We are big and vast and diverse, a nation of people with different backgrounds and beliefs, different experiences and stories but bound by the shared ideal that no matter who you are or what you look like, how you started off or how and who you love, America is a place where you can write your own destiny.

我们地域广大、幅员辽阔、多元多样，是一个由不同背景和信仰的人组成的国家，人们带着不同的经历和故事，但分享着共同的理想：不管你是谁或你看起来如何，你怎么开始或怎样爱人以及爱谁，美国都是一个你可以书写你自己命运的地方。

When something like Sony happens, people want to know what can government do about this. If information is being shared by terrorists in the cyber world and an attack happens, people want to know are there ways of stopping that from happening. By necessity, that means government has its own significant capabilities in the cyber world. But then people, rightly, ask, well, what safeguards do we have against government intruding on our own privacy? And it's hard, and it constantly evolves because the technology so often outstrips whatever rules and structures and standards have been put in place, which means that government has to be constantly self-critical and we have to be able to have an open debate about it.

当像索尼公司被黑这样的事件发生时，人们想知道政府能做些什么。如果信息被恐怖分子在网络世界中分享并且一场攻击发生时，人们想知道有没有方法阻止这一切。难免地，这意味着政府在网络世界里要有自己重要的能力。但那时，人们又会理所当然地问，嗯，又有什么能保障我们防止政府侵犯自己的隐私呢？这很难，因为它在不断地演变，往往超过了任何已到位的规则、体系和标准，这意味着政府必须不断地自我批评，并且必须能够对此有一个开放的辩论。

First, I've instructed Secretary Kerry to immediately begin discussions with Cuba to reestablish diplomatic relations that have been severed since January of 1961...

Second, I've instructed Secretary Kerry to review Cuba's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism...

Third, we are taking steps to increase travel, commerce, and the flow of information to and from Cuba. This is fundamentally about freedom and openness, and also expresses my belief in the power of people-to-people engagement...

首先，我已经指示国务卿克里立即开始讨论恢复与古巴自1961年1月就断绝的外交关系……

其次，我已经指示国务卿克里复查古巴被认定为“支持恐怖主义的国家”这一判断…

第三，我们正采取措施，增加往来古巴的旅游、商务和信息交流。这从根本上关乎自由与开放，同时也表达了我对人与人交往的力量的坚信。

First, we'll build on our progress at the border with additional resources for our law enforcement personnel so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings, and speed the return of those who do cross over.

Second, I'll make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy, as so many business leaders have proposed.

Third, we'll take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country...Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we're also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable —— especially those who may be dangerous.

首先，我们将我们的进展建立在给予执法部门以更多的资源上，使他们能够阻止非法越境的流动，并加速遣返那些非法越境的人。

其次，我将更轻便快捷地帮助高技能移民、毕业生和企业家停留于此并为我们的经济做出贡献，正如诸多的商界领袖们所倡导的那样。

再次，我们将采取措施，负责任地处理已经生活在我国的数百万非法移民……即便我们是一个移民国家，我们同时也是一个法制国家。无证工人违反了我们的移民法律，我相信，他们必须承担责任——特别是那些可能有危险性的无证工人。

And I want to repeat what I said earlier. If House Republicans are really concerned about me taking too many executive actions, the best solution to that is passing bills. Pass a bill; solve a problem. Don't just say no on something that everybody agrees needs to be done. Because if we pass a bill, that will supplant whatever I've done administratively. We'll have a structure there that works, and it will be permanent. And people can make plans and businesses can make plans based on the law. And there will be clarity both here inside this country and outside it.

我想重复我刚才所说的。如果共和党人真的担心我采取过多的行政措施，最好的解决方法就是通过法案。通过一项法案；解决一个问题。不要只是对每个人都同意要做的东西说不。因为如果我们通过一项法案，这将取代任何我所做的行政措施。我们将会有一个可行的框架，一个永久的行动框架。然后人们可以制定计划，企业可以依据法律做出计划。进而让它在这个国家内外都能清晰可行。

First: It's time for Congress to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun...

Second: Congress should restore a ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10-round limit for magazines...

And finally, Congress needs to help, rather than hinder, law enforcement as it does its job...

This will not happen unless the American people demand it. If parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, if hunters and sportsmen, if responsible gun owners, if Americans of every background stand up and say, enough; we've suffered too much pain and care too much about our children to allow this to continue —— then change will come. That's what it's going to take.

