最后一天的英文奥巴马演讲我们为什么上学-中英对照-why we go to school

2021年1月19日发(作者：论文摘要翻译)
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,

is
no
picnic
for
me
either,
buster.
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