奥巴马对美国学生的中英演讲稿

第一篇：奥巴马对美国学生的中英演讲稿

奥巴马对美国学生的全国讲话 中英演讲稿

“没有什么是你们无法实现的，只要你们胸怀大志，只要你们愿意努力，只要你们专注于学习，” 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--(applause)--with just one more year to go.我知道，今天是你们很多人开学的日子。对于进入小学预备班、初中或高中的学生，今天是你们来到新学校的第一天，心里可能有点紧张，这是可以理解的。我能想象有些毕业班学生现在感觉很不错——（掌声）——还有一年就毕业了。

I know that feeling.When I was young, my family lived overseas.I lived in Indonesia for a few years.And my mother, she didn’t have the money 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.我了解这种感觉。我小时候，我们家生活在海外。我在印度尼西亚住了几年。我妈妈没有钱送我上其他美国孩子上的学校，但她认为必须让我接受美式教育。

Now, as you might imagine, I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early.And 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 she’d say

你们可以想见，我不太情愿那么早起床。有很多次，我趴在餐桌上就睡着了。但每当我抱怨的时候，我妈妈都会那样地看我一眼

So I know that 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.我知道你们有些人还在适应开学后的生活。但我今天来到这里是因为有重要的事情要和你们说。我来这里是要和你们谈谈你们的教育问题，以及在这个新学年对你们所有人的期望。

Now, I’ve given a lot of speeches about education.And I’ve talked about responsibility a lot.我做过很多次有关教育问题的演讲。我多次谈到过责任问题。

I’ve talked about teachers’ responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.我谈到过教师激励学生并督促他们学习的责任。

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.我谈到过家长的责任，要确保你们走正路，完成家庭作业，不要整天坐在电视前或玩Xbox游戏。I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working, where students aren’t getting the opportunities that they deserve.我多次谈到过政府的责任，要制定高标准，支持教师和校长的工作，彻底改善不能为学生提供应有机会的、教育质量差的学校。

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 responsibilities, 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.That’s what I want to focus on today

然而，即使我们拥有最敬业的教师，最尽力的家长和全世界最好的学校——如果你们大家不履行你们的责任，不到校上课，不专心听讲，不听家长、祖父祖母和其他大人的话，不付出取得成功所必须的勤奋努力，那么这一切都毫无用处，都无关紧要。这就是我今天讲话的重点

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.Every single one of you has something that you’re good at.Every single one of you has something to offer.我首先要讲讲你们对自己应尽的责任。你们每个人都有自己的长处。

Maybe you could be a great writer--maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper--but you might not know it until you write that English paper--that English class paper that’s 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

你或许能成为一名出色的作家——甚至可能写书或在报纸上发表文章——但你可能要在完成那篇英文课的作文后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名创新者或发明家——甚至可能设计出新一代iPhone或研制出新型药物或疫苗——但你可能要在完成科学课的实验后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名市长或参议员或最高法院的大法官——但你可能要在参加学生会的工作或辩论队后才会发现自己的才华。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 cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job.You’ve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.不论你的生活志向是什么，我敢肯定你必须上学读书才能实现它。你想当医生、教师或警官吗？你想当护士、建筑师、律师或军人吗？你必须接受良好的教育，才能从事上述任何一种职业。你不能指望辍学后能碰上个好工作。你必须接受培训，为之努力，为之学习。

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.The future of America depends on you.What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.这并非只对你个人的人生和未来意义重大。可以毫不夸大地说，教育给你带来的益处将决定这个国家的未来。美国的未来取决于你们。你们今日在校学习的知识将决定我们作为一个国家是否能够迎接我们未来所面临的最严峻挑战。

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 homelessne 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.你们将需要利用你们通过自然科学和数学课程所学到的知识和解决问题的能力来治愈癌症、艾滋病及其他疾病，开发新的能源技术和保护我们的环境。你们将需要利用你们在历史学和社会学课堂上所获得的知识和独立思考能力来抗击贫困和解决无家可归问题，打击犯罪和消除歧视，使我们的国家更公平、更自由。你们将需要利用你们在所有课堂上培养的创造力和智慧来创办新公司，增加就业机会，振兴我们的经济。We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks 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.我们需要你们每个人发挥你们的聪明才智和技能，以便帮助老一辈人解决我们面临的最棘手问题。如果你们不这样做，如果你们辍学，你们不仅仅是自暴自弃，也是抛弃自己的国家。

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.我自然知道要做到学业优秀并非总是易事。我知道你们许多人在生活中面临挑战，难以集中精力从事学业。I get it.I know what it’s like.My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t 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 didn’t fit in.我明白这一点。我有亲身感受。两岁时，我父亲离家而去，我是由一位单亲母亲抚养成人的，母亲不得不工作，并时常为支付生活费用而苦苦挣扎，但有时仍无法为我们提供其他孩子享有的东西。有时，我渴望生活中能有一位父亲。有时我感到孤独，感到自己不适应社会。

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I’m 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.我并非总是像我应该做到的那样专心学习，我也曾做过我如今不能引以为豪的一些事情，我曾惹过不应该惹的麻烦。我的人生原本会轻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 opportu, she has a similar story.Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t 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，我当年际遇不错。我有过许多第二次机会，我有幸能上大学，上法学院，追求自己的理想。我的妻子，我们的第一夫人米歇尔•奥巴马，也有着类似的经历。她的父母都过大学，家里很穷。但他们非常勤奋，她也是如此，因此她得以进入一些美国最好的学校。

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 lor 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.你们中有一些人可能没有那些有利条件。或许你们生活中没有成年人为你们提供你们所需要的支持。或许你们家中有人失业，经济非常拮据。或许你们生活在使你们感觉不安全的社区，或有朋友逼迫你们去做你们知道不对的事情。

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--none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school.That’s no e for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school.There is no excuse for not trying.然而说到底，你们生活的环境、你们的肤色、你们的原籍、你们的经济收入、你们家中的境况等等，这一切都不能成为你们不用功或不努力的理由。你们没有理从你们的老师、逃学、或辍学。没有理由不付出努力。

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up.No one’s written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny.You make your own future.你们目前的状况并不决定着你们的未来。没有人决定你们的命运，在美国，你们决定自己的命运。你们掌握自己的未来。

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.这就是像你们这样的年轻人每天都在做的事情，全美各地都是如此。

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas.Jazmin didn’t 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, on her way to becoming Dr.Jazmin Perez.来自得州罗马城的贾兹敏•佩雷斯（Jazmin Perez）就是一个例证，她刚开始上学时并不会说英文。她的父母都没有上过大学。然而，她非常勤奋，成绩优秀，获得了布朗大学的奖学金，她如今正在读研究生，攻读公共卫生专业，不久将成为贾兹敏•佩雷斯博士。

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three.He’s had to endure all sorts of treatments 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.He’s headed to college this fall.我想起了加州洛斯阿尔托斯城的安多尼•舒尔茨（Andoni Schultz），他从三岁开始就一直与脑癌进行抗争，他不得不忍受各类治疗和手术带来的痛苦，其中一项手术曾影响了他的记忆，因此他花在功课上的时间比一般人长得多，要多出数百个小时。然而，他从未落后。他今年秋季将迈进大学。

