1、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 tuning in from all a

2、cross 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.)嗨，大家好！你們今天過得怎么樣？我現在和弗吉尼亞州阿林頓郡韋克菲爾德高中的學生們在一起，全國各地也有從幼兒園到高三的眾多學生們通過電視關注這里，我很高興你

3、們能共同分享這一時刻。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 understandable if youre a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pret

4、ty 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 bit longer this morning.我知道，對你們中的許多人來說，今天是開學的第一天，你們中的有一些剛剛進入幼兒園或升上初高中，對你們來說，這是在新學校的第一天，因此，假如你們感到有些緊張，那也

5、是很正常的。我想也會有許多畢業班的學生們正自信滿滿地準備最后一年的沖刺。不過，我想無論你有多大、在讀哪個年級，許多人都打心底里希望現在還在放暑假，以及今天不用那么早起床。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 money to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought i

6、t 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.我可以理解這份心情。小時候，我們家在大洋彼岸我們在印度尼西亞住過幾年。我媽媽沒錢送我去其他美國孩子們上學的地方去讀書，因此她決定自己給我

7、上課時間是每周一到周五的凌晨4點半。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 just give me one of those looks and shed say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

8、; (Laughter.)顯然，我不怎么喜歡那么早就爬起來，很多時候，我就這么在廚房的桌子前睡著了。每當我埋怨的時候，我媽總會用同一副表情看著我說：“小鬼，你以為教你我就很輕松？”So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But Im here today because I have something important to discuss with you. Im here because I want to talk with you about your education and

9、 whats expected of all of you in this new school year.所以，我可以理解你們中的許多人對于開學還需要時間來調整和適應，但今天我站在這里，是為了和你們談一些重要的事情。我要和你們談一談你們每個人的教育，以及在新的學年里，你們應當做些什么。Now, Ive given a lot of speeches about education. And Ive talked about responsibility a lot.我做過許多關于教育的講話，也常常用到“責任”這個詞。Ive talked about teachers re

10、sponsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.我談到過教師們有責任激勵和啟迪你們，督促你們學習。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 front of the TV or with the Xbox.我談到過家長們有責任看管你們認真學習、完成作業，不要成天

11、只會看電視或打游戲機。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 deserve.我也很多次談到過政府有責任設定高標準嚴要求、協助老師和校長們的工作，改變在有些學校里學生得不到應有的學習機會

12、的現狀。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 responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay atte

13、ntion 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.但哪怕這一切都達到最好，哪怕我們有最盡職的教師、最好的家長、和最優秀的學校，假如你們不去履行自己的責任的話，那么這一切努力都會白費。除非你每

14、天準時去上學、除非你認真地聽老師講課、除非你把父母、長輩和其他大人們說的話放在心上、除非你肯付出成功所必需的努力，否則這一切都會失去意義。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 you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that

15、 is. Thats the opportunity an education can provide.而這就是我今天講話的主題：對于自己的教育，你們中每一個人的責任。首先，我想談談你們對于自己有什么責任。你們中的每一個人都會有自己擅長的東西，每一個人都是有用之材，而發現自己的才能是什么，就是你們要對自己擔起的責任。教育給你們提供了發現自己才能的機會。Maybe you could be a great writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might

16、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

17、do your 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.或許你能寫出優美的文字甚至有一天能讓那些文字出現在書籍和報刊上但假如不在英語課上經常練習寫作，你不會發現自己有這樣的天賦；或許你能成為一個發明家、創造家甚至設計出像今天的iPhone一樣流行的產品，或研制出新的藥物與疫苗

18、但假如不在自然科學課程上做上幾次實驗，你不會知道自己有這樣的天賦；或許你能成為一名議員或最高法院法官，但假如你不去加入什么學生會或參加幾次辯論賽，你也不會發現自己的才能。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

19、member of our military? Youre going to need 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.而且，我可以向你保證，不管你將來想要做什么，你都需要相應的教育。你想當名醫生、當名教師或當名警官？你想成為護士、成為 建筑設計師、律師或軍人？無論你選

20、擇哪一種職業，良好的教育都必不可少，這世上不存在不把書念完就能拿到好工作的美夢，任何工作，都需要你的汗水、訓練與 學習。And this 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 det

