americans confidence in their own society.

我将在明天中午辞去总统之职I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

史上唯一一位在任上辞职的总统The only president ever to resign the office. 85%的美国家庭通过电视直播收看其辞职演说His speech watched live by 85% of all American households.

媒体与电视的自由显示了其真正的力量Freedom of the press and TV showing their true power.

媒体在水门事件中的力量表明I mean, the power of Watergate is saying

我们需要自由媒体you need a free press.

索莱达·奥布莱恩[CNN首席主持人]

如果没有自由的媒体Because there are some things that you will not learn

那么有些事情我们将永远不得而知if you do not have a free press.

电视见证了一位总统的下台While television proves the downfall of one President,

将美国推向危机throws America into crisis,

然而另一位总统将学会利用它another will learn to use this new technology

重塑美国人的信心将美国带入新纪元to rebuild American confidence and usher in a new era.

70年代末80年代初As the 70s turn into the 80s

特拉华的美国汽车工人联合会的工人亟需工作

美国陷入困境America feels bruised.

中东石油危机The Middle East oil crisis.

对不起没油了油泵已关

在伊朗的美国人质事件American hostages in Iran.

美国束手无策

我们需要工作恳请政府与国会马上行动起来

调查表明仅剩22%的美国民众信任政府Surveys show only 22% of Americans trust the government.

失业和通货膨胀Unemployment and inflation

双双达到大萧条以来的最高水平are both at the highest levels since the Great Depression.

美国曾经历过经济低谷America has endured economic downtimes before.

上世纪30年代In the 1930s,

罗斯福采用积极的财政政策Roosevelt tries to bring America out of its Great Depression

将美国带出大萧条的阴霾with government spending in new initiatives.

同时他充分利用了新媒体的力量But he also harnesses the power of a new media--

用广播直接传播到全国radio-- to speak directly to the nation.

富兰克林·罗斯福拥有神奇的魔力Franklin Roosevelt had this truly mysterious capacity

他在广播中的讲话to speak through the radio in a way that

戴维·M·肯尼迪[斯坦福大学]

不仅能吸引民众的注意还能激发他们的感情compelled not just the attention but the affection of

影响千百万民众millions upon millions of his countrymen.

半个世纪之后Now half a century later,

一位新总统利用电视 a new President uses television

重建整个国家的信心in his attempt to restore the nation's confidence.

我们怎能不信任我们伟大的祖国How can we not believe in the greatness of America.

又怎能不去行正义和必要之事How can we not do what is right and needed

去保护这世间最后的希望to preserve this last best hope of man on earth.

他被称为伟大的沟通者His nick name was the great communicator.

他的那种清晰的表达方式He was able to articulate in a way

戴维·鲍尔达奇[犯罪推理小说作家]

能让人像认同自己美国人身份一样认同他that many people would accept as being innately American.

H.W.布兰茨[德克萨斯大学教授]

美国人其实愿意相信Americans wanted to believe

他们的国家是美好而又强大的that their country was good and strong.

里根向他们肯定"是的我们美好而强大" And Reagan spoke to them in a voice that said "Yes, we are".

同胞们My fellow citizens,

今晚我想和大家谈谈我们的未来I would like to speak to you tonight about our future,

谈谈一项有历史意义的伟大努力about a great historic effort

让"自由公平希望"这三个词对每位美国公民to give the words "freedom", "fairness" and "hope" new meaning and power

都有新意义和新力量for every man and woman in America.

具体来说我想谈谈税务的问题Specificly I want to talk about taxes.

上世纪80年代是美国经济繁荣的新时代The 1980s appear to be a new era of American financial prosperity.

低利率和宽松的信贷政策的盛行Low interest rates and the easy credit flows 引领经济繁荣复苏lead a bussiness boom.

在这十余年间Over the course of the decade,

华尔街市场交易屡创新高trading on Wall Street markets breaks records,

道琼斯指数飙升了超过200个百分点the Dow Jones Index rises more than 200 percent.

80年代末By the 1980s,

每年便有十万美国人跨入百万富翁的行列100,000 Americans become millionaires every year.