And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you.They face challenges in their lives just like you do.In some cases they’ve 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.贾兹敏、安多尼和尚特尔与你们中间的每个人没什么两样。跟你们一样，他们在生活中面临种种挑战。在某些情况下，他们的处境比起你们许多人更差。但他们拒绝放弃。他们决定要为自己的一生、自己的教育负起责任，为自己设定各项奋斗目标。我期待你们大家都会这样做。That’s why today I’m 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 spending some time each day reading a book.Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurri because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn.Maybe you’ll 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 don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.因此，我今天呼吁你们每一个人为自己的教育设定目标，并尽自己的最大努力来实现这些目标。你的目标可以是一件十分简单的事情，例如完成家庭作业、上课专心听讲、或每天花一点时间读一本书。也许你会决定要参加课外活动或在你的有的年轻人都应该享有一个适合读书和学习的安全环境。也许你会决定更好地照料自己，以便有更充沛的精力来学习。顺便提一下，除了这些事情外，我希望大家要勤洗手，身体感到不舒服的时候要呆在家里不去上学，这样我们能防止人们在今年秋冬季节染上流感。

But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it.I want you to really work at it.但无论你决定做什么，我希望你保证去做。我希望你脚踏实地地去做。

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 rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star.Chances are you’re not going to The truth is, being successful is hard.You won’t love every subject that you study.You won’t click with every teacher that you have.Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute.And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.事实上，取得成功不是轻而易举的事情。你不会喜欢你学习的每一门课目。你不会与你的每一位老师都很投契。不是所有的家庭作业似乎都与你眼前的生活完全有关。你第一次尝试做每件事的时候，不一定成功。That’s okay.Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures.J.K.Rowling’s--who wrote Harry Potter--her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published.这些都没关系。世界上最成功的人士中有一些是遭遇失败最多的人。作者J•K•罗琳（J.K.Rowling）所写的系列小说《哈利•波特》（Harry Potter）第一部在获得出版之前被退稿12次。迈克尔•乔丹（Michael Jordan）曾被他的高中篮球队除名。在乔丹的篮球生涯中，他输过数百场比赛，有成千上万个球没有投中。但他曾说过：“在我的一生中，我失败了一次又一次、一次又一次。这就是我成功的原因。”

Don’t be afraid to ask questions.Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.I do that every day.Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strenge it shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and that then allows you to learn something new.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 on track to meet your goals.不要害怕提问。不要在需要帮助时害怕请求别人帮助。我天天请求别人的帮助。请求帮助不是软弱的表现，它是力量的标志，因为它表明你有勇气承认自己对某些事情不懂，这样做会使你学到新的东西。因此，请确定一位你信任的成年人，例如家长、祖父母或老师、教练或辅导员，请他们帮助你遵循既定计划实现你的目标。

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don’t ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation.Young people.Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war;who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon.Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google and Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.书写美国历史的是250年前坐在你们的位置上的学生，他们后来进行了独立战争并创建了这个国家。还有75年前坐在你们的位置上的年轻人和学生，他们走出了大萧条并打赢了一场世界大战；他们为民权而奋斗并把宇航员送上了月球。至于20年前坐在你

So today, I want to ask all of you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a President who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country? 而今天，我要问问你们大家，你们将做出什么贡献？你们将解决什么问题？你们将有什么发现？20年、50年或100年后来到这里讲话的总统将会怎样评价你们大家为

Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions.I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the compeed to learn.But you’ve got to do your part, too.So I expect all of you to get serious this year.I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do.I expect great things from each of you.So don’t let us down.Don’t let your family down or your country down.Most of all, don’t let yourself down.Make us all proud.你们的家人、你们的老师和我正在竭尽全力保证你们接受必要的教育，以便回答上述问题。我正在努力工作，以便你们的教室得到修缮，你们能够得到学习所需的课本、设备和电脑。但你们也必须尽自己的努力。因此，我希望你们大家从今年起认真对待这个问题。我希望你们尽最大努力做好每一件事。我希望你们每个人都有出色的表现。不要让我们失望。不人或你们的国家失望。而最重要的是，不要辜负你们自己，而要让我们都能[为你们]感到骄傲。

Thank you very much, everybody.God bless you.God bless America.Thank you.(Applause.)非常感谢你们大家。愿主保佑你们。愿主保佑美国。谢谢你们。（掌声）

第二篇：奥巴马竞选演讲稿(中英)

美国首任黑人总统奥巴马竞选演讲稿（中英）

Obama: The Change We Need

This is a defining moment in our history.We face the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression--760,000 workers have lost their jobs this year.Businesses and families can't get credit.Home values are falling, and pensions are disappearing.Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the costs of health care and college have never been higher.At a moment like this, we can't afford four more years of spending increases, poorly designed tax cuts, or the complete lack of regulatory oversight that even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan now believes was a mistake.America needs a new direction.That's why I'm running for president of the United States.Tomorrow, you can give this country the change we need.My opponent, Senator McCain, has served his country honorably.He can even point to a few moments in the past where he has broken from his party.But over the past eight years, he's voted with President Bush 90% of the time.And when it comes to the economy, he still can't tell the American people one major thing he'd do differently from George Bush.It's not change to come up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans--a plan that even the National Review and other conservative organizations complain does far too little to benefit the middle class.It's not change to add more than $5 trillion to the deficits we've run up in recent years.It's not change to come up with a plan to address our housing crisis that puts another $300 billion of taxpayer money at risk--a plan that the editorial board of this newspaper said 'raises more questions than it answers.'If there's one thing we've learned from this economic crisis, it's that we are all in this together.From CEOs to shareholders, from

financiers to factory workers, we all have a stake in each other's success because the more Americans prosper, the more America prospers.That's why we've had titans of industry who've made it their mission to pay well enough that their employees could afford the products they made--businessmen like Warren Buffett, whose support I'm proud to have.That's why our economy hasn't just been the world's greatest wealth creator--it's been the world's greatest job generator.It's been the tide that has lifted the boats of the largest middle class in history.To rebuild that middle class, I'll give a tax break to 95% of workers and their families.If you work, pay taxes, and make less than $200,000, you'll get a tax cut.If you make more than $250,000, you'll still pay taxes at a lower rate than in the 1990s--and capital gains and dividend taxes one-third lower than they were under President Reagan.We'll create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling

infrastructure and laying broadband lines that reach every corner of the country.I'll invest $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating five million new, green jobs that pay well, can't be outsourced, and can help end our dependence on Middle East oil.When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run system and the unaffordable one we have now.My opponent's plan would make you pay taxes on your health-care benefits for the first time in history.My plan will make health care affordable and accessible for every American.If you already have health insurance, the only change you'll see under my plan is lower premiums.If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of plan that members of Congress get for themselves.To give every child a world-class education so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century, I'll invest in early childhood education and recruit an army of new teachers.But I'll also demand higher standards and more accountability.And we'll make a deal with every young American: If you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford your tuition.And when it comes to keeping this country safe, I'll end the Iraq war responsibly so we stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while it sits on a huge surplus.For the sake of our economy, our military and the long-term stability of Iraq, it's time for the Iraqis to step up.I'll finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11, build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century, and restore our moral standing so that America remains the last, best hope of Earth.None of this will be easy.It won't happen overnight.But I believe we can do this because I believe in America.This is the country that allowed our parents and grandparents to believe that even if they couldn't go to college, they could save a little bit each week so their child could;that even if they couldn't have their own business, they could work hard enough so their child could open one of their own.And at every moment in our history, we've risen to meet our challenges because we've never

forgotten the fundamental truth that in America, our destiny is not written for us, but by us.So tomorrow, I ask you to write our nation's next great chapter.I ask you to believe--not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.Tomorrow, you can choose policies that invest in our middle class, create new jobs, and grow this economy so that everyone has a chance to succeed.You can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.If you give me your vote, we won't just win this election--together, we will change this country and change the world.现在是美国历史的关键时刻。我们面临着大萧条以来最为严重的一场经济危机：今年以来已经有76万人失业；企业和家庭无法获得信贷；房价不断下滑，养老金日益缩水；工资降到了十年来的最低水平，同时医疗和教育成本却涨到了有史以来的最高点。