21、ermine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.不僅僅對于你們個人的未來有重要意義，你們的教育如何也會對這個國家、乃至世界的未來產生重要影響。今天你們在學校中學 習的內容，將會決定我們整個國家在未來迎接重大挑戰時的表現。還不了解翻譯考試？中高口專題、CATTI專題來為你科普零基礎也想考口譯？不擔心！幫手在這里：中口戳>>> CATTI戳>>>大學要畢業了才想起要張口譯證？別著急，大學直達CATTI三級>>>長期口譯備

22、考，一年拿下翻譯證！證書+實力的雙重提升：中口戳>>> 高口戳>>> CATTI三級戳>>> CATTI二級戳>>> 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 environme

23、nt. 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 com

24、panies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.你們需要在數理科學課程上學習的知識和技能，去治療癌癥、艾滋那樣的疾病，和解決我們面臨的能源問題與環境問題；你們需要在歷史社科課程上培養出的觀察力與判斷力，來減輕和消除無家可歸與貧困、犯罪問題和各種歧視，讓這個國家變得更加公平和自由；你們需要在各類課程中逐漸累積和發展出來的創新意識和思維，去創業和建立新的公司與企業，來制造就業機會和推動經濟的增長。We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills

25、 and 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.我們需要你們中的每一個人都培養和發展自己的天賦、技能和才智，來解決我們所面對的最困難的問題。假如你不這么做假如你放棄學習那么你不僅是放棄了自己，也是放棄了你的國家。Now, I kno

26、w its 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.當然，我明白，讀好書并不總是件容易的事。我知道你們中的許多人在生活中面臨著各種各樣的問題，很難把精力集中在專心讀書之上。I get it. I know what its like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and

27、 I was raised by a single mom 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.我知道你們的感受。我父親在我兩歲時就離開

28、了家庭，是母親一人將我們拉扯大，有時她付不起帳單，有時我們得不到其他孩子們都有的東西，有時我會想，假如父親在該多好，有時我會感到孤獨無助，與周圍的環境格格不入。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.因此我并不總是能專心學習，我做過

29、許多自己覺得丟臉的事情，也惹出過許多不該惹的麻煩，我的生活岌岌可危，隨時可能急轉直下。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 did

30、nt 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.但我很幸運。我在許多事上都得到了重來的機會，我得到了去大學讀法學院、實現自己夢想的機會。我的妻子現在得叫她第一夫人米歇爾奧巴馬了也有著相似的人生故事，她的父母都沒讀過大學，也沒有什么財產，但他們和她都辛勤工作，好讓她有機會去這個國家最優秀的學校讀書。Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe

31、you 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

32、些人可能沒有這些有利條件，或許你的生活中沒有能為你提供幫助和支持的長輩，或許你的某個家長沒有工作、經濟拮據，或許你住的社區不那么安全，或許你認識一些會對你產生不良影響的朋友，等等。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 youve got going on at home - none of that is an excuse for neglecting your home

33、work 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.但歸根結底，你的生活狀況你的長相、出身、經濟條件、家庭氛圍都不是疏忽學業和態度惡劣的借口，這些不是你去跟老師頂嘴、逃課、或是輟學的借口，這些不是你不好好讀書的借口。Where you are right now doesnt have to determine

34、 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.你的未來，并不取決于你現在的生活有多好或多壞。沒有人為你編排好你的命運，在美國，你的命運由你自己書寫，你的未來由你自己掌握。Thats what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.而在這片土地上的每個地方，千千萬萬和你

35、一樣的年輕人正是這樣在書寫著自己的命運。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

36、health, on her way to becoming Dr. Jazmin Perez.例如德克薩斯州羅馬市的賈斯敏佩雷茲（Jazmin Perez）。剛進學校時，她根本不會說英語，她住的地方幾乎沒人上過大學，她的父母也沒有受過高等教育，但她努力學習，取得了優異的成績，靠獎學金進入了布朗大學，如今正在攻讀公共衛生專業的博士學位。Im thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, whos fought brain cancer since he was three. Hes had to endure all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory,