lesson 5

Lesson Five Speech on Hitler’s Invasion

of the U. S. S. R

Brief introduction to the text

On June 22, 1941, as Hitler started an undeclared war against Russia, Churchill worked on a speech to be broadcast to the whole world. In the speech, he denounced the Nazi regime as most wicked, causing unprecedented death and destruction in the human history. Now it invaded Russia, and the Russian soldiers were making a life-or-death attempt to fight against the Germans. This was a crucial point. And he declared the British Government’s policy, that is, to destroy Hitler and every vestige of the Nazi regime. Therefore, he called on all their friends and allies to unite and fight together. Churchill pointed out that this, however, was only a prelude to an invasion of Britain. Thus, the danger of Russia was that of Britain. United, the anti-fascist countries would survive; separated, they would be struck down one by one.

Argumentation

This text is a piece of Argumentation, which is different from Exposition in its purpose. The purpose of Exposition is to inform and explain and the author appeals to readers’ understanding with verifiable facts and valid information, while the purpose of argumentation, on the other hand, is to convince. An argumentative essay tries to make the reader agree with his point of view and support it, and to persuade him to change his mind or behavior and to approve a policy or a course of action that it proposes. Speeches on policies, editorials o news papers, articles on political or theoretical question, and various proposals are often argumentative. But argumentation frequently makes use of the other three types of writings --- description, narration and above all exposition, for argumentation and exposition are closely related. In a word, argumentation is actually exposition with the additional purpose of convincing and persuading.

Detailed study of the text

Para 1

1. the news was brought to me of Hitler’s invasion of Russia

1) The “of” phrase modifies the noun “news”. It is an adjective ph rase.

2) News always has the plural form but takes a singular verb.

2.This changed conviction into certainty：

1) In the past it was my belief that Hitler would soon attack the Soviet Union; but now it was no longer a belief, it has become a fact.

2) conviction: a very firm and sincere belief E.g.:

I speak in the full conviction that our cause is just.

From the way he spoke, you could tell she was speaking from conviction.

Note: Conviction generally implies that a prior doubt existed but now has been

removed because one has been convinced or assured of the truth.

3. I had not the slightest doubt where our duty and our policy lay:

lie: exist, be found, reside E.g. :

In unity lay strength.

The next step lies with us.

We know where our problems lie, and we have begun to solve some of them.

4. Nor indeed what to say:

Nor had I indeed the slightest doubt as to what I was to say.

5. There only remained the task of composing it:

1) “It” refers “What I was to say”.

2) The only task left was to put what I was going to say into the shape; to write down what I was going to say; to work out the statement.

6. I asked that notice should be given that I would… :

1) The “that” clause is an appositive clause.

2) give notice: inform ( the B.B.C.)

7. Presently… with deta iled news:

1) presently: before long, shortly , soon

2) hasten: (cause to) move or happen faster, connoting urgency or sometimes a sudden and premature result E.g.:

The storm’s approach hastened our departure.

The result of the election hastened his decision.

8. had surprised a large portion:

1) surprise: v. attack suddenly and with out warning; come upon suddenly or unexpectedly

2) grounded: (past participle) lying stationary on the airfields

3) When the Germans attacked, they took the Russians by surprise and destroyed a high percentage of Soviet airplanes before they could take off.

10. I suppose they will be rounded up in hordes:

1) round up: herd together, collect together ( people or animals who are scattered; or who have fled, etc.)

2) horde: a large moving crowd or throng

3) You can’t find the antecedent of “they” in the previous sentences because it is in quotes. “They” means the Red Army Men.

4) I think the Red Army Men will be surrounded and captured in surprisingly large numbers.

Para 2-4

1. There was no time to consult the War Cabinet:

consult: to ask advice of ; discuss

2. We all felt the same at this issue:

1) On the issue of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union

2) We had the same attitude; we shared the same view

3. the following account… may be of interest:

1) account: a descriptive report

2) (of) interest: quality of exciting or holding one’s attention

4. he thought Hitler was counting on enlisting…:

1) enlist: win the support of; get the help or services of; obtain (help, sympathy, etc.)

2) sympathy: a feeling of approval of or agreement with an idea, a cause, etc.

3) Right Wing: the more conservative or reactionary section of a political party, or group

4) Hitler was hoping that if he attacked Russia, he would win in Britain and the U.S. the support

of those who were enemies of Communism

5. we should go all out to help Russia: go all out: to make one’s utmost efort

6. the same would be true… :

1) true of: true concerning; true as regards

2) the United States would do the same; adopt the same attitude; this would also be the attitude of the U.S.

