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A readability analysis of presidential candidate speeches by researchers in Carnegie Mellon Universitys Language Technologies Institute (LTI) finds most candidates using words and grammar typical of students in grades 6-8, though Donald Trump tends to lag behind
the others.
卡耐基梅隆大学语言技术学院(LTI)的研究人员对总统候选人演讲的可读性进行了分析，结果发现大多数候选人使用的词汇和语法只是一般6-8年级学生英语水平，然而唐川普的水平似乎要落后于其他候选人。
Donald Trump
川普口语水平
An earlier analysis by the Boston Globe used the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, which is based on average sentence length and average number of syllables per word, and found Trump speaking at a 4th grade level, two grade levels below his peers. Eskenazi and Schumacher used a readability model called REAP, which looks at how often words and grammatical constructs are used at each grade level and thus corresponds better to analysis of spoken language.
《波士顿环球报》之前的一项分析采用Flesch-Kincaid可读性测试，该测试是基于句子平均长度和每个单词的平均音节数，结果发现川普的口语水平只有四年级水平，比同等竞选人低了两个年级。Eskenazi和Schumacher采用了一种叫“REAP”的可读性模型，该模型旨在研究单词和语法结构在每个年级使用的频率，这更符合口语水平分析。
川普用词
Trump’s language may reveal more than he intended. The word he so blithely repeats comes from the Latin tremendus — “fearful, to be dreaded, terrible.” The fact that Trump is barely literate in English, as attested by his inability to vary his adjectives and his inclination to use nonexistent ones (e.g. “bigly”) and mispronounce others (e.g. “yuge”), would lead us to believe that he had no idea that tremendous derives fromLatin where it meant fear inducing. But whereas an earlier denizen of the White House famously proclaimed that the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” at the very moment when Trump spoke of the “tremendously big” storm threatening the Carolinas, Bob Woodward’s book about Trump’s White House, Fear, was released. Despite his denials, Trump appears to have taken literally Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words as one of the two things thatstrike fear into his heart is Fear itself (the other being the anonymous op-ed in The New York Times by a “gutless” traitor).
川普的语言可能透露出更多他要表达的信息。他乐此不疲重复的这个词源自于拉丁词汇tremendus — “可怕的”。实际上，川普几乎不怎么懂英语，比如他无法换用不同的形容词，反而倾向于使用一些不存在的形容词(例如“bigly”)以及将一些词汇读音发错(例如“yuge”)，我们由此可知他并不知道“tremendus”这一词是源自拉丁语，意思是“fear inducing”。然而，正当川普谈到这场威胁卡罗莱纳州的风暴“非常可怕”时，一名白宫人士曾说过一句著名的话：“我们唯一需要害怕的是恐惧本身”，鲍勃·伍德沃德(Bob Woodward)关于川普的白宫的书《恐惧》出版了。尽管川普矢口否认这本书，但他似乎把富兰克林·罗斯福(Franklin D. Roosevelt)的话当真了，认为《恐惧》是让他感到害怕的两件事之一(另一件是一个“没有胆量”的叛徒在《纽约时报》)上发表的匿名专栏文章)。
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由于油管上不去，只能自己录制T-T
那下面我们来看看历史上别的总统的英语水平都如何？
Abraham Lincoln
林肯的英语水平
A comparison of the candidates with previous presidents shows President Lincoln outpacing them all, boasting grammar at the 11th grade level, while President George W. Bushs 5th grade grammar was below even that of Trump.
将这些候选人的英语水平与历届总统相比，林肯总统的语法水平超越了所有的候选人，他自夸自己的语法水平达到了11年级的水准，而乔治·布什的语法水平甚至低于川普的5年级水准。
Based on vocabulary, campaign trail speeches by past and present presidents — Lincoln, Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — were at least on the 8th grade level, while the current candidates ranged from Trumps 7th grade level to Sanders 10th grade level.
从词汇角度来看，历届与现任总统所发表的竞选演讲中—林肯、里根、比尔·克林顿、乔治·布什和巴拉克·奥巴马的演讲—至少都达到了8年级的水平，但目前的总统候选人词汇水平参差不齐，有从川普的7年级水平到伯尼·桑德斯的10年级水平不等。
In terms of grammar, none of the presidents and presidential candidates could compare with Lincolns Gettysburg Address — an admittedly high standard, with grammar well above the 10th grade level.
就语法而言，没有哪位总统或总统候选人能与林肯的《葛底斯堡演讲》相提并论——诚然，他的演讲水准很高，语法远在10年级水平之上。
林肯著名的《葛底斯堡演说》
想必英专生们都阅读过甚至背诵过林肯的这篇演讲吧，这篇演讲发表的背景是在美国南北战争的时期，当时林肯总统亲自从华盛顿前来为葛底斯堡墓地举行揭幕礼，来悼念在葛底斯堡战役中阵亡的将士们，这篇演讲大约200多字，内容言简意赅，但却是所有阐释民主信念的演说词中最雄辩动人的一篇。常被历届总统拿来引用的是” that government of the People by the People and for the People..."