在眼下这样的危急时刻，我们承受不起又一个四年的支出增长、千疮百孔的减税措施、或是监管全无──即使是美国联邦储备委员会（Fed）前主席格林斯潘（Alan Greenspan）现在也承认那是个错误。美国需要一个新的方向。这也正是我竞选美国总统的原因所在。

明天，也就是周二，你们将有能力赋予这个国家我们所需要的变革。Corbis我的竞选对手麦凯恩参议员为美国作出的贡献令人尊敬。他甚至可以指出他过去曾有几次与自己的党派分道扬镳。然而，在过去八年中，他十之八九都赞同布什总统的主张。而在经济问题上，他仍然无法向美国民众说明，他与布什的做法会有什么太大区别。

如果提出的税收计划没有让1亿多美国中产阶级获得一分钱的税项减免，这不是变革──即使是《国家评论》（National Review）杂志和其他保守派组织也抱怨说，这个计划对造福中产阶级贡献寥寥。在近年来不断累积的财政赤字上再添5万亿美元，这不是变革。如果解决房市危机的计划又将另外3,000亿美元纳税人的钱置于风险之中，这不是变革──《华尔街日报》编辑委员会称这一计划“产生的问题比解决的问题多”。

如果说我们从此次经济危机中学到了什么的话，那就是我们要患难与共。从首席执行长到公司股东，从金融家到工厂工人，我们每个人都休戚相关，因为美国的民众越富足，美国才会越繁荣。

这就是为什么我们有些企业巨头把提高员工薪酬作为自己的一项使命，让员工能买得起自己生产的产品，比如巴菲特（Warren Buffett）这样的商界人士。我对能有他的支持感到自豪。这就是为什么美国经济不仅是世界上最伟大的财富创造者，也是世界上最伟大的就业机会制造者。它一直托举着有史以来规模最大的中产阶级之舟。

为了重塑美国中产阶级，我将给予95%的工人及其家庭税收减免待遇。如果你工作，就交税；如果年收入不足20万美元，你会获得减税；即使你的年收入超过了25万美元，你所负担的税率也比上世纪九十年代要低──资本利得税和股息税要比里根总统时期低三分之一。

通过重建日益破败的基础设施、在美国的各个角落接通宽带，我们将创造200万个就业岗位。未来的十年中，我将每年在可再生能源领域投资150亿美元，进而新增500万个岗位；这些工作环保、薪酬丰厚、不能外包，而且能帮助我们摆脱对中东石油的依赖。

在医疗问题上，我们不必在政府运营的体系和目前这种我们难以负担的体系之间进行选择。我的竞选对手提出的方案会令美国人有史以来首次为自己获得的医疗福利纳税。我的计划则会让医疗保健成为每个美国人都负担得起、享受得到的服务。根据我的计划，如果你已经有了医疗保险，你将看到的唯一一个变化是保费降低；如果你还没有医疗保险，你将能与国会议员们享受到同样的医疗福利。为了让每个孩子享受到世界级的教育，让他们能在全球经济中竞争21世纪的工作岗位，我将投资早期教育，并且增加师资力量。不过，我同时也会要求更高的标准和更多的责任。我们向每个美国年轻人作出承诺：如果你致力于服务你的社区或是你的国家，我们将确保你能负担得起自己的学费。

在国防安全问题上，我将负责任地结束伊拉克战争，这样我们就不必在这个国家享有巨额财政盈余的情况下每月却要在那里花费100亿美元。为了美国的经济、美国的军队和伊拉克的长期稳定，现在是伊拉克人站出来的时候了。我将最终完成对本·拉登（Bin Laden）和基地组织恐怖分子的打击，正是这些人制造了9/11恐怖袭击，同时我还会建立新的合作关系、击退21世纪出现的威胁，恢复我们的道德威望，让美国仍然是地球上最后也是最好的希望。

这些事情没有一件是轻而易举能办到的，也不是一朝一夕能完成的。但是，我坚信我们能成功，因为我对美国深信不疑。是美国使我们的父辈相信，即使他们自己无法上大学，也可以每周积攒下一些钱来，让他们的孩子接受好的教育；即使他们不能拥有自己的企业，也可以通过努力工作让自己的孩子创办企业。在美国历史的每个时刻，我们都勇敢地站起来面对挑战，因为我们从来没有忘记过这样一个基本真理：在美国，我们的命运并非天定，而是掌握在我们自己的手中。所以，明天，我恳请你们书写美国下一个伟大的篇章。我恳请你们不只相信我带来变革的能力，还有你们自己的能力。明天，你们可以选择这样一种政策──向美国中产阶级进行投入、创造新的就业岗位、实现经济增长让人人都有成功的机会。你们可以选择希望而非恐惧、选择团结而非分裂、选择变革的希望而非墨守成规。如果你们投我的票，我们将不仅赢得此次竞选，还将一起改变这个国家、改变这个世界。

第三篇：美国首任黑人总统奥巴马竞选演讲稿(中英)

美国首任黑人总统奥巴马竞选演讲稿（中英）网友常用标签（共4个）：

中英对照奥巴马美国竞选黑人总统

美国首任黑人总统奥巴马竞选演讲：我们需要的变革。

Obama: The Change We Need

This is a defining moment in our history.We face the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression--760,000 workers have lost their jobs this year.Businesses and families can't get credit.Home values are falling, and pensions are disappearing.Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the costs of health care and college have never been higher.At a moment like this, we can't afford four more years of spending increases, poorly designed tax cuts, or the complete lack of regulatory oversight that even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan now believes was a mistake.America needs a new direction.That's why I'm running for president of the United States.Tomorrow, you can give this country the change we need.My opponent, Senator McCain, has served his country honorably.He can even point to a few moments in the past where he has broken from his party.But over the past eight years, he's voted with President Bush 90% of the time.And when it comes to the economy, he still can't tell the American people one major thing he'd do differently from George Bush.It's not change to come up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans--a plan that even the National Review and other conservative organizations complain does far too little to benefit the middle class.It's not change to add more than $5 trillion to the deficits we've run up in recent years.It's not change to come up with a plan to address our housing crisis that puts another $300 billion of taxpayer money at risk--a plan that the editorial board of this newspaper said 'raises more questions than it answers.'

