精美英文欣赏:奥巴马发布独立日献词（在线收听）

That is the spirit we are called to show once more.

为了迎接我们这个时代不可预知的种种挑战，我们大家都必须再次发扬这种为国效力和献身的精神。

We are facing an array of challenges on a scale unseen in our time. We are waging two wars.

如今，我们正进行着两场艰难的战争。

We are battling a deep recession.And our economy-and our nation itself-are endangered by festering problems we have kicked down the road for far too long:

在克服经济深度衰退的同时，还存在着许多旷日持久的问题：

spiraling health care costs, inadequate schools,and a dependence on foreign oil.

持续上升的医疗成本、学校设施的欠缺和对进口石油的依赖。

Now is the time to lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity.

我们长期的拖延导致了问题的日益恶化，致使我国经济以及国家本身正面临着危难。

Now is the time to revamp our education system,demand more from teachers, parents, and students alike,and build schools that prepare every child in America to outcompete any worker in the world.

迎接这些巨大的挑战要求每一位美国人付出巨大的努力，而这种努力不容拖延。我们亟需为国家的发展和繁荣奠定一个新的基础。我们亟需修复国民教育体系，向教师、家长、学生提出更高的要求，让每个美国孩子在未来的职场上拥有无可比拟的竞争力。

Now is the time to reform an unsustainable health care system that is imposing crushing costs on families,businesses, large and small, and state and federal budgets.

我们亟需改革现行的医疗卫生体制。这一体制已显得难以为继，成为了无数家庭和企业的沉重负担，给联邦及地方财政造成了巨大压力。

We need to protect what works, fix what's broken,and bring down costs for all Americans.

我们应当不断完善政策体制，减少国民开支负担。

No more talk. No more delay.

无须赘言，事不宜迟，

Health care reform must happen this year.

这项改革年内一定会展开。

And now, is the time to meet our energy challenge-one of the greatest challenges we have ever confronted as a people or as a planet.

我们亟需解决前所未有的能源危机。

For the sake of our economy and our children,we must build on the historic bill passed by the House of Representatives,and make clean energy the profitable kind of energy so that we can end our dependence on foreign oil and reclaim America's future.

为了经济的发展和孩子的成长，我们必须依靠这项由众议院通过的赋有历史意义的法案，让使用清洁再生能源成为解决之道，结束长久以来靠进口石油的历史，重塑美国的未来。

These are some of the challenges that our generation has been called to meet.

这些都是我们这一代人必须面对的挑战。

And yet, there are those who would have us try what has already failed;who would defend the status quo.

然而有些人正在重蹈覆辙，有些人试图维持现状。

They argue that our health care system is fine the way it is and that a clean energy economy can wait.

他们认为我们的医疗卫生体制没有问题，而清洁能源的使用亦可一拖再拖。

They say we are trying to do too much,that we are moving too quickly,and that we all ought to just take a deep breath and scale back our goals.

他们认为我们努力过多，行动过快，认为我们应当深吸一口气，降低我们的目标。

These naysayers have short memories.

这些健忘的人不曾记得，

They forget that we, as a people,did not get here by standing pat in a time of change.

我们作为一个国家能取得这样的成就，正是因为我们在变革的时期没有固步自封。

We did not get here by doing what was easy.

我们能取得这样的成就，正是因为我们没有避难就易。

That is not how a cluster of 13 colonies became the United States of America.

正因为如此，原来十三个殖民地才能共建美利坚合众国。