奧巴馬演講：我們?yōu)槭裁匆蠈W(xué)（中英雙語）

1、奧巴馬演講：我們?yōu)槭裁匆蠈W(xué)（中英雙語）Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? (Applause.) How about Tim Spicer? (Applause.) I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And weve got students

2、tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade. And I am just so glad that all could join us today. And I want to thank Wakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a big round of applause. (Applause.)大家好!謝謝你們。謝謝你們。謝謝你們大家。好，大家請就坐。你們今天都好嗎?(掌聲)蒂姆·斯派塞(Tim

3、Spicer)好嗎?(掌聲)我現(xiàn)在與弗吉尼亞州阿靈頓郡韋克菲爾德高中的學(xué)生們在一起。美國各地從小學(xué)預(yù)備班到中學(xué)12年級的學(xué)生正在收聽收看。我很高興大家今天都能參與。我還要感謝韋克菲爾德高中出色的組織安排。請為你們自己熱烈鼓掌。(掌聲)I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, its your first day in a new school, so its unde

4、rstandable if youre a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now - (applause) - with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade youre in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you couldve stayed in bed just a little bi

5、t longer this morning.我知道，今天是你們很多人開學(xué)的日子。對于進(jìn)入小學(xué)預(yù)備班、初中或高中的學(xué)生，今天是你們來到新學(xué)校的第一天，心里可能有點(diǎn)緊張，這是可以理解的。我能想象有些畢業(yè)班學(xué)生現(xiàn)在感覺很不錯(cuò)(掌聲)還有一年就畢業(yè)了。不論在哪個(gè)年級，你們有些人可能希望暑假更長一點(diǎn)，今天早上還能多睡一小會(huì)兒。I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didnt have the mone

6、y to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning

7、.我了解這種感覺。我小時(shí)候，我們家生活在海外。我在印度尼西亞住了幾年。我媽媽沒有錢送我上其他美國孩子上的學(xué)校，但她認(rèn)為必須讓我接受美式教育。因此，她決定從周一到周五自己給我補(bǔ)課。不過她還要上班，所以只能在清晨四點(diǎn)半給我上課。Now, as you might imagine, I wasnt too happy about getting up that early. And a lot of times, Id fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever Id complain, my mother would jus

8、t give me one of those looks and shed say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.” (Laughter.)你們可以想見，我不太情愿那么早起床。有很多次，我趴在餐桌上就睡著了。但每當(dāng)我抱怨的時(shí)候，我媽媽都會(huì)那樣地看我一眼，然后說：“小子，這對我也并不輕松。”(笑聲)So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But Im here today because I have something important

9、 to discuss with you. Im here because I want to talk with you about your education and whats expected of all of you in this new school year.我知道你們有些人還在適應(yīng)開學(xué)后的生活。但我今天來到這里是因?yàn)橛兄匾氖虑橐湍銈冋f。我來這里是要和你們談?wù)勀銈兊慕逃龁栴}，以及在這個(gè)新學(xué)年對你們所有人的期望。Now, Ive given a lot of speeches about education. And Ive talked about responsibi

10、lity a lot.我做過很多次有關(guān)教育問題的演講。我多次談到過責(zé)任問題。Ive talked about teachers responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.我談到過教師激勵(lì)學(xué)生并督促他們學(xué)習(xí)的責(zé)任。Ive talked about your parents responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and dont spend every waking hour in fron

11、t of the TV or with the Xbox.我談到過家長的責(zé)任，要確保你們走正路，完成家庭作業(yè)，不要整天坐在電視前或玩Xbox游戲。Ive talked a lot about your governments responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that arent working, where students arent getting the opportunities that they

12、deserve.我多次談到過政府的責(zé)任，要制定高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，支持教師和校長的工作，徹底改善不能為學(xué)生提供應(yīng)有機(jī)會(huì)的、教育質(zhì)量差的學(xué)校。But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world - and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibiliti

13、es, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. Thats what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.然而，即使我們擁有最

14、敬業(yè)的教師，最盡力的家長和全世界最好的學(xué)校如果你們大家不履行你們的責(zé)任，不到校上課，不專心聽講，不聽家長、祖父祖母和其他大人的話，不付出取得成功所必須的勤奮努力，那么這一切都毫無用處，都無關(guān)緊要。這就是我今天講話的重點(diǎn)：你們每個(gè)人對自己的教育應(yīng)盡的責(zé)任。I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that youre good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And y