If there's one thing we've learned from this economic crisis, it's that we are all in this together.From CEOs to shareholders, from financiers to factory workers, we all have a stake in each other's success because the more Americans prosper, the more America prospers.That's why we've had titans of industry who've made it their mission to pay well enough that their employees could afford the products they made--businessmen like Warren Buffett, whose support I'm proud to have.That's why our economy hasn't just been the world's greatest wealth creator--it's been the world's greatest job generator.It's been the tide that has lifted the boats of the largest middle class in history.To rebuild that middle class, I'll give a tax break to 95% of workers and their families.If you work, pay taxes, and make less than $200,000, you'll get a tax cut.If you make more than $250,000, you'll still pay taxes at a lower rate than in the 1990s

--and capital gains and dividend taxes one-third lower than they were under President Reagan.We'll create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and laying broadband lines that reach every corner of the country.I'll invest $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating five million new, green jobs that pay well, can't be outsourced, and can help end our dependence on Middle East oil.When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run system and the unaffordable one we have now.My opponent's plan would make you pay taxes on your health-care benefits for the first time in history.My plan will make health care affordable and accessible for every American.If you already have health insurance, the only change you'll see under my plan is lower premiums.If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of plan that members of Congress get for themselves.To give every child a world-class education so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century, I'll invest in early childhood education and recruit an army of new teachers.But I'll also demand higher standards and more accountability.And we'll make a deal with every young American: If you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford your tuition.And when it comes to keeping this country safe, I'll end the Iraq war responsibly so we stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while it sits on a huge surplus.For the sake of our economy, our military and the long-term stability of Iraq, it's time for the Iraqis to step up.I'll finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11, build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century, and restore our moral standing so that America remains the last, best hope of Earth.None of this will be easy.It won't happen overnight.But I believe we can do this because I believe in America.This is the country that allowed our parents and

grandparents to believe that even if they couldn't go to college, they could save a little bit each week so their child could;that even if they couldn't have their own business, they could work hard enough so their child could open one of their own.And at every moment in our history, we've risen to meet our challenges because we've never forgotten the fundamental truth that in America, our destiny is not written for us, but by us.So tomorrow, I ask you to write our nation's next great chapter.I ask you to believe--not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.Tomorrow, you can choose policies that invest in our middle class, create new jobs, and grow this economy so that everyone has a chance to succeed.You can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.If you give me your vote, we won't just win this election--together, we will change this country and change the world.现在是美国历史的关键时刻。我们面临着大萧条以来最为严重的一场经济危机：今年以来已经有76万人失业；企业和家庭无法获得信贷；房价不断下滑，养老金日益缩水；工资降到了十年来的最低水平，同时医疗和教育成本却涨到了有史以来的最高点。

在眼下这样的危急时刻，我们承受不起又一个四年的支出增长、千疮百孔的减税措施、或是监管全无──即使是美国联邦储备委员会（Fed）前主席格林斯潘（Alan Greenspan）现在也承认那是个错误。美国需要一个新的方向。这也正是我竞选美国总统的原因所在。

明天，也就是周二，你们将有能力赋予这个国家我们所需要的变革。

Corbis我的竞选对手麦凯恩参议员为美国作出的贡献令人尊敬。他甚至可以指出他过去曾有几次与自己的党派分道扬镳。然而，在过去八年中，他十之八九都赞同布什总统的主张。而在经济问题上，他仍然无法向美国民众说明，他与布什的做法会有什么太大区别。

如果提出的税收计划没有让1亿多美国中产阶级获得一分钱的税项减免，这不是变革──即使是《国家评论》（National Review）杂志和其他保守派组织也抱怨说，这个计划对造福中产阶级贡献寥寥。在近年来不断累积的财政赤字上再添5万亿美元，这不是变革。如果解决房市危机的计划又将另外3,000亿美元纳税人的钱置于风险之中，这不是变革──《华尔街日报》编辑委员会称这一计划“产生的问题比解决的问题多”。

如果说我们从此次经济危机中学到了什么的话，那就是我们要患难与共。从首席执行长到公司股东，从金融家到工厂工人，我们每个人都休戚相关，因为美国的民众越富足，美国才会越繁荣。

这就是为什么我们有些企业巨头把提高员工薪酬作为自己的一项使命，让员工能买得起自己生产的产品，比如巴菲特（Warren Buffett）这样的商界人士。我对能有他的支持感到自豪。这就是为什么美国经济不仅是世界上最伟大的财富创造者，也是世界上最伟大的就业机会制造者。它一直托举着有史以来规模最大的中产阶级之舟。

为了重塑美国中产阶级，我将给予95%的工人及其家庭税收减免待遇。如果你工作，就交税；如果年收入不足20万美元，你会获得减税；即使你的年收入超过了25万美元，你所负担的税率也比上世纪九十年代要低──资本利得税和股息税要比里根总统时期低三分之一。

通过重建日益破败的基础设施、在美国的各个角落接通宽带，我们将创造200万个就业岗位。未来的十年中，我将每年在可再生能源领域投资150亿美元，进而新增500万个岗位；这些工作环保、薪酬丰厚、不能外包，而且能帮助我们摆脱对中东石油的依赖。

在医疗问题上，我们不必在政府运营的体系和目前这种我们难以负担的体系之间进行选择。我的竞选对手提出的方案会令美国人有史以来首次为自己获得的医疗福利纳税。我的计划则会让医疗保健成为每个美国人都负担得起、享受得到的服务。根据我的计划，如果你已经有了医疗保险，你将看到的唯一一个变化是保费降低；如果你还没有医疗保险，你将能与国会议员们享受到同样的医疗福利。

为了让每个孩子享受到世界级的教育，让他们能在全球经济中竞争21世纪的工作岗位，我将投资早期教育，并且增加师资力量。不过，我同时也会要求更高的标准和更多的责任。我们向每个美国年轻人作出承诺：如果你致力于服务你的社区或是你的国家，我们将确保你能负担得起自己的学费。

在国防安全问题上，我将负责任地结束伊拉克战争，这样我们就不必在这个国家享有巨额财政盈余的情况下每月却要在那里花费100亿美元。为了美国的经济、美国的军队和伊拉克的长期稳定，现在是伊拉克人站出来的时候了。我将最终完成对本·拉登（Bin Laden）和基地组织恐怖分子的打击，正是这些人制造了9/11恐怖袭击，同时我还会建立新的合作关系、击退21世纪出现的威胁，恢复我们的道德威望，让美国仍然是地球上最后也是最好的希望。

这些事情没有一件是轻而易举能办到的，也不是一朝一夕能完成的。但是，我坚信我们能成功，因为我对美国深信不疑。是美国使我们的父辈相信，即使他们自己无法上大学，也可以每周积攒下一些钱来，让他们的孩子接受好的教育；即使他们不能拥有自己的企业，也可以通过努力工作让自己的孩子创办企业。在美国历史的每个时刻，我们都勇敢地站起来面对挑战，因为我们从来没有忘记过这样一个基本真理：在美国，我们的命运并非天定，而是掌握在我们自己的手中。所以，明天，我恳请你们书写美国下一个伟大的篇章。我恳请你们不只相信我带来变革的能力，还有你们自己的能力。明天，你们可以选择这样一种政策──向美国中产阶级进行投入、创造新的就业岗位、实现经济增长让人人都有成功的机会。你们可以选择希望而非恐惧、选择团结

而非分裂、选择变革的希望而非墨守成规。如果你们投我的票，我们将不仅赢得此次竞选，还将一起改变这个国家、改变这个世界。

第四篇：梦想与责任---奥巴马对美国学生的全国讲话 中英演讲稿

名人名校励志演讲：梦想与责任---奥巴马对美国学生的全国讲话 中英演讲稿

国总统奥巴马2009年9月8日开学演讲 英文全文 For Immediate Release September 8, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN A NATIONAL ADDRESS TO AMERICA'S SCHOOLCHILDREN

