*夜晚聆聽_浪漫_日記

我本來是想掃描上來，不過實在太大張了...

所以這是在網路找到的，這篇歐巴馬的演講真是鼓舞人心～

很值得看的一篇文章

推給大家分享～

但是很長唷，請耐心點看^^(我是自己先看過英文在看中文啦。)

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，謝謝你們！你們今天過得好嗎？我現在正和維吉尼亞州阿靈頓市的Wakefield高中學生在一起，我們也有全美國各地的幼稚園到高中學生，也在收看現場轉播。

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，你們大部分的人今天是第一天上學，你們一部分的幼稚園、或初中、或高中生，也是第一天到一所新學校，所以當然會有些緊張。我想有些高中四年級學生會覺得很高興，因為還有一年就要畢業了。不論你是哪個年級，你們有些人可能希望暑假更長一點，今天早上還能多睡一會兒。

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she 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.

我了解這種感覺。我小時候住在海外。我在印尼住了幾年。我媽媽沒有錢送我去美國學校就讀，但她認為我繼續接受美國教育是很重要，因此，她決定從週一到週五自己給我上課。不過她還要上班，所以只能在清晨四點半給我上課。

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.)

你們可以想見，我不太情願那麼早起床。有很多次，我都趴在餐桌上睡著了。但每當我抱怨的時候，我媽媽都會看我一眼，然後説：「小子，這對我也並不輕鬆。」

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.

所以我可以理解你們有些人還在適應開學後的生活。但我今天來到這裡是因為有重要的事情要和你們討論。我來這裡是要和你們談談你們的教育問題，以及在這個新學年對你們所有人的期望。

Now, I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked about responsibility a lot.

我做過很多次有關教育問題的演講。我多次談到過責任問題。

I've talked about teachers' responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.

我談到過教師激勵學生並督促他們學習的責任。

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.

我談到過家長的責任，要確保你們走正路，完成家庭作業，不要整天坐在電視前或玩Xbox遊戲。

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.

我多次談到過政府的責任，要制定高標準，支援教師和校長的工作，徹底改善不能為學生提供應有機會的、教育品質差的學校。

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，即使我們擁有最敬業的教師，最盡力的家長和全世界最好的學校。

如果你們大家不履行你們的責任，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，那麼這一切都毫無用處，都無關緊要。這就是我今天演講的重點：你們每個人對自己的教育應盡的責任。

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.

我首先要講講你們對自己應盡的責任。你們每個人都有自己的長處。你們每個人都能做出自己的貢獻。你們對自己應盡的責任是發現自己的能力所在。而教育能夠提供這樣的機會。

Maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper -- but you might 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.

你或許能成為一名出色的作家，甚至可能寫書或在報紙上發表文章，但你可能要在完成那篇英文課的作文後才會發現自己的才華。你或許能成為一名創新者或發明家，甚至可能設計出新一代iPhone或研製出新型藥物或疫苗，但你可能要在完成科學課的實驗後才會發現自己的才華。

你或許能成為一名市長或參議員或最高法院的大法官，但你可能要在參加學生會的工作或辯論社後才會發現自己的才華。

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.

不論你此生想要做什麼，我敢肯定你必須受過教育才做得到。

你想當醫生、教師或警官嗎？你想當護士、建築師、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。你不能指望輟學後能碰上個好工作。你必須接受訓練，努力以赴，勤奮學習。

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.

這並非只對你個人的人生和未來意義重大。

你受教育的成果將決定這個國家的未來，美國的未來取決於你們。你們今日在校學習的知識將決定我們這個國家將來是否能夠面對最嚴峻的挑戰。

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.

你們將需要利用你們在自然科學和數學課程所學到的知識和解決問題的能力來治愈癌症、愛滋病及其他疾病，開發新的能源技術和保護我們的環境。

你們將需要利用你們在歷史學和社會課所獲得的知識和獨立思考的能力來對抗貧困和遊民，犯罪和歧視，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的創造力和智慧來創辦新公司，增加就業機會，振興我們的經濟。

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.

我們需要你們每個人發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，你們不僅僅是自暴自棄，也是拋棄自己的國家。

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.

我自然知道要做到學業優秀並非總是易事。我知道你們許多人在生活中面臨挑戰，難以集中精力從事學業。

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.

我明白這一點，我有親身感受。兩歲時，我父親離家而去，我是由一位單親母親撫養成人的，母親不得不工作，並時常為支付生活費用而苦苦掙扎，但有時仍無法為我們提供其他孩子享有的東西。有時，我渴望生活中能有一位父親，有時我感到孤獨，感到自己不適應社會。

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.

我並非總是像我應該做到的那樣專心學習，我也曾做過我如今不能引以為豪的一些事情，我曾惹過不應該惹的麻煩。我的人生原本會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 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，我當年際遇不錯。我有過許多第二次機會，我有幸能上大學，上法學院，追求自己的理想。我的妻子，我們的第一夫人米歇爾‧歐巴馬，也有著類似的經歷。她的父母都未曾上過大學，家裏很窮。但他們非常勤奮 ，她也是如此，因此她得以進入一些美國最好的學校。