15、ou have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. Thats the opportunity an education can provide.我首先要講講你們對自己應(yīng)盡的責(zé)任。你們每個(gè)人都有自己的長處。你們每個(gè)人都能做出自己的貢獻(xiàn)。你們對自己應(yīng)盡的責(zé)任是發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的能力所在。而教育能夠提供這樣的機(jī)會(huì)。Maybe you could be a great writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you

16、 might not know it until you write that English paper - that English class paper thats assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor - maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine - but you might not know it until you do your project for you

17、r science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice - but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.你或許能成為一名出色的作家甚至可能寫書或在報(bào)紙上發(fā)表文章但你可能要在完成那篇英文課的作文后才會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才華。你或許能成為一名創(chuàng)新者或發(fā)明家甚至可能設(shè)計(jì)出新一代iPhone或研制出新型藥物或疫苗但你可能要在完成科學(xué)課的實(shí)驗(yàn)后才會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才華。你或許能成為一名市長或

18、參議員或最高法院的大法官但你可能要在參加學(xué)生會(huì)的工作或辯論隊(duì)后才會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才華。And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that youll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? Youre going to need

19、a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. Youve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.不論你的生活志向是什么，我敢肯定你必須上學(xué)讀書才能實(shí)現(xiàn)它。你想當(dāng)醫(yī)生、教師或警官嗎?你想當(dāng)護(hù)士、建筑師、律師或軍人嗎?你必須接受良好的教育，才能從事上述任何一種職業(yè)。你不能指望輟學(xué)后能碰上個(gè)好工作。你必須接受培訓(xùn)，為之努力，為之學(xué)習(xí)。And thi

20、s isnt just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What youre learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in t

21、he future.這并非只對你個(gè)人的人生和未來意義重大?？梢院敛豢浯蟮卣f，教育給你帶來的益處將決定這個(gè)國家的未來。美國的未來取決于你們。你們今日在校學(xué)習(xí)的知識(shí)將決定我們作為一個(gè)國家是否能夠迎接我們未來所面臨的最嚴(yán)峻挑戰(zhàn)。Youll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment.

22、Youll need the insights and critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. Youll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that wi

23、ll create new jobs and boost our economy.你們將需要利用你們通過自然科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)課程所學(xué)到的知識(shí)和解決問題的能力來治愈癌癥、艾滋病及其他疾病，開發(fā)新的能源技術(shù)和保護(hù)我們的環(huán)境。你們將需要利用你們在歷史學(xué)和社會(huì)學(xué)課堂上所獲得的知識(shí)和獨(dú)立思考能力來抗擊貧困和解決無家可歸問題，打擊犯罪和消除歧視，使我們的國家更公平、更自由。你們將需要利用你們在所有課堂上培養(yǎng)的創(chuàng)造力和智慧來創(chuàng)辦新公司，增加就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)，振興我們的經(jīng)濟(jì)。We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and

24、 your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you dont do that - if you quit on school - youre not just quitting on yourself, youre quitting on your country.我們需要你們每個(gè)人發(fā)揮你們的聰明才智和技能，以便幫助老一輩人解決我們面臨的最棘手問題。如果你們不這樣做，如果你們輟學(xué)，你們不僅僅是自暴自棄，也是拋棄自己的國家。Now, I know its not always

25、 easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.我自然知道要做到學(xué)業(yè)優(yōu)秀并非總是易事。我知道你們許多人在生活中面臨挑戰(zhàn)，難以集中精力從事學(xué)業(yè)。I get it. I know what its like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom

26、 who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasnt always able to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and I felt like I didnt fit in.我明白這一點(diǎn)。 我有親身感受。兩歲時(shí)，我父親離家而去，我是由一位單親母親撫養(yǎng)成人的，母親不得不工作

27、，并時(shí)常為支付生活費(fèi)用而苦苦掙扎，但有時(shí)仍無法為我們提供其他孩子享有的東西。有時(shí)，我渴望生活中能有一位父親。有時(shí)我感到孤獨(dú)，感到自己不適應(yīng)社會(huì)。So I wasnt always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things Im not proud of, and I got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.我并非總是像我應(yīng)該做到的那樣專心學(xué)習(xí)，我也曾做過

28、我如今不能引以為豪的一些事情，我曾惹過不應(yīng)該惹的麻煩。我的人生原本會(huì)輕易陷入更糟糕的境地。But I was - I was lucky. I got a lot of second chances, and I had the opportunity to go to college and law school and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, she has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they d