第一，国会是时候要求对任何试图买枪的人进行全面的背景检查…

第二，国会应该恢复对军用攻击性武器的禁令，和一个限数10发的弹匣…

最后，国会需要帮助，而不是阻碍，以执法作为它的工作…

除非美国人民要求，否则这一切将不会发生。如果家长和教师，警察和牧师，猎人和运动员，负责任的枪支所有者，各种背景的美国人都站起来说，够了；我们已经遭受了太多的痛苦，太在乎我们的孩子以至于不允许这种情况继续下去——那么久会有变化。这就是这一切的发生所需要的。

Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy. That won't change after tonight —— and it shouldn't.

一个三亿人口国家的民主可能是嘈杂的、混乱的和复杂的。我们有自己的意见。每个人有根深蒂固的信仰。当我们经历艰难时期时，当作为一个国家做出重大决定时，这必然会激发热情，也掀起争议。那点在今晚过后不会改变——也不应该改变。

I'm not talking about blind optimism —— the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight. I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us, so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.

我谈论的也不是一厢情愿的理想主义，那种让我们只是坐在一旁或逃避斗争的主义。我一直相信，希望就是我们内心倔强的坚持，尽管面对种种不利的证据，都坚信有更好的东西在等待着我们，只要我们有勇气继续前行，继续工作，继续战斗。

Now, I've cut taxes for those who need it —— middle-class families, small businesses —— but I don't believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our shores, or pay down our deficit. I don't believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete with the scientists and engineers coming out of China. After all we've been through, I don't believe that rolling back regulations on Wall Street will help the small businesswoman expand, or the laid-off construction worker keep his home. We have been there. We've tried that. And we're not going back. We are moving forward, America.

现在，我将为那些需要的人——中产阶级家庭、小企业——减税，但我不认为给百万富翁减税将我们境内带来好工作，或减少赤字。我不相信解雇教师或取消学生的财政援助将促使经济增长，或帮助我们与来自中国的科学家和工程师竞争。在我们经历了这些之后，我不相信中止对华尔街的管控将帮助小女企业主成长，或失业的建筑工人保住他的家。我们曾到过那样的境地。我们已经试过了。我们不能后退。美国，我们需要前进。

And so the highest honor we can pay those we lost, indeed our greatest weapon in this ongoing war, is to do what our adversaries fear the most —— to stay true to who we are, as Americans; to renew our sense of common purpose; to say that we define the character of our country, and we will not let the acts of some small band of murderers who slaughter the innocent and cower in caves distort who we are.

They doubted our will, but as Americans we persevere....For our cause is just. Our spirit is strong. Our resolve is unwavering. Like generations before us, let us come together today and all days to affirm certain inalienable rights, to affirm life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

所以我们可以给那些我们失去的人的最高荣誉，事实上也是我们正在进行的战争中的最强大的武器，就是做我们的敌人最害怕的——忠于我们是谁，忠于作美国人；重申我们的共同目标；表明我们界定我国的性格，以及我们不会让一小撮滥杀无辜且蜷缩在洞穴的凶手，扭曲了我们是谁。

他们怀疑我们的意志，但是作为美国人，我们坚持我们的事业因为它是正义的。我们的精神是强大的。我们的决心是坚定不移的。像我们之前的几代人那样，让我们在今天及以后都走到一起，去庄严肯定那些不可剥夺的权利：生命、自由以及对幸福的追求。

As futuristic and, let's face it, as cool as some of this stuff is, as much as we are planning for America's future, this partnership is about new, cutting-edge ideas to create new jobs, spark new breakthroughs, reinvigorate American manufacturing today. Right now. Not somewhere off in the future —— right now…It's about making sure our workers and businesses have the skills and the tools they need to compete better, faster, and smarter than anybody else.

让我们面对它吧，未来感和酷劲十足，机器人研究就像我们对美国的未来规划一样，这样的伙伴关系是有关创造新工作、带来新突破、重振美国当今制造业的全新的尖端的理念。就是现在。不是在不久的将来——就是现在……这事关确保我们的工人和企业拥有竞争所需的比其他任何人更好、更快、更聪明的技能和工具。

Hand in hand, that is what development and democracy are about —— the notion that certain values are universal. Prosperity without freedom is just another form of poverty. Because there are aspirations that human beings share —— the liberty of knowing that your leader is accountable to you, and that you won't be locked up for disagreeing with them; the opportunity to get an education and to be able to work with dignity; the freedom to practice your faith without fear or restriction. Those are universal values that must be observed everywhere.

