篇一：奥巴马竞选胜利演讲(中英文对照)
Thank you so much.
非常感谢。
Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward.
今晚，曾经的殖民国在赢得主权200多年后，
It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.
历史因为你们而走到了这里，因为你们坚信我们的国家能克服战争与萧条，能摆脱绝望深渊走向希望的峰顶，坚信我们每个人都能追求自己的梦，我们生活在共同的美国大家庭，同舟共济。
Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come.
今晚，在选举中，你们，美国人民，告诉了我们，虽然路漫漫其修远，但我们能挺直腰杆、峰回路转，我们都心中有数，美利坚合众国最美好的未来还未到来。 I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. By the way, we have to fix that. Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone, whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.
我要感谢每一位参与选举的国人，无论你是第一时间就投上了票，还是排长队才投上了票。顺便说一声，这个问题我们要解决。无论你是去走去投票站投票，还是电话投票；无论你是给奥巴马投票，还是为罗姆尼投票，你们的声音我们听到了，有着非凡意义。
I just spoke with Gov. Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a
hard-fought campaign. We may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight. In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Gov. Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.
我刚刚跟罗姆尼通过话，我祝贺他与保罗莱恩在此次艰难竞选中取得的成绩。我们也许激烈对抗，但这都是因为我们深深地爱着祖国，关心祖国的未来。从乔治到莱诺再到他们的儿子米特，罗姆尼家族通过公共服务回馈社会，这些馈赠值得我们尊敬并为之鼓掌。未来几周，我也期待与罗姆尼座谈，共同探讨如何携手共计推动国家的前进。
I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America’s happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden.
我想感谢我四年来的朋友、伙伴，他就是美国的快乐战士、史上最好副总统，乔伊·拜登。
And I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. Let me say this publicly: Michelle, I have never loved you more. I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you, too, as our nation’s first lady. Sasha and Malia, before our very eyes you’re growing up to become two strong, smart beautiful young women, just like your mom. And I’m so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog’s probably enough.
如果没有那个20年前应允嫁给我的女士，我不可能成为今日之我。我要公开表达：米歇尔，我从未像现在这样爱你，看到美国人民爱戴你这位第一夫人，我从未感到如此自豪。萨莎和玛莉亚，我们看着你们长大，变成了两位和妈妈一样健康聪明的美丽少女，我为你们感到骄傲。但我认为现在给你们养一条宠物狗就足够了。
To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics. The best. The best ever. Some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning. But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every valley. You lifted me up the whole way and I will always be grateful for everything that you’ve done and all the incredible work that you put in.
感谢史上最好的我的竞选团队和志愿者，你们是最好的、最棒的。你们中有的人是第一次加入，有的人一直陪伴我左右。但你们都是我的家人。不管你们做什么、去哪里，你们都会记住我们共同创造的历史，以及我这位感恩你们一生的总统。感谢你们一直以来对我的信任和扶持，感谢你们所做的一切，感谢你们不可思议的付出。
I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that
provides plenty of fodder for the cynics that tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym, or saw folks working late in a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you’ll discover something else.
我知道政治竞选有时看起来很微不足道，甚至很傻。为市井谈资提供了不少素材，告诉人们政治就是自负之战或利益之争。但是如果你有机会和拥挤在高中体育馆警戒线外参加竞选活动的人们谈话，或者见到偏远县城竞选办公室中工作至深夜的人们，你会有截然不同的体会。
You’ll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organizer who’s working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. You’ll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who’s going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. You’ll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who’s working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home.
年轻的大学生采风者，希望通过自己的努力让每个孩子都有均等的机会，你能听得到他的决心。挨家挨户敲门的志愿者，她的哥哥因为汽车厂商增加了轮班岗位而有了工作，你能听到她的自豪。工作至深夜的军人家属，他们要保证守卫祖国的军人归国后不需为找工作养家糊口而烦忧，你能听到他们深深的爱国情。 That’s why we do this. That’s what politics can be. That’s why elections matter. It’s not small, it’s big. It’s important. 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.
