NEVER GIVE IN, NEVER,

NEVER, NEVER

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill(1874-1965)

Sir Winston Churchill, is widely regarded as the greatest British leader of the 20th century.

Pre-reading questions:

• What do you know of Winston Churchill?• Do you know when World War II broke

out? What else do you know about it?

Part I:Para.1

• Almost a year has passed since I came down here at your Head Master's kind invitation in order to cheer myself and cheerthe hearts of a few of my friends by singing some of our own songs. The ten months that have passed have seen very terrible catastrophic events in the world - ups and downs, misfortunes - but can anyone sitting here this afternoon, this October afternoon, not feel deeply thankful for what has happened in the time that has passed and for the very great improvement in the position of our country and of our home?

• Why, when I was here last time we were quite alone, desperately alone, and we had been so for five or six months.We were poorly armed. We are not so poorly armed today; but then we were very poorly armed. We had the unmeasured menace of the enemy and their air attack still beating upon us,and you yourselves had had experience of this attack; and I expect you are beginning to feel impatient that there has been this long lull with nothing particular turning up!

Britain has been in too long a period of stillness without taking any particular action against the

enemy!

Part II: Paragraphs 2-5

• But we must learn to be equally good at what is short and sharp and what is long and tough. It is generally said that the British are often better at the last. They do not expect to move from crisis to crisis; they do not always expect that each day will bring up some noble chance of war; but when they very slowly make up their minds that the thing has to be done and the job put through and finished, then, even if it takes months - if it takes years - they do it.

Para.3

• Another lesson I think we may take, just throwing our minds back to our meeting hereten months ago and now, is that appearanceare often very deceptive, and as Kipling wellsays, [S1]we must "…meet with Triumph and Disaster. And treat those two impostors just the same."

？ why did Churchill quote Kipling as saying “ treat those two imposters just the same”?

• Because he tried to enlighten the British people from another perspective by implying that they shouldtreat triumphs and disasters of the war in the same way. Sometimes triumphs were just overt phenomena, which could mislead people to a wrong conception. And disasters were not as frightening as they seemed to be, and we should not feel discouraged. The massive air force of Nazi Fascists was strong in appearance, but it could be defeated sooner or later.

Para.4

• You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination not much can be done. Those people who are

imaginativesee many more dangers than perhaps exist; certainlymany more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination.

• But for everyone, surely, what we have gone throughin this period - I am addressing myself to the School –surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson:never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty – [S2]nevergive in except to convictions of honour and good sense.Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone ayear ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All this traditionof ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated.

Para.5

• [S3]Very different is the mood today. Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate. But instead our country stood in the gap.

There was no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside these Islands, though we ourselves never doubted it,we now find ourselves in a position where I say that we can be sure that we have only to persevere to conquer.

Paragraphs 6,7

• You sang here a verse of a School Song: you sang that extra verse written in my honour, which I was very greatly complimented by and which you have repeated today. But there is one word in it I want

to alter - I wanted to do so last year, but I did not venture to. It is the line: "Not less we praise in

darker days."

I have obtained the Head Master's permission to alter darker to sterner. "Not less we praise in sterner days."

Why did Churchill replace the word “darker” with

“sterner”?

• Because he had a strong conviction of victory. The word “darker” carries a pessimistic tone, for it indicates “ a period of unpleasant and frightening time” and implies hopelessness in a difficult period. But the word “sterner”, although it has the identical referent, suggests the bright side of the situation and shows Churchill’s optimistic view. By changing the word, Churchill wanted to convey the British people the message that although there were still great difficulties ahead, Great Britain would prevail in the end.

Part III: Para.7

• Do not let us speak of darker days: let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days; these are great days - the greatest days our countryhas ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.

ups and downs: a mixture of good things and bad things

• The organization has experienced its ups and downs since it was founded in 1999.

• Sitting beside the window, he recalled the ups and downs of his parenthood.

the very great improvement:

The better armament of the British forces and assistance from the United States. At the beginning of the Battle of Britain initiatedby Germany on July 10, 1940, especially after the blitz of London, British military forces were poorly armed. Then they obtained military aids from the United States and improved their

armament. In addition, Britain was no longer alone in the war. In 1941, the United State began to involve itself in the war. On 7 July 1941, American troops joined British troops in the occupation of Iceland. August 9-13, 1941, U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at Placentia Bay, off the coast of Newfoundland, and signed the Atlantic Charter, a document outlining the Allied war aims.

position: situation at a particular time

• It is time those companies revealed more about

their financial position.• Their soccer team is going to be in a very

difficult position if nothing particular shows up.

But we must learn to… long and tough.

• Paraphrase: but we must learn to e good at dealing with difficulties and hardships of any kind, imminent or distant, temporary or long-lasting.

• By saying this he meant to make the British people

fully aware that they should not only be able to fight and win short and quick battle but also be ready to

fight and win hard and enduring wars.

throwing our minds back to our meeting here ten months ago…

• recollecting our meeting at Harrow School ten months ago

• Please throw your mind back to 1945, when people all over the world were engaged in a great and cruel war against the Fascists.

meet with: experience; undergo

• Attempts to find civilian volunteers have met with embarrassing failure.• Efforts to put the Russian space

program into market have met with little success.

We must … just the same.

• Paraphrase: we are sure to experience both Triumph and Disaster, and we must treat

them as the same thing taking different appearances because they are

essentially interchangeable.

…never give in except to … sense. • …never give in unless we are convinced that it is honourable and sensible for us to do so.• By saying so, Churchill wants to tell British that when facing great difficulties, one should never give in. With the reasonable combination of imagination and courage, the British people

could overcome any kind of difficulties and smash any attack of the mighty enemy.

Very different is the mood today.

• How other nation view Britain and how the British people think and feel about the war is quite different today from

ten months ago.

stand in the gap

• our country shouldered the responsibility in isolation• 1. 勇敢捍卫；挺身阻挡；承受最厉害的攻击，首当其冲 2. 独当难局；挑重担

At the critical moment of world economic recession,

a powerful government is needed to stand in the gap.

Translation:

1. I have arranged for them to meet each other at the pub but the young man never turned up.

2. You cannot tell merely from appearance whether things will turn out unfavourable to us or not.3. The soldier, who stood in the gap in every battle, gained the highest honors of the country.4. The chairman spoke so forcefully that the rest of the committee yielded to his opinion.

5. They are well-to-do now, but along the way they had their ups and downs.

6. There are two questions to which I will address myself in this lecture.7. We are planning a big Christmas party in your honour.8. Hearing that tune threw my mind back to my childhood.