携手共进，这就是发展与民主的核心——即认为某些价值是普适的。没有自由的繁荣是另一种形式的贫困。因为人类分享着共同的理想——明白你的领导人要向你负责的自由，相信你不会因为不同意他们的观点而被锁上；有机会接受教育并能有尊严地工作；没有恐惧或限制地实践你的信仰。这些都是普世价值，必须遵守。

So let me start by being extremely clear: I am 100 percent committed to the mission of NASA and its future. Because broadening our capabilities in space will continue to serve our society in ways that we can scarcely imagine. Because exploration will once more inspire wonder in a new generation —— sparking passions and launching careers. And because, ultimately, if we fail to press forward in the pursuit of discovery, we are ceding our future and we are ceding that essential element of the American character.

所以让我非常清楚地以此开场：我百分之百致力于美国宇航局和它的未来。因为扩展我们在太空上的能力将持续以我们难以想象的诸多方式回馈我们的社会。因为探索将再次激发新一代的好奇感——激发出热情和带来新职业。因为，最终，如果我们不加紧对探索的追求，我们就将放弃我们的未来，我们就将放弃美国人性格中的这一基本要素。

Today, after almost a century of trying ——

Today, after over a year of debate ——

Today, after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America —— today.

It is fitting that Congress passed this historic legislation this week. For as we mark the turning of spring, we also mark a new season in America. In a few moments, when I sign this bill, all of the overheated rhetoric over reform will finally confront the reality of reform.

And while the Senate still has a last round of improvements to make on this historic legislation —— and these are improvements I’m confident they will make swiftly —— the bill I’m signing will set in motion reforms that generations of Americans have fought for, and marched for, and hungered to see.

今天，经过近一个世纪的努力——

今天，经过一年多的辩论——

今天，所有的选票已经被记录，美国的医疗保险改革成为法律——今天。

国会本周通过这一历史性的立法是合时宜的。因为当我们标记春天的转折时，我们也标记了美国的一个新时期。过一会儿，当我签署这份法案，所有改革的过激言辞最终都将面对改革的现实。

而当参议院对这一历史性的立法仍有最后一轮的改进——这些改进，我相信他们会很快做出——的时候，我即将签署的这份世代美国人为之奋斗、争取和渴望看到的法案，将开始生效。

(Let me)speak of three ways that we can build a just and lasting peace.

First,in dealing with those nations that break rules and laws,I believe that we must develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to actually change behavior —— for if we want a lasting peace,then the words of the international community must mean something...

This brings me to a second point —— the nature of the peace that we seek. For peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.

Third,a just peace includes not only civil and political rights —— it must encompass economic security and opportunity. For true peace is not just freedom from fear,but freedom from want.

谈一谈我们维护正义和缔造持久和平的三个途径。

首先，对于那些不遵守规则和法律的国家，我认为我们必须采取一些除武力之外的其他方式，但需要有足以改变其行为方式的强硬措施——因为如果我们希望实现持久和平，那么国际社会说的话必须算数……

我要讲的第二点——我们所寻求的和平的性质。和平并不仅仅意味着没有可见的冲突，只有基于每个人与生俱来的权利和尊严正义的和平才是真正的持久和平。

第三，正义的和平不仅包括公民和政治权利——它还必须包括经济安全保障与机会。因为真正的和平不仅摆脱恐惧，而且无乏匮之虞。

(I)There is a Chinese proverb: "Consider the past, and you shall know the future." ...the notion that we must be adversaries is not predestined —— not when we consider the past. Indeed, because of our cooperation, both the United States and China are more prosperous and more secure. We have seen what is possible when we build upon our mutual interests, and engage on the basis of mutual respect.

中国有句名言：“温故而知新。”当然，过去30年中我们也曾遇到挫折和挑战，我们的关系不是没有分歧和困难。但是，“我们必然是对手”的概念并非是注定不变的——回顾过去不会是这样。由于我们的合作，美中两国都更加繁荣、更加安全。我们已经看到我们本着共同的利益和相互的尊重去努力所能取得的成果。

(II)And given that interconnection, power in the 21st century is no longer a zero-sum game; one country's success need not come at the expense of another. And that is why the United States insists we do not seek to contain China's rise. On the contrary, we welcome China as a strong and prosperous and successful member of the community of nations...