这就是我们一切行动的缘由。这就是政治能做到的事情。这也是竞选之所以重要的原因。事无细微，这些都是大事，是重要的事。在一个3亿人口的国家里，民主的观点嘈杂、混乱而复杂。我们都有自己的观点，我们都有自己深深的信仰。当我们经历艰难时刻，做出国家统一抉择时，自然会激发热情与冲突。
That won’t change after tonight, and it shouldn’t. These arguments we have are a
mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.
今晚过后这些不会改变，也不该改变。这些争议是自由的表现。我们别忘了，在遥远的他国，人民冒险争取权益，仅仅就是为了能和我们一样，能为重要的事情发表言论，能有投票的机会。
But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers. A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow.
搁置分歧，求同存异。我们都对美国的未来有着共同的希望。我们希望孩子能上好学校，有好老师，国家能保持技术、发现和创新的全球领先地位，提供好的工作岗位和新的商机。
We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt, that isn’t weakened by inequality, that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that’s safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this – this world has ever known. But also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war, to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.
我们希望我们后代生活的美国是一个没有债务负担、处处公平、没有全球变暖威胁的国度。我们希望祖国安全，受世界尊敬，拥有世界上最强的军事力量和军队。同时有信心远离战争，在给予每个人自由和尊严的基础上，构建和平。 We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant’s daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. To the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker’s child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president – that’s the future we hope for. That’s the vision we share. That’s where we need to go – forward. That’s where we need to go.
我们相信美国是一个慷慨宽厚、有同情心、有包容心的国家，对移民敞开怀抱，让他们的孩子可以在美国学校学习，对着美国国旗宣誓，让芝加哥南部的孩子能清楚地看到自己的未来，让北卡罗来纳的家具工人之子能自由选择未来是成为医
生、科学家、工程师、企业家还是外交家，甚至是总统——这是我们希冀的未来，是我们共同的设想，是我们需要到达的方向。
Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It’s not always a straight line. It’s not always a smooth path. By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won’t end all the gridlock or solve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward. But that common bond is where we must begin.
现在，有时我们在如何实现这个目标上有激烈的分歧，两个世纪以来，进步会在恰当的时候到来，它不是一帆风顺、直线前行的。虽然我们有着共同的希望和梦想，但是这也不能解决所有问题或减轻我们在推进国家发展道路上建立共识、达成艰难妥协的勤勉工作。然而这一共同纽带是我们工作的开始。
Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over. And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you’ve made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.
我们的经济正在复苏。数十年的战争已接近尾声，漫长的竞选也已经结束。不管我是否赢得了你的投票，我都听到了你们的新声，学到了新知，是你们让我成为了一个更好的总统。带着你们的故事你们的奋斗，我回到白宫，对未来立下决心，深受启发，从未如此深刻过。
Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to
reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. Reducing our deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our
immigration system. Freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We’ve got more work to do. 今晚你们的投票是为实际行动，而非政治。你选择我们来关注你们的工作，而非我们的。在接下来的几周和几个月里，我希望能伸出友好之手与两党领袖合作，共同面对双方合作方能解决的挑战。降低赤字，改革赋税，完善移民系统，实现石油独立。我们还有更多的工作要做。
But that doesn’t mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote. America’s never been about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating, but necessary work of self-government. That’s the principle we were founded on.
篇二：奥巴马就职演讲(中英对照)
MR. OBAMA:
Thank you. Thank you so much. Vice President Biden, Mr. ChiefJustice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellowcitizens:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to theenduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy.We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin orthe tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional –what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in adeclaration made more than two centuries ago:每一次我们集会庆祝总统就职都是在见证美国宪法的持久力量。我们都是在肯定美国民主的承诺。我们重申，将这个国家紧密联系在一起的不是我们的肤色，也不是我们信仰的教条，更不是我们名字的来源。让我们与众不同，让我们成为美国人的是我们对于一种理念的恪守。200多年前，这一理念在一篇宣言中被清晰阐述：
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, thatamong these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”“我们认为下述真理是不言而喻的，人人生而平等。造物主赋予他们若干不可剥夺的权利，包括生存、自由和追求幸福的权利。”
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of thosewords with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while thesetruths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that whilefreedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. Thepatriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with theprivileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic,
agovernment of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keepsafe our founding creed.
