奥巴马开学演讲2009-2010
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release September 8, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN A NATIONAL ADDRESS TO AMERICA'S SCHOOLCHILDREN
Wakefield High School
Arlington, Virginia
12:06 P.M. EDT
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.)
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.
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.
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.) 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.
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 track, and you get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.
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.
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.
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 -- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -- 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.
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.
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.
That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
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 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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
12:22 P.M. EDT
美国总统奥巴马20xx年开学励志演讲
转自[英美者]-英语专业网站：
美国总统奥巴马开学演讲英语演讲稿。这是奥巴马第二次发表开学演讲。奥巴马20xx年的演讲招来了许多批评和抵制。一些反对者指责称，奥巴马试图通过演讲向学生灌输政治理念。部分媒体还批评奥巴马试图建立个人崇拜。在美国各地，也有许多家长向当地教育官员表示抗议，一些家长甚至威胁在奥巴马演讲时把孩子离教室。有了去年的“教训”，今年的总统开学演讲，白宫意强调这是一次“非政治活动”，而奥巴马本人也在演讲中回避政治话题。
Thank you! Hello! (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. Well, hello, Philadelphia! (Applause.) And hello, Masterman. It is wonderful to see all of you. What a terrific introduction by Kelly. Give Kelly a big round of applause. (Applause.) I was saying backstage that when I was in high school, I could not have done that. (Laughter.) I would have muffed it up somehow. So we are so proud of you and everything that you’ve done. And to all the students here, I’m thrilled to be here.
谢谢！你们好！（掌声。）谢谢。谢谢。你好，费城！（掌声。）你好，马斯特曼。见到你们真是太好了。Kelly的介绍真是太棒了。让我们对Kelly报以热烈的掌声。在后台的时候我说，我上高中的时候我就做不这么好，我可能会弄的一团糟。所以让我们为你和你做的一切自豪吧。站在这里我很激动。
kelly 在奥巴马总统演讲前，一名叫Kelly的学生做了演讲。
backstage n.后台
muff v.笨拙地处理，将事情弄糟
thrilled a.激动的
We’ve got a couple introductions I want to make. First of all, you’ve got the outstanding governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, in the house. (Applause.) The mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, is here. (Applause.) Congressman Chaka Fattah is here. (Applause.) Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz is here. (Applause.) Your own principal, Marge Neff, is here. (Applause.) The school superintendent, Arlene Ackerman, is here and doing a great job. (Applause.) And the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, is here. (Applause.)
我想介绍几个人。首先，来到这儿的有，杰出的宾夕法尼亚州州长， Ed Rendell。（掌声。）费城市长，Michael Nutter。国会议员Fattah和Allyson Schwartz（掌声）。你们的校长Marge Neff（掌声）。学校管理人Arlene Ackerman是这个学校的，并且为学校做了很大的贡献。（掌声）。还有教育部秘书长Arne Duncan。（掌声）
outstanding a.杰出的
Congressman n.国会议员
principal n.校长
superintendent n.院长
And I am here. (Applause.) And I am thrilled to be here. I am just so excited. I’ve heard such great things about what all of you are doing, both the students and the teachers and the staff here.
还有我。（掌声），我感到非常的激动。我耳闻了你们做的那些伟大的事，这里面有在校的学生，老师和工作人员。
Today is about welcoming all of you, and all of America’s students, back to school, even though I know you’ve been in school for a little bit now. And I can’t think of a better place to do it than at Masterman. (Applause.) Because you are one of the best schools in Philadelphia. You are a leader in helping students succeed in the classroom. Just last week, you were recognized by a National Blue Ribbon -- as a National Blue Ribbon School because of your record of achievement. And that is a testament to everybody here –- to the students, to the parents, to the teachers, to the school leaders. It’s an example of excellence that I hope communities across America can embrace.