鉴于这种相互联系，在21世纪，权力不应再成为一场零和游戏;一国的成功发展不应以他国为代价。这也就是为什么美国坚决表示我们不谋求遏制中国的崛起。恰恰相反，我们欢迎中国成为国际社会中一个强大、繁荣、成功的成员……

(I)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.

你不能指望辍学后能碰上个好工作。你必须接受培训，为之努力，为之学习。

(II)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.

你们现在所处的位置并不能决定你们的未来。没有人决定你们的命运，在美国，你们决定自己的命运。你们掌握自己的未来。

(III)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.

这些人士获得成功，因为他们懂得：你不能让失败来限制你，而必须让失败来开导你。你必须让失败向你展示下次如何以不同的方式去做这件事情。

(IV)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.

请求帮助不是软弱的表现，它是力量的标志，因为它表明你有勇气承认自己对某些事情不懂，这样做会使你学到新的东西。

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion —— that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples —— a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.

结束战争比发动战争要难。看到与别人的共同之处比看到不同之处要难。我们应该选择正确的道路，而不只是容易的道路。而这正是信仰给我们指明的方向。所有宗教都有同一个核心原则——已所不欲，勿施于人。这条真理超越国家与民族——这一信念不是新出现的；不是黑色的、白色的或棕色的；也不代表基督教、伊斯兰教或犹太教。这种信仰孕育于文明的摇篮，至今跳动在亿万民众的心间。它是对他人的信任，它是促使我今天来到这里的原因。

So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now, especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions. I promise you——I get it.

...It's not about helping banks——it's about helping people. Because when credit is available again, that young family can finally buy a new home. And then some company will hire workers to build it. And then those workers will have money to spend, and if they can get a loan too, maybe they'll finally buy that car, or open their own business. Investors will return to the market, and American families will see their retirement secured once more. Slowly, but surely, confidence will return, and our economy will recover.

因此我知道，现在被视为帮助银行解困的做法是如何不得人心，尤其是正当大家都在为他们拙劣的决策共同承受苦难的时候。我向你们保证——我很明白。

……（这么做）不是帮助银行──而是帮助人民。因为当信贷又可以发放的时候，那些年轻人的家庭才终于能够购买新房。同时某一家公司才能雇用工人建造房屋。然后，这些工人才有钱进行消费。他们如果还能拿到贷款，也许终于能买下他们想买的车，或开办自己的企业。投资者会重回市场，美国家庭会看到他们的退休生活又一次获得保障。慢慢地，但毫无疑问，信心会得到恢复，我们的经济会获得康复。

(I)But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions —— that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

但是，可以肯定的是，维持现状的时代、保护狭隘利益的时代以及对艰难决定犹豫不决的时代已经过去了。从今天开始，我们必须振作起来起来，拍拍身上的泥土，重新开始工作，重塑美国。

(II)Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends —— honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism —— these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.

我们面临的挑战也许是新的，我们应对挑战的措施也许也是新的，但那些长期以来指导我们成功的价值观——勤奋、诚实、勇气、公平竞争、包容以及对世界保持好奇心，还有对国家的忠诚和爱国主义——却是历久弥新，这些价值观是可靠的。他们是创造美国历史的无声力量。我们现在需要的就是回归这些古老的价值观。

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me——about howI'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President:because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

当我还年轻的时候，我认为生活就该绕着我转：我如何在这世上得心应手，成功立业，得到我想要的。后来，你们俩进入了我的世界，带来的种种好奇、淘气和微笑，总能填满我的心，照亮我的日子。突然之间，我为自己谱写的伟大计划显得不再那么重要了。我很快便发现，我在你们生命中看到的快乐，就是我自己生命中最大的快乐。而我也同时体认到，如果我不能确保你们此生能够拥有追求幸福和自我实现的一切机会，我自己的生命也没多大价值。总而言之，我的女儿，这就是我竞选总统的原因：我要让你们俩和这个国家的每一个孩子，都能拥有我想要给他们的东西。

The road ahead will be long.Our climb will be steep.We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America —— I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you —— we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts.There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem.But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face.I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years —— block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