今天，我们继续着这一未竟的征程，架起这些理念与我们时代现实之间的桥梁。因为历史告诉我们，即便这些真理是不言而喻的，它们也从来不会自动生效。因为虽然自由是上帝赋予的礼物，但仍需要世间的子民去捍卫。1776年，美国的爱国先驱们不是只为了推翻国王的暴政而战，也不是为赢得少数人的特权，建立暴民的统治。先驱们留给我们一个共和国，一个民有、民治、民享的政府。他们委托每一代美国人捍卫我们的建国信条。
For more than two hundred years, we have.Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that nounion founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slaveand half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
在过去的200多年里，我们做到了。从奴役的血腥枷锁和刀剑的血光厮杀中我们懂得了，建立在自由与平等原则之上的联邦不能永远维持半奴隶和半自由的状态。我们赢得了新生，誓言共同前进。
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads andhighways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train ourworkers。Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there arerules to ensure competition and fair play.Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, andprotect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
我们共同努力，建立起现代的经济体系。架设铁路与高速公路，加速了旅行和商业交流。建立学校与大学，培训我们的工人。我们一起发现，自由市场的繁荣只能建立在保障竞争与公平竞争的原则之上。我们共同决定让这个伟大的国家远离危险，保护她的人民不受生命威胁和不幸的侵扰。
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central
authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can becured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise;our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these
are constants inour character.
一路走来，我们从未放弃对集权的质疑。我们同样不屈服于这一谎言：一切的社会弊端都能够只靠政府来解决。我们对积极向上与奋发进取的赞扬，我们对努力工作与个人责任的坚持，这些都是美国精神的基本要义。
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; thatfidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges;that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by actingalone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communismwith muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and scienceteachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads andnetworks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to ourshores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation,and one people.
我们也理解，时代在变化，我们同样需要变革。对建国精神的忠诚，需要我们肩负起新的责任，迎接新的挑战。保护我们的个人自由，最终需要所有人的共同努力。
因为美国人不能再独力迎接当今世界的挑战，正如美国士兵们不能再像先辈一样，用步枪和民兵同敌人(法西斯主义与共产主义)作战。一个人无法培训所有的数学
与科学老师，我们需要他们为了未来去教育孩子们。一个人无法建设道路、铺设网络、建立实验室来为国内带来新的工作岗位和商业机会。现在，与以往任何时候相比，我们都更需要团结合作。作为一个国家，一个民族团结起来。
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled ourresolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economicrecovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess allthe qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive;diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we
will seize it – so longas we seize it together.
这一代美国人经历了危机的考验，经济危机坚定了我们的决心，证明了我们的恢复力。长达十年的战争正在结束，经济的复苏已经开始。美国的可能性是无限的，因为我们拥有当今没有边界的世界所需要的所有品质：年轻与活力、多样性与开放、无穷的冒险精神以及创造的天赋才能。我亲爱的同胞们，我们正是为此刻而生，我们更要在此刻团结一致，抓住当下的机会。
For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when ashrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe thatAmerica’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middleclass. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence andpride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from thebrink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into thebleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else,because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyesof God but also in our own.
