奧巴馬演講：我們為何讀書

Hello， everybody！ How is everybody doing today？ 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 the 12th grade. And I am just so glad that all could join us today.

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通過電視關注我們，我很高興你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， 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.

我知道，對你們中的許多人來說，今天是開學的第一天，你們中還有一些是剛剛進入幼兒園或升上初高中。對于你們，這是在新學校的第一天，因此，要是你們感到有些緊張，那也是很正常的。我想也會有許多畢業班的學生正自信滿滿地準備最后一年的沖刺。不過，我想無論你在讀哪個年級，許多人都打心底里希望現在還在放暑假，今天就不用那么早起床。

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

我明白這種心情。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上學的地方讀書，但她認為接受美式教育很重要，因此她決定自己給我補課——時間是每周一到周五的凌晨4點半，她要上班不得不選在這個時間。

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.”

顯然，你們能想象我不怎么喜歡那么早起床。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 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， I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve 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。

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

我談到過教師們有責任激勵你們，督促你們學習。

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.

我談到過家長們有責任看管你們認真學習、完成作業，不要成天只是看電視或打游戲機。

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.

我也多次談到過政府有責任設定高標準、支持老師和校長的工作，改變在有些學校里學生得不到應有的學習機會的情況。

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.

但哪怕這一切都做到最好，哪怕我們有最盡職的教師、最有支持力的家長和最優秀的學校，假如你們不去履行自己的責任，那么這一切努力都會白費。——除非你每天準時上學、認真聽講，把父母、長輩和其他大人說的話放在心上。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。而這就是我今天講話的主題：對于自己的教育，你們每一個人自己的責任。

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

首先，我想談談你們對于自己的責任。你們中的每一個人都會有自己的強項。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 not know it until you write that English 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 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——甚至設計出下一代的iPhone，或研制出新的藥物與疫苗——但假如不在自然科學課程上做實驗，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，但假如你不去加入學生會或參加辯論隊，你也不會發現自己這方面的才能。

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.

而且，我可以向你保證，不管你將來想要做什么，你都需要接受教育。你想當醫生、教師或警官？你想成為護士、成為建筑設計師、律師或軍人？無論你選擇哪一種職業，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，都需要訓練與學習。

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. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

這也不僅僅對于你們個人的未來有重要意義，你們的教育也會對這個國家的未來產生重要影響。今天你們在學校中學到的東西，將會決定我們整個國家在未來迎接重大挑戰時的表現。

Vocabulary

understandable adj. 可以理解的

inspire v. 激勵（現在分詞是inspiring）

innovator n. 創新者

Supreme Court 最高法院