奥巴马关于教育的精彩演讲

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event
美国总统巴拉克。

奥巴马“回到校园”讲演稿（一）
Arlington,Virginia
September8,2009
弗吉尼亚，阿灵顿
2009年9月8日
（Ruby Pei粗浅翻译于北京）
The President:Hello everyone–how’s everybody doing today?I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington,Virginia.And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America,kindergarten through twelfth grade.I’m glad you all could join us today.
大家好！今天你们过得怎么样？我现在在弗吉尼亚阿灵顿维克菲尔德高中和同学们在一起。

全美国的幼儿园到高中的同学们正在收听我的演讲。

很高兴你们大家今天能够加入我们。

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,it’s your first day in a new school,so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous.I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now,with just one more year to go.And no matter what grade you’re in,some of you are probably wishing it were still summer,and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
我知道对于很多同学来说，今天是你们上学的第一天。

对第一天上幼儿园的，上初中或者高中的同学来说，你们有些紧张是可以理解的。

我想象有些高年级的同学现在感觉不错，因为只有一年就可以毕业了。

无论你们正上哪个年级，有些同学也许希望现在还是夏天，这样你们今天早上就可以赖在床上多睡一会儿了。

I know that feeling.When I was young,my family lived in Indonesia for a few years,and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school.So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself,Monday through Friday–at4:30in the morning.
我知道这个感觉。

当我小的时候，我家在印度尼西亚居住了几年。

我妈妈没钱送我去所有美国小孩都可以上的学校。

所以，她决定，每星期一到星期五早上4点半，她自己辅导我课程。

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early.A lot of times,I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table.But whenever I’d complain,my mother would just give me one of those looks and say,"This is no picnic for me either,buster."
我可不愿意起得那么早。

很多次，我在就厨房的那个餐桌上睡着了。

但是，当我抱怨的时候，我妈妈总是用那种表情看着我说：“小家伙，这对于我来说也不是一件轻松的事啊！”
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school.But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you.I’m here because I want to talk with you about
your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
所以，我明白你们有些人仍然在调整自己回到上学状态。

我今天来这里是因为有一些非常重要的事情要和你们讨论。

我来这里是因为我要跟你们谈谈你们的教育问题和在这个新学年里对你们所有人的期望。

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education.And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.I’ve talked about your teachers’responsibility for inspiring you,and pushing you to learn.I’ve talked about your parents’responsibility for making sure you stay on track,and get your homework done,and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
我已经就教育问题做了不少演讲，也谈了不少关于责任问题。

我谈过老师的责任是激励你们，推动你们学习。

我也谈过父母的责任是确保你们步入正轨，完成家庭作业，不要把每个清醒的小时花在看电视和打游戏上。

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards,supporting teachers and principals,and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
我也说到过政府的责任是制定高标准，协助教师，校长们把那些差学校转变成好学校，让学生得到他们应得的机会。

But at the end of the day,we can have the most dedicated teachers,the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world–and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities.Unless you show up to those schools;pay attention to those teachers;listen to your parents,grandparents and other adults;and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
但是，到了最后，尽管我们拥有了世界上最具献身精神的教师，最支持你们的父母和最好的学校，如果你们不履行作为学生的义务，一切都是空谈。

只有你们来学校上课，专心听讲，虚心接受你们的家长，祖父母和其他成年人的教诲，努力地学习，你们才可以有成功的机会。

And that’s what I want to focus on today:the responsibility each of you has for your education.I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
这是我今天要说的重点：受教育过程中你们自己的责任。

我想从你们自己对自己的责任谈起。

Every single one of you has something you’re good at.Every single one of you has something to offer.And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is.That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
你们每一个人都有自己擅长的方面。

你们每一个人都有些东西可以贡献出来。

而你们的责任是发现自己到底擅长什么。

这正是教育可以提供给你们的机会。

Maybe you could be a good writer–maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a
newspaper–but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class.Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor–maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine–but you might not know it until you do a project for your 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.
也许你可以成为一个好作家–也许好到可以写一本书或者在报纸上发表文章–但是，直到你在语文课上写了一篇好作文，你才可以发现你这个优势。

也许你可以成为一个革新家或发明家–也许你甚至能够发明下一代IPhone或者什么新型机器，或者新疫苗–但是，你如果不在科学课上好好做你的实验，你永远也发现不了你还有这样的才能。