因为我们，美国人民，清楚如果只有不断萎缩的少数人群体获得成功，而大多数人不能成功，我们的国家就无法成功。我们相信，美国的繁荣必须建立在不断上升的中产阶级的宽阔臂膀之上，我们知道美国的繁荣只有这样才能实现。只有当每个人都能找到工作中的自立与自豪时才能实现。只有当诚实劳动获得的薪水足够让家庭
摆脱困苦的悬崖时才能实现。我们忠诚于我们的事业，保证让一个出生于最贫穷环境中的小女孩都能知道，她有同其他所有人一样的成功机会。因为她是一个美国人，她是自由的、平等的。她的自由平等不仅由上帝来见证，更由我们亲手保护。
We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of ourtime. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revampour tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills theyneed to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means willchange, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determinationof every single American. That is what
this moment requires. That is what willgive real meaning to our creed.我们知道，我们已然陈旧的程序不足以满足时代的需要。我们必须应用新理念和新技术重塑我们的政府，改进我们的税法，改革我们的学校，让我们的公民拥有他们所需要的技能，更加努力地工作，学更多的知识，向更高处发展。这意味着变革，我们的目标是：国家可以奖励每个美国人的努力和果断。这是现在需要的。这将给我们的信条赋予真正的意义。We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measureof security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost ofhealth care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that Americamust choose between caring for the generation that built this country andinvesting in the generation that will build its future. For we remember thelessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of achild with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in thiscountry, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. Werecognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, atany time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in aterrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, andMedicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; theystrengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take therisks that make this country great.我们，人民，仍然认为，每个公民都应当获得基本的安全和尊严。我们必须做出艰难抉择，降低医疗成本，缩减赤字规模。但我们拒绝在照顾建设国家的这一代和投
资即将建设国家的下一代间做出选择。因为我们记得过去的教训：老年人的夕阳时光在贫困中度过，家有残障儿童的父母无处求助。我们相信，在这个国家，自由不只是那些幸运儿的专属，或者说幸福只属于少数人。我们知道，不管我们怎样负责任地生活，我们任何人在任何时候都可能面临失业、突发疾病或住房被可怕的飓风摧毁的风险。 我们通过医疗保险、联邦医疗补助计划、社会保障项目向每个人做出承诺，这些不会让我们的创造力衰竭，而是会让我们更强大。这些不会让我们成为充满不劳而获者的国度，这些让我们敢于承担风险，让国家伟大。
篇三：2013年美国总统奥巴马就职演说中英文对照文稿(全)
Read the inaugural speech and compare it with JFK‘s Speech to find any commonalities and differences in lexis, syntax, rhetoric, emotions and style. You may need to take different historical era of their presidency into consideration. Write a 300-word report and submit next week.
2013年美国总统奥巴马就职演说中英文对照文稿（全）
北京时间1月22日凌晨，贝拉克·侯赛因·奥巴马宣誓就职第四十四任美利坚合众国总统并发表就职演说。奥巴马在演讲中追溯美国民主传统和宪法精神，强调了民众的力量。演讲中涉及了包括就业、医保、移民和同性恋等多项议题，以下为奥巴马就职演说全文：
MR. OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you so much. Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
谢谢，非常感谢大家。拜登副总统、首席大法官先生、国会议员们、尊敬的各位嘉宾、亲爱的公民们。
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:
当我们每次聚集在一起为总统举行就职典礼时，我们都是在见证美国宪法的不朽力量。我们是在又一次立下美国民主的承诺。 我们再次提醒说，把这个国家凝聚在一起的不是我们的肤色，不是信仰的教条，也不是我们的姓氏源于何处。使我们与众不同——使我们成为美国人——的，是我们对一个在两个多世纪以前发表的宣言中所表述的理念：
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
“我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，他们都从他们的造物主那里被赋予了某些不可剥夺的权利，包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。”
Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.
今天，我们仍在继续这个永恒的旅程，让那些字句体现在我们这个时代的现实中。因为历史告诉我们，虽然这些真理是不言而喻的，但它们却不会自动实现；虽然自由是上帝给我们的礼物，但自由只能靠他在世间的子民的奋斗才能获得。1776年爱国先驱们所进行的斗争并不是以少数人的特权或乌合之众的统治来
替代专制君主。他们为我们缔造的是一个共和国，一个民有、民治、民享的政府，并将捍卫这个建国理念的任务交给一代又一代的后人。
For more than two hundred years, we have.
两百多年的历史证明，我们做到了。
Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
从皮鞭下和刺刀尖流出的鲜血中，我们发现，建立在自由和平等原则之上的合众国不能一半是蓄奴的，一半是自由的。我们浴火重生，我们发誓共同努力向前。
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.
我们共同决定，现代经济需要铁路和公路，以加快旅行和商业，也需要中小学和大学来培训我们的工人。
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
我们一起发现，只有确保竞争和公平的法规健全，自由市场才能欣欣向荣。
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
我们一同决定，一个伟大国家必须关照弱者，并保护我们的人民免受生活中最严重的危险和不幸。
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.