Para 5-6

1. he reverted to this theme:

1) revert: go back to a former subject; talk about again

2) “This theme” refers to the subject they had been talking about during dinner, namely Hitler’s imminent attack and their stand.

2. I asked whether for him, … in the House of Rimmon…

1) As for such an anti-commuinist like him, didn’t this mean that he was rejecting his previous attitude towards communism? (对于他这个头号反共人物来说，这种态度是否意味政治立场转变？)

2) the House of Rimmon: Bible, II Kings. In this thing the Lord pardon the servant,

that when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon : 典出《圣经﹒列王纪﹒下》唯有一事，愿耶和华饶恕你仆人，我主人进临门庙叩拜时，我用手搀他，同时我也屈身。bow down in the house of Rimmon原指“拜倒在伪神临门脚下”，引伸为“违背良心做自己不愿做之事”。在这里the house of Rimmon借指英国的下院。

1.You have been used as a cat’s paw by that woman. She only wants you to help her get into local society.

2. Nobody will believe he is in trouble because he has cried wolf so many times.

3. Mrs. Green is reluctant to talk about her past with anyone. I guess she must have a couple of skeletons in her cupboard.

4. It is unfair that historians always attribute the fall of kingdom to Helen of Troy.

5. She did not expect that her quiet disposition should become her Achille’s Heel.

6. The crafty enemy was ready to launch a new attack while outwardly holding out the olive branch. Open sesame

Skeleton in the cupboard

Birthday suit

Bite the bullet anesthetic

Fig leave

Meet one’s waterloo

Columbus’egg

3. my life is much simplified thereby: In this way, my life is made easier; in this way, it is much easier for me to decide on my attitude towards events. Thereby: by that means; as result of that

4. If Hitler invaded Hell I would make…

1) If Hitler should attack Hell, a most hated place, I would still say a word in favor of the Devil, the foe of the mankind, in the house of the Commons; I would say a word in favor of anyone who

is attacked by Hitler, no matter how bad, how wicked or evil he had been in the past.

2) Reference: an individual allusion or direction of the attention: E.g.:

They never made any reference to their need for technology from the oil companies.

In his address to the combined Assembly, Sadat made veiled references to the Soviet Union and said, “The days of dependence are over”.

5. to the effect: having that result or implication; with… general meaning

6. except for:

1) apart from: Except for an old lady, the bus was empty.

I know nothing about him except for the fact that he lives next door.

2) but for; if it were not for; without…

Except for you, I should be dead by now.

She would not leave the place except for the children.

Para 7

1. It (Nazi regime) is devoid of all theme and principle except appetite and domination:

1) devoid of : completely without; destitute or empty of

2) theme: a recurring, unifying subject or idea

3) appetite: very strong desire; an intense and prolonged desire

4) The Nazi state does not have any ideal or guiding principle at all. All it has is a strong desire for conquest and rule by the “Aryan” race, the allegedly most superior race in the world.

2. It excels all forms… :

1) The Nazi regime is very cruel and it invades other countries in a most savage way. It can carry out its cruel invasion so effectively that it beats (surpasses) any action of this kind in human history; the Nazi regime is very effective in cruel suppression of any savage attack on other countries; in this respect it is worse than any other known form of evil. (纳粹政权在残酷镇压和疯狂侵略方面，极为拿手，人类过去这方面的一切卑劣行径都望尘莫及.)

2) efficiency: The Nazi ran the war like a successful big business;

3. No one has been… ;

1) consistent: marked by steady continuity throughout; showing no significant change or contradiction; continually keeping to the same principles

2) For the past twenty-five years I have always been the firmest opponent of communism and have never changed my position.

3) No … to be a more … than: e.g.:

No American of his time was more national in his interest or universal in his friendship than was Roosevelt .

4. I will unsay…

1) I will not take back a single word of what I have said about communism.

2) Unsay: take back or retract (what has been said); withdraw or disavow (a statement, a promise) (关于共产主义，我说过的话一句也不收回.)

3) The author makes it very clear here that he remains an anti-communist politician and he feels no twinge of conscience for what he had said about communism. This positive, unyielding statement makes the contrast brought about in the following sentences more striking.

5. But all this fades away….

1) “All this” refers to communism and his opposition to communism.

2) But compared to the painful sight that is opening out to our view, all the evils of the communism become insignificant. The evils of communism mean nothing as compared with the crimes committed by Nazi Germany on Soviet soil. So I shall bury past differences. ( or: So I shall no longer bear any grudge against the Soviet Union.)