前面的道路是漫长的。攀登是艰难陡峭的。我们可能无法在一年内，甚至一个任期内实现目标。然而，美国，我从未像今晚这样对我们必将实现目标充满信心。

我向你们保证，我们作为一国同胞必将实现目标。

当然，过程会有挫折和错步。有很多人不会对我身为总统作出的每项决定或制定的每项政策都表示赞同。而且我们知道，政府不能解决一切问题。

但对于我们所面临的挑战，我会始终对你们坦诚相告。我会听取你们的意见，特别是在我们有分歧的时候。而最重要的是，我会呼吁你们加入重建这个国家的努力，221年来筑就美国的惟一途径是──凭着一砖一瓦，还有一双双长满老茧的手。

(I)That's the promise of America —— the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.

这就是美国的承诺——我们都对自己负责，但同为一国之民，我们休戚与共。我们都心怀那一基本信仰——我是同胞兄弟的守护人，是同胞姐妹的守护人。

(II)Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility — that's the essence of America's promise.

个体独自的责任与公民共同的责任——这就是美国承诺的精髓所在。

(III)For 18 long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us — that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington.

过去漫长的十八个月以来，你们一个接一个地站出来，针对旧时代的美国政坛，大声疾呼：“我们受够了！”你们知道，在这次选举中，我们都别想指望同样的老面孔、同样的老政策，会带来不一样的结果。你们已经展现了历史给我们带来的教训。那就是，每到关键时刻，我们所需要的改变，不应该“来自”于华盛顿，而是“发生”在华盛顿。

In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them...

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another.

The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

在这个新的世界，如此危险的浪潮席卷而来，其速度之快令我们无法接受。这就是我们无法接受分裂的原因。一个国家不管有多么强大，都不可能单枪匹马地战胜这样的挑战。我们谁也不能否认这些挑战，或逃避责任不去面对……

这就是为什么最大的危险是容忍新的墙将我们彼此分开的原因所在。横在大西洋两岸传统盟友之间的墙不应存在。横在最富足与最贫穷国家之间的墙不应存在。横在各种族与各部落、土著人与移民、基督徒、穆斯林和犹太人之间的墙亦不应存在。现在到了我们必须拆除这些墙的时候了。

(I) I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine...but surely we can agree that no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism.

我绝不会在此次竞选中质疑他人的爱国主义，但当别人质疑我的爱国主义时，我也不会袖手旁观……但可以确定的是，我们承认没有哪个政党或政治哲学可以垄断爱国主义。

(II)That is why, for me, patriotism is always more than just loyalty to a place on a map or a certain kind of people. Instead, it is also loyalty to America's ideals —— ideals for which anyone can sacrifice, or defend, or give their last full measure of devotion.

对我来说，那就是为什么爱国主义不仅仅是忠于地图上某个地方或忠诚于某些人。相反，爱国主义还意味着要忠于美国的理想——每个人可以为了保护这些理想而作出牺牲或贡献一切。

(III)As Mark Twain once wrote,"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

就像马克·吐温曾经写的那样：“爱国主义就是自始至终支持自己的国家，并在政府值得支持时支持政府”。

(IV)...patriotism must...involve the willingness to sacrifice —— to give up something we value on behalf of a larger cause.

爱国主义必定包含准备牺牲的意思，即为了某种更加崇高的事业而放弃自己珍视的某些东西。

Still, I know the toll that being a single parent took on my mother——how she struggled at times to the pay bills; to give us the things that other kids had; to play all the roles that both parents are supposed to play. And I know the toll it took on me. So I resolved many years ago that it was my obligation to break the cycle——that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father to my girls; that if I could give them anything, I would give them that rock——that foundation——on which to build their lives. And that would be the greatest gift I could offer.

尽管如此，我了解我的母亲作为一个单亲家长所要付出的艰辛：有时候她想方设法努力清还账单，努力奋斗以给予我们那些别的孩子拥有的东西，努力扮演着应由双亲共同扮演的角色。我也知道这对我造成的影响。所以我多年前就已下定决心要打破这个恶性循环，那就是：如果我可以选择扮演任一人生角色的话，我要做我女儿的好父亲；如果我能给予她们任何东西的话，我要给予她们那个得以创造自己的生活的磐石—那个基础。那将是我所能给予她们的最为贵重的礼物。

It means understanding that what Ryan and so many Americans fought and died for is not a place on a map or a certain kind of people. What they sacrificed for —— what they gave all for —— is a larger idea —— the idea that a nation can be governed by laws, not men; that we can be equal in the eyes of those laws; that we can be free to say what we want, write what we want, and worship as we please; that we can have the right to pursue our own dreams, but the obligation to help our fellow Americans pursue theirs.