美国也曾历经过繁荣There have been boom times before.

石油热带来了廉价汽油实现了汽车普及The oil rush leads to cheap gasoline and cars for the masses.

廉价钢铁促进了建筑业的繁荣And cheap steel leads to a construction boom,

城市迅速发展起来builds new cities.

80年代的美国Now in 1980s America,

低息贷款刺激了消费cheap credit creates a boom in consumers.

信用卡是这个时期的象征The credit card is the symbol of the decade.

开发于1958年Invented in 1958,

一度是有钱人的专利如今普罗大众也可以拥有once reserved for the wealthy, now it's democratized.

到1989年By 1989,

持有信用卡的美国人比选民还多more Americans have credit cards than vote in elections.

80年代持卡人的借贷额增长了五倍The 80's see cardholders increase their debt by a factor of five.

到80年代末美国人By the end of the decade, Americans are spending

每年刷卡消费近2500亿美元nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars on their credit cards every year.

80年代During the 80s,

购物中心的数量甚至比高中学校的数量还多the number of shopping malls surpasses the number of high schools.

快餐店的数量增加了78% There's a 78% increase in fast-food stores.

十年间餐饮行业消费额翻了一番Spending on restaurant food more than doubles

达到2500多亿美元to over 250 billion dollars in decade.

那十年可能是美国史上During that decade we probably became

最为物欲横流的时期more materialistic than we ever had before.

消费创下了历史新高Consumption was off the charts.

但消费者真正感兴趣的是科技But what consumers really want is technology, 最新的家用电器the latest home appliances,

最新的娱乐技术the latest entertainment technology.

1980年时只有200万台录像机There are barely 2 million VCRs in 1980.

到了1990年却达到6300多万台Over 63 million by 1990.

从最初只有区区几千部手机From a few thousand cell phones,

到80年代末发展到超过500万部by the end of the decade there are over 5 million.

詹姆斯·梅格斯[《大众机械》杂志总编]

你的第一把折叠刀Your first pocket knife,

你的第一辆自行车your first bicycle,

你的第一辆汽车your first car,

如今你的第一部手机today, you know, your first cell phone,

你的第一台手提电脑your first laptop,

这些都标志着你掌控了自己的世界all these are badges of gaining control over your world,

标志着你有能力生活得更好of having, being able to live life better

因为你有更先进的工具和使用它们的技术because you have a better tool, and the skill to use it.

这让美国人深深地为之心驰神往That's something that's deeply appealing to the American psyche.

不过许多消费品的技术进步But many of these consumer technology advances are developed

都直接得益于有史以来最大的开支狂潮: directly from the biggest spending spree of all:

太空竞赛the Space Race.

与苏联的冷战状态仍然处在白热化阶段The Cold War with the Soviet Union is still going strong.

紧张态势蔓延全球乃至太空Laying out across the globe and the final frontier.

到冷战结束时美国共花费了七万亿美元By the end of the Cold War, 7 trillion dollars has been spent

只为了领先于它的共产主义对手keeping America ahead of her communist rival.

竞争的结果就是The result,

造就了史上最复杂最大胆的航天器: one of the most sophisticated and daring spacecraft ever built:

航天飞机The space shuttle.

航天飞机真是个非常美妙的想法The space shuttle was a beautiful idea.

非常精致的飞船It was an elegant craft,

更高效更经济that would be more efficient, more economical

因为它可以像飞机那样起飞着陆并重复使用because it could take off and land and be reuseable.

发射... and lift off.

航天飞机助长了美国的消费热潮The shuttle adds to America's consumer boom.

它最重要的功能之一One of its primary functions

是搭载通信卫星is to launch communication satellites,

用来助涨美国人日益滋长的helping expand America's ever growing appetite 对娱乐通信电话和全球定位系统的需求for entertainment, communications, telephones and GPS.

而航天飞机上使用的技术And the technology that goes into the shuttle

也造福了地面上的人类also comes back to earth.

手机水质净化Cell phones, water purification,

飞机起落架消防设备airplane landing gear, fire fighting equipment.

