奥巴马在开学第一课上的演讲词(中英文对照)
Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? How about Tim Spicer? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through twelfth grade. I'm 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.
大家好！谢谢你们，谢谢。谢谢大家。好，大家请就座。你们今天都好吗？蒂姆·斯派塞好吗？我现在与弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿郡韦维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。我很高兴今天大家都能参与。我还要感谢韦克菲尔德高中出的组织安排，请为你们自己热烈鼓掌。
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 f
eeling 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，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，还有一年就毕业了。不论在哪个年级，你们有些人可能希望现在还在放暑假，今天早上还能再多睡一小会儿。
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother 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。小时候，我们家生活在海外。我在印度尼西亚住过几年，而我妈妈没钱送我去其他美国孩子上的学校，但她认为必须让我接受美式教育。因此她决定每周一到周五自
times of your life
己给我补课。不过因为她还要上班，所以只能在清晨4点半给我上课。
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."
显然，我不怎么喜欢那么早就爬起来，很多时候，我就这么趴在厨房的桌子上睡着了。每当我抱怨的时候，我妈妈总会用同一副表情看着我说：“小子，我也不轻松啊！”
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，我可以理解你们中的许多人对于开学还需要时间来调整适应，但今天我站在这里，是为了和你们谈一些重要的事情。我要和你们谈一谈你们每个人的教育，以及在新的学年里，你们应当做些什么。
Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.
我做过许多关于教育的讲话，也常常谈到“责任”这个词。
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.
我谈到过家长们有责任看管你们认真学习、完成作业，不要成天只会看电视或打游戏机。
I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
我谈到过教师们有责任激励和启迪你们，督促你们学习。
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.
我也多次谈到过政府有责任设定高标准，协助老师和校长们的工作，改变有些学校里学生得不到应有学习机会的现状。
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.
但哪怕这一切都达到最好，哪怕我们有最尽职的教师、最好的家长和最优秀的学校，假如你们不去履行自己的责任的话，那么这一切努力都会白费——除非你每天准时去上学，除非你认真听老师讲课，除非你把父母、长辈和其他大人说的话放在心上，除非你肯付出成功所必需的努力，否则这一切都会失去意义。
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.
而这就是我今天讲话的主题：对于自己的教育，你们中每一个人应该承担的责任。首先，我想谈谈你们对于自己有什么责任。
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.
你们中的每一个人都会有自己擅长的东西。每一个人都是有用之材。而发现自己的才能是什么，就是你们要对自己担起的责任。教育给你们提供了发现自己才能的机会。
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.