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《双城记》开篇写道：
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…
那是最美好的时代，那是最糟糕的时代;那是智慧的年头，那是愚昧的年头;那是信仰的时期，那是怀疑的时期;那是光明的季节，那是黑暗的季节;那是希望的春天，那是失望的冬天……
这段话也许同样适用于民国，彼时国家多难，民生凋敝，但大师云集，学术昌明，涌现出胡适、林语堂等一大批博晓古今、学贯中西的学者。
不知道这些人中，谁的英语口语最好?
胡 适
1938年，胡适出任中华民国驻美大使。4年任期里，胡适除了获颁27个荣誉博士学位(胡适一生共获得35个荣誉学位)，还多次发表演讲，争取美国对中国抗日战争的援助。来看看，他英语口语怎样。
14岁时候，胡适离开安徽乡下，来到大城市上海，第一次正式接触英语，后来公费前往美国留学。视频只有一句话，看得出来，胡适很喜欢用长句子。
I can assure you that my government and my people will continue to fight>
我可以保证，我的政府和人民，会一直坚持对日作战，直到我们取得胜利。
觉得胡适的口语如何?周作人讲过一个故事。
1924年，泰戈尔访华，徐志摩和林徽因登台演出泰戈尔剧作。梁启超主持，胡适用英文致辞。
周作人听到一个人私下批评，说胡适的英文“到底不够格”，因为胡适念“梁启超”，而不是像外国人那样，说成“梁启翘”。
周作人后来写道，胡适知道中国人姓名应读国音，那些把威妥玛式的罗马拼音照英文念的乃是洋泾浜的学风。
1917年，胡适任北大哲学系主任，不时用英语发表一些讲演。辜鸿铭，这位有个英国义父、从小读莎士比亚、十岁去英国的天才，当时在北大教英国文学，他曾当着众人的面，对胡适说： “胡先生留学七年，可刚才的英语说得实在不地道。记住，在英国那是下等人的发音。”辜鸿铭是否发表过上述言论，不可知，但辜鸿铭看不顺眼胡适，倒是事实。
胡适(字适之)提倡白话文运动，留着清朝人的辫子、力挺中国传统文化的辜鸿铭嘲讽说： “按白话文，你不该叫胡适之，该叫‘往哪里走’”。拥有文、理、哲等13个博士学位、精通英、德、法、拉丁语、希腊文等9种语言的辜鸿铭，对于胡适任哲学系主任嗤之以鼻，他说：
“古代哲学以希腊为主，近代哲学以德国为主，胡适不懂德文，又不会拉丁文，教哲学岂不是骗小孩子?”
胡适毕业演讲稿节选
诸位毕业同学：
Dear Students of the Graduating Class,
你们现在要离开母校了，我没有什么礼物送你们，只好送你们一句话罢。
As you are leaving your alma mater, I have nothing to offer you as a gift except a word of advice.
这一句话是：“不要抛弃学问。”以前的功课也许有一大部分是为了这张毕业文凭，不得已而做的，从今以后，你们可以依自己的心愿去自由研究了。趁现在年富力强的时候，努力做一种专门学问。少年是一去不复返的，等到精力衰时，要做学问也来不及了。即为吃饭计，学问决不会辜负人的。吃饭而不求学问，三年五年之后，你们都要被后来少年淘汰掉的。到那时再想做点学问来补救，恐怕已太晚了。
My advice is, “Never give up the pursuit of learning.” You have perhaps finished your college courses mostly for obtaining the diploma, or, in other words, out of sheer necessity. However, from now on you are free to follow your own bent in the choice of studies. While you are in the prime of life, why not devote yourselves to a special field of study? Youth will soon be gone never to return. And it will be too late for you to go into scholarship when in your declining years. Knowledge will do you a good return even as a means of subsistence. If you give up studies while holding a job, you will in a couple of years have had yourselves replaces by younger people. It will then be too late to remedy the situation by picking up studies again.
有人说：“出去做事之后，生活问题急需解决，哪有工夫去读书?即使要做学问，既没有图书馆，又没有实验室，哪能做学问?”
Some people say, “Once you have a job, you’ll come up against the urgent problem of making a living. How can you manage to find time to study? Even if you want to, will it be possible with no library or laboratory available?”