今天欢迎你们，欢迎每一个美国学生回校上课，当然你们在学校已经呆了一段时间了。我想不出除了在Masterman外，还有哪个地方更适合做这件事。（掌声）因为你们是费城最好的学校之一。你们在教育方面是领头军。就在上周，由于你们的卓越贡献，被授为国家蓝丝带勋章。这是对每个人的见证，对学生，家长，老师还有学校领导人。我希望全美的社会团体都能欣然接受这个杰出代表的例子。
embrace vt.拥抱；接受
Over the past few weeks, Michelle and I have been getting Sasha and Malia ready for school. And they’re excited about it. I’ll bet they had the same feelings that you do -- you’re a little sad to see the summer go, but you’re also excited about the possibilities of a new year. The possibilities of building new friendships and strengthening old ones, of joining a school club, or trying out for a team. The possibilities of growing into a better student and a better person and making not just your family proud but making yourself proud.
几周前，我和Michelle为Sasha和Malia上学的事做准备。她们两个对这非常的期待。我敢打赌她们和你们一样，有着相同的感觉。你们为夏天的逝去而神伤，但是你们更应该期待新的一年。如你们可以结交新的朋友，加深同老朋友的感情，加入学校俱乐部，参加各种团队的选拔赛。成长为一个更优秀的学生和个人，不仅仅让你的家人自豪，同样让你们自己也很有成就感。
build friendships 结交新朋友
But I know some of you may also be a little nervous about starting a new school year. Maybe you’re making the jump from elementary to middle school, or from middle school to high school, and you’re worried about what that’s going to be like. Maybe you’re starting a new school. You’re not sure how you’ll like it, trying to figure out how you’re going to fit in. Or maybe you’re a senior, and you’re anxious about the whole college process; about where to apply and whether you can afford to go to college.
我知道，你们中有些人在新学年会有些紧张。或许你刚从小学升到初中，从初中升到高中，会担心，新的学年将会是什么样的呢。也许你进入一所新的学校，不知道是否会喜欢这个学校，想着怎么来融入这个学校。或许你到了高三年级，对整个的大学入学程序感到不安，比如申请那里的学校，能不能支付上大学的费用等等。
elementary school n.小学
figure out 想明白，弄清楚
fit in 融入，适应
afford to do 承担得起
And beyond all those concerns, I know a lot of you are also feeling the strain of some difficult times. You know what’s going on in the news and you also know what’s going on in some of your own families. You’ve read about the war in Afghanistan. You hear about the recession that we’ve been through. And sometimes maybe you’re seeing the worries in your parents’ faces or sense it in their voice.
除此之外，我知道你们还有来自困难时期的压力。你们知道新闻内容，知道你们一些家庭中发发生的事情。你们读过有关阿富汗战争的信息，听说过我们经历过的经济不景气。有时你们还看到了双亲脸上挂着的忧虑，或从他们的声音中感受到了这些。
strain n.压力
So a lot of you as a consequence, because we’re going through a tough time a country, are having to act a lot older than you are. You got to be strong for your family while your brother or sister is serving overseas, or you’ve got to look after younger siblings while your mom is working that second shift. Or maybe some of you who are little bit older, you’re taking on a part-time job while your dad’s out of work.
所以，因为我们国家面临困难时期，你们许多人的行为看上去比实际年龄要大。姐姐哥哥在海外工作，你们会表现得坚强，或许妈妈去值第二班，你们就要照顾年幼的弟弟妹妹。或许你们有些人年长一点的，父亲失了业，你们还要做兼职。
as a consequence 结果，所以
tough time 困难时期【tough a.艰难的】
sibling n.兄弟姐妹，同胞
shift n.轮班
And that’s a lot to handle. It’s more than you should have to handle. And it may make you wonder at times what your own future will look like, whether you’re going to be able to succeed in school, whether you should maybe set your sights a little lower, scale back your dreams.
有太多事情要做了，很多是你们不应该做的。这让你们迷茫，不知道自己的未来会是什么样，在学校能不能取得好成绩，是不是应该把目光降低些，把理想放低些。
handle v.处理，应对
scale back 缩减
But I came to Masterman to tell all of you what I think you’re hearing from your principal and your superintendent, and from your parents and your teachers: Nobody gets to write your destiny but you. Your future is in your hands. Your life is what you make of it. And nothing -- absolutely nothing -- is beyond your reach, so long as you’re willing to dream big, so long as you’re willing to work hard. So long as you’re willing to stay focused on your education, there is not a single thing that any of you cannot accomplish, not a single thing. I believe that.