也许你将来可以成为市长，参议员或者最高法院的法官，但你只有加入学生会或者辩论会，你才可以体会到你的长处。

And no matter what you want to do with your life–I guarantee that you’ll 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?You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers.You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job.You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
无论你将来想做什么，我保证你都需要受教育来实现它。

你想做一名医生，教师，还是警官？你想做一个护士，建筑师，律师，或者士兵？总之你都需要一个好的教育才可以有资格从事上述任何一个职业。

你不可能跳过学校这一关直接有个好工作。

你不得不为了这个职业好好受教育，学习。

And this isn’t 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.What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. You’ll 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.You’ll 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.You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
而且，这些不仅仅对于你的个人生活和将来非常重要，你受什么样的教育对于你的国家更加重要。

今天你在学校所学到的东西，将决定我们作为一个国家是否可以迎接最大的挑战。

你们将会用到在科学和数学课上用到的知识和解决问题的能力去攻克癌症和艾滋病这样的绝症，需要发现新的能源去保护我们的环境。

你们将需要用你们在历史课和社会学课上学到的知识和批判性思维技巧去和贫困，无家可归，犯罪，歧视现象作斗争，去让我们的国家更加的公平和自由。

你们需要利用在所有课上学到的创造性，灵活性去建立公司，创造就业机会，刺激我们的经济增长。

We need every single one of you to develop your talents,skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems.If you don’t do that–if you quit on school–you’re not just quitting
on yourself,you’re quitting on your country.
我们需要你们每一个同学去开发你们的才能，技巧和智慧去帮助解决我们国家最难以解决的问题。

如果你不这么做而决定辍学，你不仅在放弃你自己，你也在放弃你的国家。

Now I know it’s not always 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.
然而，我知道在学校一直做得好并不是那么容易。

我也知道很多同学在你们各自生活中面临挑战，进而让你们很难把精力集中在学校学习上。

I get it.I know what that’s like.My father left my family when I was two years old,and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had.There were times when I missed having a father in my life.There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
我明白这些。

我知道那意味着什么。

我父亲在我2岁的时候就离开我和妈妈了，我被单亲妈妈养大。

她一直在为了付帐单和供给我们其他孩子所拥有的东西而奋斗。

我有很多次很想念有父亲的生活。

我有很多次感到很孤独而不能适应当时的生活。

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been.I did some things I’m not proud of,and got in more trouble than I should have.And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
所以我不能总是把精力集中在学习上。

我做了一些我不能引以为荣的事情，还惹了不少麻烦。

我的生活可以很容易地变得更糟糕。

But I was fortunate.I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college,and law school,and follow my dreams.My wife,our First Lady Michelle Obama,has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college,and they didn’t have much.But they worked hard, and she worked hard,so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
但我是幸运的，我得到了不少第二次机会，上了大学，进了法学院，追逐着我的梦想。

我的妻子，我们的第一夫人米歇尔。

奥巴马和我情况类似。

他的父母都没有上过大学，他们也没多少钱。

但是他们努力工作，加之她自己也努力学习，所以她可以有机会到这个国家最好的几所学校上学。

Some of you might not have those advantages.Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need.Maybe someone in your family has lost their job,and there’s not enough money to go around.Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe,or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.
你们当中有些人也许不具备那些有利条件。

也许在你的生活中没有成年人可以提供你所需的必要支持。

也许你的家人有人失业了，家里业没有什么钱。

也许你的社区让你感觉不安全，或者你的一些朋友会迫使你做一些你认为不对的事情。

But 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 you’ve got going on at home–that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude.That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher,or cutting class,or dropping out of school.That’s no excuse for not trying.
但是归根结底，你的生存状况，包括你长得什么样子，你的出身是什么，你有多少钱，你家里有什么特殊情况都不应该用来作为你忽视家庭作业和学习态度不端正的借口。

你没有任何借口无礼顶撞老师，逃学或者辍学。

你没有任何借口不做尝试！
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up.No one’s written your destiny for you.Here in America,you write your own destiny.You make your own future. That’s what young people like you are doing every day,all across America.
你现在处在什么位置并不决定你的最终命运。

没人已经为你安排了命运。

在美国，你决定你自己的人生。

你决定你自己的未来。

这是像你们这样的美国年轻人每天正在做的事情。