○  里根：“挑战号”惨剧致辞  ○

　　Ronald Reagan

　　The Space Shuttle "Challenger" Tragedy Address

　　delivered 28 January 1986

　　1986年1月18日，“挑战号”升空7秒钟后爆炸，美国总统里根专门发表演说。

　　“挑战号”飞船的机组人员为我们光荣地献出自己的一生。我们永远缅怀他们，我们不会忘记今晨最后看到他们的情景。他们整装待发，向我们挥手致意，然后脱离了大地执拗的束缚飞上天际，亲近上帝慈爱的面容。

　　Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.

　　Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this.

　　And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.

　　We mourn their loss as a nation together.

　　For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

　　We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing

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