奧巴馬給全美中小學生上的開學第一課

你每天不論刮風下雨都堅持去上學，犧牲玩耍時間完成家庭作業，“頭懸梁錐刺股”般地復習準備各種考試……你是否也曾懷疑過這樣做到底意義何在，甚至產生過放棄的念頭？讀完下面這篇演講，相信你會找到上學的意義和堅持下去的動力。

I know that for many of you， today is the first day of school. And for those of you 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 bit longer this morning.

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，對你們很多人來說，今天是開學的第一天。而對于你們當中那些剛上初中或高中的同學來說，今天是你們來到新學校的第一天，因此，如果你們有點緊張也是可以理解的。我想那邊有些高中生現在肯定感覺很不錯，因為再過一年你們就畢業了。不管你們在上幾年級，你們中有些人可能希望現在還是暑假，那樣今天早上你們就可以多睡一會兒懶覺了。

因此我知道你們有些人還在適應返校后的生活。但今天我來到這里，是因為有些重要的事情要和大家一起討論。我來到這里，就是想和大家聊聊教育的問題，聊聊在這個新學年對你們大家有哪些期望。

Fulfill Your Responsibilities 恪盡職責

Now， I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked about responsibility a lot. I've talked about teachers' responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn. I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track1)， and you get your homework done， and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox2).

But at the end of the day， we can have the most dedicated3) 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.

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.

Maybe you could be a great writer， but you might not know it until you write that English class paper that's assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor， but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator4) or a Supreme Court justice， but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life， I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. 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.

到目前為止，我已就教育問題做過多次演講。我多次談論過職責問題，談論過教師的職責，那就是激勵學生，督促你們學習；也談論過父母的職責，那就是確保你們走正道、做好家庭作業，不要整天除了睡覺就是看電視或者玩Xbox游戲機。

但是最終，我們可以有世界上最敬業的老師、最支持你們的家長、最好的學校，但如果你們每個人都不履行自己的職責，不到校學習，不認真聽老師講課，不聽父母、祖父母或其他成年人的話，不付出成功所需要的努力，那么所有這一切都將無濟于事、無關緊要。這也正是我今天要重點談論的話題，即你們每個人為自己的教育所要承擔的責任。

我想從你們對自身的責任談起。你們每個人都有自己的長處，都有可以奉獻的東西。你們對自己都有一種責任，那就是找出自己身上的這種東西。而教育恰好可以提供這種機會。

也許你可以成為一名大作家，但在你寫出老師布置的那篇英語課論文之前，你或許并不知曉；也許你可以成為一名革新者或發明家，但在你完成科學課程設計之前，你或許并不知曉；也許你可以成為市長、參議員或最高法院的大法官，但在你加入學生會或者辯論隊之前，你或許并不知曉。

不管你這一生想要做什么，我保證你都需要接受教育才能去做。你不可能輟了學就剛好能找到份好工作。要找到好工作，你必須接受訓練、刻苦努力并且不斷學習。

No Excuse for Not Trying 沒借口不去嘗試

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.

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.

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.

But 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.

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.

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.

我知道，要在學校取得好成績并不容易。我知道你們許多人在生活中都面臨著各種挑戰，使你們很難集中精力攻克學業。

我明白的。我知道你們的處境。在我兩歲的時候，我父親就離開了家，我是由單親媽媽帶大的。她不得不工作，有時候連支付各種賬單都很困難，別的孩子有的東西，她也不能總是一樣不差地買給我們。那時，我懷念生命中有父親相伴的日子，也有過感到孤獨、覺得自己與周圍的環境格格不入的時候。

所以我那時也不總是專注于我的學業，像我應該做到的那樣。我也做過一些令我無法引以為傲的事情，也曾遇到過很多不該有的麻煩。我的生活隨時都有可能朝著更壞的方向發展。

但我是幸運的，我得到了許多再來一次的機會。我有機會上了大學，上了法學院，追逐自己的夢想。

你們有些人也許并沒有這些有利條件。在你們的生活中，也許沒有成年人為你們提供所需的支持。在你們家里，也許有人丟了工作，經濟非常拮據。也許你所居住的居民區讓你沒有安全感，或者你有一些朋友在強迫你去做一些你明知道不對的事情。

但歸根結底，生活境況——你的相貌好壞、你的出身高低、你的錢財多寡、你家的情況——一切的一切，都不能成為你疏忽學業、態度惡劣的借口。你沒有任何借口可以和老師頂嘴、翹課或者放棄學業，沒有任何借口可以不去嘗試。

Set Your Own Goals 確立自己的目標

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you， because you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

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. But whatever you resolve to do， I want you to commit to5) it. I want you to really work at it.