我要对你们说：凡是要等到有了图书馆方才读书的，有了图书馆也不肯读书。凡是要等到有了实验室方才做研究的，有了实验室也不肯做研究。你有了决心要研究一个问题，自然会撙衣节食去买书，自然会想出法子来设置仪器。
Now let me tell you this. Those who refuse to study for lack of a library will most probably continue to do so even though there is a library. And those who refuse to do research for lack of a laboratory will most probably continue to do so even though a laboratory is available. As long as you set your mind on studies, you will naturally cut down on food and clothing to buy books or do everything possible to acquire necessary instruments.
至于时间，更不成问题。达尔文一生多病，不能多作工，每天只能做一点钟的工作。你们看他的成绩!每天花一点钟看10页有用的书，每年可看3600多页书，30年可读11万页书。
Time is no object. Charles Darwin could only work one hour a day due to ill health. Yet what aremarkable man he was! If you spend one hour a day reading 10 pages of a book, you can finish more than 3,600 pages a year, and 110,000 pages in 30 years.
诸位，11万页书可以使你成一个学者了。可是，每天看三种小报也得费你一点钟的工夫，四圈麻将也得费你一点半钟的光阴，倘是上网，则更是蒙蒙然而半日已去。是看小报、打麻将，或是上网呢?还是努力做一个学者呢?全靠你们自己的选择!
Dear students, 110,000 pages will be quite enough to make a learned man of you. It will take you one hour to read three tabloids a day, and one and half hours to finish four rounds of mah-jong a day. Reading tabloids, playing mah-jong or striving to be a learned man, the choice lies with you.
易卜生说：“你的最大责任是把你这块材料铸造成器。
Henrik Ibsen says, “It is your supreme duty to cast yourself into a useful implement.”
学问便是铸器的工具。抛弃了学问便是毁了你们自己。
Learning is the casting mould. Forsake learning, and you will ruin yourself.
再会了!你们的母校眼睁睁地要看你们十年之后成什么器。
Farewell! Your alma mater is watching eagerly to see what will become of you ten years from now.
林语堂
有种偏见，福建人说话f、h不分，所以谣传清末福建人林纾，将Holmes 翻译成了“福尔摩斯”。正宗闽南人林语堂告诉你，这真的只是偏见。
1941年，林语堂参加NBC访谈，用英文与主持人畅谈时政，语言流畅，观点清晰，充分说明只要功夫深，福建人的英语口语也能成。
节选几个对话。
Lin: China is…the oldest self-governing nation in the world.
林语堂: 中国是世界上最古老的自治国家。
Anchor: Oh, wait a moment. You are pulling my leg.
主持人：等等。你在开玩笑嘛。
Lin : No, I am quite serious…Mencius long ago said that all men are created equal and any man is capable of development to the moral stature of the saint emperors.
And that is about 2500 years ago. Mencius further said that in a state, the people are the most important factor and the king is the least important…Mencius is as modern as Thomas Jefferson.
林语堂：不，我是认真的。早在2500年前，孟子就提出了人生而平等的理念，“圣人，与我同类者”。孟子还指出，民贵君轻。孟子和·杰斐逊一样先进。
Anchor: But wasn’t ther
主持人：但是古代中国没有贵族阶级吗?
Lin: No, decidedly not. There is Chinese proverb which says all premiers and generals don’t come from old families, which isn’t true of England.
Because there is imperial examinations for civil service, which is in operation for over a thousand years and made it possible for any poor boy with real talent to rise to the very top by selective service.
We didn’t say that in China any boy might become the president, but we did say any boy might become the premier.