无线电动工具医疗技术Cordless power tools, medical tech,

甚至滑雪服and even ski wear.

这一切都得益于航天飞机计划All benefited from the shuttle program.

许多人看来航天飞机是美国的象征For many, the shuttle is symbolic of the American story.

它就像是自行应验的预言之一It's like one of those self-fulfilling prophecies.

里克·哈里森[金银典当]

也就是说You know,

我们为了更美好的未来努力let's work for a better future.

我们就会得到美好的未来we'll get the better future.

迈克尔·道格拉斯[著名演员]

谈到拓荒精神Talk about the frontier spirit,

它无关成败荣辱it's not a question of succeeding or failure

而是不断壮大令人倍受鼓舞it's just continuous growth, which is really inspirational.

航天飞机第25次出航25th space shuttle mission...

但是整个国家对技术的信奉But the nation's faith in technology

即将遭到沉重的一击is about to receive a blow.

航天飞机开启了美国的新纪元The shuttle is a new era for America.

航天时代的技术带动着国家经济的发展Space-age technology is powering the country forward.

这个国家建立在创新之上The nation's been built on innovation.

新技术带来了进步财富和扩张New technology create progress, wealth, expansion.

随着斧子的改进As axes improve,

森林以惊人的速度被开垦forests can be cleared at a greater rate.

新的军事技术可以赢得战争 A new military technology wins wars,

建立国家makes nations.

詹姆斯·梅格斯[《大众机械》总编辑]

纵观我们的历史Throughout our history,

每一项技术进步都意味着变革every one of these technologies has been transformative in a way

改变了经济改变了生活that has changed economies, it's changed lives,

也改变了居住模式it's changed settlement patterns.

是像安德鲁·卡内基这样的实业家It takes entrepreneurs like Andrew Carnegie.

他采用新的钢铁生产技术He takes new steel production techniques

实现了钢的大规模生产and supersizes them to produce vast quantities

以此为原料建设起了伟大的美国城市of the raw materials that build the great American city.

还有像穆赫兰这样的工程天才And engineering geniuses like Mulholland,

他修建的长达200英里的洛杉矶引水渠his 200 mile L.A Aqueduct

使得这座城市从荒芜之地崛起allows the city to grow from the desparate.

但进步往往是以人的牺牲为代价的But progress often carries a human cost. 1825年1825,

建造连通五大湖区和纽约的伊利运河building the Erie Canal to connect the Great Lakes to New York City

夺去了近千条生命claims nearly 1,000 lives.

1865年修建横贯东西的大铁路1865, the transcontinental railroad,

近两千人丧生almost 2000 lives.

19世纪末20世纪初At the turn of the century,

每五名男性中就有两名two out of every five men

为了建设美国现代都市的摩天楼而丧命或致残died or are disabled building the skyscrapers of America's new cities.

三二一发射Three, two, one. And lift off.

如今航天飞机Now the space shuttle

是美国科技新纪元的登峰造极之作is the pinnacle of a new era of American technology.

1986年是机组最繁忙的一年1986 is to be the fleet's busiest year.

被选中的挑战者号机组人员The crew of the Challenger shuttle

正是现代美国社会的缩影is chosen to represent cross-section of modern America.

他们来自不同种族背景职业Different races, backgrounds, professions.

我们总有这样的想法And the idea always was

能否让更多人也来参与"Can we begin to open this up somehow to more people

巴兹·奥尔德林[实现人类首次登月的阿波罗11号宇航员踏上月球第二人] 而不只是受过高度训练的宇航员than just highly trained astronauts."

航天梦成了每个美国人都触手可及的梦想The dream of space flight is extending to everyday Americans.

这架航天飞机被誉为最为安全便捷的太空飞船The shuttle is seen as an easy safe route to the final frontier.

但在1986年1月28日But on January 28, 1986,

起飞后仅仅73秒just 73 seconds after it takes off,

挑战者号便发生了爆炸全国直播Challenger explodes, live on national television.

