Before God entrusts a man with a ponderous task, He shall distress his mind, tire his limbs, famish his body, deprive him of his possessions, and frustrate his endeavors, so as to strengthen his resolve, fortify his mettle, and enhance his powers.

他们一直想搞得更具娱乐性，然后我就告诉他们，‘这么说吧，我喜欢电影，我把它们先放一边，但你们不是来拍MTV的。’太多的媒体和无价值的东西使一个老师很难将科学与他们竞争。

Both Mass and Akel also see lack of discipline at home and a lack of parent interest as a problem in many big city public schools.
Mass和Akel也都看到家庭中纪律性的缺失及在许多大城市的公立学校存在的兴趣缺失问题。

Teachers who have seen the film have provided the filmmakers with positive feedback and Chris Mass says it is especially gratifying to hear positive comments from beginning teachers who can identify strongly with the film's characters. "I think just to be understood as a new teacher, to watch "Chalk," and say 'They really capture, it does not fix what I deal with day in and day out, but they capture what I face.' Empathy is powerful."
看过电影的老师对电影摄制者表达了好评，Chris Mass说特别是当听到来自认同影片角色的初任教师的正面评论，更觉得欣慰。“我认为通过看《粉笔》作为一名新老师而被理解，并且说‘他们抓住了本质，虽然电影并不符合我每日所做的事情，但是却反映了我所面临的问题。’共鸣感很强烈。”

"Chalk" has won several awards on the film festival circuit, has played in theaters throughout the country and is now set to be released internationally on DVD on September 25.
《粉笔》已在各大电影节获得多个奖项，还在全国各地剧院进行演出，如今已定于9月25日在全世界内发布DVD版本。

"我们希望让人感觉像记录片。真正的记录影片导演不会打断主题的进程。他们同吊杆操作员和摄象机操作人员一样受主题的支配。而那就是我们想要的。我们想让每个人紧张起来。

Chris Mass, who plays history teacher Mr. Stroope in "Chalk," says real life school administrators who have roles in the film worked well with the improvisation. "Both of those assistant principal and principal are real and you just kind of tell them, 'Here is what we are going to do in this scene' and 'just play yourself and do what you do."

在《粉笔》中扮演一位历史老师Stroope先生的克里斯·玛氏说，现实校园生活的行政官在电影中即席创作得非常棒。“校长和校长助理都是真的，你只是把他们表现出来。‘这就是我们想要表现在屏幕上的’并且‘只要演你自己，做你做的。’”

In coming up with the characters and storyline, Mass and Akel drew on their own experiences as teachers and they both have strong feelings about the profession and definite opinions on why the job has become so hard.

Mass says part of the problem is that teachers today have to compete with a huge world of mass media and movies for the attention of students.

The teachers' world came to life in an actual Austin high school with students playing the roles of students and even a few teachers and administrators mixing in with the actors playing teachers.
在奥斯丁高中,老师的生活变得有趣起来。学生扮演学生的角色，一部分老师、政府官员及一起扮演老师。

Two former Austin high school teachers, actor Chris Mass and director Mike Akel came up with the idea for the film and developed the characters together.
两位曾任奥斯丁高中的教师，演员CM和导演MA想出了这个拍摄电影的主意，并一起安排了角色。

The film begins with the statement that 50 percent of teachers leave the profession within three years, which is the issue Mike Akel wanted to explore. "Chris and I had always heard, ‘If you can make it past your third year, you might have a chance.' You know, veteran teachers would tell us that."
电影以一段陈述开始，说的是50%的老师在三年内离职，这正是MA想要研究的问题。“Chris和我一直听说，‘如果你度过了第三年，你将有一次机会。’你知道，老教师将告诉我们这些。”

The film shows the challenges that confront teachers, but it does so with a subtle and wry humor. "It is painful and funny. As an artist, I think that is what we are called to do is expose truth in a loving way."
电影展示了老师们面临的挑战，可也伴着一种细微而扭曲的幽默。“这是令人疼痛的、机智的。作为一个艺术家，我认为我们应该做的是以一种有趣的方式提示事实。

"Chalk" was shot in documentary style with actors improvising most of their lines. Akel says this style of acting required the crew to improvise as well.
“粉笔”以记录片的形式让演员临时准备大部分他们的台词。Akel说这种表演方式同时需要全体人员的即兴之作。

"So, we are doing our best to make sure that does not happen and to be ready for any outbreaks that there might be. And, the other major item is water and sanitation. Many water sources have been destroyed or very badly affected. There is a need to provide immediately fresh water, but also a need to restore and repair the water sources as fast as possible."