在做这一切的时候，我们从来没有放弃对政府集中权力的怀疑，我们也没有屈就于那种相信只靠政府就可以解决所有社会弊病的幻想。我们一直保持着自己的秉性，推崇创造力和企业家精神，坚持辛勤工作和个人责任。
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.
但是我们也很明白，随着时代的变化，我们也必须变化；我们出于对基本原则的忠诚，需要对新的挑战做出新的回应；我们为保护个人自由就最终需要集体作出努力。美国人民如果再单打独斗去应付当今世界的挑战，等于让美国军队以长枪和民兵组织去面对法西斯主义或共产主义的武装。没有任何一个个人有能力训练出我们后代的教育需要的所有数学和科学教师，或者建造出能把新的工作和商业机会带给我们的道路、网络、实验室。现在比以往任何时候都需要我们共同努力，作为一个国家人民的整体，来做这些事情。
This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we
are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.
我们这一代美国人经历过危机的考验，这些危机坚定了我们的决心，也证明了我们的耐力。长达10年的战争即将结束，经济复苏已经开始，美国的潜力是无限的，因为我们拥有这个全球化的世界需要的所有特质：我们年轻有动力，多元而开放，我们有应对危机的无限能力和创新发展的天赋。美国同胞们，我们为这个时刻而生，只要我们共同努力，我们就能牢牢抓住这个机会。
For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.
我们美国人知道，我们的国家不可能在只有越来越少的人富有、越来越多的人捉襟见肘的情况下取得成功，我们相信美国的繁荣有赖于更多的人成为中产阶级，我们知道美国的振兴取决于每个人都能在工作中找到独立与自信，也取决于人们诚实的劳动让家庭脱离贫困。当一个出身贫困的年轻女孩知道，她与任何人都享有同样的成功机会，身为美国人，她不仅仅是在上帝眼中，而且在每一个人的眼中，她都享有自由与平等，这样我们才算是遵守了立国的原则。
We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed. 我们明白，目前那些陈旧的政府计划跟不上时代。我们必须驾驭新的思想和技术以重塑政府，更新税法，改革学校，并让公民能够掌握新技能，以便更加努力工作，学习更多的知识，以达到更高的目标。我们的方法虽然会改变，但目的始终如一：建设一个奖励每个人的努力和决心的国家。这是当下所需要的。这是我们信念的真正意义所在。
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
我们，美国人，仍然相信，每位公民都应该得到基本的安全和尊严。我们必须作出降低我们的医保费用和赤字规模的艰难抉择。但是，我们拒绝接受这种看法，亦即美国必须在照顾建设了国家的那代人和投资于开创国家未来的那代人之间作出选择。我们记得过去的教训：老人的暮年在贫困中度过，残疾孩子的父母走投无路。我们不相信，在这个国家里自由只属于幸运者，幸福只属于少数人。我们知道，无论我们平日如何负责，我们当中任何人，在任何时候，都有可能面临失业、突然生病或者房子被风暴卷走的情况。我们通过联邦医疗保险、医疗补助计划以及社会安全保障为彼此作出的承诺，不仅不会挫伤我们的积极性，反而使我们更加强壮。它们不会使我们成为一群不劳而获的人，反而使我们敢于去冒险，这才使国家强大。
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all
posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.
我们，美国人，依然相信我们作为美国人的承诺不仅是对自己的，也是对所有子孙后代的。我们会对气候变化的威胁做出回应，因为我们了解如果不这样做，将会违背对子孙后代的承诺。有些人可能依然不承认科学的判断，但所有人都无法不去正视疯狂的野火、残酷的干旱、更大风暴的袭击。通往可持续发展能源的道路会是漫长的，而且有时会很艰难。但美国不能抗拒这个转变，而是必须领导这个转变。我们不能将可以增加就业、诞生新型产业的这些技术拱手让给其它国家，我们必须拥有这些技术。这是维护我们经济的活力与国家财富的途径，这些财富包括我们的森林、江河、农田、雪山。这是保护我们的地球的途径，那是上帝交给我们去守护的。这也是我们为先驱们宣示的信念增加新的含义的途径。
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.