林语堂：绝对没有。宰相和将军，不出自门阀贵族，兰就不是这样。因为存在逾千年的科举制度，穷人家的孩子，只要有才华，也能位极人臣。在中国，不是所有人都能当皇上，但都有可能做宰相。
林语堂13岁时，入厦门寻源书院，以英文为主要书面和口语学习课程。
17岁时，前往上海圣约翰大学学习。圣约翰大学诞生于1879年，是中国首座全英文授课的大学，培养出了顾维钧、宋子文、邹韬奋、贝聿铭、张爱玲、周有光等一大批声明显赫的学生。
1952年院系调整，圣约翰大学停办，院系分别并入复旦大学、同济大学等学校。
所谓“达，则兼济天下”，林语堂不满足自己英语好，1928至1929年，林语堂编写了三本适合中学生学习的教材，因为是上海开明书社初版，所以称为《开明英文读本》，并且请来了丰子恺配画。
里面很多文章，今天读来，依然很有味道，比如林语堂翻译的这首小诗。
I like woman as they are
without any romanticizing
and without any bitter disillusionment
我喜欢女人，就如她们平常的模样
用不着迷恋而神魂颠倒，比之天仙
也用不着因失恋而满腹心酸，比之蛇蝎
宋美龄
说到民国时候的英文演讲，宋美龄是一定要提的。
在中国独自与日本艰苦作战多年后，1943年，宋美龄前往美国求援，先后在美国国会、纽约、芝加哥和洛杉矶发表了四场演讲。十来岁就前往美国读书的宋美龄，以漂亮流畅的英文、无与伦比的风度，震撼了当时的美国。
宋美龄在美国国会的演讲，语言简单，但掷地有声，节选一二。
We in China, like you, want a better world, not for ourselves alone, but for all mankind, and we must have it.
我中国国民，正与诸君形同，不仅为吾人本身，且更为人类全体，希望有一较佳之世界，实则必须有此较佳之世界。
Man’s mettle is tested both in adversity and in success. Twice is true of the soul of a nation.
个人之品德，于困厄中验之，亦于成功中验之。以言一国之精神，倍加真确。
宋美龄英文如此出色，当仁不让的成为蒋介石外交上的左右手。比方说，1942年，蒋介石在印度拜访甘地之时，翻译就是宋美龄。
宋美龄1943年美国国会演说稿双语版
Mr. President, Members of the Senate of the United States, ladies, and gentlemen, I am overwhelmed by the warmth and spontaneity of the welcome of the American people, of whom you are the representatives. I did not know that I was to speak to you today at the Senate except to say,“How do you do, I am so very glad to see you,” and to bring the greetings of my people to the people of America. However, just before coming here, the Vice President told me that he would like to have me say a few words to you.
议长先生，美国参议院各位议员，各位女士、先生，受到诸位所代表的美国人民热情与真诚的欢迎，令我感动莫名。我事先不知今天要在参议院发表演说，只以为要到此说声「大家好，很高兴见到各位」，并向贵国人民转达敝国百姓的问候之意。不过，在来到此地之前，贵国副总统告诉我，他希望我和各位说几句话。
I am not a very good extemporaneous speaker; in fact, I am no speaker at all; but I am not so very much discouraged, because a few days ago I was at Hyde Park, and went to the President's library. Something I saw there encouraged me, and made me feel that perhaps you will not expect overmuch of me in speaking to you extemporaneously. What do you think I saw there I saw many things, but the one thing which interested me most of all was that in a glass case there was the first draft of one of the President's speeches, a second draft, and on and on up to the sixth draft. Yesterday I happened to mention this fact to the President, and told him that I was extremely glad that he had to write so many drafts when he is such a well-known and acknowledgedly fine speaker. His reply to me was that sometimes he writes 12 drafts of a speech. So, my remarks here today, being extemporaneous, I am sure you will make allowances for me.
我并不擅於即席演说，事实上根本称不上是演说家，但我不会因此怯场，因为前几天我在海德公园参观过总统图书馆，在那里看见的一些东西鼓励了我，让我感觉各位或许不会对我的即席演说要求太多。各位知道我在那里见到什麽吗?我看到了许多，但最让我感兴趣的，莫过於一个放着总统先生(译按，即罗斯福总统)演说草稿的玻璃箱，里头从第一份草稿、第二份草稿，一直到第六份草稿。昨天，我碰巧向总统先生提及此事，我说我很高兴知道，以他如此知名又公认一流的演说家，还必须写这麽多份草稿。他回答说，有时他一次演说得写12份草稿。因此，今天本人在此发表的即席演说，我确信各位一定会包容。
The traditional friendship between your country and mine has a history of 160 years. I feel--and I believe that I am not the only one who feels this way--that there are a great many similarities between your people and mine, and that these similarlties are the basis of our friendship.