很明显过了好几秒You could see that it took the audience a few seconds

观众才明白他们眼前发生了什么to realize what they were seeing,

因为这真的难以理解because it was so hard to interpret.

7条生命无一幸免Seven lives lost.

悲剧就在眨眼之间发生这怎么可能All of a sudden it was like "How could that have happened?"

戴维·鲍尔达奇[犯罪推理小说作家]

国家航空航天局I mean, NASA, the United States,

我们美国在这一领域领先全球we're like the best in the world at this.

到底发生了什么What happened?

挑战者号全速下坠Challenger, go with throttle up.

这好似当头一棒It was like a blow to the gut of the nation.

失败在所难免And we do fail at times,

但最严峻的考验来自but the greatest test comes from

你意识到并接受失败之后所作出的选择what happens after you realize and accept the fact that you fail.

是畏缩不前Do you go crawl into a corner

从此再也无所作为and never do anything again,

还是重整旗鼓or do you get back up,

从哪里跌倒就从哪里爬起来dust yourself off and move forward ?

挑战号事件发生仅3年后冷战结束了Just three years after Challenger, the Cold War is over.

太空竞赛也随之结束So is the space race.

一代人曾梦想着他们的未来将移向太空While one generation has dreamed of their future in outer space,

下一代人则将要在新的疆域开创他们的未来the next will create theirs on a new frontier:

网络空间Cyberspace.

个人企业的创意天马行空Individual, entrepreneurial ideas, run wild.

索莱达·奥布莱恩[CNN首席主持人]

那就是美国精神And that really is the American spirit.

绞尽脑汁想出And it's a way to figure out

能够物尽其用的办法how to fully utilize something that's out there.

1873年在餐桌上In 1873, on his kitchen table,

一位伊利诺伊州的农民约瑟夫·格利登an Illinois farmer called Joseph Gliden

发明了一样令美国改头换面的东西invents something that changes the face of America:

铁丝网Barbed wire.

不到十年超过50万英里的铁丝网Within ten years, over half a million miles of barbeded wire

将中西部10亿英亩的平原层层围住parcels up a billion acres of the Midwest 将开放的牧场变成了美国的粮仓and turns open prairie into the breadbasket of America.

1879年托马斯·爱迪生发明了电灯1879, Thomas Edison invents the electric light bulb.

它将催生出其他上千件专利It will generate a further 1,000 patents.

他还创立了第一个商用电力输送网But he also creates the first commercial power grid.

两年内他的发电厂可为5000只灯泡提供电力Within two years, he sets up 5,000 power plants.

接下来的五年他的电力网扩大到In five more, he creates a further

能为遍布全国的12万7千只灯泡提供电力127,000 electric light and power across the nation.

我们是一个企业家的国度We're a nation of entrepreneurs.

拥有令人难以置信的企业家精神We have this incredible entrepreneurial spirit.

不过美国19世纪的一项发明But one 19th century American invention

引入的理念塑造了我们21世纪的世界introduces an idea that will shape our 21st century World.

1850年In 1850,

洛威尔纺织厂通过穿孔卡实现了自动化the Lowell cotton mills are automated with paper punch cards.

卡上的孔引导织布机The holes in the cards instruct the loom

使用不同颜色的线to use different coloured threads,

决定是否使用某种颜色的线switching one color on, one color off.

这就是二进制码It's binary code

同时也是未来计算机革命的关键and the key to the future computer revolution.

最初计算机看起来一点不像技术革命At first, computers don't seem like a revolution.

20世纪40年代In the 1940s,

一台拥有如今个人电脑基本功能的计算机 a single computer with the power of a basic PC today

要占用一辆灰狗长途巴士那么大的空间could be the size of a Greyhound bus, 且需要的电力足以支持一座小镇and needs the same amount of power as a small town.

许多人认为Many people believe that

这些计算机能卖出几台就不错了only a few computers will ever be sold.

但随后它们开始显示自己强大的功能But then they start to reveal their power.

60年代大学利用计算机In the '60s computers are used by universities

完成此前难以想象的大量运算to achieve previously unthinkable calculations. 从70年代起And from the 1970s onwards,

公司用计算机替代了数以千计的文职人员corporations use them to replace thousands of manual clerks.