你現在所處的境況左右不了你將來的成就。沒有人替你書寫命運，因為你的命運要由你自己來書寫。你的未來要由你自己來創造。

因此，今天我呼吁各位明確自己來上學的目標，然后竭盡所能去實現這些目標。你的目標可以非常簡單，比如完成所有的家庭作業、上課注意聽講或者每天花時間讀一本書等等。或許你決定要參加某項課外活動或在你的社區做一名志愿者。或許你決定在某些孩子因出身或相貌遭受戲弄或欺侮時挺身而出，因為你和我一樣堅信，所有的年輕人都需要一個安全的學習環境。或許你決定要對自己更好一點，從而以更好的狀態學習。但不管你決心要做什么，我都希望你能做出承諾。我希望你能全力以赴。

Let Your Failures Teach You 以失敗為良師

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.

The truth is， being successful is hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won't click6) 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.

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.\"

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.

我知道，有的時候你會從電視節目中得到這樣一種印象，那就是一個人不用做任何努力就可以發家致富、功成名就——你認為通往成功的入場券就是練練饒舌藝術、玩玩籃球或者成為電視真人秀明星。而實際上，你們十有八九都不會從事其中任何這樣的工作。

事實是，成功來之不易。你不可能喜歡你所學的每一門課，也不可能和教你的每一位老師都投緣。并非每一次家庭作業都和你此時此刻的人生完全有關。第一次的嘗試也未必都能成功。

這很正常。在這個世界上，有些最為成功的人往往就是失敗次數最多的人。比如J. K. 羅琳，她的第一部《哈利·波特》在最終得以出版前曾被退稿12次。邁克爾·喬丹在中學時曾被校籃球隊除名。在他的籃球生涯中，他曾輸掉過幾百場比賽，也曾數千次投籃不中。但他曾說過：“我這輩子曾一而再、再而三地失敗過，而這就是我成功的原因。”

這些人之所以成功是因為他們懂得一個道理：不能讓失敗來詮釋你的人生，而要讓失敗成為你的良師。你必須讓失敗告訴你下一次要做出怎樣的改變。所以，如果你有了麻煩，那并不意味著你就是一個只會招惹麻煩的人，而是意味著你下次要更加努力，把事情做好。如果你成績差，那并不意味著你比別人笨，而只是意味著你要花更多的時間來學習。

Never Give up on Yourself 永遠不要自暴自棄

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.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. 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.

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.

沒有人生來就無所不能。只有通過刻苦努力，你才會變得有所專長。沒有誰第一次接觸一項新運動就能進入校隊參加比賽，沒有誰第一次唱歌就能把所有的音符都唱準，必須要勤學苦練才行。同樣的道理也適用于你的家庭作業。一道數學題你也許要做很多遍才能解開。某些文字你也許要讀上很多遍才能領會其含義。一篇論文，你肯定要打過幾遍草稿才能定稿上交。

不要害怕提出問題。在你需要幫助的時候，不要害怕尋求幫助。尋求幫助不是懦弱的標志，而是力量的象征，因為這表明遇到不懂的地方你敢于承認，這樣你才能有機會學習新知識。因此，找一個你信得過的成年人——父母、祖父母、老師、教練或者輔導員——請他們幫助你，讓你不走彎路，實現你的目標。

即使在你苦苦掙扎的時候，即使在你心灰意冷、感到別人都對你不抱希望的時候，也永遠不要自暴自棄。

1.on track: (行動、思想等)在正確的軌道上的

2.Xbox: 家用游戲主機，由世界上最大的電腦軟件公司微軟公司開發和銷售。

3.dedicated [?ded?ke?t?d] adj. 獻身的；一心一意的

4.senator [?sen?t?(r)] n. 參議員

5.commit to: 做出承諾

6.click [kl?k] vi. (一見面就)合得來