奥巴马每周电视讲话:我们是美国人

　　Weekly  Address: "Before We are Democrats¹ or Republicans, We are Americans"
每周电视讲话：无论民主党人还是共和党人,首先我们是美国人
WASHINGTON – In this week’s address,  President Obama said that once business resumes in Washington, he looks  forward to working with members of both parties to meet the challenges facing  the country.  By working together in a  spirit of common cause, the President and members of Congress can face these  challenges in a way worthy² of the voters who sent them to Washington.
华盛顿:在本周的讲话中,奥巴马总统说一旦华盛顿重新运作起来,他期待着与两党的成员一直合作致力解决国家面临的种种挑战。本着为共同事业而合作进取的精神，总统及国会议员们一定能应对这些挑战，绝不辜负选民选择他们入主华盛顿的期望。
It’s been one week since tragedy visited  Tucson, Arizona.
亚利桑那州图桑市的惨案过去一周了。
We properly spent much of the week  mourning the victims and remembering their lives. We also discovered stories  that serve to lift us up – stories of heroism³ and bravery, of courage and  community – stories that remind us that we are one American family, 300  million strong.
一周以来我们沉痛悼念惨案的遇难者并追忆他们的生平。我们还发现了许多让我们振作起来的故事——英雄的英勇的故事，勇气和集体主义的故事——这些故事让我们牢记我们都是一个美国大家庭，3亿坚强成员的一员。
One of the places we saw that sense of  community on display was on the floor of Congress, where Gabby Giffords, who  inspires us with her recovery, is deeply missed by her colleagues.  One by one, Representatives from all parts  of the country and all points of view rose in common cause to honor Gabby and  the other victims, and to reflect on our shared hopes for this country.
国会的演讲台是让我们看到集体意识回归的地方之一，在那里,Gabby Giffords用她顽强恢复的精神激励着我们,她的同事们也深深的思念着她。一个接着一个，来自全国各界的持有不同意见的代表们为了共同的事业走到一起,向Gabby和其他的遇难者致敬，思考我们对国家共同的期望。
As shrill⁴ and discordant⁵ as our politics  can be at times, it was a moment that reminded us of who we really are – and  how much we depend on one another.
尽管时不时的我们政治争斗显得很刺耳，很不和谐，但此时却提醒我们记住我们究竟是谁——我们对彼此有多少依赖。
While we can’t escape our grief for those  we’ve lost, we carry on now, mindful of those truths.
尽管我们不能避免失去这些同胞的悲痛，但我们现在要铭记这些事实，继续前进。
We carry on because we have to.  After all, this is still a time of great  challenges for us to solve.  We’ve got  to grow jobs faster, and forge a stronger, more competitive economy.  We’ve got to shore up our budget, and bring  down our deficits⁶.  We’ve got to keep  our people safe, and see to it that the American Dream remains⁷ vibrant⁸ and  alive for our children and grandchildren.
前进，因为我们需要。毕竟，现在仍有很多的挑战等待我们去解决。我们需要让就业增长更快一些，铸就一个更强大，更具竞争力的经济体。我们需要削减我们的预算，将我们的赤字降下来。我们需要保障人民的安全，保证我们的子孙依然有鲜活的美国梦。
These are challenges I believe we can  meet.  And I believe we can do it in a  way worthy of those who sent us here to serve.  So as business resumes, I look forward to  working together in that same spirit of common cause with members of Congress  from both parties – because before we are Democrats or Republicans, we are  Americans.
这些挑战我相信我们定能解决。我也相信我们可以通过一定的方式做到，而不辜负选择我们来为大家服务的人们的期望。因此，随着国会重新运作起来，我期待着与国会两党的所有本着共同事业精神的成员合作——因为首先我们是美国人，然后才是民主党人或共和党人。
And as we perform the work of this  nation, my prayer is that we stay true to our words, and turn to those  examples of heroism, and courage, and perseverance⁹, to bring out the better  in all of us.
当我们为国家效劳的时候，我祈祷我们能忠于自己的言行，向这些英勇无畏，充满勇气，不屈不挠的榜样们学习，为大家带来更美好的生活。
Thanks for listening, and have a great  weekend.
谢谢聆听，周末愉快。

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

3 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

4 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

5 discordant   

adj.不调和的

参考例句：

• Leonato thought they would make a discordant pair.里奥那托认为他们不适宜作夫妻。
• For when we are deeply mournful discordant above all others is the voice of mirth.因为当我们极度悲伤的时候，欢乐的声音会比其他一切声音都更显得不谐调。

6 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

9 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。