3) unfold: become clear, more fully known

4) spectacle: here it means a deplorable, painful sight.

6. The past…

1) flash (away): pass swiftly and suddenly; to move quickly out of sight

2) let’s forget the past: the crimes the communist regime committed, the foolish things it did (the Non-aggression Pact) and tragic suffering of its people

7. which their fathers….

1) fathers: forefathers, ancestors

2) till: ( old English literary) work the soil for the production of crops, as by plowing, harrowing, hoeing, sowing,…

3) immemorial: extending back beyond memory; ancient

4) on which their ancestors have worked from ancient times

8. ah, yes, for there times…

1) There are times (critical times) when everyone, without exception, will pray. Even the Russians will pray. Sometimes, at critical moments, everyone—even communists—turn to prayer.

2) This is a very interesting point for discussion; it’s an example of projecting one’s

own belief and culture onto the rest of the world. It is based on an assumption of human nature which allows people to universalize the traits and beliefs of particular culture; so, prayer is seen as natural. This is ethnocentrism (种族优越感), a common characteristic of virtually and culture entity.

9. for the safety… : the bread-winner, their champion, their protector: refer to the same people, all in the singular (为他们亲人的安全而祈祷，为他们养家糊口的人，他们的勇士，他们保护者的归来而祈祷)

10. where the means….

1) wring: get by force, threats, persistence,

2) hardly: ( rare ) with effort or difficulty

3) where people have to work hard on the land in order to keep the family going; where people have to do backbreaking work to wring a little food out of the soil

11. but where they are still…

1) primordial: existing at or form the beginning; basic

2) Although life is hard, people still enjoy basic human pleasures; life is hard but it is still not without the kind of human pleasures that are shared by all.

12. I see advancing upon all this …

1) I can see the Nazi army launching violent attacks on all this.

2) The object of “see” is “the Nazi war machine advancing upon all this”.

3) “all this” refer to the villages, the peasants and their primordial joys.

4) clanking: the metallic sound made by the swords and sabers (in scabbards)

worn by the officers

5) heel-clicking: the noise made by the boots of the officers coming to attention

and shouting “Heil Hitler “

6) dandified: the uniforms with shoulder-boards, insignia, decorations

7) Prussian officers: The core of the officers of the Wehrmacht (the armed forces

of Nazi Germany 纳粹德国的国防军) was Prussian.

13. its crafty expert agents…

1) fresh: recently returned

tie down: (obsolete) reduce to bandage; enslave

2) the S.S agents who specialize in genocide and who have just accomplished the task of crushing and enslaving a dozen countries

14. I see also the dull…

1) The German soldiers are stupid, obedient, easy to manage, savage. They move

on in massive formation from one place to another, sowing destruction and death,

just like a large crowd of moving locusts, eating up everything in the fields.

2) Churchill uses an apt simile, comparing the German soldiers to locusts because

they have one thing in common—the spreading of destruction.

15. still smarting…

1) smart: feel pain and resentment

2) many a: (or an, another) followed by a singular noun or pronoun is equivalent to

many followed by the corresponding plural.

3) whipping: (informal) defeat

4) The Luftwaffe (the Nazi air force) have suffered severe losses in the aerial

battle of England. Now they feel happy because they think they can easily beat the

Russian air force without heave loss.

Para 8-9

1. behind all this glare …

1) glare: a rather vague term, referring perhaps to “hostile, fierce looks” or “hatred”

2) storm: fighting, war

3) launch this cataract of horrors: let out a flood of horrors

4) behind all this hostility and fighting I see that small group of wicked men who make the world suffer untold miseries and unparalleled disasters.

2. I feel sure …

1) I am sure that our Dominions will agree with us in proper time.

2) Churchill does not declare the decision in the name of the dominions because

they are independent governments and Churchill does not have the power to

declare war in their names. If Churchill wants to declare war in their names, he has

to consult them beforehand. Since he must make known the decision at once and

there is no time for consultation, he has to declare the decision in the name of

British government.

3) in due course: at the right time; due: suitable, fitting, proper

3. We are resolved …

1) be resolved: be firm and fixed in purpose

2) vestige: a race, mark, or sign of sth that once existed but has passed away or disappeared

3) from Hitler, a single man, to the whole regime and not only the regime but every sign showing there once existed such a regime ( showing his determination )

4. From this …:

1) inversion: repetition for emphasis

2) There is nothing which can head us off from this purpose or divert our attention.