这就意味着理解瑞安和众多美国人所作的战斗和牺牲并不是为了地图上的一个地方或是某些特定的人群。他们所作的牺牲——他们付出的一切——是为了一个更大的理念——一个认为国家应是法治而非人治的理念，一个让我们在法律眼中人人平等的理念，一个让我们自由表达、自由著述、自由选择宗教信仰的理念，一个不仅让我们有权追求自己的梦想、同时也让我们有义务帮助美国同胞们追求他们的梦想的理念。

This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy —— particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction —— a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people —— that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

这就是我们目前的处境，一个我们深陷其中多年的种族僵局。与一些批评我的人——无论黑人还是白人——所持观点相反的是，我从未如此天真地认为，因为一次选举或因为一个候选人，尤其是像我这样一个并不完美的候选人，我们就能使种族问题迎刃而解。

但是，我已坚定地表达了我的不渝信念——它植根于我对上帝的信仰和对美国人民的信心——那就是携起手来，我们才能治愈种族问题的一些痼疾，事实上，若想在完善联邦的道路上继续走下去，我们已别无选择。

Our family's story is one that spans miles and generations; races and realities. It's the story of farmers and soldiers; city workers and single moms. It takes place in small towns and good schools; in Kansas and Kenya; on the shores of Hawaii and the streets of Chicago. It's a varied and unlikely journey, but one that's held together by the same simple dream.

And that is why it's American.

That's why I can stand here and talk about how this country is more than a collection of Red States and Blue States – because my story could only happen in the United States.

我们家族的故事跨越了遥远的空间与几代人的时间，跨越了不同的种族与不同的世界。这是一个农民与士兵的故事，一个城市工人与单身母亲的故事，它就发生在小城镇与一流学校中，发生在堪萨斯州和肯尼亚，发生在夏威夷的海滩上和芝加哥的街道边。这个故事的发生是一个丰富多彩、不可思议的过程，但这一切都由于同一个简单的梦想联系到了一起。

这也正是为什么这里叫做美国。

这就是为什么今天我能站在这裡，告诉大家，我们这个国家不仅仅是「红色州」和「蓝色州」的简单拼凑——因为我的故事只有在美国才会成为可能。

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.

我们知道前方的斗争会很漫长，但请永远记住，不管这条路上有怎样的艰难险阻，没有什么力量能够阻挡千千万万民众祈求变革的呼声。

愤世嫉俗者们异口同声地断言我们做不到，在未来几个星期里他们的气焰会更嚣张、更猖狂。有声音要求我们识实务地停下脚步，也有声音警告我们不要让这个国家的人民怀有虚幻的期待。

然而，在美国这个奇迹般的故事里，从未有过任何虚幻的期待。因为当我们直面各种险阻时，当我们被告知尚未准备就绪、不该尝试或者做不到时，一代又一代的美国人怀着凝聚了整个民族精神的简单信念给予了答复。

是的，我们能做到！

I have no doubt that in the face of impossible odds people who love their country can change it. But I hold no illusions that one man or woman can do this alone. That's why my campaign has called nearly 400,000 Americans to a common purpose. That's why I'm reaching out to Democrats, and also to Independents and Republicans. And that is why I won't just ask for your vote as a candidate; I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am President of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency.

我毫不怀疑，在面对不可能的时候，热爱国家的人们可以改变它。但我不抱幻想，认为一个男人或女人可以单独做到这一点。这就是为什么我的竞选已经号召近四十万美国人朝一个共同的目的前进。这就是为什么我同时把手伸向了民主党，独立人士以及共和党人（以寻求帮助和合作）。这就是为什么我不会只是请求你的一张候选人投票；当我成为美国总统时，我会要求你的服务和积极的公民参与。这不会仅是一个演讲或项目发出的号召；这将是我在总统任期内的一项事业。

First,we will reduce costs for business and their workers by picking up the tab for some of the most expensive illnesses and conditions...

Second,we will finally begin focusing our health care system on preventing costly,debilitating conditions in the first place...