贵国和敝国之间有着160年悠久历史的情谊，我觉得贵国人民和敝国百姓有许许多多的相似点，而这些相似点正是两国情谊的基础，我也相信不是只有我有这样的感觉。
I should like to tell you a little story which will illustrate this belief. When General Doolittle and his men went to bomb Tokyo,on their return some of your boys had to bail out in the interior of China. One of them later told me that he had to bail out of his ship. and that when he landed on Chinese soil and saw the populace running toward him, he just waved his arm and shouted the only Chinese word he knew,“Mei-kuo, Mei-kuo,” which means "America.” Literally translated from the Chinese it means“Beautiful country.”This boy said that our people laughed and almost hugged him, and greeted him like a long lost brother. He further told me that he thought that he had come home when he saw our people; and that was the first time he had ever been to China.(Applause.)
在此，我想说个小故事，来说明此一信念。杜立德将军和部下一起去轰炸东京，回程时有些美国子弟兵不得不在中国内陆跳伞。其中一人後来告诉我，他被迫从飞机跳伞，踏上中国的土地时，看到当地居民跑向他，他就挥着手，喊出他会说的唯一一句中国话：「美国，美国」，也就是「美利坚」的意思，(掌声)美国在中国话的意思是「美丽的国家」。这个大男孩说，敝国人民听了都笑开来，拥抱他，像欢迎失散多年的兄弟一般。他还告诉我说，当他看到我们的人民，感觉他已经回到家;而那是他第一次来到中国。(掌声)
I came to your country as a little girl. I know your people. I have lived with them. I spent the formative years of my life amongst your people. I speak your language, not only the language of your hearts, but also your tongue. So coming here today I feel that I am also coming home.(Applause)
我来到贵国时是个小女孩，我熟悉贵国人民，我和他们一起生活过。我生命中成长的岁月是和贵国人民一起度过，我说你们的话，我想的和你们一样,说的也和你们一样。所以今天来到这里，我也感觉我好像回到家了。(掌声)
I believe, however, that it is not only I who am coming home, I feel that if the Chinese people could speak to you in your own tongue, or if you could understand our tongue, they would tell you that basically and fundamentally we are fighting for the same cause (great applause); that we have identity of ideals ; that the “four freedoms,” which your President proclaimed to the world, resound throughout our vast land as the gong of freedom, the gong of freedom of the United Nations, and the death knell of the aggressors. (Applause.)
不过，我相信不只是我回到家，我觉得，如果中国人民会用你们的语言与你们说话，或是你们能了解我们的语言，他们会告诉你们，根本而言，我们都在为相同的理念奋战(如雷掌声);我们有一致的理想;亦即贵国总统向全世界揭示的「四个自由」，自由的钟声、联合国自由的钟声，和侵略者的丧钟响彻我国辽阔的土地。(掌声)
I assure you that our people are willing and eager to cooperate with you in the realization of these ideals, because we want to see to it that they do not echo as empty phrases, but become realities for ourselves, for our children, for our children's children, and for all mankind.(Applause.)
谨向各位保证，敝国人民深愿亦渴望为实现这些理想和贵国合作，因为我们希望这些理想不会流於空言，而是成为我们、我们的子子孙孙、全人类的真况实境。(掌声)
How are we going to realize these ideals I think I shall tell you a little story which just came to my mind. As you know. China is a very old nation. We have a history of 5,000 years. When we were obliged to evacuate Hankow and go into the hinterland to carry on and continue our resistance against aggression, the Generalissimo and I passed one of our fronts, the Changsha front. One day we went into the Heng-yang Mountains, where there are traces of a famous pavilion called“Rub-the-mirror”pavilion, which was built over 2,000 years ago. It will perhaps interest you to hear the story of that pavilion.