但是，我来到马斯特曼，告诉你们一句话。我想这句话你们的校长、院长、父母以及老师都曾告诉过你们，那就是，没有人，只有你才能书写你自己的命运。未来在你自己手中，生活由自己缔造。只要志向远大，并努力为之奋斗，没有什么是不能得到的。只要你专注于学业，没有什么事不能实现的。我确信。
destiny n.命运
accomplish v.完成
And that last part is absolutely essential, that part about really working hard in school, because an education has never been more important than it is today. I’m sure there are going to be times in the months ahead when you’re staying up late doing your homework or cramming for a test, or you’re dragging yourself out of bed on a rainy morning and you’re thinking, oh, boy, I wish maybe it was a snow day. (Laughter.)
最后这一点，在学校努力奋斗是必要的。因为教育从未像现在这样重要。我确信，几个月后会有一段时间，你们会完善熬夜写作业，为考试临时抱佛脚，或者在一个雨天的早晨把自己从被窝里拖出来，想，哦天，怎么不是下雪天？！（笑）
absolutely ad.绝对地
cram v.临时抱佛脚；吃得过饱
But let me tell you, what you’re doing is worth it. There is nothing more important than what you’re doing right now. Nothing is going to have as great an impact on your success in life as your education, how you’re doing in school.
但是让我告诉你，你所做的一切都是值得的。你们现在要做的事情无比重要。没有什么比你的受教育程度以及你在学校的所做之事更能决定你的成功。
More and more, the kinds of opportunities that are open to you are going to be determined by how far you go in school. The farther you go in school, the farther you’re going to go in life. And at a time when other countries are competing with us like never before, when students around the world in Beijing, China, or Bangalore, India, are working harder than ever, and doing better than ever, your success in school is not just going to determine your success, it’s going to determine America’s success in the 21st century.
能否能抓住机遇，越来越取决于你们在学校的努力。你们在学校的表现越好，生活中就能走得越远。当今，其他国家正与我们竞争，而且比以往任何时候都激烈。在中国北京或者印度邦加罗尔的学生比以前更加努力，而且比以前表现更好。你们在学校的成功并不只决定了自己一人的成功，还决定了美国在21世界是否能够成功。
So you’ve got an obligation to yourselves, and America has an obligation to you, to make sure you’re getting the best education possible. And making sure you get that kind of education is going to take all of us working hard and all of us working hand in hand.
所以，你们要承担起这样的责任和义务。同时国家也向你们承担责任和义务，那就是为你们提供最好的教育，为此我们要努力，共同奋斗。
obligation n.责任，义务
It takes all of us in government -- from the governor to the mayor to the superintendent to the President -- all of us doing our part to prepare our students, all of them, for success in the classroom and in college and in a career. It’s going to take an outstanding principal, like Principal Neff, and outstanding teachers like the ones you have here at Masterman -- teachers who are going above and beyond the call of duty for their students. And it’s going to take parents who are committed to your education.
所有政府工作人员，从州长到市长，到院长，到总统，所有人都要履行职责为我们的学生做好准备，帮助他们在教室、在大学、在事业上取得成功。这就需要我们有一个杰出的校长，像校长Neff，和优秀的老师，正如你们的马斯特曼的老师们。老师们要履行好对学生所应担负起的责任。我也希望家长负起责任。
佳句欣赏
Nobody gets to write your destiny but you. Your future is in your hands. Your life is what you make of it.
没有人，只有你才能书写你自己的命运。未来在你自己手中，生活由自己缔造。
背景知识
这是奥巴马第二次发表开学演讲。奥巴马20xx年的演讲招来了许多批评和抵制。一些反对者指责称，奥巴马试图通过演讲向学生灌输政治理念。部分媒体还批评奥巴马试图建立个人崇拜。在美国各地，也有许多家长向当地教育官员表示抗议，一些家长甚至威胁在奥巴马演讲时把孩子离教室。有了去年的“教训”，今年的总统开学演讲，白宫意强调这是一次“非政治活动”，而奥巴马本人也在演讲中回避政治话题。