冷战期间无度的挥霍为计算机发展提供了资金Cold War superspending helps fund computer development,

帮助很多像IBM这样的公司发展壮大helping companies like IBM to become massive corporations.

但发起下一波计算机革命的But it's not corporations or the government

既不是公司也不是政府that create the next computer revolution.

1976年在加利福尼亚北部的一间车库1976, a garage in Northern California. 两名电脑爱好者Two computer hobbyists,

史蒂夫·乔布斯和史蒂夫·沃兹涅克Steve Jobs and Steve Wosneak

发明了世界上首台实用的个人电脑create the world's first practical personal computer.

史蒂文·约翰逊[著名作家]

数字革命的先驱The original kind of pioneers of the digital revolution.

某种意义上他们是在In a sense, they were building computers

为自己为像他们一样的普通人设计计算机for themselves, for ordinary

people like them.

这些普通人并不特别富裕They weren't particularly wealthy.

也不在大公司工作They weren't working for large organizations

他们不过是普通的工人They just were tinkers.

很快竞争者的机器也竞相面世Soon competitors bring out their own machines. 当IBM发布他们的个人电脑时When IBM launched their PC,

竞争愈发激烈了it ups the game.

计算机技术日新月异Computers are changing fast.

鼠标随即出现了Along came the mouse

屏幕上也有了图像and along came pictures on the screen.

伍迪·诺里斯[发明家]

那种竞争正是创新的源泉That kind of competition is really where innovation comes from.

1980年出品的苹果II 其计算能力The apple II of 1980 has more computing power than

甚至超过了整个阿波罗登月计划使用的计算机was used in the entire Apollo moon landing program.

个人电脑功能越来越强大Personal computers become more powerful,

越来越风靡more popular.

1980年只有30万台个人电脑There are just 300,000 PCs in 1980.

到了1990年却超过了6700万台By 1990, there are over 67 million.

那一年微软一家营业额就超过10亿美元That year, Microsoft sales alone topped $1 billion.

不过计算机真正的力量还有待发掘But the true power of computers is yet to be realized.

只有当电脑之间彼此连通之时Only when they start to talk to each other,

计算机革命才算真正完成了will the computing revolution be complete.

1969年一场通信革命开始了In 1969, a communication revolution begins.

四台电脑通过一条电话线建立通信Four computers start talking to each other down a telephone line.

互联网诞生了It's the birth of the Internet.

史蒂文·约翰逊[著名作家]

在某种意义上这就是我们国家的基因In a sense, it's our kind of DNA as a country

试图搭上任何to trying jump on whatever

新形式的通信技术的快车new form of communication technology is there,

因为这对我们的祖先because it was so essential

建设起如此幅员辽阔的国家至关重要for our ancestors in building this large nation.

19世纪中叶By the mid 19th century,

美国大陆广袤的距离被拉近了the continent's vast distances shrink,

马车被铁路取而代之the horse and wagon give way to the railroad.

与铁路一起普及的是电报Along with the railroad spreads the telegraph,

那个时代的互联网the Internet of its era.

一度需要数日甚至Messages that once took days

数月将信息传至目的地or even months to reach their destinations,

如今只需敲击按钮信息就会沿着电缆传播now travel down the wire at the tap of a button.

一位来自中西部的年轻铁路职员颇具远见卓识One young railway clerk from the Midwest has a vision

清楚地意识到电报和铁路of how the telegraph and railroads

将如何彻底改变商业运作的模式could revolutionize the way we do business. 1900年By 1900,

西尔斯邮购目录改变了美国人的购物和销售模式the Series catalog transforms how Americans buy and sell.

一个世纪后 A century later,

互联网进一步推进了这场革命the Internet takes this revolution one step further.

到2005年By 2005,

将近两亿家庭拥有电脑并接入了互联网almost 200 million homes have computers and internet access,

2009年逾50亿美元的商品通过网络交易with over 5 billion dollars of goods sold on-line in 2009.

