篇一：奥巴马就职演说英文版(附中文翻译)
奥巴马就职演说英文版（极好的口语材料，去背吧）
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed,
mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our
nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during
rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst
gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply
because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained
faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a
far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of
greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard
choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses
shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further
evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less
profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is
inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They
will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict
and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the
recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish
things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry
forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the
God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full
measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It
must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been
the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures
of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some
celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the
long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a
new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and
plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were
raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual
ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on
Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less
inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last
year. Our capacity remains undiminished. 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.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action,
bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for
growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our
commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield
technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun
and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our
schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And
all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system
cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this
country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to
common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale
political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask
today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it
helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.
Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.
And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform
bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital
trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate
wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a
watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it
favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size
of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend
opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our
common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.
Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the
rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals
still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other
peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village
where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman,
and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism not just with missiles and tanks, but with
sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect
us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its
prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the
tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those
new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding
between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned
peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the
nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way
of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing
terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be
broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system
cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this
country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to
common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale
political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask
today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it
helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.
Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.
And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform
bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital
trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate
wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a
watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it
favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size
of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend
opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our
common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.
Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the
rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals
still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other
peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village
where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman,
and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those
new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding
between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned
peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the
nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way
of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing
terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be
broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of
Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language
and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of
civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we
cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon
dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that
America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.
To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the
West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To
those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that
you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench
your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and
let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like
ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside
our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world
has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those
brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have
something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the
spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at
this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit
us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of
the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when
the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend
lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a
stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides
our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those
values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, 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. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of
every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do
not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so
satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain
destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every
race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose
father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand
before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the
year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying
campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing.
The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in
doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue
could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet
[it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember
these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure
what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we
refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on
the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it
safely to future generations.
亲爱的同胞们：
今天我站在这里，为我们将面对的任重道远而慨叹。感谢你们对我寄托的信任，同时缅怀我
们的前人所做出的牺牲。感谢布什总统为美国做出的贡献，以及他在总统任期交叠过程中的
慷慨合作。 至此，共有四十四位美国人曾进行过总统宣誓。这一誓言曾在国家和
平、欣欣向荣时做出过。然而这一誓词更曾在乌云笼罩和风暴袭来之时被宣读。美国人民之
所以能够走过那些艰难的时刻，不仅仅是因为领袖的能力或远见；更是因为我们，我们人民，
保持着对先人理想的忠诚，对我们国家创始文件的追随。
对于我们这一代美国人来说，也是这样，也必须这样。
国家正面临危机，这一点大家已经没有疑问。美国处在战争之中，面对一个有巨大影响力、
充满暴力和仇恨的网络。我们的经济严重衰退。这来源于部分人的贪婪和不负责任，更由于
作为一个整体，我们未能做出面对一个新时代的艰难决策。人民失去房屋、工作机会减少、
商业活动遭到破坏。医疗保障过于昂贵，学校教育系统出现太多失败。而我们对能源的使用，
日益让对手强大，与此同时又威胁着我们的星球。
这些，是从数据和统计中可以看到的危机信号。还有难以度量但同样深远的问题，那就是整
个国家信心的缺失。那萦绕在我们头上的恐惧，认为美国的衰败不可避免，认为我们的下一
代人不可能再有太高的期望。
今天我要对你们说，我们面临的挑战是真切的、严重的，而且有很多重。解决他们不可能很
轻松，也不可能在短时间内发生。但美国人民，请记住这一点：这些挑战会被解决。今天，我们聚集在一起，因为我们选择了希望而不是恐惧；我们选择了为共同的目标团结在
一起，而不是冲突与争执。
今天，我们共同终结那些虚假的承诺、陈腐的教条、以及指摘与怨言。这些已经困扰了我们
的政治体系太长时间。
我们的国家仍旧年轻，但借用圣经中的话，该是抛开那些孩子气的时候了。现在，需要重新
拿出我们的坚韧精神，选择自己的历史。我们要延续代代相传的宝贵礼物，延续神圣的理想，
那就是上帝赐予我们的承诺－－人人平等，人人自由，人人都有机会去追求最大程度的幸福。
在重温我们国家伟大的同时，我们必须明白，伟大不是凭空而来的，而是赢得的。在我们的
篇二：奥巴马就职演讲稿中英文对照
I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor - that's not my business - I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say Do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die, and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die, liberty will never perish... Soldiers - don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you - who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder! Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate - only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers - don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written the kingdom of God is within man - not one man, nor a group of men - but in all men - in you! You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure! Then in the name of democracy let us use that power - let us all unite!!! Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie! They do not fulfil their promise, they never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers - in the name of democracy, let us all unite!!!
篇三：奥巴马就职演讲稿中英文对照
奥巴马就职演讲稿中英文对照
(CNN) -- Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech. In his speech Tuesday, President Obama said America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside
childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. 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.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that
America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, 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. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand
before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
奥巴马就职演讲中文版（供参考）
各位同胞：
今天我站在这里，为眼前的重责大任感到谦卑，对各位的信任心怀感激，对先贤的牺牲铭记在心。我要谢谢布什总统为这个国家的服务，也感谢他在政权转移期间的宽厚和配合。
四十四位美国人发表过总统就职誓言，这些誓词或是在繁荣富强及和平宁静之际发表，或是在乌云密布，时局动荡之时。在艰困的时候，美国能箕裘相继，不仅因为居高位者有能力或愿景，也因为人民持续对先人的抱负有信心，也忠於创建我国的法统。
因此，美国才能承继下来。因此，这一代美国人也必须承继下去。
现在大家都知道我们正置身危机核心，我国正在与四处蔓延的 暴力和憎恨作战。我们的经济元气大伤——这既是某些人贪婪且不负责任的後果，也是大众未能做出艰难的选择，对国家进入新时代做准备不足所致。许多人失去房 子，丢了工作，生意萧条。我们的医疗太昂贵，学校教育让人失望。每天都有更多证据显示，我们利用能源的方式壮大我们的对敌，威胁我们的星球。
这些都是得自资料和统计数据的危机指标。比较无法测量但同样深沉的，是举国信心尽失——持续担心美国将无可避免地衰退，也害怕下一代一定会眼界变低。
今天我要告诉各位，我们面临的挑战是真的，挑战非常严重，且不在少数。它们不是可以轻易，或在短时间内解决。但是，美国要了解，这些挑战会被解决。
在这一天，我们聚在一起，因为我们选择希望而非恐惧，有意义的团结而非纷争和不合。
《2016年奥巴马就职演讲稿英文原稿(附中文翻译)》出自：百味书屋
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