Wakefield High School Arlington, Virginia

THE PRESIDENT: 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 we’ve got students 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！谢谢你们。谢谢你们。谢谢你们大家。好，大家请就坐。你们今天都好吗？（掌声）蒂姆•斯派塞（Tim Spicer）好吗？（掌声）我现在与弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿郡韦克菲尔德高中的学生们在一起。美国各地从小学预备班到中学12年级的学生正在收听收看。我很高兴大家今天都能参与。我还要感谢韦克菲尔德高中出色的组织安排。请为你们自己热烈鼓掌。（掌声）

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--(applause)--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 bit longer this morning.我知道，今天是你们很多人开学的日子。对于进入小学预备班、初中或高中的学生，今天是你们来到新学校的第一天，心里可能有点紧张，这是可以理解的。我能想象有些毕业班学生现在感觉很不错——（掌声）——还有一年就毕业了。不论在哪个年级，你们有些人可能希望暑假更长一点，今天早上还能多睡一小会儿。

I know that feeling.When I was young, my family lived overseas.I lived in Indonesia for a few years.And my mother, she didn’t have the money 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.我了解这种感觉。我小时候，我们家生活在海外。我在印度尼西亚住了几年。我妈妈没有钱送我上其他美国孩子上的学校，但她认为必须让我接受美式教育。因此，她决定从周一到周五自己给我补课。不过她还要上班，所以只能在清晨四点半给我上课。

Now, as you might imagine, I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early.And 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 she’d say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”(Laughter.)

你们可以想见，我不太情愿那么早起床。有很多次，我趴在餐桌上就睡着了。但每当我抱怨的时候，我妈妈都会那样地看我一眼，然后说：“小子，这对我也并不轻松。”（笑声）So I know that 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.我知道你们有些人还在适应开学后的生活。但我今天来到这里是因为有重要的事情要和你们说。我来这里是要和你们谈谈你们的教育问题，以及在这个新学年对你们所有人的期望。Now, I’ve given a lot of speeches about education.And I’ve talked about responsibility a lot.我做过很多次有关教育问题的演讲。我多次谈到过责任问题。

I’ve talked about teachers’ responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.我谈到过教师激励学生并督促他们学习的责任。

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.我谈到过家长的责任，要确保你们走正路，完成家庭作业，不要整天坐在电视前或玩Xbox游戏。I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working, where students aren’t getting the opportunities that they deserve.我多次谈到过政府的责任，要制定高标准，支持教师和校长的工作，彻底改善不能为学生提供应有机会的、教育质量差的学校。

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 responsibilities, 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.That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.然而，即使我们拥有最敬业的教师，最尽力的家长和全世界最好的学校——如果你们大家不履行你们的责任，不到校上课，不专心听讲，不听家长、祖父祖母和其他大人的话，不付出取得成功所必须的勤奋努力，那么这一切都毫无用处，都无关紧要。这就是我今天讲话的重点：你们每个人对自己的教育应尽的责任。

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.Every single one of you has something that 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.我首先要讲讲你们对自己应尽的责任。你们每个人都有自己的长处。你们每个人都能做出自己的贡献。你们对自己应尽的责任是发现自己的能力所在。而教育能够提供这样的机会。

Maybe you could be a great writer--maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper--but you might not know it until you write that English paper--that English class paper that’s 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 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.你或许能成为一名出色的作家——甚至可能写书或在报纸上发表文章——但你可能要在完成那篇英文课的作文后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名创新者或发明家——甚至可能设计出新一代iPhone或研制出新型药物或疫苗——但你可能要在完成科学课的实验后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名市长或参议员或最高法院的大法官——但你可能要在参加学生会的工作或辩论队后才会发现自己的才华。

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 cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job.You’ve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.不论你的生活志向是什么，我敢肯定你必须上学读书才能实现它。你想当医生、教师或警官吗？你想当护士、建筑师、律师或军人吗？你必须接受良好的教育，才能从事上述任何一种职业。你不能指望辍学后能碰上个好工作。你必须接受培训，为之努力，为之学习。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.The future of America depends on you.What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.这并非只对你个人的人生和未来意义重大。可以毫不夸大地说，教育给你带来的益处将决定这个国家的未来。美国的未来取决于你们。你们今日在校学习的知识将决定我们作为一个国家是否能够迎接我们未来所面临的最严峻挑战。

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.你们将需要利用你们通过自然科学和数学课程所学到的知识和解决问题的能力来治愈癌症、艾滋病及其他疾病，开发新的能源技术和保护我们的环境。你们将需要利用你们在历史学和社会学课堂上所获得的知识和独立思考能力来抗击贫困和解决无家可归问题，打击犯罪和消除歧视，使我们的国家更公平、更自由。你们将需要利用你们在所有课堂上培养的创造力和智慧来创办新公司，增加就业机会，振兴我们的经济。

We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks 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.我们需要你们每个人发挥你们的聪明才智和技能，以便帮助老一辈人解决我们面临的最棘手问题。如果你们不这样做，如果你们辍学，你们不仅仅是自暴自弃，也是抛弃自己的国家。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.我自然知道要做到学业优秀并非总是易事。我知道你们许多人在生活中面临挑战，难以集中精力从事学业。

I get it.I know what it’s like.My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t 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 didn’t fit in.我明白这一点。我有亲身感受。两岁时，我父亲离家而去，我是由一位单亲母亲抚养成人的，母亲不得不工作，并时常为支付生活费用而苦苦挣扎，但有时仍无法为我们提供其他孩子享有的东西。有时，我渴望生活中能有一位父亲。有时我感到孤独，感到自己不适应社会。So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I’m 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.我并非总是像我应该做到的那样专心学习，我也曾做过我如今不能引以为豪的一些事情，我曾惹过不应该惹的麻烦。我的人生原本会轻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 didn’t 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，我当年际遇不错。我有过许多第二次机会，我有幸能上大学，上法学院，追求自己的理想。我的妻子，我们的第一夫人米歇尔•奥巴马，也有着类似的经历。她的父母都未曾上过大学，家里很穷。但他们非常勤奋，她也是如此，因此她得以进入一些美国最好的学校。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.你们中有一些人可能没有那些有利条件。或许你们生活中没有成年人为你们提供你们所需要的支持。或许你们家中有人失业，经济非常拮据。或许你们生活在使你们感觉不安全的社区，或有朋友逼迫你们去做你们知道不对的事情。

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--none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school.That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school.There is no excuse for not trying.然而说到底，你们生活的环境、你们的肤色、你们的原籍、你们的经济收入、你们家中的境况等等，这一切都不能成为你们不用功或不努力的理由。你们没有理由不服从你们的老师、逃学、或辍学。没有理由不付出努力。

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up.No one’s written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny.You make your own future.你们目前的状况并不决定着你们的未来。没有人决定你们的命运，在美国，你们决定自己的命运。你们掌握自己的未来。That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.这就是像你们这样的年轻人每天都在做的事情，全美各地都是如此。