Third,we will reduce the cost of our health care by improving the quality of our health care...

Fourth,we will reduce waste and inefficiency by moving from a 20th century health care industry based on pen and paper to a 21st century industry based on the latest information technology...

Finally,we will break the stranglehold that a few big drug and insurance companies have on the health care market...

首先，我们会负担起各企业员工的最昂贵的疾病费用，以减少企业和员工的开支。

第二，我们终于可以将医疗保障体系的重点放在这些耗资高昂的疾病的最初预防阶段。

第三，我们会通过改善服务质量来降低健康保健的成本。

第四，我们要将20世纪基于纸笔基础上的医疗保障成功过渡到21世纪最新信息技术基础之上的行业，以减少资源浪费、提高工作效率。

第五，我们要打破个别医药公司和保险公司在医疗保障市场上的垄断地位。

(I)I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness —— a certain audacity —— to this announcement. I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.

The genius of our founders is that they designed a system of government that can be changed. And we should take heart, because we've changed this country before.

我承认这一声明有一点自以为是——甚至有些狂妄。我知道我并未花费很多时间来研究华盛顿的施政方略，但我在那儿待的时间已经足够让我认识到华盛顿的施政方略必须要变革。

我们奠基者们的天才之处在于他们设计了可变革的政体。我们应树立信心，因为我们曾对这个国家进行过变革。

(II)This campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, and realizing that few obstacles can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change.

本次竞选应恢复公民的意义，恢复我们对共同目标的认同，并让我们认识到没有什么艰难险阻可以抵挡千百万人民要求变革之声的力量。

But there's just one problem. It doesn't work. It ignores our history. Yes, our greatness as a nation has depended on individual initiative, on a belief in the free market. But it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, of mutual responsibility. The idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we're all in it together and everybody's got a shot at opportunity.

Americans know this. We know that government can't solve all our problems —— and we don't want it to.

But we also know that there are some things we can't do on our own. We know that there are some things we do better together.

但问题是，这一招在现实中并不管用，因为它忽略了历史。诚然，我们国家的伟大，离不开个体的创造和对自由市场的信奉，但是，人们彼此的关心和责任也同样不可或缺。我们都怀有这样的信念，那就是每个人都在这个国家有一席之地，我们共同生活其中，每个人都有机会。

美国人民知道。我们知道，政府不能解决所有的问题——我们也没想让政府这样做。

但我们也知道，很多问题我们无法独自解决，联合起来我们会做得更好。

I believe there are strategic lessons to be learned from this as we continue to confront the new threats of this new century.The first is that we should be more modest in our belief that we can impose democracy on a country through military force...The second lesson is that in any conflict, it is not enough to simply plan for war; you must also plan for success...The final lesson is that in an interconnected world, the defeat of international terrorism——and most importantly, the prevention of these terrorist organizations from obtaining weapons of mass destruction——will require the cooperation of many nations...We need to keep these lessons in mind as we think about the broader threats America now faces——threats we haven't paid nearly enough attention to because we have been distracted in Iraq.

我认为我们应该从中吸取策略方面的教训，这样我们才能更好地应对新世纪的新威胁。首先，我们不能再像过去那样，武断自大地认为我们可以通过武力将民主形态强加给一个国家……第二个教训就是，无论发生了什么样的冲突，我们仅仅制定出作战计划是不够的，我们还要制定出制胜计划……最后一个教训是，在这样一个联系紧密的世界，若想击败国际恐怖主义，尤其是防止这些恐怖组织获取大规模杀伤性武器，是需要许多国家的合作才能实现的。

And let me tell you - the easiest thing in the world is to do nothing at all. To turn off the TV,put down the paper,and walk away from the stories about Iraq or Darfur or poverty or iolence or joblessness or hopelessness. To go about your busy lives,wishing these problems away but expecting someone else to do it. To remain detached;to remain indifferent;to remain safe.

But I hope you don't do what's easy. I hope you do what's hard.

让我告诉你们，世界上最简单的事情就是什么也不做。关掉电视，放下报纸，忘掉正在伊拉克和达尔富尔上演的一切，忘掉贫穷、暴力、失业和绝望，继续忙自己的事，并希望这些问题自行消失。要不，就让别人去管好了。自己和这些事没有关系，对它们漠不关心，这样最安全。

但是我希望你们不要挑简单的事情做。我希望你们能迎难而上。

The climate changes we are experiencing are already causing us harm. But in the end, it will not be us who deal with its most devastating effects. It will be our children, and our grandchildren.