"因此,我们在尽最大努力确保这不会发生，并做好疾病可能爆发的准备。除此以外，还有一大项目便是水和卫生设施。许多水资源已被污染或已受严重影响。有必要快速提供淡水，同时有必要尽快地重建、恢复水资源。

As always in emergency situations, Holmes says women and children are the most vulnerable and they will need special care. He warns the situation of the flood victims will deteriorate further unless the international community acts quickly

就如已往遇到紧急情况一样，霍姆斯表示妇女和儿童总是最脆弱的，因而他们需要特别照顾。他提醒说除非国际公社快速行动，否则洪灾难民的处境将进一步恶化。

"The conditions are pretty desperate for people, particularly in these early stages. And, psychologically, I think people are very, very devastated. Flooding is not entirely unknown in the area, obviously, but these are much worse than they have seen before. Entire villages disappearing underneath the mud essentially in some places. So, this is very devastating and the recovery will be extremely tricky."

情况对人们来说是相当令人绝望的，特别在早期。另外，从心理上而言，我认为人们也已深受打击。洪水在这个地区并不是不被了解，只是这次比他们以前看到过的糟糕多了。在一些地方，整个村庄被埋在泥土里消失不见了。因此，这是极具破坏性的，与此同时，恢复工作将面临极大的挑战。

Although the waters are receding, weather forecasters predict more heavy rainfall in the next two months. The pressure on dams and levees is very strong. Aid officials are afraid extra flooding will occur as dams break.

尽管水域减少，天气预报预测说在接下来的两个月里还有更多降雨。大坝和防洪堤的压力巨大。援助官员担心大坝决堤又会造成另一起洪水泛滥。

Pakistan's southern Baluchistan and Sindh provinces are used to heavy rains during the annual monsoon season. But, this year, the floods are much worse than normal. The United Nations estimates more than 2.5 million people are affected. It says up to 400 people are dead and more are missing. It reports that nearly 400,000 people are homeless.

在每年雨季的时候,巴基斯坦南部俾路支斯坦和信德省都有大量降水。但今年，洪水泛滥甚于以往。美国估计有2.5百万人将受其影响，还表示说因此丧生的人数高达400，还有更多的人失踪。据报道，近四十万人无家可归。

U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, says the biggest slice of the $38 million appeal will go toward restoring peoples' livelihoods as quickly as possible. That means bringing the devastated agricultural sector back to normal.

联合国紧急救援协调员约翰·霍姆斯说，申请的3800万美元的大部分将用于尽快恢复人们的正常生活。这也就是说要将遭破坏的农业区恢复正常。
 
The next biggest need is for shelter. He says hundreds of thousands of homeless people are living with friends or relatives. Many are living in school buildings or in makeshift roadside shelters. He says this is particularly unpleasant, as people are forced to endure scorching heat and dust storms.

避难所是接下来最紧急的问题。他说成百上千的无家可归的人们现住在朋友或亲戚家，还有许多住在学校建筑楼或临时搭建的路边庇护所里。他表示说人们被迫忍受酷热和沙尘暴，这令人十分难受。
 
Holmes says health is another important consideration.

霍姆斯表示健康是另一个重要的问题。

"So far, we do not have any reports of outbreaks of communicable diseases, but the risk is obviously very high given the conditions of hygiene in the affected areas and the monsoon season very high heat and humidity conditions."

距今为止，我们还没收到任何有关传染病爆发的报告，不过因为受灾区的卫生条件糟糕，另外雨季时期湿热程度较高，传染病爆发的风险是显而易见的。

Mr. Bush continues to link the war in Iraq with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He says he will veto any legislation that seeks to bring U.S. troops home before commanders say they have won.