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas.Jazmin didn’t 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, on her way to becoming Dr.Jazmin Perez.来自得州罗马城的贾兹敏•佩雷斯（Jazmin Perez）就是一个例证，她刚开始上学时并不会说英文。她的父母都没有上过大学。然而，她非常勤奋，成绩优秀，获得了布朗大学的奖学金，她如今正在读研究生，攻读公共卫生专业，不久将成为贾兹敏•佩雷斯博士。I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three.He’s had to endure all sorts of treatments 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.He’s headed to college this fall.我想起了加州洛斯阿尔托斯城的安多尼•舒尔茨（Andoni Schultz），他从三岁开始就一直与脑癌进行抗争，他不得不忍受各类治疗和手术带来的痛苦，其中一项手术曾影响了他的记忆，因此他花在功课上的时间比一般人长得多，要多出数百个小时。然而，他从未落后。他今年秋季将迈进大学。And then there’s 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, and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.我还想起家乡伊利诺伊州芝加哥市的尚特尔•史蒂夫（Shantell Steve）。她曾在芝加哥最困难的社区生活，寄养于多个不同的家庭，但她最终在一家地方医疗中心找到工作，并开始了一项帮助年轻人远离流氓团伙的计划，她即将以优异成绩从中学毕业，紧接着将上大学。And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you.They face challenges in their lives just like you do.In some cases they’ve 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.贾兹敏、安多尼和尚特尔与你们中间的每个人没什么两样。跟你们一样，他们在生活中面临种种挑战。在某些情况下，他们的处境比起你们许多人更差。但他们拒绝放弃。他们决定要为自己的一生、自己的教育负起责任，为自己设定各项奋斗目标。我期待你们大家都会这样做。

That’s why today I’m 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 spending some time each day reading a book.Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community.Maybe you’ll 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 young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn.Maybe you’ll 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 don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.因此，我今天呼吁你们每一个人为自己的教育设定目标，并尽自己的最大努力来实现这些目标。你的目标可以是一件十分简单的事情，例如完成家庭作业、上课专心听讲、或每天花一点时间读一本书。也许你会决定要参加课外活动或在你的社区提供志愿服务。也许你会决定挺身而出保护那些因为身份或长相而受人戏弄或欺负的孩子，原因是你和我一样认为所有的年轻人都应该享有一个适合读书和学习的安全环境。也许你会决定更好地照料自己，以便有更充沛的精力来学习。顺便提一下，除了这些事情外，我希望大家要勤洗手，身体感到不舒服的时候要呆在家里不去上学，这样我们能防止人们在今年秋冬季节染上流感。But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it.I want you to really work at it.但无论你决定做什么，我希望你保证去做。我希望你脚踏实地地去做。

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 rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star.Chances are you’re not going to be any of those things.我知道有时候你会从电视上得到这样的印象：你不用做任何艰苦的工作就能发财致富并取得成功，唱小调、打篮球或成为真人秀明星是走向成功的途径。但实际情况是：你可能不会成为其中的一员。

The truth is, being successful is hard.You won’t love every subject that you study.You won’t click with every teacher that you have.Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute.And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.事实上，取得成功不是轻而易举的事情。你不会喜欢你学习的每一门课目。你不会与你的每一位老师都很投契。不是所有的家庭作业似乎都与你眼前的生活完全有关。你第一次尝试做每件事的时候，不一定成功。

That’s okay.Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures.J.K.Rowling’s--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 missed thousands of shots during his career.But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life.And that’s why I succeed.” 这些都没关系。世界上最成功的人士中有一些是遭遇失败最多的人。作者J•K•罗琳（J.K.Rowling）所写的系列小说《哈利•波特》（Harry Potter）第一部在获得出版之前被退稿12次。迈克尔•乔丹（Michael Jordan）曾被他的高中篮球队除名。在乔丹的篮球生涯中，他输过数百场比赛，有成千上万个球没有投中。但他曾说过：“在我的一生中，我失败了一次又一次、一次又一次。这就是我成功的原因。”

These people succeeded because they understood that you can’t 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 doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right.If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.这些人士获得成功，因为他们懂得：你不能让失败来限制你，而必须让失败来开导你。你必须让失败向你展示下次如何以不同的方式去做这件事情。因此，如果你遇到麻烦，那并不表示你是麻烦的制造者，而意味着你需要更加努力去把它做对。如果你有一门课分数低，那不表示你比别人笨，而只表示你需要花更多的时间学习。

No one’s born being good at all things.You become good at things through hard work.You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport.You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song.You’ve got to practice.The same principle applies to your schoolwork.You might have to do a math 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 it’s good enough to hand in.没有一个人天生擅长做各种事情。你通过勤奋而变得擅长于各种事情。第一次从事新的体育项目时，你不可能是一位主力队员。第一次唱一首歌曲时，你不可能唱准每个音。你必须练习。同样的道理适用于你的学业。你可能要把一道数学题做几次才把它做对。你可能要把一些材料阅读几遍才能理解。在交出一篇优美的作文之前，你肯定需要打几遍草稿。Don’t be afraid to ask questions.Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.I do that every day.Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and that then allows you to learn something new.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 on track to meet your goals.不要害怕提问。不要在需要帮助时害怕请求别人帮助。我天天请求别人的帮助。请求帮助不是软弱的表现，它是力量的标志，因为它表明你有勇气承认自己对某些事情不懂，这样做会使你学到新的东西。因此，请确定一位你信任的成年人，例如家长、祖父母或老师、教练或辅导员，请他们帮助你遵循既定计划实现你的目标。

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don’t ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.即使当你苦苦挣扎、灰心丧气、感到其他人对你不抱希望时，也不要对你自己丧失信心，因为当你自暴自弃时，你也抛弃了自己的国家。

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough.It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.书写美国历史的不是在困难时刻退缩的人，而是坚持不懈、加倍努力的人，他们对国家的爱促使他们全力以赴。

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation.Young people.Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war;who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon.Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google and Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.书写美国历史的是250年前坐在你们的位置上的学生，他们后来进行了独立战争并创建了这个国家。还有75年前坐在你们的位置上的年轻人和学生，他们走出了大萧条并打赢了一场世界大战；他们为民权而奋斗并把宇航员送上了月球。至于20年前坐在你们的位置上的学生，他们创办了谷歌（Google）、叽喳网（Twitter）和脸谱网（Facebook），改变了我们交流沟通的方式。

So today, I want to ask all of you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a President who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country? 而今天，我要问问你们大家，你们将做出什么贡献？你们将解决什么问题？你们将有什么发现？20年、50年或100年后来到这里讲话的总统将会怎样评价你们大家为这个国家所做的一切？

Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions.I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn.But you’ve got to do your part, too.So I expect all of you to get serious this year.I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do.I expect great things from each of you.So don’t let us down.Don’t let your family down or your country down.Most of all, don’t let yourself down.Make us all proud.你们的家人、你们的老师和我正在竭尽全力保证你们接受必要的教育，以便回答上述问题。我正在努力工作，以便你们的教室得到修缮，你们能够得到学习所需的课本、设备和电脑。但你们也必须尽自己的努力。因此，我希望你们大家从今年起认真对待这个问题。我希望你们尽最大努力做好每一件事。我希望你们每个人都有出色的表现。不要让我们失望。不要让你们的家人或你们的国家失望。而最重要的是，不要辜负你们自己，而要让我们都能[为你们]感到骄傲。Thank you very much, everybody.God bless you.God bless America.Thank you.(Applause.)非常感谢你们大家。愿主保佑你们。愿主保佑美国。谢谢你们。（掌声）