我们要如何实现这些理想?我想，我可以告诉各位一个我刚想到的小故事。各位知道，中国是一个非常古老的国家。我们有五千年历史。我们被迫从汉口撤退，转入大後方继续抵抗侵略的时候，蒋委员长和我经过一处前线，就在长沙。有一天，我们上衡山，山上有一处有名的遗迹，叫「磨镜台」，是两千多年前的古蹟。诸位或许有兴趣听听这古蹟的故事。
Two thousand years ago near that spot was an old Buddhist temple. One of the young monks went there, and all day long he sat crosslegged, with his hands clasped before him in an attitude of prayer, and murmured“Amita-Buddha! Amita-Buddha! Amita-Buddha!” He murmured and chanted day after day, because he hoped that he would acquire grace.
两千年前，台址近旁有一座古老的佛寺。一名年轻和尚来此修行，他整天盘腿坐禅，双手合十，口中喃喃念着「阿弥陀佛! 阿弥陀佛! 阿弥陀佛! 」他唱念佛号，日复一日，因为他希望成佛。
The Father Prior of that temple took a piece of brick and rubbed it against a stone hour after hour, day after day, and week after week. The little acolyte, being very young, sometimes cast his eyes around to see what the old Father Prior was doing. The old Father Prior just kept on his work of rubbing the brick against the stone. So one day the young acolyte said to him.“Father Prior, what are you doing day after day rubbing this brick on the stone”The Father Prior replied, “I am trying to make a mirror out of this brick.”The young acolyte said,“But it is impossible to make a mirror out of a brick, Father Prior.”“Yes,”said the Father Prior,“and it is just as impossible for you yo acquire grace by doing nothing except murmur 'Amita-Buddha' all day long, day in and day out.” (Applause.)
寺里的住持於是也跟着拿一块砖去磨一块石头，时时刻刻的磨，一天又一天的磨，一周又一周的磨。小和尚有时抬眼瞧瞧老和尚在做什麽。住持只是一个劲儿拿砖磨石。终於有一天，小和尚对住持说，「大师，您每天拿这块砖磨石头，到底为什麽呢 」住持答道：「我要用这块砖做镜子。」小和尚说：「可砖块是做不成镜子的呀，大师。」「没错，」住持说，「就像你成天光念阿弥陀佛，是成不了佛的。」(掌声)
So, my friends, I feel that it is necessary for us not only to have ideals and to proclaim that we have them, it is necessary that we act to implement them. And so to you, gentlemen of the Senate, and to you ladies and gentlemen in the galleries, I say that without the active help of all of us our leader cannot implement these ideals. It is up to you and to me to take to heart the lesson of “Rub-the-mirror” pavilion.
因此，朋友们，我觉得，我们不但必须有理想，不但要昭告我们有理想，我们还必须以行动来落实理想。(掌声)所以，我要对诸位参议员先生，以及旁听席上的女士先生说，没有我们大家的积极协助，我们的领袖无法落实这些理想。诸位和我都必须紧记「磨镜台」的教训。
I thank you. (Great applause, Senators and their guests arising.)
我谢谢大家。(全场掌声，议员与来宾起立。)
张学良
胡适、林语堂、宋美龄，都是”海龟“，那“土鳖”的英语口语怎么样呢?
1931年9月21日，也就是九一八事变后的第三天，张学良在接受西方媒体采访时，发表了一篇演讲，重申东三省自古就是中国领土。 For many years, Japan has opposed China’s unification and economics…(Japan) has tried to tell other nations that Manchuria is not part of China. In fact, it is as much a part of our country as New England is a part of the United States. It is the homeland of 13 million people, and 99 percent of them are Chinese, who will fight to the last man…(部分内容)前半部分，张学良用东北英语演讲，后半部分，用东北话做了中文翻译，少帅实力诠释交替传译。
1936年西安事变后的1937年，张学良立了一份英文遗嘱，主要是关于纽约的有价证券和现金，在大老婆于凤至和红颜知己赵四小姐之间如何分配。
这份遗嘱后来被张学良的飞行员海岚·里昂(Hyland Lyon)保存，并且于2015年亮相嘉德春拍。
美国人里昂生于1908年，1934年来到中国，成为张学良的飞行员，此前，他在好莱坞做过演员。
值得一提的是，里昂同时是社的摄影记者，为西安事变留下了珍贵的影像资料，更是完整记录了1937年的淞沪会战，包括在四行仓库孤军奋战的“八百壮士”。
游客
