VOA常速英语:Independence Day(翻译)

Self-government -- that is, a people exercising all the necessary functions of power without interference by a higher authority that they can’t control themselves -- is a core American value.It’s also at the heart of the Declaration of Independence, which we celebrate today.
自治—即是说，一个行使所有必要权力职能的人不受一个不能自控的上级权威的干涉—是一个核心的美国价值观。自治同样也是我们今天所庆祝的《独立宣言》的核心。

Thomas Jefferson, the document’s primary author,wrote that self-rule is "the separate and equal station" that a people are entitled to under the laws of God and nature.It didn’t come easily.America’s early history is marked by conflict with other countries threatened by republican government and among Americans themselves over the ultimate form that that government would take.But the Declaration laid the framework for a nation that would endure and grow,inspiring similar independence movements around the world.
托马斯·杰斐逊是《独立宣言》的主要起草人，他写道，自治是“独立而平等的状态”，在上帝和自然法则的庇护下，一个人可以得到这种状态。但是自治却来之不易。在美国的早期历史中，这个国家爆发了许多冲突，冲突的对象既有受民主党政府威胁的别国，也有美国人自己，在这些冲突之后，美国政府才最终选择了他们今天所采取的政府形态。但是《独立宣言》奠定了美国的组织构架，这一构架持久并且不断成长，还鼓舞了全世界其他地区类似的独立运动。

When war first broke out between Britain and its North American colonists, few imagined, let alone supported, the creation of a new nation.Historians note that even as the fighting raged, the colonists were deeply divided over the future.Roughly a third came to believe a complete break with Britain was needed,a third remained loyal to the British crown and a third simply wanted to be left alone to raise their families and do their jobs.
当英国和其北美殖民者第一次爆发战争的时候，很少有人想象得到，更不用说支持建立一个新的国家。有历史学家指出，即使在战争肆虐的时候，殖民者们之间仍然对北美的未来充满了分歧。大约有三分之一的人认为必须要完全脱离英国，三分之一的人仍然忠于英王，还有三分之一的人想要置身事外，从而抚养家庭、做自己的本职工作。

The fifty-six men who signed the Declaration on July 4, 1776, cast the first votes for independence.Their fellow citizens ratified the choice, and with it the then-radical principle that government should be based on the consent of the governed.
1776年7月4日，56人在《独立宣言》上签了字，为独立投下了第一批赞成票。他们的同胞们批准了这一选择，还赞成了当时被认为是激进的原则—政府应当立于被统治人群的一致认可之上。

While this is the event and cause we celebrate today, it isn’t unique to Americans.It is embodied in the constitutions of many nations and observed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that we all recognize.In essence then, Independence Day is a celebration of our common humanity.
尽管这是我们所庆祝的事件和我们今天举行庆祝活动的缘由，但并不是美国所独有的。许多国家都将这一原则写进了宪法，而且在我们都承认的《世界人权宣言》中，我们也能够看到这一精神。从本质上说，独立日是我们共同人性的一个庆典。