索莱达·奥布莱恩[CNN首席主持人]

你意识到仅仅是这种连通性的力量You realize that just the power of this connectivity

就不可避免势不可挡难以置信was unstoppable, overwhelming, incredible 有时甚至有点吓人and scary at times.

从1969年发出第一封电子邮件起From the first e-mail sent in 1969,

到2009年全球一年共发出90万亿封电子邮件by 2009, 90 trillion e-mails are sent worldwide,

每天2470亿封247 billion every day.

民主自由开放的精神The spirit of liberty, of freedom, of openness,

吉米·威尔士[维基百科创始人之一]

是互联网的精髓所在has been a really core part of the Internet

是某种基本的理念: and this sort of basic idea

每个人都应该能平等的使用这一新媒体that every one should be able to participate equally in this new medium.

这个理念极具美国精神It's a very American spirit of an idea.

它认为每个人都该有获得知识的途径This idea that everybody should have access to knowledge.

90年代的加州And in 1990s California,

互联网的繁荣激起了新一轮的淘金热the Internet boom sparks a second gold rush.

即使在淘金热一百年之后Gold Rush mentality still existed

当硅谷崛起之时这一心态仍然存在over hundred years later when Silicon Valley got started.

H.W.布兰茨[德克萨斯大学教授]

硅谷成功的秘诀在于And the secret of Silicon Valley was

人们甘愿承担巨大的风险the people were willing to take huge risks.

十年间In ten years,

30万家高新技术公司如雨后春笋般涌现30,000 new high tech companies launch.

硅谷在20世纪90年代Silicon Valley creates

创造了近百万个新工作岗位nearly a million new jobs in the 1990s.

1998年风险投资者们Venture capitalists inject

向高科技公司注入了超过1210亿美元的资金over $121 billion dollars into high-tech companies in 1998.

但并非每一家网络企业都能赚得盆满钵满But not every dotcom entrepreneur makes a fortune.

在硅谷文化里In the Silicon Valley culture,

如果你有个好主意但试过之后失败了it's perfectly fine if you have a brilliant idea and

这完全没有关系you try it and it doesn't work out,

大家都能接受"这些主意并不都可行嘛" people accept that, "hey, you know they don't all work."

但如果你确实做得不错But if you did good job at it,

你没准儿能有别的机会you will probably get another chance.

2000年3月网络泡沫破裂了In March, 2000, the dotcom bubble bursts.

世界发生了巨变The world is transformed.

尽管人们赚的钱没有达到他们的预期While people didn't make as much money as they thought they were going to make,

不过却实现了人人联网everybody got on-line.

整个国家都已被网络连通And the country got wired and

从而非常迅速地用上这一新兴技术embraced this new technology much faster 若是没有网络繁荣的话这就很难做到than it would have had there not been big boom.

就像淘金潮造就了加利福利亚州So just as the gold rush kind of invented California,

我认为网络的繁荣I think the Internet boom days

虽然并没有创造像当年那么多的财富didn't make as many fortunes

但是它确实以一种全新的方式but they did wire the whole country

把整个国家连在了一起in a really transformative way.

但是在信息高速公路逐渐成熟之际But as the information superhighway comes of age,

美国一觉醒来发现又面临着新的敌手America wakes up to a new and terrifying friend.

它真的就像是It came quite literally

晴空中的一道霹雳and metaphorically out of the clear blue sky.

来得毫无预兆Nobody saw this coming.

那是美国历史上最黑暗的日子It was the blackest day in American history.

毫无疑问No doubt about it.

威廉·博迪特[美国海军陆战队一级军士长]

有人说Someone said,

"将军您得把电视打开"" General, you need to turn on the television."

汤米·弗兰克斯将军[前美国中央司令部总司令]

我打开了我和全世界的人们一起I did that and I watched along with the world

看着第二架飞机撞上另一座大楼as the second jet hit the second tower.

2001年9月11日上午On the morning of September 11th, 2001,

两架被基地组织的恐怖分子劫持的客机two passenger planes hijacked by terrorists linked to al-Qaeda

撞上了纽约市的世贸中心大楼crash into the World Trade Center towers in New York.

