信息来源：邪恶八进制信息安全团队（
www.eviloctal.com）
1854年美国政府斥巨资向印第安所瓜米希族西雅图酋长（Chief Seattle）提议收购他们的土地，并设置保留区。这位酋长当时十分愤怒，土地、蓝天怎么拿来买卖呢？于是他指天誓日说出了人类历史上对环境类问题最牛的一篇演讲，题目就是《How Can You Buy or Sell the Sky？（你们怎能买卖蓝天）》。这篇演讲几乎和马丁路德金的《I have a dream（我有一个梦想）》同样的令后人传颂。更珍贵的是，这文章中有很多优美的句型，是英文写作不可多得的瑰宝。有了这样一篇文章，通杀所有环境类英文写作话题将不再是空想。因此自从在TOEFL强化班听到后，冰某费劲千辛万苦，从不同的站点将它找到，双手呈献给诸位水友。
How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.
If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?
Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.
The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers.
The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man--all belong to the same family.
So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us. The Great Chief sends word he will reserve us a place so that we can live comfortably to ourselves. He will be our father and we will be his children.
So we will consider your offer to buy our land. But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us. This shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.
The rivers are our brothers; they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that the rivers are our brothers and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother.
We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He leaves his father's grave behind, and he does not care. His father's grave and his children's birthright are forgotten. He treats his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky, as things to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads. His appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a desert.
I do not know. Our ways are different from your ways. The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. There is no quiet place in the white man's cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring or the rustle of the insect's wings. The clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around the pond at night? I am a red man and do not understand. The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind itself, cleansed by a midday rain, or scented with pinon pine.
The air is precious to the red man for all things share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.
The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow's flowers.
You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children that we have taught our children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.
This we know: the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. All things are connected. We may be brothers after all. We shall see. One thing we know which the white man may one day discover: our God is the same God.
You may think now that you own Him as you wish to own our land; but you cannot. He is the God of man, and His compassion is equal for the red man and the white. This earth is precious to Him; and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.
But in your perishing you will shine brightly fired by the strength of the God who brought you to this land and for some special purpose gave you dominion over this land and over the red man.
That destiny is a mystery to us, for we do not understand when the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses are tame, the secret corners of the forest heavy with scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires.
Where is the thicket? Gone. Where is the eagle? Gone.
The end of living and the beginning of survival.
中英文句式对照：
How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?
你们怎能买卖天空？怎能买卖大地的温暖？这念头多么奇怪啊。如果我们没用有新鲜的空气和叮咚的流水，你们又如何能够买它们？
Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap (n.汁液) which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man(印第安人对自己的称呼).
对我们的人民来说，地球的每一部分都是神圣的。在我们心中，每一片闪光的松叶，每一块沙滩，每一团密林中的雾霭，以至于每一块空地和嗡嗡叫唤的昆虫都是圣洁的。树中流动着汁液，载负着我们的记忆。
The white man’s dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed(vt.发出香味) flowers are our sisters; the deer. The horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows(n.牧场), the body heat of the pony(n.小型马), and man all belong to the same family.
你们白人辞世升天时就忘却了这个生养了自己的美丽家园，而我们的亡灵却永远铭记着她，因为她是我们印第安人的母亲。我们是她的一部分，她也是我们的一部分。这芳香四溢的花儿是我们的姊妹，那鹿儿、狗犬、雄鹰是我们的兄弟。怪石嶙峋的崖峰，牧场里的草汁，小马驹温暖的身体和我们——都是一家人。
So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us. The Great Chief sends word he will reserve us a place so that we can live comfortably to ourselves. He will be our father and we will be his children.
因此，当来自华盛顿的大酋长捎话说要买我们的土地时，他要求得太多了。大酋长说他会给我们一块保留地，让我们在里面自在地生活。它将成为我们的父亲，而我们将做他的子民。
So we will consider your offer to buy our land. But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us. This shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father.
我们不得不掂量掂量你的要求。但要我们接受可不容易，因为土地对我们来说太神圣了。小溪江河里波光粼粼的流水，对我们而言，不是流水，而是我们祖先的血液。假如我们把土地卖给你们，你们必须记住，这是神圣的土地。而且要告诫你们的孩子，她是神圣的，每一片清澈的湖水的朦胧倒影里，讲述的是我们生活与记忆中的桩桩往事，那潺潺流水声就是我们父母先辈的声音。
The rivers are our brothers; they quench(v.结束，熄灭) our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that the rivers are our brothers and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother.
江河是我们的兄弟；是他们给我们解旱止渴，让我们载舟运物，让我们抚育子孙后代。假如我们把土地卖给你们，你们必须记住并告诫你们的孩子，江河是我们的手足，也是你们的兄弟，今后要把给予任何一个兄弟的善意同样给予江河。
We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered(vt.征服) it, he moves on. He leaves his father’s grave（n.坟墓） behind, and he does not care. His father’s grave his father’s grave behind, and he does not care. His father’s grave and his children’s birthright are forgotten. He treats his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky, as things to be bought, plundered（vt.抢劫）, sold like sheep or bright beads（n.念珠）. His appetite will devour（vt.挥霍） the earth and leave behind only a desert.
