每日英语 · 2026-10-22
We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
John F. Kennedy · Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort · 1962 · 1962 年 9 月 12 日，美国休斯顿莱斯大学演讲
译文
我们决定在这个十年内登上月球，并去做其他的事，不是因为它们轻而易举，而是因为它们困难重重。
语法
- 句子主干：We（主语）+ choose（谓语）+ to go to the Moon ... and do the other things（不定式作宾语）。choose to do sth 表示“决定/选择去做某事”，这里用一般现在时，显得坚定、像在当场宣布决心。and 连接两个并列不定式 to go 和 (to) do，第二个 to 省略了。
- not because ..., but because ...：“不是因为……，而是因为……”，是 not A but B 结构的一种，A 和 B 都是 because 引导的原因状语从句。先否定一个常见理由，再给出真正理由，形成强烈对比；两个从句结构完全对称（they are easy / they are hard），读起来有节奏感，是演讲中典型的排比修辞。
词汇
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choose to do sth /tʃuːz/ v. 短语
决定做某事，选择做某事（强调主动意愿）
搭配：choose to stay / choose to leave / choose between A and B
She chose to learn C before Python.
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decade /ˈdekeɪd/ n.
十年
搭配：in this decade / over the past decade / for decades
Embedded chips have become much cheaper over the past decade.
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not because ... but because ... 连词结构
不是因为……而是因为……
搭配：not A but B / not only A but also B
I debug at night not because I like it, but because it's quiet.
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nation /ˈneɪʃn/ n.
国家，民族（出自演讲标题 the Nation's Space Effort）
搭配：the whole nation / national / international
The whole nation watched the launch on TV.
笔记
小练习：用 not because ... but because ... 说说你为什么学英语，比如 “I learn English not because it's easy, but because it opens more doors.” 遇到难的寄存器手册或英文文档时，也可以想想这句话。