5. parley: discussion of terms for armistice, etc.; have a conference or discussion, esp. with an enemy

6. rid the earth of …:

1) rid ( of ): free as from a burden or annoyance or something undesirable

2) shadow: the very strong power or influence of somebody

3) yoke: control; a crushing burden

4) t o free the world from Hitler’s domination and to liberate all people from his control

4. it follows therefore …: follow: happen as a necessary result of … E.g.:

Disease often follows war.

Just before he is at the bottom of the class, it doesn’t follow that he has no brains; he may just be lazy.

That conclusion by no means follows.

If one writes poetry, it naturally follows that he must understand poetry.

5. to take the same course …

1) to adopt the same attitude and policy and keep to it, as we shall … to the end

pursue: the verb of this clause, means follow persistently

steadfastly: unswervingly; unchangingly

Para 10

1. without distinction of race, creed, or party:

1) No matter what your nationality is, what religious belief you have or what political party you belong to; paying no attention to any difference in nationality, religious belief, or party affiliation 2) creed: system of religious belief; set of opinions or principles on any subject

2. If Hitler imagine … woefully mistaken:

1) Hitler will realize that he is deplorably wrong in thinking that since he is fighting communism, the West will stand by and let him destroy the Soviet Union and will not fight him as hard as they are now doing; Hitler may think that he is fighting the Soviet Union which the West opposed in the past, the West will not be so determined in fighting and destroying Nazi Germany. If he had that assumption in mind when he attacked the Soviet Union, he will find that he is deplorably wrong and will have to pay for it.

2) Divergence: the action of going out in different directions

3) slacken: reduce in activity, force

3. On the contrary …. from this tyranny:

1) fortify: impart vigor or physical strength or endurance to ; strength mentally or morally

2) save and rescue: Save, the more general, applies to any act of preserving from the consequences of danger, or evil, including sin. Rescue usually implies saving from immediate harm or danger by direct action.

3) No, we will not do that (diverge in our aims or slacken our efforts). Instead, we will fight with greater courage and redouble our efforts in the struggle to end fascism.

4. We shall be strengthened … in resources:

1) resources: available money and property; wealth, something that a country, state, etc. has and can use to its advantage

2) We shall be more determined and shall make better and fuller use of our resources. We shall not relax our efforts; we shall bring our resources into fully play.

Para 11

1. This is no time…:

1) What we need now is not tedious explanation of how foolish those countries and governments were in letting themselves be overrun by Germany one by one without forming a united front to fight Germany. If they had fought in a united way, they might have saved themselves and therefore saved the world.

2) Moralize: (usually with derogatory sense) express one’s thoughts on the wrongness of; indulge in moral reflection on talk

2. When I spoke …

1) When I mentioned Hitler’s insatiable desire for conquest which has driven him to attack Russia , I said there was another and more important reason for his adventure.

2) Blood-lust: evil desire for

3) hateful: detestable; loathsome

4) impel: (idea, feeling) push (sb.) forward

5) Outrage: a very strong or cruel act which arouse great anger

3. He wishes … of his crimes:

1) The main reason is he wants to destroy Russia so that he can crush Britain .

2) This reveals Churchill’s psychology as an imperialist, a champion of the British Empire.

To him, British is still the center of the world.

3) suffer the penalty of his crimes: be destroyed for the crimes he ( Hitler ) has committed

4) suffer: be punished

4. His invasion… of the British Isles: His invasion of Russia will pave the way for his planned invasion of the British Isles.

5. He hopes… winter comes: Obviously he hope s that he can bring his Russian campaign to a successful end before winter sets in.

6. He can overwhelm Great Britain… : He can crush, conquer Britain before the U.S. can come

to her help.

7. the scene will be clear…:

1) The final act refers to the defeat and conquest of all the countries in the Western

Hemisphere.

2) the stage will be ready for the final act

3) Then there will be nothing to prevent Hitler from conquering all the countries in the Western Hemisphere, which he must do if he wants to bring the whole world under his control.

Para 12

1. hearth and home: (poetic) home and its comforts

2. in every quarter of the globe: in every part of the world

3. Let us learn … :

1) “lessons” and “cruel experience”: “ United we stand, divided we fall.”

2) We should bear in mind the fact that Hitler has been successful because many European governments had allowed themselves to be struck down one by one. This time we should all support the Soviet Union and shouldn’t let Hitler repeat his tactics.

4. Let us redou ble … remain: Let us strengthen our unity and our efforts in the fight against Nazi Germany we have not yet been overwhelmed and we are still powerful