公众人物毕业演讲第386期:奥巴马2012年哥伦比亚大学毕业演讲(4)

 　　Finding your way around this campus an economic crisis struck that would claim more than 5 million jobs.

　　这所校园的时候经济危机降临不等你们第一学年结束

　　Before the end of your freshman¹ year Since then some of you have probably seen parents put off retirement².

　　它已经导致500多万人失业从那个时候以来你们大概看到一些父母推迟了退休计划

　　Friends struggle to find work And you may be looking toward the future with that same sense of concern that my generation did.

　　一些朋友在苦苦求职面对未来 你们也许像当年我这一代坐在你们的座位上的时候一样

　　When we were sitting where you are now Of course, as young women you're also going to grapple with some unique challenges.

　　感到忧心忡忡当然 作为年轻女性你们还要应对某些特殊的挑战

　　Like whether you'll be able to earn equal pay for equal work whether you'll be able to balance the demands of your job and your family.

　　比如是否能够享有同工同酬是否能够平衡工作和家庭的需要

　　Whether you'll be able to fully³ control decisions about your own health And while opportunities for women.

　　是否能够对自身健康有全部决定权虽然过去30年来

　　Have grown exponentially over the last 30 years as young people in many ways you have it even tougher than we did.

　　女性的机会有了突飞猛进的增加但作为年轻人你们在很多方面面临着比我们当时更加严重

　　This recession has been more brutal⁴ the job losses steeper Politics seems nastier.

　　更加严峻的挑战失业人数更多政治争议似乎更加难以调和

　　Congress more gridlocked than ever Some folks in the financial world have not exactly been model corporate⁵ citizens.

　　国会比以往任何时候更加僵持金融界的一些人很难被称为模范企业公民

　　No wonder that faith in our institutions has never been lower particularly when good news doesn't get the same kind of ratings.

　　所以 毫不奇怪对我们体制的信心达到空前之低特别是好消息

1 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。