小布什继续将伊拉克的战争与01年的911恐怖袭击事件联系起来。他说在指挥官说他们已经赢了之前将否决任何包含将美军带回来的任何法案。

President Bush used his weekly radio address to defend the recent administration report on mixed progress in Iraq, saying his strategy for success is built on the premise that greater security will pave the way for political reconciliation.

总统布什借每周例行的广播讲话对最近有关伊拉克综合局势进展的政府报告作出解释。他说他的成功战略是在以更严密的安全铺就政治调和之路为前提的情况下建立的。

"This report shows that conditions can change, progress can be made, and the fight in Iraq can be won."

“这份报告表明情况可有所变化，进展可有所发展，而且我们在伊的战斗可以赢。”

The president says 30,000 additional U.S. troops deserve the chance to show that they can help restore security and aid Iraq's government in protecting its own people.

总统还说30,000支增援美军值得获得这个机会以显示他们可以帮助恢复安全并帮助伊拉克政府保护它的人民。

When he launched this new strategy in January, President Bush said it would be different from earlier efforts because more Iraqi troops would join the fight and the government there would stop interfering in how those troops are used.

But the interim report to Congress says since January, fewer Iraqi units can operate independently of U.S. troops. It also gives the Baghdad government unsatisfactory marks for failing to prepare for local elections that could reconcile Iraq's Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions.

。。。。。。。（后面有空再翻）

"After more than 3,600 lives have been lost to a flawed strategy, we have a responsibility to create a new direction. To those who urge that we wait until September, I say it has been four and a half years and a half trillion dollars at least. We have already waited too long."

因为战略的失误而失去3600多条生命之后，我们有责任制定一个新方向。对于那些要求我们等到9月份的人，我只能说我们至少花费了四年半的时间和五千亿美元，我们等的时间已经够长了。

This is the second time the House has voted for a specific withdrawal target date. President Bush vetoed legislation approved by the House and Senate earlier this year that tied war funding to a timetable.

这是第二次众议院对一个特定的撤军目标日期投票。总统布什今年初否决了两院通过的含有从伊拉克撤军时间表的战争拨款法案。

The president has promised to veto any new such legislation reaching his desk and would likely have enough support on Capitol Hill to sustain a veto.

总统表示他将否决任何到他手上的类似法案，并有可能得到美国国会的支持以保持否决。

In his comments accompanying the release of the interim progress report, President Bush reiterated his view that the U.S. can still succeed in Iraq, urged patience and said he considers history's judgment of his actions more important than public opinion polls.

在他发布中期进展报告的同时，总统布什在评论中重申他的观点。他表示美国在伊拉克仍可成功，希望大家保持耐心，并且表示说他认为对他的行为的历史评价比民意测验更重要。

“这又是企图打消从伊拉克撤军计划，而且这么做是没理由的。”

House Foreign Affairs chairman Tom Lantos suggested that far from demonstrating progress, the administration report on Iraq reflects setbacks.

众议院外交事务委员会主席汤姆·兰托斯指出，这个关伊拉克的政府报告反映了撤退而远非进一步。

"With every car bomb that takes civilian toll, every insurgent's bullet that finds it mark, every roadside explosive that maims or kills one of our own brave men and women in uniform, the sacrifices mount and the result is anything but satisfactory,"

“每个造成平民伤亡的汽车炸弹，每颗找到攻击目标的暴乱者的子弹，每条躺着我们残疾或死亡的勇敢军人的爆炸的路边，牺牲者增多而且结果绝不可能是满足。”

Before the final vote on Thursday, House Republican minority leader John Boehner made a final appeal to lawmakers to vote against the measure, asserting it would embolden al-Qaida in Iraq, and terrorists around the world.

在星期四的最后投票前，共和党众议院少数派领导人约翰.波伊纳最后呼吁立法者投票反对这项措施，强调说这将使伊基地组织和世界的恐怖主义者更加大胆。

"This bill we have before us makes our troops pawns in a partisan political battle. I don't think that is what anyone wants. I think this bill undermines General Petraeus, undermines the mission he has to make Iraq and America safe."

“我们面前的这个法案使我们的军队沦为党派政治斗争的牺牲品。我认为那不是任何一个人想要的。我想这法案破坏了彼得雷乌斯的行动，使他必须保证伊美安全的使命不能完成。