奥巴马每周电视讲话：奥巴马总统将发表告别演讲

President Obama's Farewell Address to the Nation (January 7, 2017)

奥巴马总统将发表告别演讲(2017年1月7日)

Since the days of George Washington, presidents have delivered some form of final message while in office – a farewell address to the American people.

从乔治华盛顿开始,总统们就在就职的最后时间里发表一些想法--向美国人民发表的告别演讲.

On Tuesday night, in Chicago, I'll deliver mine. I chose Chicago not only because it's my hometown – where I met my wife and we started a family – but also because it's really where my career in public service began.

在周二晚上,在芝加哥,我将发表我的告别演讲.我选择芝加哥不仅仅因为那里是我的家乡--在那里我遇到了我的妻子,我们组成了家庭--而且因为那里是我在公共服务领域职业真正开始的地方.

The running thread through my career has been the notion¹ that when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together in collective effort, things change for the better.

我职业生涯的过程中,一直是有着这样的信念.当普通人参与进来,加入进来,一起进行集体性努力,事情才会变得更好.

That's the belief at the heart of this precious American experiment in self-government. It's what gives work and purpose to each new generation.

这样的信念,一直存在于美国人民在自治政府的珍贵试验中.正是这些,给予新的每一代人就业机会和目的.

It's easy to lose sight of that truth in the day-to-day back-and-forth of Washington or our minute-to-minute news cycles. But remember that America is a story told over a longer time horizon, in fits and starts, punctuated² at times by hardship, but ultimately³ written by generations of citizens who've somehow worked together, without fanfare⁴, to form a more perfect union.

很容易忽视华盛顿一天天,反复来回发生着的事情和我们每一分钟消息循环的事实.但记住,美国是这样一个故事,在较长的时间中,一阵一阵地,时不时地有困难,但最终被一代代的人们书写着.他们总是一起工作,没有炫耀,从而构建着更加完美的合众国.

Over the past eight years, we've added our own new chapter to that story.

在过去的8年时间里,我们已经把我们自己书写的新篇章加入到了这样的故事中.

Together, we've turned an economy that was shrinking and losing jobs into one that's growing and creating jobs, with poverty falling, incomes rising, and wages that have jumped faster over the past few years than at any time in the past four decades.

我们已经一起把萎缩和失业的经济,改变成一个不断增长和创造就业的经济,贫困率在下降,收入在上涨,过去几年的工资比在过去40年的任何时间里,都增长得更快.

Together, we've achieved what eluded⁵ politicians of both parties for a century – we've moved 20 million more Americans from uninsured to insured, ended the days of discrimination against the up to half of Americans who have a preexisting condition, and secured new rights and protections for everybody with health insurance.

我们一起实现了在一个世纪里摆脱两党政治家完成的事情--我们让2000多万没有保险的人们获得了保险,终结了对超过一半已经有身体状况人们的歧视,让每一个有健康保险的人都拥有着新的权利和保护.

Together, we've brought home most of our brave troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, took Bin⁶ Laden⁷ and thousands of other terrorists⁸ off the battlefield for good. We've opened a new chapter with the people of Cuba, shutdown Iran's nuclear weapon program without fire a single shot, and brought the world together around a climate agreement that could save this planet for future generations.

我们一起让我们在伊拉克和阿富汗英勇的部队大部分都回到国内,围剿了本?拉登和数千名其他的恐怖分子,让其无法再上战场.我们与古巴人民开启了新篇章,没有开一枪就关闭了伊朗的核武器项目,把世界各国团结在一个气候协议下,这将为后代拯救这个星球.

By these measures and many more, we've made America a better stronger place for the generations that follows us. We brought our leg in a long journey of progress, knowing that our work is and will always be unfinished. And that's the imperative⁹ of citizenship¹⁰. The idea that with hard work, people who love their country can change it. That will be the focus of my farewell to you this Tuesday. And I hope you'll tune¹¹ it.

通过这些以及许多其他的措施,我们为后代们把美国建设成了更好更强大的国度.我们让我们的步伐深入到更长远进展的征程中,认识到我们的工作是,将一直是没有完成的.这就是公民身份的重要性.正是这样的想法,辛勤工作并热爱这个国家的人们能够改变她.这也将是我在周二告别演讲中的关注点.我希望你能选择到时收看.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

谢谢大家,周末快乐.

1 notion   

n.概念，意念，看法

参考例句：

• One common Chinese notion is that the elders ought to be respected.中国人共有的一种观念是长者应受到尊敬。
• He had a sudden notion to visit all his relatives.他心血来潮，突然想去拜访他所有的亲戚。

2 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ultimately   

adv.最后地，最终地，首要地，基本地

参考例句：

• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience.那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。
• Vitamin C deficiency can ultimately lead to scurvy.缺乏维生素C最终能道致坏血病。

4 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

5 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

8 terrorists   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子( terrorist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• They were finally forced to capitulate to the terrorists' demands. 他们最后被迫屈从恐怖分子的要求。

9 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

10 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

11 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。