我们知道，白人很难理解我们的方式。这块土地和下一块土地对白人没有区别，他就像黑夜里到来的异乡人，要什么取什么。地球对他来说不是兄弟而是敌人，所以征服了一个又要去征服下一个。他无视于父辈的坟地，毫不在乎。父母的坟地、子孙的生存权都被他统统抛到了脑后。他对待这大地母亲、着蓝天兄弟就像对待羊只、念珠一样可以随意买卖、劫掠、蹂躏。他的贪欲要把地球挥霍一空，最后留下来的，将只是一片荒漠。
Our ways are different from your ways. The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. But perhaps it is because the Red people are savages and do not understand. There is no quiet place in the white man’s cities. No place to hear the unfurling(vi.展示) of leaves in spring or the rustle of the insect’s wings. The clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill (n.北美夜莺) or the arguments of the frogs around the pond at night? I am a red man and do not understand. The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of a pond, and the smell of the wind itself, cleansed (vt.清洗) by a midday rain, of scented（vt.使充满气味） with pinon（n.矮松） pine.
我们的方式与你们的不同。你们白人的城市使我们印第安人感到刺眼，这或许因为我们印第安人是野蛮人，所以不懂吧。白人的城市里没有一块安静的地方，春天里没有地方聆听树叶迎风招展的声音，也听不到小虫振翅的嗡嗡声。机车的咔嗒声只不过是对耳朵的一种侮辱。如果夜里听不到夜鹰凄婉的歌唱，听不到池塘边蛙鸣的悠扬，那么生活还有什么意义呢？我是印第安人，所以不懂。我们印第安人喜欢倾听那清风拂水的声音，喜欢那被正午雨洗刷过的，或带着松香味的清风的气息。
The air is precious to the red man for all things share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our ancestors their first breath also received their last sigh. You must keep it apart and sacred as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow’s flowers.
空气对于我们也是宝贵的，因为万物生灵都一同呼吸。白人好像没有注意到他所呼吸的空气，向死亡多日的死人，对恶臭没有反应。但是如果我们卖给你们土地，你们必须记住空气对于我们是宝贵的，空气和她所抚育的生灵同享她的精神。她给了我们祖先生命之初的第一口呼吸，也给了他们生命之终最后的叹息。你们必须把这块地与别的地方分开，保持她的圣洁，使它成为白人也能闻到百花芬芳的地方。
So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will make one condition: the White man must treat the beast of this land like his brothers and sisters. I am a savage and I don’t understand any other way. I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes（n.水牛） on the prairie（n.草原） , left by the White man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage and I do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive. What are we without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, we would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to us. All things are connected.
因此，我们将考虑你们的提议。假如我们决定接受，我们提出一个条件：白人必须像对待自己的兄弟姐妹一样对待这块土地上的百鸟禽兽。我是一个野蛮人，我理解不了其他任何方式。我曾亲眼看到被过路火车上的白人射杀在草地上的成千头水牛的白骨。我是一个野人，我理解不了那冒烟的铁马怎么会比那我们用来维持生存才宰杀的水牛更重要。如果没有了禽兽我们将是什么？假如所有的禽兽都死光了，我们人类也就会因为精神的孤独而走向灭亡，因为不论在它们身上发生什么也会在不久的将来发生在人类的身上，万事万物都是休戚相关的。
You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers, so that they will respect the land. Tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children that we have taught our children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls（vt.降临）the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.
你们必须教育你们的子孙，告诉他们脚下踩着的是他们祖辈的遗迹，好让他们敬重土地。告诉他们这土地之所以如此肥沃是因为我们埋葬在这里。告诉他们我们一直教育我们的孩子这地球是我们的母亲。降临到地球母亲身上的不论是什么也将会降临到她的孩子身上。假如人类唾弃土地，他们也是在唾弃自己。
This we know: the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. We do not inherit（vt,继承）the earth from our grandparents; We borrow it for our grandchildren. We did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand（n.线）in it. Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves. Even the White man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt（vt.免除）from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see. One thing we know which the white man may one day discover: our God is the same God.
我们知道，地球不属于人类，而人类属于地球。所有事物都是紧密联系在一起的，就像血脉把一个家庭紧紧连在一起。地球并不是我们从祖辈那里继承来的，而是从子孙后代那里借来的。生命之网不是我们罗织的，我们只是这张网上的一根网线而已。不论我们怎样对待这张生命之网，其实都是在对待我们自己。即便是那些认为他的上帝像朋友一样与他同在的白人也免除不了最终的命运。其实我们可能就是兄弟，我们将拭目以待。我们感到有朝一日白人会明白我们的上帝原来就是同一个。
You may think now that you own God as you wish to own our land; but you cannot. Your God is the God of all people, and His compassion（n.同情）is equal for the red man and the white. This earth is precious to our God; and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Contaminate（vt.污染）your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.
现在你们会认为你们希望拥有我们的土地就像拥有上帝那样简单，但你们做不到。你们的上帝也是所有人的上帝，它给予你们白人的恩泽也同样给予了印第安人。地球对我们的上帝是宝贵的，对地球的不恭也就是对造物主的侮蔑。白人也一样会消失，或许比其他人种还快。如果你弄脏了自己的床，终有一天你会窒息在你自己丢弃的垃圾之中。
That destiny is a mystery to us, for we do not understand when the buffalo are all slaughtered（vt.屠杀）, the wild horses are tame, the secret corners of the forest heavy with scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires.
Where is the thicket（n.灌木丛）? Gone. Where is the eagle? Gone.
The end of living and the beginning of survival.
那样的命运对于我们来说真是难理解啊，因为我们不知道什么时候水牛被赶尽杀绝，什么时候野马被驯化制服，什么时候深山老林里充满了人的汗臭味，什么时候高山的景观被电话线所破坏。
灌木丛林哪里去了？不见了。雄鹰那里去了？消失了。
生命的终结就是人类灾难的开始。