下面是别人朗诵的演讲视频，供参考：
原文链接在此，感兴趣的童鞋赶紧去欣赏一下喔：
http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm
有点可惜的是林肯最后遭到暗杀，还有一位总统的演讲也蛮著名的，也是遭到了暗杀，据说文稿是他的顾问Sorensen和他一起撰写的，这边演说文稿可是英专生教科书里的演讲篇章喔，那下面来小小扒一下这位历史上最年轻的总统先生吧～～
John F. Kennedy
肯尼迪的《就职演说》
该就职演说背景是在1959年古巴革命胜利后，美国政府对古巴一直采取敌视态度。1961年美国雇佣军开始入侵古巴，当时形势紧张。美国国内正经历第四次经济危机，社会贫富差距大，民权运动不断高涨。然而肯尼迪的这篇演说听众不仅仅包括本国人民，也包括来自世界各国的人民，传达了对冷战的挑战，对核时代和平的希望。其中比较经典的名句是"ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
就职演说原文链接给大家奉上，感兴趣的童鞋可以看一下喔：
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=91&page=transcript
肯尼迪的八卦和绯闻
吸大麻：据说他沉迷于大麻是为了治疗他背部疼痛和阿狄森氏病，也有传言说是他的一个情妇介绍他吸食大麻用以娱乐的。
婚外情无数：你可能听说过他与著名的性感明星玛丽莲梦露有染，他的情妇还包括他的秘书、脱衣舞女、德国妓女等等。
重婚：据说有肯尼迪有一次在聚会上喝了太多成人饮料，然后与他的女友Durie Malcolm私奔了还领了结婚证，他的父亲为了培养他能当上总统，就将这桩婚姻记录给“妥善处理”了，婚姻文件就这样消失了，也没人提出离婚申请。
非法走私酒：有人认为肯尼迪家族是在禁酒令时期靠非法走私朗姆酒发家致富的，他确实也从事过烈酒交易，不过他的财富不仅仅是靠这种手段，也包括内幕交易、股票操纵等行为。
他还有许多其他绯闻八卦，这边就不多赘述了，感兴趣的童鞋可以上网扒一扒咯。
Vocabulary 单词积累
lag /læɡ/ ( lagging, lagged, lags )：
1. V-I If one thing or person lags behind another thing or person, their progress is slower than that of the other thing or person. 落后
例：The restructuring of the pattern of consumption also lagged behind.
消费结构的调整也落后了。
2. V-I to cover (a pipe, cylinder, etc) with lagging to prevent loss of heat 给(管子、柱子等)加防护套来保温
3. N-COUNT A time lag or a lag of a particular length of time is a period of time between one event and another related event. 间隔
例：Theres a time lag between infection with HIV and developing AIDS.
从感染艾滋病病毒到发展成为艾滋病病人有一定的时间间隔。
4. N-COUNT a convict or ex-convict (esp in the phrase old lag) 犯人(尤其在短语 old lag 中); 前科犯人
intend /ɪnˈtɛnd/ ( intending, intended, intends )：
1. V-T If you intend to do something, you have decided or planned to do it. 打算
例：Maybe he intends to leave her.
也许他打算离开她。
2. V-T If something is intended for a particular purpose, it has been planned to fulfil that purpose. If something is intended for a particular person, it has been planned to be used by that person or to affect them in some way. 被用于 (某目的或某人) [usu passive]
例：This money is intended for the development of the tourist industry.
这笔钱是准备用于发展旅游业的。
3. V-T If you intend a particular idea or feeling in something that you say or do, you want to express it or want it to be understood. 想要
例：He didnt intend any sarcasm.
他没有任何讽刺的意思。
blithely [ˈblaɪðli] ：
adv. in a joyous manner 快活地；无忧无虑地
attest /əˈtɛst/ ( attesting, attested, attests )：
V-T/V-I To attest something or attest to something means to say, show, or prove that it is true. 证明 [正式]
例：Police records attest to his long history of violence.
警方记录证明他有长期的暴力史。
derive /dɪˈraɪv/ ( deriving, derived, derives )：
1. V-T If you derive something such as pleasure or benefit from a person or from something, you get it from them. 获得 [正式]
例：Mr. Ying is one of those happy people who derive pleasure from helping others.
英先生是那种助人为乐的快活人。
2. V-T/V-I If you say that something such as a word or feeling derives or is derived from something else, you mean that it comes from that thing. 衍生
例：The name Anastasia is derived from a Greek word meaning "of the resurrection."
阿纳斯塔西娅这个名字是从一个意为“复活”的希腊词语衍生而来的。
boast /bəʊst/ ( boasting, boasted, boasts ):
1. V-T/V-I If someone boasts about something that they have done or that they own, they talk about it very proudly, in a way that other people may find irritating or offensive. 吹嘘 [表不满]
例：Witnesses said Furci boasted that he took part in killing them.
证人们说富尔西曾吹嘘说他参与了杀人。
2. N-COUNT Boast is also a noun. 吹嘘
例：It is the charitys proud boast that it has never yet turned anyone away.
该慈善机构自吹自擂，声称从来没有拒绝过任何人。
3. V-T If someone or something can boast a particular achievement or possession, they have achieved or possess that thing. 取得 (成功); 拥有
例：The houses will boast the latest energy-saving technology.
这些房屋将采用最新节能技术。
4. V to shape or dress (stone) roughly with a broad chisel 凿(石头)
5. N a stroke in which the ball is hit on to one of the side walls before hitting the front wall 弧线击球
V to hit (the ball) in this way or make such a stroke 击弧线(球)
campaign trail: a route that takes a candidate for office to different places in order to talk to people during a campaign
例：The candidates talked about the people they met on the campaign trail.
Reading 朗诵练习
Gettysburg Address
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
～～慢慢来，相信自己～～
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