我们，美国人，依然相信不必通过无休止的战争就能获得永久的安全与和平。我们的军人久经战火考验，技能和勇气都举世无双。我们的人民永远铭记先烈们的牺牲，珍惜自由的来之不易。不忘先烈们的牺牲将让我们永远对敌人保持警惕。但是我们同样牢记那些不仅能够赢得战争、还能赢得和平、化顽敌为挚友的人们。这些经验教训，我们今天必须发扬光大。
We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are na?ve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice. 我们将通过加强武装力量和法制来保卫我们的人民和价值体系。我们将通过试图与其它国家和平地解决争端来显示我们的勇气——这不是出于对我们面临的危险的无知，而是相信协商能够更长久地解除怀疑与恐惧。美国将继续在世界每个角落都保持积极的联盟，我们也将继续维护那些令我们能够在国外应付危机的机制，因为没有哪个国家会比世界上最强大的国家更需要一个和平的世界。我们将支持从亚洲到非洲、从拉美到中东的民主发展，因为利益和良知促使我们去支持那些希望自由的人们。我们也必须是贫困、疾病、歧视、偏见的受害者们的后援——这不仅仅是出于慈善为怀，也因为我们时代的和平需要不断地推动我们共同信念所基于的原则，包括宽容、机遇、人类尊严与公正。
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and
Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
我们，美国人，今天宣布，最不言自明的真理——人人生而平等——仍然是指引我们的北斗星，就像当年这条真理在色内加瀑布[1]、塞尔玛[2]、石墙[3]这些地方指引着人们，它指引着在这个宏大的草坪上留下了足迹的所有知名和不知名的人们。他们来到这里聆听宣讲，说我们不能独自行进；他们来聆听一位王者[4]说，我们的个人自由与地球上每个人的自由是紧密地联系在一起的。
It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.
如今到了我们这一代人去接过先驱们开创的使命的时候了。在我们的妻子、母亲、女儿，在得到与她们的付出相符的待遇之前，我们的使命还没有完成；在我们同性恋的兄弟和姐妹像其他人一样在法律上被视真正平等之前，我们的使命还没有完成- 因为如果我们之间真正平等，那么可以肯定，我们所承诺的彼此相爱也必须是平等的。在所有公民行使投票权不必被迫等待几个小时之前，我们的使命还没有完成。在我们找到一个更好的方式来欢迎那些仍然可以把美国看作一个充满机遇的土地，乐于奋斗，充满希望的移民之前，在那些聪明的年轻学生和工程师被纳入到我们的劳动大军之中而不是被驱逐出境之前，我们的使命还没有完成。在从底特律的街头到阿巴拉契亚山间到纽顿安静的小巷中，我们所有的孩子们都知道他们在被关心和爱护，安全有保障之前，我们的使命还没有完成。
That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.
这是我们这一代人的使命 - 让生命、自由、追求幸福这些字眼、这些权利、这些价值 - 真正成为每一个美国人的现实。忠实我们国家的创始文件，并不需要我们生活的每一个范畴都看法一致，也并不意味着我们以完全相同的方式定义自由，或者遵循同样的路径追求幸福。进步并不强迫我们放弃几个世纪以来关于所有政府作用的辩论 - 但需要我们在我们的时代采取行动。
For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.
我们现在就要做出抉择，我们不能承受拖延的后果。我们不能误以为毫无妥协余地是在坚持原则，或者以做秀取代政治，或者以相互指责取代理性的辩论。我们必须行动，尽管知道我们的工作不会十全十美。我们必须行动，尽管知道今天的胜利只是部分的成功，它将更多地取决于今后四年、四十年乃至四百年后站在这里的人们，继续发扬从费城独立厅传到我们手中的超越时代的精神。
推荐阅读：
I,have,a,dream,马丁路德金的演讲稿,(中英文)
《奥巴马竞选演讲稿(中英文对照)》出自：百味书屋
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