当灾难刚刚发生When it first happened

而我刚刚意识到问题有多严重时and I first realized how bad it was,

鲁道夫·W·朱利安尼[前纽约市市长]

我愣了好一阵才明白势态的严重性it took a while to understand how bad it was,

然后就知道这是我们历史上最可怕的袭击and I realized it was the worst attack in our history.

我记得我当时在想"世界要发生巨变了I remember thinking, "Well, the world is gonna change.

"我不知道会怎么变但是变革不可避免""I'm not sure how, but the world is gonna change."

34分钟后34 minutes later,

第三架飞机美国航空公司的77号航班 a third plane, American Airlines Flight 77,

撞上了五角大楼hits the Pentagon.

10点03分At 10:03, a fourth plane,

准备撞向国会大厦或者白宫的第四架飞机believed to be heading for the Capitol or the White House

在机上乘客与劫机者激烈搏斗后crashes near Shanksville, Pennsylvania

坠毁于宾夕法尼亚州的尚克斯维尔after passengers on board take on the hijackers.

我们震惊了我们愣住了We were stunned. We were frozen.

戴维·鲍尔达奇[犯罪推理小说作家]

我知道在我们的小区里And I know in our small community

大家的那种无助与绝望的感觉that same feeling of helplessness and hopelessness

蔓延到了整个美国全国都是这样was replicated out across the United States, coast to coast.

我们眼睁睁地看着火势蔓延We watched while the fires developed.

太可怕了It was a horrible event.

但是几乎没有人起码我周围没有人But almost no one, certainly no one around me

事先意识到整个双子楼已经岌岌可危had any idea that the integrity of the entire towers was at risk.

10点28分世贸中心大楼的北楼也倒塌了At 10:28, the World Trade Center's North Tower also falls.

当时现场排着一长列救护车And there was a line of ambulances

一直排到了西边高速公路绵延不绝up the West Side Highway, it just went on forever.

但是没人叫救护车也没人走出来And they never called the ambulances and nobody ever came.

过了一会儿我们才开始意识到And after a while we began to realize like

"哦天啊无人生还""Oh, my God, there aren't survivors."

据称"9·11"袭击造成了纽约The 9/11 attacks claim almost 3,000 lives in New York,

宾夕法尼亚和华盛顿特区近3000人丧生Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. 走过第六大道的人们满脸惊恐People would walk up Sixth Avenue, completely shell-shocked,

他们的身上沾满白灰and they would be covered in white dust

因为双子楼刚刚在他们身边倒塌because the towers had just fallen around them.

"9.11"事件被称作当代的珍珠港事件People call 9/11 our generation's Pearl Harbor.

同样是被一群不知从何而来的敌人袭击It was an attack by enemy that no one really saw coming.

同样是毁灭性的It was devastating.

这几乎可以看做是This was seen almost as a declaration of war

戴维·H·彼得雷乌斯将军[美国中央司令部指挥官]

基地组织和国际极端主义者by Al-Qaeda and transnational extremists

在美国本土上的战争宣言on the American homeland.

但是对美国国土的这一可怕袭击But the worst attack on American soil

却极大地唤醒了这个国家serves to galvanize the nation.

我认为恐怖分子袭击我们的原因有两条I believe the terrorists attacked us for two reasons:

杀掉我们的人摧毁我们的意志to kill a lot of people and to kill our spirit.

他们确实害死了不少人And they did kill a lot of people,

但却没有摧毁我们的意志but they didn't kill our spirit.

人们在处理这一事件的时候People displayed very brave attitude

表现出了极大的勇气in the way they dealt with it.

我觉得恐怖分子们绝对没有料到这一点And I think the terrorists never expected that.

对自由的信仰Belief in freedom and

以及这种信仰所赋予你的勇气the courage that it can give you overcame

可以战胜恐怖分子the ability of the terrorists

试图打击全国人民意志的企图to try destroy the spirit of the country.

"9.11"事件后的城市变得非常奇怪It's really weird being in the city after 9/11