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　　Barack Obama has become the 44th President of the United States, taking the oath of office on the steps of the U.S. Capitol before a crowd of more than one million people who had gathered in frigid¹ temperatures to see the first African American become president.
巴拉克.奥巴马就任美国第44任总统。奥巴马在100多万美国民众面前于美国国会大厦的台阶上宣誓就职。这些人冒着寒冷的气温在国会前亲眼目睹第一位非洲裔美国总统宣誓就职。
Immediately after President Obama took the oath of office, a military color guard fired off a 21-gun salute² as an enormous and diverse crowd cheered, waved American flags and chanted the new president's name.
奥巴马总统宣誓就职仪式一结束，军方仪仗队就鸣礼炮21响。成千上万不同肤色、种族、信仰的人群高声欢呼雀跃。他们挥舞着美国国旗，呼喊着新总统奥巴马的名字。
In his inaugural³ address, Mr. Obama said he is entering the White House at a time when the nation is in the midst of crisis.
在就职演说中，奥巴马说，他走进白宫之际，美国正处在危机之中。
"Our nation is at war, against a far reaching network of violence and hatred," Mr. Obama said. "Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age."
“我们的国家正在作战，我们正在同广泛的暴力和仇恨的网络进行战争。我们的经济受到严重削弱，这是一些人的贪婪和不负责任造成的后果，但同是也是我们大家未能做出艰难的选择，为美国新时代做好准备的后果。”
Mr. Obama says the state of the economy requires bold action to create new jobs and end the recession.
奥巴马说，美国的经济状况需要我们采取果敢的行动，创造新的就业机会，结束经济衰退。
The 47-year-old president is the son of a black Kenyan father and a white American mother. He grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia.
奥巴马现年47岁，他的父亲是一位肯尼亚黑人，母亲是一位美国白人。奥巴马在夏威夷和印度尼西亚长大。
Mr. Obama held out a friendly hand to those watching his address from overseas.
奥巴马还对那些在海外观看他就职演说的人们表示致意。
"And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity and we are ready to lead once more," Mr. Obama said.
“希望现在在观看今天就职典礼的各国人民和政府都知道，无论他们来自雄伟的首都，还是来自我父亲出生的小村庄，美国是每个国家、每个男女、儿童的朋友。他们为未来实现和平与尊严而努力，我们则准备再次领先”。
President Obama called on all Americans to accept personal responsibility for trying to solve the challenging tasks confronting the nation.
奥巴马总统呼吁所有的美国人在设法解决美国面临的具有挑战性质的任务时承担他们个人的责任。
"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world," Mr. Obama said. "Duties that we do not grudgingly⁴ accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."
“我们现在需要一个勇于负责的新时代，每一个美国人都要认识到我们对自己、对国家、对世界负有责任，我们不是不情愿地接受这些责任，而是欣然接受，坚信没有什么比全力以赴完成艰难工作更能得到精神上的满足，更能展示我们的性格”。
Many African American families attended the inauguration⁵ of the country's first black president.
很多非洲裔美国家庭参加了美国第一位黑人总统的就职典礼。
One woman from Pennsylvania said she was overwhelmed to be taking part in the historic event.
一位来自宾州的妇女说，能参加这次历史盛会她激动不已。
"I could not be happier or more proud. I am an 81-year-old black lady who has seen an awful lot in my lifetime," she said. "And never, in all my years, did I think that this day would come and one of us would be in the White House."
“我从来没有如此幸福，如此自豪。我是一名81岁的黑人老太太。我的一生目睹了许许多多的事情。但是在我毕生之年，我从来没有梦想过这一天能到来，我们黑人当中的一员将入主白宫。”
Polls show many Americans are optimistic about the nation's future now that President Obama has been sworn in. Laverne Feaster, who traveled to the inauguration from Little Rock, Arkansas, says the opportunities with the new administration are endless.
民意调查显示，奥巴马总统已经宣誓就职，很多美国人对美国的未来表示乐观。费斯特来自阿肯色州的小石城。他说，新政府有无穷无尽的机会。
"This country recognizes with the president we have that all of us can be anything we want to be. It is not just a few," Feaster said. "We do not have to have rich, poor. We can have everybody to be what they want to be."
“这个国家认识到，奥巴马成为总统这件事本身就表明，我们所有人只要心想就能事成。这决非是为数不多的几个人。我们不须富有，即使是穷人，每个人都能实现他们的理想愿望。”
Presidential historian Allan Lichtman says President Obama will bring major changes, in both style and substance, to the White House.
总统历史学家利希特曼说，奥巴马总统将给白宫带来重大变革，无论在风格上，还是在实质内容上。
"Barack Obama represents and celebrates not only the diversity of America, but the diversity of a knit-together global world," Lichtman said. "In addition, I think, so far Barack Obama has indicated that he is likely to take American foreign policy in new directions as part of this new political era."
“奥巴马代表并颂扬的不仅仅是美国的多元化，而是紧密结合的世界的多元化。另外，我认为，奥巴马已经表示，他可能要改变美国外交政策的方向，作为新政治时代的一部分。”
President Obama, a Democrat⁶, campaigned on a theme of change, inspiring millions of people both at home and abroad.
奥巴马总统是民主党人。他的竞选主题“变革”激励了数百万海内外的民众。
Mr. Obama's inauguration brings to an end eight years of Republican rule under George Bush.
奥巴马的就职典礼标志着乔治.布什八年共和党执政的结束。