29、idnt have a lot of money. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.但是，我當(dāng)年際遇不錯(cuò)。我有過許多第二次機(jī)會(huì)，我有幸能上大學(xué)，上法學(xué)院，追求自己的理想。我的妻子，我們的第一夫人米歇爾奧巴馬，也有著類似的經(jīng)歷。她的父母都未曾上過大學(xué)，家里很窮。但他們非常勤奮 ，她也是如此，因此她得以進(jìn)入一些美國最好的學(xué)校。Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you

30、 dont have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job and theres not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you dont feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know arent right.你們中有一些人

31、可能沒有那些有利條件?；蛟S你們生活中沒有成年人為你們提供你們所需要的支持?；蛟S你們家中有人失業(yè)，經(jīng)濟(jì)非常拮據(jù)。或許你們生活在使你們感覺不安全的社區(qū)，或有朋友逼迫你們?nèi)プ瞿銈冎啦粚Φ氖虑椤ut at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life - what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what youve got going on at home - none of that is an excuse for neglecting your

32、homework or having a bad attitude in school. Thats no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.然而說到底，你們生活的環(huán)境、你們的膚色、你們的原籍、你們的經(jīng)濟(jì)收入、你們家中的境況等等，這一切都不能成為你們不用功或不努力的理由。你們沒有理由不服從你們的老師、逃學(xué)、或輟學(xué)。沒有理由不付出努力。Where you are right now doesn

33、t have to determine where youll end up. No ones written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.你們目前的狀況并不決定著你們的未來。沒有人決定你們的命運(yùn)，在美國，你們決定自己的命運(yùn)。你們掌握自己的未來。Thats what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.這就是像你們這樣的年輕人每天都在做的

34、事情，全美各地都是如此。Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didnt speak English when she first started school. Neither of her parents had gone to college. But she worked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to Brown University - is now in graduate school, studying public health,

35、on her way to becoming Dr. Jazmin Perez.來自得州羅馬城的賈茲敏佩雷斯(Jazmin Perez)就是一個(gè)例證，她剛開始上學(xué)時(shí)并不會(huì)說英文。她的父母都沒有上過大學(xué)。然而，她非常勤奮，成績優(yōu)秀，獲得了布朗大學(xué)的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，她如今正在讀研究生，攻讀公共衛(wèi)生專業(yè)，不久將成為賈茲敏佩雷斯博士。Im thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, whos fought brain cancer since he was three. Hes had to endure all sorts of tr

36、eatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer - hundreds of extra hours - to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind. Hes headed to college this fall.我想起了加州洛斯阿爾托斯城的安多尼舒爾茨(Andoni Schultz)，他從三歲開始就一直與腦癌進(jìn)行抗?fàn)?，他不得不忍受各類治療和手術(shù)帶來的痛苦，其中一項(xiàng)手術(shù)曾影響了他的記憶，因此他花在功課上的時(shí)間比一般人長得多，

37、要多出數(shù)百個(gè)小時(shí)。然而，他從未落后。他今年秋季將邁進(jìn)大學(xué)。And then theres Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods in the city, she managed to get a job at a local health care center, start a program to keep young people out of gangs,

38、 and shes on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.我還想起家鄉(xiāng)伊利諾伊州芝加哥市的尚特爾史蒂夫(Shantell Steve)。她曾在芝加哥最困難的社區(qū)生活，寄養(yǎng)于多個(gè)不同的家庭，但她最終在一家地方醫(yī)療中心找到工作，并開始了一項(xiàng)幫助年輕人遠(yuǎn)離流氓團(tuán)伙的計(jì)劃，她即將以優(yōu)異成績從中學(xué)畢業(yè)，緊接著將上大學(xué)。And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell arent any different from any of you. They face challenges in thei

39、r lives just like you do. In some cases theyve got it a lot worse off than many of you. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their lives, for their education, and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.賈茲敏、安多尼和尚特爾與你們中間的每個(gè)人沒什么兩樣。跟你們一樣，他們在生活中面臨種種

40、挑戰(zhàn)。在某些情況下，他們的處境比起你們許多人更差。但他們拒絕放棄。他們決定要為自己的一生、自己的教育負(fù)起責(zé)任，為自己設(shè)定各項(xiàng)奮斗目標(biāo)。我期待你們大家都會(huì)這樣做。Thats why today Im calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education - and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or

41、spending some time each day reading a book. Maybe youll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe youll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all yo

42、ung people deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe youll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, by the way, I hope all of you are washing your hands a lot, and that you stay home from school when you dont feel well, so we can kee