第五篇：奥巴马对学生的演讲稿

奥巴马对学生的演讲稿

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 we’ve got students 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！谢谢你们。谢谢你们。谢谢你们大家。好，大家请就坐。你们今天都好吗？(掌声)蒂姆·斯派塞(Tim Spicer)好吗？(掌声)我现在与弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿郡韦克菲尔德高中的学生们在一起。美国各地从小学预备班到中学12年级的学生正在收听收看。我很高兴大家今天都能参与。我还要感谢韦克菲尔德高中出色的组织安排。请为你们自己热烈鼓掌。(掌声)

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--(applause)--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 bit longer this morning.我知道，今天是你们很多人开学的日子。对于进入小学预备班、初中或高中的学生，今天是你们来到新学校的第一天，心里可能有点紧张，这是可以理解的。我能想象有些毕业班学生现在感觉很不错——(掌声)——还有一年就毕业了。不论在哪个年级，你们有些人可能希望暑假更长一点，今天早上还能多睡一小会儿。I know that feeling.When I was young, my family lived overseas.I lived in Indonesia for a few years.And my mother, she didn’t have the money 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.我了解这种感觉。我小时候，我们家生活在海外。我在印度尼西亚住了几年。我妈妈没有钱送我上其他美国孩子上的学校，但她认为必须让我接受美式教育。因此，她决定从周一到周五自己给我补课。不过她还要上班，所以只能在清晨四点半给我上课。

Now, as you might imagine, I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early.And 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 she’d say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”(Laughter.)

你们可以想见，我不太情愿那么早起床。有很多次，我趴在餐桌上就睡着了。但每当我抱怨的时候，我妈妈都会那样地看我一眼，然后说：“小子，这对我也并不轻松。”(笑声)

So I know that 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.我知道你们有些人还在适应开学后的生活。但我今天来到这里是因为有重要的事情要和你们说。我来这里是要和你们谈谈你们的教育问题，以及在这个新学年对你们所有人的期望。

Now, I’ve given a lot of speeches about education.And I’ve talked about responsibility a lot.我做过很多次有关教育问题的演讲。我多次谈到过责任问题。

I’ve talked about teachers’ responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.我谈到过教师激励学生并督促他们学习的责任。

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.我谈到过家长的责任，要确保你们走正路，完成家庭作业，不要整天坐在电视前或玩Xbox游戏。

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working, where students aren’t getting the opportunities that they deserve.我多次谈到过政府的责任，要制定高标准，支持教师和校长的工作，彻底改善不能为学生提供应有机会的、教育质量差的学校。

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 responsibilities, 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.That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.然而，即使我们拥有最敬业的教师，最尽力的家长和全世界最好的学校——如果你们大家不履行你们的责任，不到校上课，不专心听讲，不听家长、祖父祖母和其他大人的话，不付出取得成功所必须的勤奋努力，那么这一切都毫无用处，都无关紧要。这就是我今天讲话的重点：你们每个人对自己的教育应尽的责任。I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.Every single one of you has something that 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.我首先要讲讲你们对自己应尽的责任。你们每个人都有自己的长处。你们每个人都能做出自己的贡献。你们对自己应尽的责任是发现自己的能力所在。而教育能够提供这样的机会。

Maybe you could be a great writer--maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper--but you might not know it until you write that English paper--that English class paper that’s 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 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.你或许能成为一名出色的作家——甚至可能写书或在报纸上发表文章——但你可能要在完成那篇英文课的作文后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名创新者或发明家——甚至可能设计出新一代iPhone或研制出新型药物或疫苗——但你可能要在完成科学课的实验后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名市长或参议员或最高法院的大法官——但你可能要在参加学生会的工作或辩论队后才会发现自己的才华。

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 cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job.You’ve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.不论你的生活志向是什么，我敢肯定你必须上学读书才能实现它。你想当医生、教师或警官吗？你想当护士、建筑师、律师或军人吗？你必须接受良好的教育，才能从事上述任何一种职业。你不能指望辍学后能碰上个好工作。你必须接受培训，为之努力，为之学习。

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.The future of America depends on you.What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.这并非只对你个人的人生和未来意义重大。可以毫不夸大地说，教育给你带来的益处将决定这个国家的未来。美国的未来取决于你们。你们今日在校学习的知识将决定我们作为一个国家是否能够迎接我们未来所面临的最严峻挑战。

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.你们将需要利用你们通过自然科学和数学课程所学到的知识和解决问题的能力来治愈癌症、艾滋病及其他疾病，开发新的能源技术和保护我们的环境。你们将需要利用你们在历史学和社会学课堂上所获得的知识和独立思考能力来抗击贫困和解决无家可归问题，打击犯罪和消除歧视，使我们的国家更公平、更自由。你们将需要利用你们在所有课堂上培养的创造力和智慧来创办新公司，增加就业机会，振兴我们的经济。

We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks 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.www.xiexiebang.com 我们需要你们每个人发挥你们的聪明才智和技能，以便帮助老一辈人解决我们面临的最棘手问题。如果你们不这样做，如果你们辍学，你们不仅仅是自暴自弃，也是抛弃自己的国家。

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.我自然知道要做到学业优秀并非总是易事。我知道你们许多人在生活中面临挑战，难以集中精力从事学业。I get it.I know what it’s like.My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t 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 didn’t fit in.我明白这一点。我有亲身感受。两岁时，我父亲离家而去，我是由一位单亲母亲抚养成人的，母亲不得不工作，并时常为支付生活费用而苦苦挣扎，但有时仍无法为我们提供其他孩子享有的东西。有时，我渴望生活中能有一位父亲。有时我感到孤独，感到自己不适应社会。

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I’m 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.我并非总是像我应该做到的那样专心学习，我也曾做过我如今不能引以为豪的一些事情，我曾惹过不应该惹的麻烦。我的人生原本会轻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 didn’t 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，我当年际遇不错。我有过许多第二次机会，我有幸能上大学，上法学院，追求自己的理想。我的妻子，我们的第一夫人米歇尔?奥巴马，也有着类似的经历。她的父母都未曾上过大学，家里很穷。但他们非常勤奋，她也是如此，因此她得以进入一些美国最好的学校。

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.你们中有一些人可能没有那些有利条件。或许你们生活中没有成年人为你们提供你们所需要的支持。或许你们家中有人失业，经济非常拮据。或许你们生活在使你们感觉不安全的社区，或有朋友逼迫你们去做你们知道不对的事情。

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--none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school.That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school.There is no excuse for not trying.然而说到底，你们生活的环境、你们的肤色、你们的原籍、你们的经济收入、你们家中的境况等等，这一切都不能成为你们不用功或不努力的理由。你们没有理由不服从你们的老师、逃学、或辍学。没有理由不付出努力。

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up.No one’s written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny.You make your own future.你们目前的状况并不决定着你们的未来。没有人决定你们的命运，在美国，你们决定自己的命运。你们掌握自己的未来。

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.这就是像你们这样的年轻人每天都在做的事情，全美各地都是如此。Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas.Jazmin didn’t 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, on her way to becoming Dr.Jazmin Perez.来自得州罗马城的贾兹敏?佩雷斯(Jazmin Perez)就是一个例证，她刚开始上学时并不会说英文。她的父母都没有上过大学。然而，她非常勤奋，成绩优秀，获得了布朗大学的奖学金，她如今正在读研究生，攻读公共卫生专业，不久将成为贾兹敏?佩雷斯博士。

