奥巴马每周电视讲话：总统在父亲节发表祝福祝愿父亲们节日快乐

Hi, everybody. Sunday is Father's Day.
大家好，星期天就是父亲节了。
If you haven't got Dad a gift yet, there's still time.
如果你还没有为自己的老爸准备礼物的话，还有点时间。
Just barely¹. But the truth is, what we give our fathers can never match what our fathers give us.
但很紧迫哦。老实说，无论我们给我们的父亲送什么礼物都无法与他们给予我们的东西相匹配。
I know how important it is to have a dad in your life, because I grew up without my father around.
我深刻领会了生活中有爸爸的陪伴是多么重要，因为我的成长历程没有父亲陪伴。
I felt the weight of his absence.
缺少父爱对我影响重大。
So for Michelle and our girls, I try every day to be the husband and father my family didn't have when I was young.
因此对米歇尔和我们的女儿们，我每天都努力做好一个丈夫和父亲，这是我小时候的家庭所不具备的。
And every chance I get, I encourage fathers to get more involved in their children's lives, because what makes you a man isn't the ability to have a child-it's the courage to raise one.
只要有机会，我就鼓励父亲们更多参与孩子们的生活，因为能够证明你是一个男人的不是你能有生育的能力，而是你有抚养孩子的勇气。
Still, over the past couple years, I've met with a lot of young people who don't have a father figure around.
过去的很多年里，直到现在仍然是这样，我遇到了很多年轻人，他们的人生缺少父亲的陪伴。
And while there's nothing that can replace a parent, any of us can do our part to be a mentor², a sounding board, a role model for a kid who needs one.
尽管任何人都不能替代父母的角色，但我们可以尽我们的努力充当一个导师，一个参谋，或是孩子们需要的行为榜样。
Earlier this year, I launched an initiative³ called My Brother's Keeper-an all-hands-on-deck effort to help more of our young men reach their full potential.
今年早些时候，我启动了一项称之为“兄弟的守护者”的活动，这是一项需要全体人民共同努力来帮助我们的年轻人发挥他们的潜力的活动。
And if you want to be a mentor to a young man in your community, you can find out how at WhiteHouse.gov/MyBrothersKeeper.
如果你想担任你所在社区年轻人们的导师，你可以在白宫的网站上（WhiteHouse.gov/MyBrothersKeeper）找到你具体可以做什么。
Now, when I launched this initiative, I said that government can't play the primary role in a young person's life.
我启动这一活动的时候就说，政府是不可能在一个年轻人的生活中扮演首要角色的。
Taking responsibility for being a great parent or mentor is a choice that we, as individuals, have to make.
做一个好父母或导师的责任，是我们作为成年人必须做出的选择。
No government program can ever take the place of a parent's love.
任何的政府计划都无法取代父母给予孩子们的爱。
Still, as a country, there are ways we can help support dads and moms who make that choice.
当然，作为一个国家，我们仍然有很多方式可以帮助爸爸妈妈们更好的承担这一责任。
That's why, earlier this week, we brought working dads from across America to the White House to talk about the challenges they face.
因此，本周早些时候，我们将全国各地的工薪阶层的爸爸们召集到白宫，与他们交流他们所面临的挑战。
And in a few weeks, I'll hold the first-ever White House Working Families Summit⁴.
再过几个星期，我将主持史上首次白宫工薪家庭峰会。
We've still got too many workplace policies that belong in the 1950s, and it's time to bring them up to date for today's families, where oftentimes, both parents are working.
上个世纪50年代我们有太多的工作规则，对于当今的家庭而言，这些规则应该与时俱进一下了，因为现在很多情况下父母都在工作。
Moms and dads deserve affordable⁵ child care, and time off to care for a sick parent or child without running into hardship.
妈妈和爸爸们应该有足够的财力去抚养孩子，应该有时间去照料生病的父母或孩子而不至于陷入困境。
Women deserve equal pay for equal work-and at a time when more women are breadwinners for a family, that benefits men, too.
妇女应该得到与男性同样的工作报酬，尤其是现在，有更多女性成为家庭的主要财力支柱，这对男人来讲也是有好处的。
And because no parent who works full-time⁶ should have to raise a family in poverty, it's time for Congress to follow the lead of state after state, get on the bandwagon, and give America a raise.
只要有全职工作的父母，其家庭生活就不应该陷入贫困，因此，现在是时候让国会跟上各州的脚步，赶上最后的班车，提高美国的工资标准。
Dads work hard.
爸爸们工作很辛苦。
So our country should do what we can to make sure their hard work pays off; to make sure life for them and their families is a little less stressful, and a little more secure, so they can be the dads their kids need them to be.
因此我们国家应该确保他们的努力付出能够得到回报，应该确保他们以及他们的家庭的生活少一些压力，多一些安全保障，这样他们才能做好他们的孩子所需要的爸爸。
Because there's nothing more precious in life than the time we spend with our children.
人生当中，没有什么时间能比与孩子们相处的时光更珍贵。
There's no better feeling than knowing that we can be there for them, and provide for them, and help give them every shot at success.
也没有什么感觉能比陪在他们身边，支持他们，为他们的成功提供机会更棒了。
Let's make sure every dad who works hard and takes responsibility has the chance to know that feeling, not just on one Sunday, but every day of the year.
让我们保证每一个辛苦工作，尽职尽责的爸爸都有机会感受到这种感觉，不仅仅是在星期天这一天，而是要贯穿全年的每一天。
Thanks everybody, happy Father's Day, and have a great weekend.
谢谢大家，祝父亲节快乐，周末愉快。

1 barely   

adv.仅仅，几乎没有，几乎不

参考例句：

• The male bird is barely distinguishable from the female.雄鸟和雌鸟几乎无法辨别。
• He took barely enough money to keep the children in bread.他赚很少的钱仅够孩子们勉强糊口。

2 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

3 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

4 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

5 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。