43、p people from getting the flu this fall and winter.因此，我今天呼吁你們每一個(gè)人為自己的教育設(shè)定目標(biāo)，并盡自己的最大努力來實(shí)現(xiàn)這些目標(biāo)。你的目標(biāo)可以是一件十分簡單的事情，例如完成家庭作業(yè)、上課專心聽講、或每天花一點(diǎn)時(shí)間讀一本書。也許你會(huì)決定要參加課外活動(dòng)或在你的社區(qū)提供志愿服務(wù)。也許你會(huì)決定挺身而出保護(hù)那些因?yàn)樯矸莼蜷L相而受人戲弄或欺負(fù)的孩子，原因是你和我一樣認(rèn)為所有的年輕人都應(yīng)該享有一個(gè)適合讀書和學(xué)習(xí)的安全環(huán)境。也許你會(huì)決定更好地照料自己，以便有更充沛的精力來學(xué)習(xí)。順便提一下，除了這些事情外，我希望大家要勤洗手，身體感到不舒服的時(shí)候要呆在家里

44、不去上學(xué)，這樣我們能防止人們在今年秋冬季節(jié)染上流感。But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.但無論你決定做什么，我希望你保證去做。我希望你腳踏實(shí)地地去做。I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work - that your ticket to success is through rap

45、ping or basketball or being a reality TV star. Chances are youre not going to be any of those things.我知道有時(shí)候你會(huì)從電視上得到這樣的印象：你不用做任何艱苦的工作就能發(fā)財(cái)致富并取得成功，唱小調(diào)、打籃球或成為真人秀明星是走向成功的途徑。但實(shí)際情況是：你可能不會(huì)成為其中的一員。The truth is, being successful is hard. You wont love every subject that you study. You wont click with every te

46、acher that you have. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute. And you wont necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.事實(shí)上，取得成功不是輕而易舉的事情。你不會(huì)喜歡你學(xué)習(xí)的每一門課目。你不會(huì)與你的每一位老師都很投契。不是所有的家庭作業(yè)似乎都與你眼前的生活完全有關(guān)。你第一次嘗試做每件事的時(shí)候，不一定成功。Thats okay. Some of t

47、he most successful people in the world are the ones whove had the most failures. J.K. Rowlings - who wrote Harry Potter - her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and miss

48、ed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And thats why I succeed.”這些都沒關(guān)系。世界上最成功的人士中有一些是遭遇失敗最多的人。作者JK羅琳(J.K. Rowling)所寫的系列小說哈利波特(Harry Potter)第一部在獲得出版之前被退稿12次。邁克爾喬丹(Michael Jordan)曾被他的高中籃球隊(duì)除名。在喬丹的籃球生涯中，他輸過數(shù)百場比賽，有成千上萬個(gè)球沒有投中。但他曾說

49、過：“在我的一生中，我失敗了一次又一次、一次又一次。這就是我成功的原因?！盩hese people succeeded because they understood that you cant let your failures define you - you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. So if you get into trouble, that doesnt mean youre a troublema

50、ker, it means you need to try harder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesnt mean youre stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.這些人士獲得成功，因?yàn)樗麄兌茫耗悴荒茏屖硐拗颇?，而必須讓失敗來開導(dǎo)你。你必須讓失敗向你展示下次如何以不同的方式去做這件事情。因此，如果你遇到麻煩，那并不表示你是麻煩的制造者，而意味著你需要更加努力去把它做對。如果你有一門課分?jǐn)?shù)低，那不表示你比別人笨，而只表示你需要花更多的時(shí)間學(xué)習(xí)

51、。No ones born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. Youre not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You dont hit every note the first time you sing a song. Youve got to practice. The same principle applies to your schoolwork. You might have to do a m

52、ath problem a few times before you get it right. You might have to read something a few times before you understand it. You definitely have to do a few drafts of a paper before its good enough to hand in.沒有一個(gè)人天生擅長做各種事情。你通過勤奮而變得擅長于各種事情。第一次從事新的體育項(xiàng)目時(shí)，你不可能是一位主力隊(duì)員。第一次唱一首歌曲時(shí)，你不可能唱準(zhǔn)每個(gè)音。你必須練習(xí)。同樣的道理適用于你的學(xué)業(yè)。你

53、可能要把一道數(shù)學(xué)題做幾次才把它做對。你可能要把一些材料閱讀幾遍才能理解。在交出一篇優(yōu)美的作文之前，你肯定需要打幾遍草稿。Dont be afraid to ask questions. Dont be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isnt a sign of weakness, its a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you dont know something, and that then allows you to learn something ne So find an adult that you trust - a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor - and ask them to help you stay