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three.He’s had to endure all sorts of treatments 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.He’s headed to college this fall.我想起了加州洛斯阿尔托斯城的安多尼?舒尔茨(Andoni Schultz)，他从三岁开始就一直与脑癌进行抗争，他不得不忍受各类治疗和手术带来的痛苦，其中一项手术曾影响了他的记忆，因此他花在功课上的时间比一般人长得多，要多出数百个小时。然而，他从未落后。他今年秋季将迈进大学。

And then there’s 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, and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.我还想起家乡伊利诺伊州芝加哥市的尚特尔?史蒂夫(Shantell Steve)。她曾在芝加哥最困难的社区生活，寄养于多个不同的家庭，但她最终在一家地方医疗中心找到工作，并开始了一项帮助年轻人远离流氓团伙的计划，她即将以优异成绩从中学毕业，紧接着将上大学。

And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you.They face challenges in their lives just like you do.In some cases they’ve 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.www.xiexiebang.com

贾兹敏、安多尼和尚特尔与你们中间的每个人没什么两样。跟你们一样，他们在生活中面临种种挑战。在某些情况下，他们的处境比起你们许多人更差。但他们拒绝放弃。他们决定要为自己的一生、自己的教育负起责任，为自己设定各项奋斗目标。我期待你们大家都会这样做。

That’s why today I’m 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 spending some time each day reading a book.Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community.Maybe you’ll 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 young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn.Maybe you’ll 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 don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.因此，我今天呼吁你们每一个人为自己的教育设定目标，并尽自己的最大努力来实现这些目标。你的目标可以是一件十分简单的事情，例如完成家庭作业、上课专心听讲、或每天花一点时间读一本书。也许你会决定要参加课外活动或在你的社区提供志愿服务。也许你会决定挺身而出保护那些因为身份或长相而受人戏弄或欺负的孩子，原因是你和我一样认为所有的年轻人都应该享有一个适合读书和学习的安全环境。也许你会决定更好地照料自己，以便有更充沛的精力来学习。顺便提一下，除了这些事情外，我希望大家要勤洗手，身体感到不舒服的时候要呆在家里不去上学，这样我们能防止人们在今年秋冬季节染上流感。

But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it.I want you to really work at it.但无论你决定做什么，我希望你保证去做。我希望你脚踏实地地去做。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 rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star.Chances are you’re not going to be any of those things.我知道有时候你会从电视上得到这样的印象：你不用做任何艰苦的工作就能发财致富并取得成功，唱小调、打篮球或成为真人秀明星是走向成功的途径。但实际情况是：你可能不会成为其中的一员。

The truth is, being successful is hard.You won’t love every subject that you study.You won’t click with every teacher that you have.Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute.And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.事实上，取得成功不是轻而易举的事情。你不会喜欢你学习的每一门课目。你不会与你的每一位老师都很投契。不是所有的家庭作业似乎都与你眼前的生活完全有关。你第一次尝试做每件事的时候，不一定成功。

That’s okay.Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures.J.K.Rowling’s--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 missed thousands of shots during his career.But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life.And that’s why I succeed.”

这些都没关系。世界上最成功的人士中有一些是遭遇失败最多的人。作者J?K?罗琳(J.K.Rowling)所写的系列小说《哈利?波特》(Harry Potter)第一部在获得出版之前被退稿12次。迈克尔?乔丹(Michael Jordan)曾被他的高中篮球队除名。在乔丹的篮球生涯中，他输过数百场比赛，有成千上万个球没有投中。但他曾说过：“在我的一生中，我失败了一次又一次、一次又一次。这就是我成功的原因。” These people succeeded because they understood that you can’t 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 doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right.If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.这些人士获得成功，因为他们懂得：你不能让失败来限制你，而必须让失败来开导你。你必须让失败向你展示下次如何以不同的方式去做这件事情。因此，如果你遇到麻烦，那并不表示你是麻烦的制造者，而意味着你需要更加努力去把它做对。如果你有一门课分数低，那不表示你比别人笨，而只表示你需要花更多的时间学习。

No one’s born being good at all things.You become good at things through hard work.You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport.You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song.You’ve got to practice.The same principle applies to your schoolwork.You might have to do a math 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 it’s good enough to hand in.没有一个人天生擅长做各种事情。你通过勤奋而变得擅长于各种事情。第一次从事新的体育项目时，你不可能是一位主力队员。第一次唱一首歌曲时，你不可能唱准每个音。你必须练习。同样的道理适用于你的学业。你可能要把一道数学题做几次才把它做对。你可能要把一些材料阅读几遍才能理解。在交出一篇优美的作文之前，你肯定需要打几遍草稿。

Don’t be afraid to ask questions.Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.I do that every day.Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and that then allows you to learn something new.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 on track to meet your goals.不要害怕提问。不要在需要帮助时害怕请求别人帮助。我天天请求别人的帮助。请求帮助不是软弱的表现，它是力量的标志，因为它表明你有勇气承认自己对某些事情不懂，这样做会使你学到新的东西。因此，请确定一位你信任的成年人，例如家长、祖父母或老师、教练或辅导员，请他们帮助你遵循既定计划实现你的目标。

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don’t ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.即使当你苦苦挣扎、灰心丧气、感到其他人对你不抱希望时，也不要对你自己丧失信心，因为当你自暴自弃时，你也抛弃了自己的国家。

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough.It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.书写美国历史的不是在困难时刻退缩的人，而是坚持不懈、加倍努力的人，他们对国家的爱促使他们全力以赴。It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation.Young people.Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war;who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon.Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google and Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.书写美国历史的是250年前坐在你们的位置上的学生，他们后来进行了独立战争并创建了这个国家。还有75年前坐在你们的位置上的年轻人和学生，他们走出了大萧条并打赢了一场世界大战；他们为民权而奋斗并把宇航员送上了月球。至于20年前坐在你们的位置上的学生，他们创办了谷歌(Google)、叽喳网(Twitter)和脸谱网(Facebook)，改变了我们交流沟通的方式。

So today, I want to ask all of you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a President who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country? 而今天，我要问问你们大家，你们将做出什么贡献？你们将解决什么问题？你们将有什么发现？20年、50年或100年后来到这里讲话的总统将会怎样评价你们大家为这个国家所做的一切？

Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions.I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn.But you’ve got to do your part, too.So I expect all of you to get serious this year.I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do.I expect great things from each of you.So don’t let us down.Don’t let your family down or your country down.Most of all, don’t let yourself down.Make us all proud.你们的家人、你们的老师和我正在竭尽全力保证你们接受必要的教育，以便回答上述问题。我正在努力工作，以便你们的教室得到修缮，你们能够得到学习所需的课本、设备和电脑。但你们也必须尽自己的努力。因此，我希望你们大家从今年起认真对待这个问题。我希望你们尽最大努力做好每一件事。我希望你们每个人都有出色的表现。不要让我们失望。不要让你们的家人或你们的国家失望。而最重要的是，不要辜负你们自己，而要让我们都能[为你们]感到骄傲。Thank you very much, everybody.God bless you.God bless America.Thank you.(Applause.)非常感谢你们大家。愿主保佑你们。愿主保佑美国。谢谢你们。(掌声)