I have two daughters, aged three and seven. And I can't help but think that they are the reason I wanted to make a difference in this country in the first place —— to give them a better, more hopeful world to raise their children.

This is our generation's chance to give them that world. It's a chance that will not last much longer, but if we work together and seize this moment, we can change the course of this nation forever. I hope we can start today. Thank you.

我们正在经历的气候变化已经给我们带来了巨大的危害。然而，最终会饱受其严重威胁的并非我们自己，而是我们的儿女，我们的子孙后代。

我有两个女儿，一个7岁，一个只有3岁。我总是禁不住地思考，她们正是我想改变这个国家的最初动力，因为我想让她们拥有一个更加美好、充满希望的世界，以抚养她们自己的儿女。

他们能否拥有这样的世界，是我们这一代人的抉择。机不可失，时不再来，只要我们携起手来，共同抓住此次机遇，我们就能永久地改变这个国家的进程。我希望我们从今天做起。谢谢。

But as I listened to Seamus explain why he'd enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might hope for in a child. And then I asked myself: When Seamus comes home, will we serve him as well as he served us?

然而，当我在听谢默斯讲述自己参军的原因，讲到自己对祖国和国家领导的绝对信赖、对于军令和天职的无比忠诚时，我想：这个年轻人身上凝聚了我们对于子女的所有期待。然后，我扪心自问：“谢默斯回来后，我们为他所做的是否等同于他的付出呢？”

You know, two weeks after Bloody Sunday, when the march finally reached Montgomery, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the crowd of thousands and said "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." He's right, but you know what? It doesn't bend on its own. It bends because we help it bend that way. Because people like John Lewis and Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and thousands of ordinary Americans with extraordinary courage have helped bend it that way. And as their examples call out to us from across the generations, we continue to progress as a people because they inspire us to take our own two hands and bend that arc.

你们知道，“血腥星期日”两周以后，当示威的队伍最终到达了蒙哥马利，马丁-路德-金对数千名群众说：“道德世界的圆弧固然很长，但它终究偏向正义的一方。”他是对的。但是你知道吗？圆弧自己不能偏转，之所以偏转，是因为我们帮助它偏向那个方向。因为拥有非凡勇气的美国人，像约翰-路易斯，马丁-路德-金，罗萨-帕克斯，以及成千上万名普普通通的美国人使它偏向正义的一方。现在他们的事迹穿过几代人的时空向我们发出了呼喊，我们要作为一个民族继续前进，因为他们鼓舞着我们伸出自己的双手，来偏转这一道德的圆弧。

I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, "We hold these truths to he self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

我站在这里，深知我的故事只是诸多丰富多彩的美国故事中的一个，深知自己亏欠那些更早踏上这片土地的先人；深知除美国外，在地球上的任何一个国家，我的故事都不会成为可能。今晚，我们聚集于此，更加深切地感受到了我们祖国的伟大之处。我们的祖国很伟大，不是因为她拥有耸入云天的高楼大厦，不是因为她的局势力量，也不是因为她的经济实力。我们深深的自豪感源于一个十分简单的前提，早在两个世纪前，《独立宣言》对此就有一个概括，即“我们认为以下真理不言而喻：人人生来平等，生来就被造物主赋予不可剥夺的权利，其中包括生命、自由和对幸福的追求。”

I don't oppose all wars.What I am opposed to is a dumb war.What I am opposed to is a rash war.What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by armchair weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological borne.What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate,a drop in the median income,to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

我反对的并不是所有的战争。我反对的是一场愚蠢的战争，一场头脑发热的战争。我反对的是政府里那些鼓吹战争的官员，他们只是悠闲地纸上谈兵，将自己的意识形态强加给我们，不顾可能会付出的生命代价，也不顾同胞们将会承受的深重苦难。我反对的是那些政治掮客们，他们通过发起战争来转移我们的注意力，让我们不会注意到没有保险的人数还在上升，贫困率依旧居高不下，中等阶层收入还在降低；不再去关注企业的丑闻和股市的现状，而股市刚刚经历了自大萧条时期以来情况最糟糕的一个月。

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Barack Obama

2004-08

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

Barack Obama

2008-07

Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise

Barack Obama

2008-09